Hiruzen persuaded me to die

Sarutobi Hiruzen knew it well.

Once the Dead Demon Consuming Seal was invoked, there would be no return.

He would die—without question.

But death alone wasn't enough.

Not for him.

If he was to fall, then Hyūga Naraku must fall too. He had to witness Naraku being stripped of the Hokage title by the very predecessors who once crowned him.

Just like how he was humiliated.

He wanted to see Naraku in ruins—his ideals shattered, reputation in ashes.

He wanted Naraku to regret it all. To weep. To scream. To break.

However…

Second Hokage Senju Tobirama remained unmoved.

"Monkey! Do you think I'm a fool?"

His voice cracked like thunder.

"If the Fifth truly committed some unforgivable sin, why summon us using Impure World Reincarnation and immediately shackle our consciousness?!"

If Hiruzen had been innocent—if he merely wanted justice—Tobirama would have lent him his blade, even if it meant disturbing the peace of death.

But this?

He had been summoned not as an arbiter, but as a puppet.

Bound. Controlled. Lied to.

What innocence hides behind chains?

"What have you become… Sarutobi?"

Hiruzen opened his mouth.

Nothing came out.

Because there was nothing left to say.

Even if he couldn't drag Naraku into ruin—at the very least, Naraku would die with him. His soul consumed by the Shinigami, never to return.

"Cat got your tongue, monkey?" Tobirama muttered with disgust.

He couldn't recognize the disciple he'd once mentored.

"Then I will do it myself. Clean my own house!"

BOOM!

Chakra erupted from Tobirama's body like a tidal wave, shaking the very earth beneath them.

In an instant, Flying Thunder God Kunai flashed through the air, Tobirama vanishing in a blur.

"I'll take you down first—and then you'll talk!"

But as he reappeared at the kunai's location, he felt it.

Death.

A cold, invisible hand reaching from beyond the veil.

"Don't force me, Sensei…!"

Hiruzen's voice trembled, eyes twisted with hatred.

Behind him, the looming figure of the Shinigami thrust its hand through his chest, invisible to all but the caster, its fingers outstretched—reaching for Tobirama's soul.

"!?"

Tobirama's eyes went wide.

He couldn't see it—but he felt it.

His very soul recoiled in instinctive terror, a primal fear clawing at him like icy fingers.

He retreated instantly, vanishing in a flicker of space-time.

"The hell was that…?"

He landed several meters away, drenched in cold sweat.

His soul still trembled.

"That was no ordinary jutsu," he muttered.

Hashirama, the First Hokage, stepped forward, gaze grim.

"The Dead Demon Consuming Seal," he said.

Tobirama's expression darkened.

"That… forbidden technique. Of course. That explains why only he could see it."

To use such a technique—not against an enemy, but against his own teacher…

"You would dare seal my soul away just to protect your lies?" Tobirama snarled.

"Second Hokage," Hiruzen rasped, his blood-soaked mouth curled in fury, "my enemy is Naraku. If you won't stand aside, I'll cut through you too."

Hashirama's eyes narrowed in dismay.

"Is this… truly the same boy I once entrusted the Will of Fire to?"

Where was that calm, kind-hearted youth?

This wasn't the Sarutobi Hiruzen he remembered.

This man was a husk.

A bitter ghost masquerading in flesh.

"How could the monkey become like this…" Hashirama whispered, clutching his forehead in disbelief.

Tobirama clenched his fists.

Even he, who prided himself on his judgment, had failed to see what his disciple would become.

"Your disciple has done much, Lord Second."

Naraku's voice broke the silence. Calm. Cold.

"More than ten years ago, he conspired to destroy Hatake Sakumo's reputation, fearing he might be chosen as the next Hokage. He manipulated the village into turning on him."

Tobirama's brow furrowed.

He vaguely remembered Sakumo. A fine young man. Talented, dedicated.

"But that's just the beginning," Naraku continued.

"Four years ago, he colluded with a shadowy figure and orchestrated the release of the Nine-Tails, resulting in the death of the Fourth Hokage."

Tobirama's face tightened. He turned slightly to Hashirama, whose eyes widened in shock.

"A few months ago, Hiruzen attempted to hand me over to Kumogakure to appease their demands, despite knowing I had done nothing wrong."

"And just recently, he allied with that same shadowy figure once again—offering up the Fourth Hokage's son, our Jinchūriki, as a bargaining chip to gain Kirigakure's support."

"He's led the Sarutobi, Shimura, Mitokado, and Utatane clans in a failed rebellion—seeking to wipe out both the Hyūga and Uchiha clans to consolidate power."

A hush fell across the battlefield.

The wind itself seemed to hold its breath.

"Impossible..." Tobirama muttered. "That's Hokage-level madness."

He turned to Hiruzen.

"Monkey! Is what he said true?!"

Hiruzen said nothing.

His silence was the loudest confession of all.

He just glared at Naraku, eyes burning with rage and despair.

"How... how could you fall so far?"

Even Hashirama, a man known for boundless compassion, could no longer hide his disappointment.

"You betrayed everything we built."

Tobirama clenched his jaw.

"In the name of Senju Tobirama, Second Hokage of Konohagakure—I strip you, Sarutobi Hiruzen, of your title as Hokage. You are no longer worthy."

Hiruzen let out a ragged scream.

"IT DOESN'T MATTER!"

"I've lost everything! You think I care about titles?!"

Even without Hokage…

Even without respect…

He would drag Naraku down with him.

"Even if I burn in the Shinigami's belly, Naraku dies with me!!"