Chapter 21: A Fool's Fall
Uchiha Setsuna probably never imagined—even in the fleeting moments before his consciousness slipped away—that he'd be fooled *three times* by the same trick from the same brat.
When the Senzu Bean clone detonated, there might have been a slim chance for escape, had Setsuna turned to flee. But his judgment was clouded—burned away by his rage—and he missed that window. There was only one path left for him: capture. Whether by the Hokage, the Konoha Police Force, or the ANBU, someone was going to take him down.
Inside the heart of Konoha, after causing such a public disturbance, what exactly was he thinking? That he was Pain? Uchiha Obito? Uchiha Madara?
Not long after Sarutobi Hiruzen subdued Uchiha Setsuna, a group of black-clad shinobi appeared. They wore the crest of the Uchiha and the symbol of Konoha on their uniforms—the Police Force, arriving fashionably late.
"Hokage-sama!"
"Apologies, but what exactly happened here?"
Their eyes scanned the scorched remains of the Senzu clone's explosion, the cinders of a Fireball still sizzling on the ground. Their expressions were grim. Professional.
"You're too slow," Hiruzen said with restrained irritation. As the official protectors of the village, their response time was less than impressive.
Had he not intervened when he did, those two kids might've ended up dead.
"We apologize, Lord Hokage. We'll strive to be quicker next time," one of them said. Despite their usual Uchiha pride, they bowed their heads—not out of fear, but because the Hokage stood before them.
"Make sure you do," Hiruzen said flatly.
Truthfully, their arrival hadn't been particularly slow. His own reaction time was only faster because of his masterful sensory jutsu and Shunshin no Jutsu. Even the ANBU hadn't kept up.
Right on cue, masked ANBU operatives appeared and saluted silently.
"Here," one of them said, acknowledging his presence.
Simultaneously, more Uchiha shinobi arrived—members of the Dove Faction, sent to safeguard Uchiha Mikoto and apprehend Setsuna. But now, they were too late.
"Hokage-sama..."
The dove-aligned Uchiha exchanged uneasy glances. They had been briefed by Shunsuke, but his warning had come a moment too late. Uchiha Setsuna had already been captured—by the Third Hokage himself, no less.
And getting him back wouldn't come cheap.
"Explain to me," Hiruzen said slowly, voice cold, "why your clan's shinobi were chasing two children through the village?"
It wasn't a question. It was an opportunity—a rare one. If the Uchiha couldn't give a proper answer, the consequences would be dire.
But to the Dove Faction, this tone wasn't bad news—it was a lifeline. If Hiruzen *wanted* to, he could've detained Setsuna without a single word to them. Giving them a chance to explain? That meant he was open to negotiation, to diplomacy. It was a chance to save face.
"Reporting, Hokage-sama. Uchiha Setsuna sought to kidnap the elder's granddaughter to force a change in his political stance," one of the Dove shinobi answered. His voice was steady, his words carefully measured—seven parts truth, three parts omission.
Technically not a lie. They simply left out the part where Setsuna was acting under the other two elders' orders—an internal power grab among the Uchiha. The real objective? To strong-arm the elder into joining the Hawk Faction, and eventually oust the Hokage.
But that part was better left unspoken.
If Setsuna had fallen into ANBU hands instead, and someone had used interrogation techniques to extract that little nugget of truth... well, then the Uchiha clan as a whole would be in serious trouble.
"Who is he?" Hiruzen asked, eyes shifting toward Asakawa Naoki.
Mikoto's Uchiha blood was obvious. Her posture, the set of her jaw—she screamed clan nobility. But the boy beside her? He looked like a total nobody. Ordinary in every way. Civilian-born, perhaps?
"This..." one of the Uchiha looked to his comrade, then back at Naoki. "We don't know him."
"Hokage-sama, I'm Asakawa Naoki," the boy said, stepping forward without hesitation. "I saw a classmate being bullied, so I stepped in to help."
His voice was clear. Honest.
Hiruzen studied him. The boy had guts. That much was obvious. But more than that—he was a civilian. And Sarutobi had always had a soft spot for civilian-born shinobi.
Before the establishment of the Academy, almost all ninja came from clans. Civilians had no pathway into the shinobi world—not without pledging themselves to a family and being treated like tools. Most couldn't even mold chakra, let alone perform jutsu.
It was Tobirama, the Second Hokage, who'd changed all that. He had created the ninja school system and shattered the monopoly of the clans. In doing so, he birthed a new category of shinobi: the *civilian ninja.*
And Sarutobi Hiruzen, his student, had inherited that will.
"That's a noble mindset," Hiruzen said. "But next time, be more cautious about your strength."
Gone was the sharp edge in his tone. When speaking to Naoki, his voice was calm—even kind. He saw a younger version of himself in the boy.
"I understand," Naoki nodded. Then, with a faint smile, he added, "I'm going to be Hokage one day. So I don't plan on dying any time soon."
For a second, the air turned still.
Several Uchiha and ANBU shinobi visibly tensed. Saying something like that in front of the *current* Hokage? Was that a declaration—or a curse?
But Hiruzen only smiled, a flicker of warmth in his old eyes.
"Work hard. The future of Konoha lies with youth like you. If you gain the strength and the support of the people, there's no reason why you can't become Hokage."
And just like that, he'd made it clear. In his eyes, Asakawa Naoki had more potential than even the granddaughter of an Uchiha elder.
"You used an explosive tag to stop that Uchiha earlier, didn't you?" Hiruzen asked, his voice turning slightly inquisitive.
The injuries on Setsuna's body were classic signs of explosive tag damage. What else could an eight-year-old use to hurt a full-grown elite like that?
"I did," Naoki nodded. "I used a clone technique and the transformation technique to trick him, then hid the tag in the clone."
Hiruzen chuckled softly.
"Excellent. Ninjutsu and chakra are only part of what makes a great shinobi. The mind is just as important."
He reached into his robe and pulled out a black scroll—unmarked, save for a faint sigil near the clasp. Without another word, he handed it to the boy.
"This scroll contains a more advanced clone technique," Hiruzen said. "Judging by your talent, it suits you well. Whether you can master it—that's up to you."
Asakawa Naoki bowed his head and accepted the scroll.
And just like that, the boy who had nothing earned a place on the radar of Konoha's most powerful man.
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