The sudden punch to the face left Hiruzen completely stunned.
Even if his reputation was in ruins, even if his position was unstable, he was still the Hokage. Moreover, he didn't just represent himself, but also the entire village. Shin's action was equivalent to stomping on Konoha's dignity.
After the initial shock came fear.
He suddenly realized that he had completely misunderstood the situation due to the previous peaceful transition between Shin and Tsunade. In reality, all his assumptions had been wrong.
Shin didn't care at all whether he transferred power peacefully. His life or death was of no importance. In fact, him staying alive might even cause unnecessary trouble for Tsunade.
That made sense.
Before Danzō's rebellion, before he declared himself Hokage and held that so-called inauguration, even though many people had become disillusioned with Hiruzen as Hokage, the title itself still carried some weight.
At that time, if he had stepped forward to support Tsunade as the next Hokage and stepped down himself, he might still have had some influence. Maybe he could've bargained for a way out or even cleared his name.
But now, after faking his death once and after all the chaos Danzō had caused, the public's attitude had already changed completely.
From the way things had unfolded, Danzō had become a laughingstock. But that only proved that Hiruzen's own position as Hokage had long become hollow. In many people's eyes, even the title itself no longer belonged to him.
If he were to truly die now, no one in Konoha would mourn him. No one would care. People might even cheer for Tsunade's return and forget the Third Hokage completely.
Worse yet, no one would want to mention him again. Even if they did, it would only be with ridicule and contempt.
In that moment, cold sweat poured down his body.
Was he about to die?
A deep sense of despair rose from within him, causing his entire body to tremble uncontrollably.
No matter how poorly he had ruled as Hokage, no matter the damage he had caused the village or how many of its interests he had compromised, there was still one thing about him that deserved recognition: he had never feared death.
His terror at this moment wasn't about death itself, but the thought of being nailed to the pillar of shame after death, becoming a disgrace in the eyes of all, forever carrying infamy.
And for someone like Hiruzen, who cared so deeply about his legacy, that was an unbearable fate. Just imagining it chilled him to the bone, cold sweat pouring from him, leaving him barely able to stand.
Shin, witnessing this, was quite amused.
Good. He might be hateful, but he's still sharp. Looks like he's figured it out.
That's what makes it interesting. After all, I didn't keep you alive just to watch you die with dignity.
"What... what do you want from me?" Hiruzen asked.
Right now, he felt utterly hopeless.
They were in an enclosed space. Even if he died here, no one would know. And even if someone did, no one would care.
He truly didn't want to die, because he was unwilling to accept this ending.
He wanted to redeem his reputation. For that, even if it meant stepping down as Hokage or being torn to pieces, he was willing, as long as Shin gave him the chance.
From the fact that Shin hadn't killed him yet, he felt there was still a sliver of hope. But first, he had to understand what Shin really wanted.
"What do I want? Naturally, I want a certain person to regret everything they've done, so much that even death brings no peace."
"You've won," Hiruzen said self-mockingly. "I already regret it, and I already have no peace in death. Are you satisfied?"
"You didn't actually think I was talking about you, did you? You're not even worth the time I've spent for this."
"What do you mean?" Hiruzen didn't fully grasp Shin's words, but a deep sense of unease began rising within him.
"Tell me..." Shin said with a faint, almost self-amused tone, "What do you think would happen if Tobirama knew everything you've done?"
Hiruzen's eyes widened in horror, staring at Shin like he was a demon. "No... no, you can't, I've already suffered enough, why are you still doing this to me?!"
That single sentence shattered all of his mental defenses and nearly drove him to madness.
In that instant, he made up his mind: if what Shin said was really going to happen, he would rather die.
But before that, he had to take a piece out of Shin, if possible, he would drag him down into death together.
Though Shin was strong, he wasn't weak either, and at this point, he had nothing left to lose.
"Hahaha, why I am doing this?" Shin scoffed coldly, completely unconcerned with Hiruzen's thoughts. "Do you even know how I survived those seven years?"
"Let alone the past two years, you schemed against Tsunade, schemed against Minato, and even tried to go after my parents. If I hadn't seen through all your tricks and dismantled them one by one, who knows how much you'd regret now."
"So tell me, what right do you have to say this?"
"And now you're trying to gain sympathy? Crying in front of your enemy, don't you find that pathetic?"
"What a God of Shinobi you are."
"Oh right!" Shin suddenly said, as if something occurred to him. "There's something... I think it's time you found out."
As he finished speaking, it was as though a fog in the depths of Hiruzen's mind had been pierced by sunlight, it instantly evaporated. A flood of memories surged into his mind.
In a flash, he remembered everything that had happened almost a year ago in the Hokage's office.
That day, he had used A as a pawn to set up Tsunade, and Shin had stormed into the office, used genjutsu to control him, and also implanted something in his consciousness.
That so-called "prophecy" wasn't something he had awakened or been granted by fate, it wasn't any kind of special ability.
It was merely a sequence of images Shin had planted in his mind. Then, whenever a similar situation occurred in reality, it would trigger the matching scene in his brain, making him mistakenly believe he had seen a glimpse of the future.
But the truth was, there was no "seeing the future." There was only Shin's script, and Hiruzen was just a pathetic clown whose fate had been planned out in advance. Everything he did had been calculated and controlled.
"No... this can't be..." Upon understanding everything, Hiruzen stood frozen, trembling and muttering.
At that moment, the last bit of resolve within him utterly collapsed.