This chapter contains heavy themes, including moral coercion, psychological pressure, and discussions involving family harm under authority.
These events are written for narrative and thematic purposes and do not reflect the author's personal beliefs. Reader discretion is advised.
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After hearing what Toyoma intended to do with Yamanaka Kuroto, the people standing there felt something they had never felt before.
For the first time in their lives, they truly understood how dark a man's heart could become.
To force a man to kill his own family for survival—Such a thing had never been imagined.
Not in any war.
Not in any clash.
Neither in the past nor the present.
Minato's eyes widened as he stared at Toyoma, disbelief and shock written plainly across his face.
"Uchiha Toyoma," he said, his voice tight.
"How can you even think of something like this? The Uchiha have already received their answer—but what you're suggesting is against humanity itself. Don't you think so?"
Jiraiya and the clan heads standing nearby shared the same unease.
For once, no one rushed to speak.
Silence carried more weight than agreement.
Even Grand Elder Setsuna—who had agreed with nearly everything Toyoma had said until now—felt deeply unsettled.
Memories of his son surfaced unbidden.
He looked at Kuroto—his mouth gagged, his body tightly bound with rope.
Though he couldn't speak, the fear in his eyes was unmistakable.
"Toyoma… son," Setsuna said softly, placing a trembling hand on his shoulder.
"This is truly inhuman. If the Uchiha allow this, we will be remembered as the most cruel clan in the entire shinobi world."
Toyoma did not turn.
His voice, when it came, was calm—too calm.
"Grand Elder," he said, "If we let this man go, if we allow the village to escape without learning a lesson—then what message are we sending?"
His eyes swept across the gathering.
"We are standing before Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Danzo Shimura.
Koharu.
Homura."
His gaze lingered.
"And the Sannin—who stand tall and tell others that when something happens to your family, your child, your brother, your sister, your mother… You should endure."
As he spoke each name, he looked directly at them.
And they understood.
If this happened—Trust within the village would fracture.
Orders from the higher-ups would no longer feel like protection, but like traps imagined by everyone.
Hiruzen met Toyoma's gaze.
His eyes burned with restrained fury.
And in that moment, he knew—
This boy understood exactly what he was doing.
And he would let it happen.
"If this happens in front of us," Homura said sharply, turning to Hiruzen, "We will become a pillar of shame for the village and for those who still believe in us."
Toyoma's gaze returned to Kuroto.
"But today," he said quietly, "They need to see what happens when a man's endurance finally ends."
"The Uchiha's endurance has ended."
He stepped closer.
"Yamanaka Kuroto," Toyoma continued, "I am not your enemy. The Uchiha are not your enemy."
His voice hardened.
"The real enemies are the ones who ordered you to do this—the same people who would sacrifice your family without hesitation if it benefited them."
"We are all nothing more than bystanders… collateral damage…casualties of a game played by those in power—clan heads, elders, even leaders."
Toyoma lifted his gaze once more to the people in command.
"So today," he said coldly, "You will finally understand what it feels like to follow the wrong leader."
Silence fell.
Not the silence of respect—But the silence that followed when people realised there was no safe answer left.
The Yamanaka clan members stiffened.
Some clenched their fists.
Some looked instinctively toward Kuroto.
Others turned away, as if afraid their eyes might betray them.
"This isn't justice," a Yamanaka shinobi said, his voice unsteady.
"You're forcing blood against blood. You're breaking what makes a clan a clan."
Toyoma turned toward him slowly.
"When your clan was ordered to infiltrate Uchiha territory," he asked calmly, "Did anyone ask whether that broke a clan?"
The man froze.
"You called it duty," Toyoma continued.
"You told yourselves it was for the village. You invaded allies. You stole secrets. You violated minds."
He gestured toward Kuroto.
"And now, for the first time, that same duty is standing in front of you—with a face you recognise."
A murmur rippled through the civilians.
Parents pulled their children closer.
"So this is what it means…" a woman whispered.
"When wrong orders are given."
"This won't bring peace," Minato said firmly."Fear never creates peace—only silence."
"Peace built on silence is delayed violence," Toyoma replied without hostility.
"And the Uchiha have been silent long enough."
"You're turning the village against itself!" Koharu snapped.
"No," Toyoma said evenly."I'm showing the village what it already is."
Danzo remained silent.
But his visible eye narrowed.
This was not an execution.
It was precedent.
"If this path is taken," Setsuna said quietly, "There is no return."
"I know," Toyoma replied.
Then he turned fully toward the Yamanaka clan.
"Yamanaka Kuroto will choose."
Kuroto couldn't breathe.
The rope around his chest wasn't tight enough to suffocate him—But the silence was.
Every face before him was familiar.
Teachers.
Comrades.
Clan members who had eaten at his table.
His mind screamed to beg, to explain, to justify.
I didn't choose this.
I was told.
I obeyed.
That had always been enough.
Enough when doors were opened at night.
Enough when minds were entered without consent.
Enough when he told himself it was for the village.
But now—
Now the village was watching him.
Not as a shinobi.
Not as a tool.
As a man.
His thoughts turned to his wife.
To his son, who still believed his father was a hero.
Kill them… or die by them.
The choice crushed something inside him.
There was no honour here.
No victory.
Only proof.
Proof that obedience never protected family—It only delayed the moment they were offered up.
For the first time in his life, Kuroto understood the truth.
He wasn't afraid of death.
He was afraid that everything he had believed in was a lie.
Jiraiya had been watching silently.
But now his mood shifted.
The easygoing air around him vanished, replaced by something heavier—older.
Anger burned clearly in his eyes as he looked at Toyoma.
He couldn't allow this boy to tear apart the fragile trust between villagers.
He couldn't allow him to trample on the Will of Fire upon which this village had been built.
"Uchiha kid," Jiraiya said, his voice firm, carrying authority without raising itself, "The answer the Uchiha demanded has already been given."
He swept his gaze across the gathered Uchiha—and then back to Toyoma.
"Now take your people and leave. Don't mistake my silence for weakness."
The air tightened.
Then Jiraiya turned toward the Uchiha elders.
"Elder Setsuna," he continued, "Enough has already happened. The Uchiha have received more than enough answers. For the sake of both the village and your clan—it's time to take a step back."
For a moment, it seemed the world held its breath.
Then—
"Don't let silence be known as weakness…"
Toyoma repeated the words softly.
He lifted his gaze to Jiraiya, eyes calm and unreadable.
"So, Sannin," Toyoma said evenly, "You believe our silence is weakness?"
A faint smile touched his lips—without warmth.
"We are punishing the man who harmed our people. And now you ask me to stop."
He took a slow step forward.
"For what?"
"So the village can think the Uchiha stayed silent, and therefore the Uchiha are weak?"
Toyoma's eyes sharpened.
"And don't mistake your title for authority over us," he added.
"Being called a Sannin doesn't make you strong."
Jiraiya's expression darkened.
"A title earned by running from consequences isn't a victor's title," Toyoma continued calmly.
"It's the title of a survivor who chose escape over responsibility."
Silence crashed down between them.
Not because Toyoma had shouted—
But because no one dared to speak.
Minato stood frozen, eyes moving between Jiraiya and Toyoma.
The tension felt ready to snap.
Hiruzen closed his eyes and let out a slow, weary sigh.
"Uchiha Toyoma," he said at last, his voice heavy with authority, "enough has happened. Release Yamanaka Kuroto. If this continues, it will become a fight to the death between the Uchiha and the village."
Toyoma looked at him quietly.
For a brief moment, something shifted in his expression.
Then—
He smiled.
"Whoa, whoa… my dear Hokage-sama," Toyoma said lightly, raising a hand."Please, don't misunderstand."
The sudden change caught everyone off guard.
"I will let Kuroto go," he continued calmly."Grand Elder—release him."
A wave of confusion spread through the crowd.
Was that it?
Had the arrogant Uchiha finally backed down?
As the ropes were loosened, Uchiha jōnin stepped back.
Kuroto collapsed slightly as air rushed back into his lungs.
Slowly, he lifted his head—and looked at Toyoma.
Toyoma met his gaze without emotion.
"Hokage-sama," Toyoma said, turning back to Hiruzen, "If you truly intended to drag the entire village into war against the Uchiha, then yes—this would not have to be continued."
He tilted his head slightly.
"If you had said you would fight us with only the Sarutobi clan…I might have told you to get lost."
A ripple ran through the crowd.
"But we can't fight the whole village."
The mocking tone was unmistakable.
And everyone understood what he really meant.
If you have the courage—come alone.
Toyoma then turned fully toward Kuroto.
"Yamanaka Kuroto," he said softly, "You are safe now."
Kuroto stiffened.
"Just make sure," Toyoma continued, his voice calm and deliberate," that your family remains safe."
"When they go to the market."
"When your child goes out to play."
"When your wife walks the streets of this village."
His eyes hardened—cold, unreadable.
"Make sure the village protects them."
Toyoma's gaze said what his words did not.
Because if anything happens to them, this mercy will be the reason.
A chill crawled down Kuroto's spine.
He had been released—
Yet somehow, He felt more afraid.
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