Kinkaku and Ginkaku, their crimson eyes burning with barely contained fury, led their subordinates and charged straight into the site of the alliance ceremony. Without sending a single notice in advance, they crashed through the gates as if the structure itself were no more than a flimsy paper wall.
Interestingly, the Ninjas guarding the ceremonial gates did not resist. Instead, upon seeing the brothers charge in, they stepped aside respectfully and shouted in unison, "Make way, brothers! Lord Kinkaku and Lord Ginkaku are here! Let the two lords through!"
Some of the guards even left their posts and joined the ranks of Kinkaku and Ginkaku, eager to participate in what they believed to be a righteous coup. Such was the respect, fear, and loyalty the two brothers commanded among the Hidden Cloud Village Ninjas—and such was the simmering dissatisfaction with the Raikage's peace talks.
The ideology of the Hidden Cloud Village had always been clear: power above all else. Peace? Diplomacy? To them, those were the tools of spineless cowards. The very idea that the Raikage could negotiate with Konoha was incomprehensible.
"Huh? The Raikage initiated peace talks?" one brash Ninja exclaimed, his voice trembling with indignation. "Then the Raikage is a coward too!"
"Lord Kinkaku and Lord Ginkaku want to set things right? Then nothing more need be said! Brothers, let us fight side by side! Overthrow this cowardly Raikage and place Lord Kinkaku in power!"
The crowd roared, their loyalty to strength and disdain for diplomacy igniting a frenzy. Few of them paused to consider why peace talks were happening or whether the Hidden Cloud Village could sustain another decade of war. Such questions were far beyond them; they only understood strength and victory.
Kinkaku and Ginkaku exchanged glances, slightly surprised at the swelling ranks of enthusiastic Ninjas. A smile slowly crept across Kinkaku's face. "Excellent work, my subordinates! Today, we set things right. Once I become Raikage, we will continue the great war against Konoha and assert our power!"
"True, true!" one slightly smarter Ninja shouted, breaking through the crowd's frenzy. "But if we risk our lives for this coup, what do we gain? You lords should reward us for our loyalty!"
"Exactly! You cannot ask us to fight without proper compensation," another added. "A coup without rewards? That's meaningless!"
Kinkaku chuckled, unfazed by their demands. "Rest assured, brothers. Once the coup succeeds, all of you will be rewarded. I, Kinkaku, never break my word."
With that, nearly a hundred of the Second Raikage's guards, previously loyal, defected one after another. Their resolve now fused with the brothers' ambition, surrounding Kinkaku and Ginkaku as they surged toward the Raikage's position.
Though the Second Raikage's prestige was low among the hardened front-line Ninjas, he had maintained the position for years. Some loyalists still resisted desperately, their shouts of warning and battle cries echoing across the ceremonial grounds.
"What's happening outside?" Senju Tobirama asked cautiously, peering through the ceremonial hall's windows.
"Perhaps the Ninjas of the Hidden Cloud Village are sparring," the Second Raikage said confidently. Even with his limited view, he was experienced in such matters. Hidden Cloud's culture emphasized martial skill, and even as Raikage, he could not completely control the village's warriors.
Tobirama frowned. "That doesn't sound right. Those aren't the sounds of sparring. It sounds… like someone has broken in. Perhaps a coup."
"Impossible," the Second Raikage scoffed, waving his hands dismissively. "Absolutely impossible. With my authority, no one would dare rebel in my presence."
He strode out confidently to investigate. Tobirama wanted to warn him to be cautious, but the Raikage's pride made him reckless; he moved before anyone could intervene.
"Saru, gather the men," Tobirama instructed his Anbu. "Be ready to evacuate at a moment's notice."
The Hokage was calm, calculating. His instincts screamed that a coup was underway and that the side charging toward the Raikage's seat was stronger than the Raikage's loyalists. If the Raikage had the upper hand, he might have stayed to fight. But Tobirama knew better—he suspected the man was doomed.
Sure enough, Danzo Shimura, who had followed the Raikage out, returned moments later, panicked and shouting, "Hokage-sama! The Second Raikage was killed instantly by Kinkaku! He didn't even put up a fight! Now the two of them are coming this way, followed by at least a hundred elite Ninjas!"
Tobirama's face hardened. "It seems our course is clear. Retreat, and do so quickly." He did not hesitate. Leading his men, he moved to withdraw from the ceremonial hall before the advancing rebels could corner them.
Shortly after their departure, Kinkaku and Ginkaku arrived. They consulted briefly, deciding that twenty of their defected subordinates would pursue Tobirama's group.
"I want them found—dead or alive!" Kinkaku ordered, his voice cold with resentment.
A large part of Kinkaku's fury stemmed from a personal vendetta against Tobirama. On the battlefield, the Second Hokage had secretly employed Edo Tensei to bring Kinkaku's deceased subordinates back to fight him, and his mastery of Flying Thunder God made him nearly impossible to confront head-on.
"The Second Hokage has the Flying Thunder God," Ginkaku said, frowning. "We might not be able to kill him."
Kinkaku's crimson eyes glinted. "Even if we cannot kill the Hokage, we will annihilate every subordinate he brought with him this time. I want him to taste the agony of losing loyal subordinates."
Ginkaku nodded in agreement. "I have no objections."
The two brothers then divided their forces strategically, preparing to block escape routes while personally leading an elite team in pursuit.
"We can't keep running like this," Tobirama said grimly.
His six most trusted Anbu gathered around him, awaiting instructions. The atmosphere was tense, each sensing the life-and-death stakes of the moment.
"If we continue retreating, we will eventually be surrounded and killed," Tobirama said. "Someone must stay behind to cover our withdrawal so the others can escape."
"Can we attempt to break through the encirclement?" Utatane Koharu asked cautiously.
"No," Uchiha Kagami responded calmly. "Besides the twenty elite pursuers, others have formed a perimeter. A decoy is the only way to buy time."
"A decoy? That's a suicide mission!" Akimichi Torifu exclaimed, his voice heavy with disbelief.
Danzo's body trembled. Fear and hesitation contorted his features. Deep in his heart, a voice urged him: Step up. Cover the retreat. Protect your teacher. This is the optimal move.
"I am a Ninja," he murmured, shivering. "Prepared for death on the battlefield… but this…"
The terror between life and death is a heavy weight. Even a hardened man like Danzo could not calmly accept certain death. His veins bulged, and he clenched his fists.
"Say it! Declare it now!" the inner voice seemed to roar.
"I… I'll be the decoy!" Danzo finally stammered.
Before he could act further, Hiruzen Sarutobi, standing beside him, spoke first.
"Danzo, I leave everyone in your hands from now on," Hiruzen said earnestly, meeting Danzo's eyes.
For a brief moment, Danzo felt relief—a wave of validation—but it was quickly replaced by shame. He had been poised to act, and now someone else had taken the initiative. His face contorted, frustration and embarrassment mixing into a storm of conflicting emotion.
"I… I was supposed to be the decoy! You just had to speak first, Hiruzen! Stop trying to look heroic!" he blurted, pushing Sarutobi slightly aside.
Tobirama observed quietly, having already made his decision. "The decoy will, of course, be me. You are all the young successors of the Will of Fire, entrusted with protecting the Village in the future."
His tone was cold, resolute, and devoid of any hesitation—even when discussing his own life and death.
The reality of the battlefield settled over them like a dark cloud: in the chaotic maelstrom of rebellion, only those with courage and conviction would survive, and even then, survival came at a price few could foresee.
Danzo, for the first time in his life, felt what it meant to truly stand on the precipice of Hokage-level responsibility—poised between life and death, honor and failure, courage and cowardice.
It was a moment that would haunt him forever—the closest he had ever come to being Hokage.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)