Chapter 33: Fire Nation Will

The scorching crimson lava was something no ninja—no matter how strong or skilled—could withstand with mere flesh. The monstrous Lava Hound, snarling and relentless, pierced Hiruzen Shintetsu’s chest without hesitation. Its searing heat instantly reduced his body and internal organs to blackened ash. His eyes, already wide with shock, widened even further in agony. He coughed up a clot of congealed blood, a geyser of crimson from his mouth. The massive gash across his chest—splitting him nearly in two—was already a grim omen of the battle’s end.

As Uchiha Iizumi slowly withdrew his arm, Hiruzen Shintetsu collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. His body crumpled to the ground, face-first, lifeless.

“Shintetsu!!”

A figure shot forward, catching the fallen man in his arms before he hit the earth. Hiruzen Sarutobi’s eyes burned with tears, his breath ragged and uneven. His ancient, deeply wrinkled hands trembled uncontrollably, as if trying to hold back death itself—trying to preserve the last spark of his eldest son.

“Cough… cough… cough…”

Hiruzen Shintetsu, clinging to consciousness, slowly turned his head toward the figure standing nearby—Uchiha Iizumi. His vision blurred, but his voice carried through the firelight.

“Cough… your… Justice…” he gasped, “is… truly… decisive… Was all I did… so morally rotten in your eyes? Hah… now that I think about it… I suppose… none of it was truly good…”

“Iizumi…”

“It’s not that you’re wrong… it’s that our paths diverged. You can’t stand alone against the entire Ninja World. Your Justice… so few can accept it. Make it Leaf Village’s Justice. But you… you’ve never listened to me, have you?”

“Old man…”

“Cough… don’t… have the Yamanaka Clan dig through my memories… What this boy tells you… is true. He… still sees clearly… right from wrong.”

“Even though I died in the lava…”

“But my body… is so cold…”

“…So cold…”

With the final effort of his failing will, Hiruzen Shintetsu slowly closed his eyes. His breath ceased. Even in death’s final moment, he still opposed Uchiha Iizumi’s Justice—not because he believed it was wrong, but because he couldn’t bring himself to call it right.

“Pool… Iizumi…”

The agony of losing his son shook Hiruzen Sarutobi’s aged frame. He lifted his head, locking eyes with Uchiha Iizumi. His teeth clenched so hard his jaw trembled. His pupils flickered, his whites stained with veins of red. His voice, barely audible, scraped out from between his teeth.

“Was it really necessary to make things this… bitter? Couldn’t we have talked? Couldn’t you have… spared Shintetsu? Was it truly necessary… to kill him?”

“He was my firstborn! He was your former sensei! Iizumi—your Justice may have turned you cold, may have erased your loyalty to your teacher… but could you not… show me even a shred of mercy?!”

The words began as a cry of grief, then spiraled into a roar of rage. Hiruzen Sarutobi no longer knew what he felt. He could no longer decide how to act.

“Third Hokage,” Uchiha Iizumi said, staring at the corpse of Hiruzen Shintetsu, bathed in the flickering red glow of fire and lava. His expression was unreadable, hidden beneath the shadows. “I am a member of the Investigation Corps. When I saw my former sensei fall into darkness… the only thing I could do was ensure he died with understanding. That is all.”

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood in silence for what felt like an eternity. Behind him, a battalion of elite Anbu Ninja watched in solemn stillness. At last, he staggered to his feet, cradling his son’s lifeless body in his arms.

Could he say Uchiha Iizumi was wrong?

No. Shintetsu, in his final breath, had declared that Iizumi had done nothing wrong.

The anger in Hiruzen Sarutobi’s heart burned like wildfire. A cold, murderous intent seeped through his veins. He was the Hokage. He was a father. Countless thoughts screamed at him to order the Anbu to swarm forward and cut down Uchiha Iizumi where he stood.

But…

Shintetsu’s final words had already sealed the door shut.

Shintetsu had admitted—clearly, deliberately—that the things he’d done were morally corrupt, even if they’d served the village.

Was that the rambling of a dying man? Or the final, rational act of a man who knew his end was near?

If the latter… then Shintetsu had done more than die. He had given Uchiha Iizumi a reason to kill him. He had given his death the weight of Absolute Justice.

Shintetsu…

He had fulfilled his duty as a sensei one last time.

He had failed to protect two wayward genin years ago. Now, he protected his last student with his final breath.

Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled deeply.

Is this your final message to me, Shintetsu?

Even after all these years—after raising a village, watching grandchildren grow—he suddenly felt lost in the complexity of humanity. His fists clenched, then unclenched. Again. Again. Again.

“Uchiha Iizumi,” he finally said, voice hollow. “Tomorrow. Give me a full report. Deliver it to Anbu. No need to come see me.”

“Hokage-sama!” One of the Anbu from the Sarutobi clan stepped forward, voice urgent. “Hiruzen Shintetsu was one of your closest allies!”

Hiruzen Sarutobi lowered his gaze.

“Hokage-sama!” The Anbu tried to press on—

A hand landed on his shoulder. He turned, startled.

Hatake Kakashi, masked and calm, shook his head gently.

“Let the Hokage be alone for now.”

Kakashi’s expression was heavy. “Shintetsu’s final words were a will. And the Hokage… he heard them. Though he disagrees with Iizumi’s path, in his final moments, Shintetsu still respected him. He chose to die not as a martyr, but as a leaf that burns to ash—nourishing the very student he once tried to protect.”

Kakashi turned his gaze toward Uchiha Iizumi. The man had already turned away, walking into the shadows. His footsteps echoed clearly through the ruins.

But the Hokage did not call out.

He did not order pursuit.

He simply held his son’s body, now growing cold in his arms.

Shintetsu… Iizumi… neither of them were wrong.

That thought struck Kakashi like lightning.

Then came the question:

Then… what was?

If both were right…

Was it the world that was broken?

Kakashi couldn’t answer.

…

“Back to the village, rookie,” Uchiha Iizumi said quietly. “Tonight will be a sleepless one.”

“Yes, Senior.”

…

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end