Naruto: Blacksmith

Unlike the bustling streets of Konoha, the northwestern industrial area was a completely different world.

The zone, filled with factories, endless pipes, and the constant noise of machinery and bursts of steam, now lay in a profound silence due to the New Year's holiday.

A man dressed in black staggered through a deserted alleyway.

His tiger-striped mask concealed his face, and his loose black hair cascaded to his shoulders.

"It's been a long time, Konoha… and nothing has changed," he muttered, his lone scarlet eye glowing intensely beneath the mask, its three tomoe spinning slowly.

Suddenly, two shadows leaped from the high walls on either side of the alley. Swords gleaming, the attackers lunged at him.

The sound of slicing steel echoed, and their blades struck the man directly.

However, there was no resistance.

Their blades passed through his figure as if it were a mirage, nearly colliding with one another.

Swish

The attackers tried to regain their balance, but before they could react, space itself began to distort.

A vortex formed in front of the masked man, spinning violently.

The source of the phenomenon was his scarlet eye, which rotated slowly, pulling everything into the spiraling void.

Despite their struggles, the attackers were inevitably sucked into the spatial whirlpool, vanishing without a trace.

The masked man stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"That distinctive whistle of the Root… it seems I'm close to the information Itachi mentioned."

At that moment, a faint crack broke the silence. A massive carnivorous plant emerged from the ground, splitting open to reveal a figure with one half white and the other black.

"Madara, we've determined the location. The Root base is right here, underground."

The masked man, addressed as "Madara" by his companion, nodded slightly.

"What about the access routes?"

"There are several options," replied the figure, its white half speaking calmly. "Itachi has laid the most traps and stationed guards on the most obvious route."

But before it could finish, a more mocking voice emerged from the black half of the figure.

"It seems Itachi doesn't want to fully cooperate. He's planning to eliminate both you and Danzo at the same time."

"Madara" remained silent for a moment.

"Itachi has no choice but to cooperate with me. But that doesn't mean he trusts me. He wants to test my strength. For this cooperation to work, he first needs to see that I'm far stronger than he is."

"That makes sense."

"Are you proceeding?"

"If Danzo suspects anything before we act, he'll escape rather than face you directly. And if we attract too many Konoha shinobi, things will get complicated."

"Madara" shrugged nonchalantly.

"Danzo can't escape."

With absolute calm, his Sharingan began spinning once again. The spatial vortex reappeared, enveloping both of them.

In an instant, they vanished from the scene.

---

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!"

In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen slammed the desk once again, rising to his feet.

Leaning forward with both hands on the desk, he glared at Itachi in disbelief.

"Do you know what you're doing, Itachi?!"

He was truly furious.

For Hiruzen, the last thing he wanted was to see comrades from the same village fighting and killing one another. Even when the Uchiha began planning a coup, his first reaction hadn't been to suppress them with force but to attempt dialogue with Fugaku, hoping for a peaceful resolution.

But…

He recalled what had happened with Shisui. Danzo had murdered him, and despite his rage at the time, Hiruzen had done nothing further.

Hiruzen had been genuinely enraged that day, smashing several objects in his office. Itachi had never seen him lose control like that.

He had even taken measures to restrict Danzo's movements, ordering him not to interfere further in Uchiha affairs.

But… that was all.

No real punishments had been imposed. Danzo had gone unscathed.

Itachi vividly remembered seeing something in Hiruzen's eyes that day: a flicker of relief, a hidden satisfaction that Shisui was gone.

Kotoamatsukami was a power that terrified everyone, and perhaps even Hiruzen hadn't realized that sentiment within himself.

But Itachi had seen it.

From that moment, he knew that the elderly man he had respected so much had changed.

His father had once spoken of the old Hokage, a man filled with love and kindness for everything and everyone in the world. Hiruzen had been someone willing to sacrifice himself before harming what he protected.

But power and prolonged compromises had transformed him. Slowly, the elder began sacrificing a few to protect the majority, even resorting to darker methods to maintain Konoha's prosperity.

Itachi understood this.

Despite everything, he hadn't lost respect for Hiruzen, but he no longer trusted him blindly. Now he evaluated every decision, weighing its pros and cons, and made his own choices.

That's why he was willing to confront him now.

"Attacking comrades of the village is treason," Itachi said solemnly, lowering his head. "After this incident, I will become a rogue ninja of Konoha."

"Itachi…"

Hiruzen's clouded eyes widened in surprise.

His trembling right hand rose slowly, but before it could reach his chest, it dropped back down. He took a deep breath, and his body stopped shaking.

Instead, his gaze became resolute.

"Itachi, raise your head and look at me."

Itachi hesitated for a moment but eventually lifted his head. His eyes were as firm as his will.

Hiruzen recognized that look. He had once possessed it himself.

It was the look of someone willing to protect Konoha and peace at any cost.

However, Itachi was different from Danzo or even Hiruzen himself. Itachi wasn't sacrificing others but himself. And changing that mindset was even more challenging.

But…

Hiruzen knew that nothing was absolute. Even he had changed in the face of harsh realities.

He sighed deeply, and after a moment, spoke in a gentler tone.

"Itachi, don't do this. There has to be another way. No one needs to sacrifice themselves."

"There's no better way," Itachi said, shaking his head. "Danzo taught Shisui that ninjas must be willing to sacrifice when necessary. That's the only way to protect what they value."

"If Danzo can teach that, then I must be willing to sacrifice myself for the peace of Konoha. Becoming a rogue ninja is just a shadow of what Danzo preached, and it's not even worth mentioning."

"…"

Hiruzen remained silent.

Sacrifice?

He knew Danzo all too well, better than anyone. Danzo was someone who spoke of sacrifice when it suited him but avoided practicing it whenever he could.

Finally, he broke the silence.

"I won't allow you to kill Danzo. If you want to do so, you'll have to go through me first."

Itachi shook his head.

"As I said, killing Danzo is my second option. Since it's an alternative plan, I anticipated that the Hokage-sama would try to stop me. That's why I won't be the one to kill Danzo."

________

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