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In a quiet Uchiha pavilion—
Sarutobi Hiruzen sat across from Uchiha Aki, watching as Aki calmly poured him a cup of tea. He couldn't help but complain, "Can you not act like that? I'm already sick of watching that old man at home. Do I really need to be reminded of him even here?"
Aki smiled faintly. "This tea's actually top-grade stuff. A few smaller clans gave it to me to congratulate me on becoming the head of the Uchiha clan. Isn't offering you a cup the perfect way to show my respect to Brother Monkey?"
Hiruzen suddenly flopped onto the ground in a dramatic pose, stretching out like a starfish and sighing contentedly. "If you really respected me, you'd pay back the 7 million you owe me! And throw in a few hundred pounds of juicy, sweet peaches. Now that's respect!"
Aki paused mid-sip. Hiruzen saw this and sprang up, leaned in close, and jabbed his finger at Aki's nose. "You're the head of a whole clan now! Practically one of the top powers in the village! And yet you've got the nerve to owe a poor little ninja like me money?!"
Aki let out a helpless sigh. "The Uchiha clan's in a pretty weak state right now. Most of our funds have already been used up. I really don't have any money... How about I just get you a few pounds of peaches for now?"
Hiruzen roared, "Seven million could buy you a whole peach orchard! Dammit! Is paying me back really that hard?!"
Aki dropped the act and calmly sipped his tea. "No money. Take my life instead."
Hiruzen, seeing how shameless he was, could only laugh and sit back down. He knocked back a full cup of tea in one gulp, then said, "Ugh, I hate this bitter stuff. Give me peaches any day. Anyway, I've passed along everything about the Second Hokage. Now tell me what you think."
Aki smiled. "What's there to think? This world has always been about the strong ruling the weak. My father died because he wasn't strong enough. I'm not about to risk the entire village just for some personal vendetta. I won't make a move against the Cloud Village on my own."
Hiruzen stayed quiet for a bit, then said, "Aki... do you know what you've lost ever since you became clan head? And what you've become?"
Aki froze, then chuckled. "Lost? Become what?"
"You've turned into just another typical big-clan boss—fake as hell. You've changed, man."
Aki fell silent. In his mind, he thought, Should I tell him that this is who I really am? A guy in his 40s acting like it?
Out loud, he just said, "People grow up. I'm no exception. When you're in my position, you'll understand."
Hiruzen flopped back onto the ground again. "Nah, I'll never turn out like you. I'm gonna be Hokage, you know! I'll be even greater than the First and Second Hokage! I'll make this village thrive and be safe and happy!"
Aki looked at him and said sincerely, "You will. I believe you." But deep down he thought, You really will bring peace and prosperity to the village—if it weren't for the Sand's invasion and Orochimaru's attack... maybe you could've watched this village flourish until your last breath.
Hiruzen glanced at him again and asked, "Did you hear? Some of the village clans have been suggesting Sensei step down. You know who's been nominated? You should. Tell me who the Hokage candidates are!"
Aki was surprised. "I just heard about this recently myself. You really don't know who they picked?"
Hiruzen shook his head. "The old man at home won't tell me, and I didn't dare ask Sensei. You're the only one in power I can talk to about it."
Aki stared at him for a long moment, then said, "You know the Hatake clan?"
Hiruzen nodded. "Yeah, that swordsman clan, right? I heard they're about to join Konoha. What about them?"
Aki shook his head. "They're just the messengers. The Daimyō of the Land of Fire and some powerful nobles pushed for the Second Hokage to pick a successor. The idea was to avoid instability in the village while he's away at war. But the Second Hokage rejected the proposal. Then, when the current head of the Hatake clan, Sakumo's father, announced he was stepping down and moving the whole clan to Konoha, he also brought an order from the Daimyō. The order said Konoha must have a clearly named Hokage candidate. Under all that pressure, the Second finally agreed to submit a list of names."
Aki paused and took another sip of tea.
Hiruzen scratched his head and shouted, "Hey! Why'd you stop? Just tell me already!"
Aki smiled. "The Sarutobi clan head nominated Sarutobi Hiruzen."
Hiruzen lit up. "Knew it! My name's spreading all across the Land of Fire!"
Aki looked at him with mock disgust. "Could you let me finish?"
"Right, right, sorry. Go on."
"It was your old man, Sarutobi Sasuke, who nominated you. Not the nobles. Not the Daimyō."
Hiruzen instantly deflated and collapsed to the ground, groaning. "Ugh, if he nominated me, that means he's gonna train me again, doesn't it? Ughhh, what a pain!"
Aki ignored his whining. "Some clans nominated me. Others nominated the current head of the Hyuga clan. But the final nominee—was Shimura Danzo, nominated by the Daimyō himself."
Hiruzen blinked. "I feel like I'm the least impressive of the bunch... Why the hell would the Daimyō nominate Danzo? That guy's so stiff and weird!"
Aki smirked. "Well, unlike you, Danzo doesn't act like a weirdo or steal peaches or peek at the women's bath. The Daimyō wants a Hokage who follows orders—not some monkey boy with a peach fetish."
Hiruzen blushed and shouted, "Hey! Don't make stuff up! You never caught me peeking! And I paid for those peaches, alright?!"
Then he added, "Wait—you're a candidate too? That means we're rivals now! Pay me back already!"
Aki ignored him. "Please. I'm just there to fill space. Everyone knows the Second Hokage would never let a Uchiha become Hokage. The clans that nominated me obviously have their own agenda. As for the Hyuga head? That's just chaos waiting to happen. So in the end, the real race is between you and Danzo."
Hiruzen flopped back, totally deflated. "Danzo's better than me in everything except fighting... What chance do I have? Man, knowing all this is worse than not knowing. Whatever, I'm outta here."
He got up, jumped onto the Uchiha rooftop, and vanished.
Just then, Uchiha Mine appeared behind Aki, knelt down, and said, "My lord, I've confirmed it—Kinkaku and Ginkaku inside the Cloud Village are totally against the peace talks. They've always been suppressed by the Second Raikage, and now some hardliners in the Land of Lightning aren't too happy with him either."
Aki nodded. "Were you detected by ANBU?"
Mine replied, "No, sir. The space-time ninjutsu you taught me worked perfectly. Neither Konoha's nor Cloud's ANBU noticed a thing."
Aki took another sip of tea and said, "Find a way to set up a meeting with Kinkaku and Ginkaku. I want to speak to them face-to-face."
With that, Mine vanished. Aki stared into his teacup and muttered, "According to intel, the Second Hokage should have no problem dealing with Kinkaku and Ginkaku. Looks like I have nothing left to worry about."
He looked up at the sky and whispered, "Father, I will take the head of the Second Raikage to honor your spirit!"
"What did you say?! Your boss wants to make a deal with us?" Kinkaku shouted, staring suspiciously at the cloaked man in black before him, who didn't even dare show his face.
The cloaked man was Uchiha Mine. He calmly said, "Yes. My lord wishes to make a deal with you two. He has no interest in seeing the Land of Fire remain peaceful and prosperous."
Kinkaku yelled, "What do you mean surrender?! We never lost to those Leaf bastards! It was that damned Second Raikage's fault! If it weren't for him, we'd have crushed Konoha by now! Victory was ours!"
Ginkaku cut in, "So what exactly does your boss want from us?"
Uchiha Mine replied, "Three days from now, please come to this location to discuss the matter with my lord directly. I'm just the messenger."
He tossed a small box at them and disappeared into the shadows.
Kinkaku stared at the box and muttered, "Who the hell is that guy? A Leaf ninja? Or someone from another village?"
Ginkaku opened the box, looked inside, and said, "Whoever he is, he's not a threat to our plans. He might even be a huge help."
Kinkaku sighed, "If we go through with this, we can forget about ever becoming Raikage... Sorry for dragging you into this, Ginkaku."
Ginkaku just laughed. "Those hardliners in the village were never going to let us become Raikage anyway. But war—that's what our Cloud Village really needs. We have to crush this treaty with Konoha."
Kinkaku nodded. "Yeah. The Second Hokage has to die—by our hands."
"....."