Shin fell silent.
He lowered his head, watching the fragmented patches of sunlight scattered across the ground through the leaves overhead.
His heart churned with turbulent emotions. The impact of this news was simply too great. For a moment, he did not know how he should respond.
Was this really the Third Hokage he knew—the one who often seemed caught between compromise and firmness?
So decisive.
So... uncompromising.
Slowly, he raised his head and looked at the Third Hokage before him. At this moment, Hiruzen seemed to have straightened his back once more.
With a complicated expression, Shin asked tentatively, "...Is it worth it?"
He paused before continuing.
"I know a little about the origins of Root. It has dealt with countless threats hidden in the shadows for Konoha. To go this far for a mere Genin... to completely sever ties with Danzo, and even risk disrupting a certain... balance that has existed within the Village for a very long time. Isn't that price too high?"
Hiruzen met Shin's gaze, but did not answer immediately.
After a long while, he spoke again. "It is worth it."
Two simple words. Yet they carried immense weight.
"Shin, you ask me whether it is worth it..." Hiruzen said slowly. "Then let me tell you what truly deserves that word."
"Wherever the leaves of Konoha dance, the fire burns. That fire will continue to illuminate the Village and allow new leaves to sprout."
He calmly recited the creed engraved into the heart of every Konoha shinobi.
"But who should carry that fire? And whose future should it illuminate?"
His gaze locked firmly onto Shin.
"The younger generation represents the future. They are the new buds preparing to break through the soil. The responsibility of the older generation is to clear away the thorns, shield them from wind and rain, and allow them to grow beneath the sunlight."
His voice hardened.
"Not to throw them into darkness before they are strong enough. Not to forge them into cold tools. And certainly not to treat them as 'vessels' that can be replaced or sacrificed at any moment."
When he spoke the word vessels, his tone grew noticeably heavier, filled with undisguised criticism.
"Danzo is wrong. Completely wrong."
"He sees darkness as the only path forward. He mistakes control for protection. He places the Village's future upon the exploitation and sacrifice of individuals."
His eyes darkened. "He lost sight of Root's original purpose long ago."
"And I was wrong as well."
"I once believed that maintaining stability and preserving balance—even if it meant tolerating certain shadows—was necessary wisdom."
He slowly shook his head.
"I underestimated how quickly darkness grows."
"I underestimated how power corrodes the human heart."
"I indulged Danzo's paranoia. And... I indirectly allowed many tragedies to happen that never should have happened."
Regret flashed through Hiruzen's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by something firm.
"But mistakes cannot continue forever. Sacrifice should never become a burden imposed upon the younger generation."
"The true Will of Fire is inheritance. Protection. Faith in the limitless possibilities of the future."
His voice grew increasingly determined. "It is not using the cold calculations of the old era to strangle the new one before it can bloom."
Hiruzen stepped forward.
The imposing presence that had once earned him the title of God of Shinobi filled the air again, causing even Shin to feel his heartbeat quicken.
"I am the Third Hokage. A shinobi raised beneath the teachings of the First and Second Hokage."
"I may have lost my way at times. I may have compromised. But my determination to protect Konoha and its children has never changed."
His eyes burned with conviction.
"If the day ever comes when Konoha requires someone to step forward and exchange their life for the Village..."
His voice carried an unquestionable determination. "Then I will stand at the front without hesitation."
"Just as the Fourth Hokage once did. With this aging body, I will burn away the last of my strength to create a path forward for all of you."
"That is what it means to be Hokage."
"That is the Will of Fire as I understand it."
"And it is the Will of Fire I will defend with my life."
As his words fell, silence descended upon the small park.
Shin quietly looked at the Third Hokage, whose presence seemed larger than life.
He did not doubt Hiruzen's sincerity. Nor did he doubt his willingness to sacrifice himself for the Village.
After all, in the original timeline, Hiruzen had fulfilled his duty as Hokage during Orochimaru's invasion.
He had given his life to seal the First and Second Hokage and had even attempted to take Orochimaru down with him.
That will have never been in question.
However, from Shin's perspective, that sacrifice was also a consequence of Hiruzen's own political philosophy and years of compromise, one of the bitter fruits of choices made long before the final battle.
Why?
Because if one thought about it carefully, it was absurd.
Konoha, hailed as the strongest Hidden Village in the Shinobi World, had possessed such a fragile defensive system during an event as important as the Chūnin Exams that it was nearly overturned by a small coalition force consisting of Orochimaru, several Sunagakure shinobi, Otogakure operatives, and a rampaging Tailed Beast.
It was almost laughable.
In Shin's view, Sunagakure could not possibly have committed its true main force deep into the Land of Fire at the time. Doing so would have been little different from national suicide.
The so-called invasion was, in reality, little more than Orochimaru's conspiracy, supported by a portion of Sunagakure's forces and an imperfectly released Shukaku.
And yet...
That lineup had managed to charge straight into the heart of Konoha and create such catastrophic chaos.
Where were the Village's early-warning systems?
Where were the standing defense forces?
What exactly were the elites of the so-called great Konoha clans doing?