The sky outside began to pale with the first light of dawn. The morning's earliest rays pierced through the slightly aged glass windows of the Konoha Hospital, scattering across the beige floor of the emergency observation room.
Fugaku Uchiha maintained his sitting position from the previous night. His arms were crossed over his chest, his back rested against the wall, and his eyes were closed as he rested his mind.
Despite having gone without sleep all night, his biological clock as a powerhouse allowed him to remain absolutely clear-headed. His breathing was long and steady, with only the occasional tremor of his eyelashes betraying the restlessness in his heart.
This night was destined to be a sleepless one for many in Konoha.
The heart-pounding chakra fluctuations from the night before, along with the faint, oppressive sensation unique to sealing techniques, had been nearly imperceptible to ordinary people. However, to a master of ocular jutsu like Fugaku, it had been as conspicuous as a lighthouse in the dark of night.
The source was the Root base.
Then, there was only a dead silence.
The battle had been over in a flash. Everything began and ended in total silence.
This eerie calm was somehow more spine-chilling than a world-shaking battle.
"Father."
A tender yet steady call interrupted Fugaku's thoughts.
He opened his eyes to see Itachi Uchiha standing before him, holding a cup of steaming water.
Though the five-year-old child had faint dark circles under his eyes from staying up late, his black eyes remained startlingly bright.
"Sasuke's fever has broken," Itachi said softly.
Fugaku took the cup but didn't drink. He simply held it in his palm to feel the warmth, his gaze moving past his son's shoulder toward the hospital bed.
Mikoto was carefully using a cotton swab dipped in water to moisten Sasuke's dry, cracked lips.
The little guy, who had been struggling all night, was finally sleeping peacefully. His breathing was steady, and his complexion had returned to a healthy ruddy glow.
"It's good that the fever is gone."
Fugaku's voice was a bit raspy.
He stood up, stretched his stiff neck, and looked toward the door.
The rhythmic clicking of high heels echoed from the hallway.
Click. Clack. Click.
The sound stopped at the door, and the observation room door was pushed open.
Tsunade entered wearing her signature green robe, a medical chart in her hand. Although she had been dragged in as emergency labor the moment she returned to the village, there wasn't a trace of fatigue on the legendary medic's face—only the professional efficiency of a healer.
Jiraiya followed behind her, carrying a bag of steaming hot buns. The purple toad known as Gamakon was still perched atop his head.
"Yo, Fugaku, morning."
Jiraiya took a bite of a meat bun and gave a muffled greeting.
Fugaku nodded slightly in response to Jiraiya's greeting.
His gaze then locked onto Tsunade—or rather, onto the overly relaxed expression she was currently wearing.
"Lady Tsunade, Sasuke's condition..." Mikoto stood up nervously.
"Don't worry, it's just a common cold compounded by a bit of a fright." Tsunade casually hung the chart at the foot of the bed, walked over to check Sasuke's eyelids, and felt his carotid artery. "The fever is down. Just take a couple more doses of medicine when you get home to stabilize him. Kids aren't that fragile."
Hearing Tsunade's diagnosis, the heavy stone that had been hanging in Fugaku's heart finally halfway dropped.
But the other half still weighed heavily on his chest.
He looked at Jiraiya, carefully weighing his words as he tried to pry information about the 'wind' from last night out of the Sannin.
"Lord Jiraiya, about the village last night..."
"The wind was indeed quite strong last night."
Jiraiya interrupted him, smiling as he pulled a bun from the bag and handed it to Itachi, who had been staring. "But you see, the sun is up, and the wind has stopped. Wouldn't you agree, Fugaku?"
The wind had stopped.
Fugaku's pupils shrank violently.
He understood the double meaning.
Just then, a masked Anbu appeared at the door like a ghost.
He didn't enter the room. He merely bowed slightly to Tsunade and Jiraiya, handed a sealed scroll to Jiraiya, and then vanished.
Jiraiya took the scroll and tossed it casually, the smile on his face deepening.
"It seems that old man's 'suicide note' has arrived."
He spoke as if to himself, yet loud enough for Fugaku to hear. "Overcome by guilt for his dereliction of duty and feeling unable to face the previous Hokage, he chose to commit seppuku to atone for his sins... Tsk, tsk. What a 'dignified' way to go."
Crinkle.
The paper cup in Fugaku's hand tilted.
'Danzo... is dead?'
'Seppuku?'
'The Darkness of Shinobi, who had held the village's shadows in his grip for decades and whom even the Third Hokage feared, was gone just like that in a single night?'
'And for such an almost absurd reason as suicide?'
A chill rushed from the soles of Fugaku's feet straight to his head, making his entire body tremble.
He thought back to the Minato Namikaze he had encountered at the hospital entrance last night—the young Hokage who always wore a gentle smile.
As it turned out, that blade which seemed so smooth and warm was the most bloodless when it actually killed.
"Clan Leader Fugaku?"
Tsunade's voice pulled him back from his shock. "Since the child is fine, you can all head back. Hospitals are full of germs; it's no place to linger."
Fugaku took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the storm in his heart.
He lowered his head and, with an unprecedented posture of respect, gave a deep bow toward Tsunade, Jiraiya, and the Fourth Hokage who wasn't even present.
"Thank you, Lady Tsunade. The Uchiha clan... will remember the kindness shown tonight."
This wasn't just gratitude for treating an illness; it was gratitude for this morning when the 'wind had stopped.'
With Danzo dead, the primary source of malice against the Uchiha had vanished.
Though the road ahead was still uncertain, the Uchiha's situation would at least be better than before.
While Mikoto didn't necessarily understand the political maneuvering involved, she felt the tension leave her husband's shoulders and breathed a sigh of relief herself.
She packed up the baby supplies and picked up the sleeping Sasuke, giving the others a gentle smile.
"We've truly troubled you all, my lords."
Mikoto's gaze fell upon the purple toad on Jiraiya's head.
She had only caught a glimpse of it in the emergency hall last night and thought it was just an unusually colored summoning beast.
Now that she was closer, she realized that the toad's eyes possessed a human-like intelligence... and even a bit of a scrutinizing quality.
"By the way, I haven't asked for this... Lord Toad's name."
Mikoto asked curiously. "I've heard Lord Jiraiya calling you 'Gamakon'? That name doesn't sound like the style of Mount Myoboku. Most of the Great Sages from Mount Myoboku are named things like Bunta, Ken, or Hiro, right?"
Gamakon, who had been boredly counting how many times Itachi blinked, turned his head lazily at her words.
He looked at the Uchiha matriarch—a woman so gentle in the original story that it was heartbreaking—and grinned.
"The lady has a sharp eye."
Gamakon's voice was crisp, carrying the youthful energy of a teenage boy, not sounding like a toad at all. "I am indeed an anomaly."
"An anomaly?" Mikoto blinked.
"That's right."
Gamakon hopped down from Jiraiya's head, landing steadily on the bedside table. He stood on his hind legs, tucking his front paws behind his back in a profound, mysterious pose.
"I was not born on Mount Myoboku, nor do I belong to this shinobi world."
"My hometown is in a distant world that has no chakra."
"The people there cannot use ninjutsu, but they can build iron birds that travel thousands of miles a day, see scenes from across the world through a tiny black mirror, and even dive ten thousand meters into the sea unscathed."
"I failed my tribulation in that world... cough, anyway, due to some accidents, I was reincarnated into this body."
Gamakon spoke with utter seriousness, mixing truth with lies.
The air in the room went silent for a few seconds.
Itachi Uchiha's eyes, which were usually as calm as still water, suddenly widened.
Iron birds? Black mirrors?
What was this toad talking about?
For a five-year-old child whose worldview was still being constructed, the light-and-shadow world Gamakon described was more shocking than any ninjutsu.
"Another world..." Itachi murmured, his gaze toward Gamakon slowly shifting.
Even Fugaku couldn't help but steal a few extra glances at Gamakon.
Although his reason told him this toad was bragging, considering the creature was Jiraiya's summon, he thought... 'What if it's true?'
"Pfft—"
An ill-timed snicker broke the mysterious atmosphere.
Jiraiya covered his mouth, his shoulders shaking with laughter.
"Alright, alright, stop listening to his nonsense."
Jiraiya unceremoniously reached out a finger and poked Gamakon's round belly. "What 'otherworld demon'? To me, you're just a mutated toad. Look at this purple hue; you look like a moldy dumpling. Where's the ferocity of a demon?"
"I think you've just been listening to my stories too much and started projecting yourself into them."
Gamakon was poked back a few steps, batting Jiraiya's finger away in annoyance.
"Shallow!"
Gamakon shot Jiraiya a look of disdain, a trace of contempt flashing in his golden horizontal pupils. "What do you know? In this world where looks are everything, appearing fierce is the lot of a villain. A look like mine, meant to get by on cuteness, is the standard for a protagonist."
He stood up straight again, cleared his throat, and swept his gaze over everyone present.
"Listen up."
"In private, you can call me 'Gamakon.' It sounds more intimate."
"However—"
Gamakon drew out his tone, tilting his chin up slightly as a strange aura radiated from his small body.
"In public, especially when others are watching."
"Given my strength..."
"You must address me with respect—"
"As Sage Sovereign."
"Sage Sovereign?"
Mikoto was stunned for a moment before she couldn't help but giggle behind her hand. "That title... is quite domineering."
"Call me Sage Sovereign!"
Gamakon emphasized. Then, as if remembering something, his eyes became a bit distant as he began to hum a tune no one understood. "The King sent me to patrol the mountains, yi-er-yo-o-yi-er-yi-er-yo..."
That ridiculous appearance, paired with the weird melody, instantly lightened the heavy atmosphere of the hospital room.
Even Itachi, who usually kept a stiff face, had the corners of his mouth curl up into a tiny arc.
"Fine, fine, Sage Sovereign."
Jiraiya shook his head with a laugh, scooped up the showboating Gamakon, and stuffed him back into his cloak. "Since the Sage Sovereign is done with his patrol, it's time for us to head out. Danzo might be gone, but there's a mountain of a mess he left behind for Minato to clean up."
Mentioning official business made the smile on Fugaku's face vanish.
"Lord Jiraiya, Lady Tsunade."
Fugaku clasped his hands. "The Uchiha clan stands ready for the Hokage's orders. Whether it's the reorganization of the Police Force or the village's defense, as long as the Hokage gives the word, the Uchiha will follow without hesitation."
This was a pledge of allegiance.
On the first morning after Danzo's fall, the Uchiha clan officially submitted their declaration of loyalty to Minato Namikaze's regime.
"I'll pass that along."
Jiraiya waved his hand and turned toward the door. "But right now, the priority is to let that kid Minato get some sleep. Pulling an all-nighter is a shinobi's worst enemy."