"Hokage's Secrets & Aki's Ambition."

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The Second Hokage returned to Konoha's base camp with his Anbu escort, bringing along the captured Second Kazekage and Chiyo. Since the Kazekage was seriously injured, and the Sand Village's negotiation team hadn't arrived yet, the Second Hokage handed him over to Konoha's medical team, ordering them to keep him alive—at the very least, the Kazekage couldn't be allowed to die while still inside Konoha's territory.

After dealing with the official procedures, he started wandering around the camp. That's when he saw Aki and Hiruzen Sarutobi sneakily carrying something into Aki's tent. Curious, he followed them—and as he got closer, he could hear their conversation from outside.

"Monkey Bro, is this everything? I swear I remember one more puppet. Feels like one's missing!"

"You forgot? Lord Tobirama smashed one of them, remember?"

"Oh right! Thanks, Monkey Bro! Honestly, if it weren't for you, that four-eyed frog Mito would've never let me take these puppets out!"

Sarutobi was dying inside: Should I tell him I stole these? If Mito finds out, I'm toast. Still, he kept his cool and shrugged. "No big deal. This was easy. Back when I used to sneak Lord Tobirama's sake, I even framed him for it!"

"Whoa! You serious? You must've pulled off a ton of shady stuff back in the day. Come on, spill it!"

Sarutobi didn't even notice the voice had subtly changed. He smirked and started bragging, "I even invented a jutsu myself—it lets me use a crystal ball to spy on people from a distance. As long as I know what they look like and their chakra nature, I can see them from anywhere without them noticing. I use it all the time in the village. Want me to teach you?"

Right then, he noticed Aki's face had gone pale as he stared at something behind Sarutobi. Still unfazed, Sarutobi said, "What, is Lord Tobirama behind me again? Trying to prank me? Not falling for it this time!"

But then, a hand clapped down on his shoulder.

A cold voice came from behind him—Tobirama's:"Monkey, seems like you've been up to all sorts of nonsense behind my back. No wonder Mito kept bugging me about the missing sake. Found the thief. Now, go run 5,000 laps around the camp. Scram!"

The moment Tobirama's hand touched his shoulder, Sarutobi broke out in a cold sweat. He didn't dare argue—he bolted out of the tent like his life depended on it.

Tobirama looked over at the puppets in Aki's tent with a puzzled expression. "The Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets? How'd you manage to sneak these out? Didn't I tell Mito not to let anyone mess with them?"

Aki froze, then quickly came clean. "I begged Lord Sarutobi to bring them for me. I just figured they'd be safer in Konoha. Don't you think so, sir? That Sand kunoichi held us off with these things alone! Each one of these puppets is as strong as a jōnin! Leaving them in Suna's hands is just too dangerous!"

Tobirama chuckled and looked at Aki with amusement. "You? A guy who can't even pull off a basic Five Elements Seal wants to mess with puppets? Did you forget how terrible you are at sealing? Worse than an idiot, even."

Aki scratched his head and laughed awkwardly. "Yeah, I know I suck at sealing and I can't control these puppets myself. But we've got sealing geniuses in Konoha, right? Just give them the puppets! And why are you always picking on me about my sealing? Nobody's perfect! You just have super high expectations for me, that's all."

Tobirama rolled his eyes. "There are maybe five people in the entire world with more talent than you in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and chakra control—and that's including your late teacher and grandfather. But when it comes to yin-yang chakra and sealing... you're hopeless. You can't even draw a proper summoning contract seal. I gave up on your sealing talent ages ago. Don't get any dumb ideas about using these puppets. This isn't like the time you stole the Hero's Water from the Land of Waterfalls."

Aki scratched his head again. "But sir, I just think stuff this dangerous should be under our control. I mean, it's a threat to us too!"

Tobirama chuckled. "By that logic, your teacher should've just used the Tailed Beasts to wipe out all the other nations and rule the world."

Aki nodded seriously. "I thought the same thing! Would've been great if all the Tailed Beasts were in the Land of Fire!"

Tobirama's face turned serious. "That's where you're wrong. If one country hoarded all the Tailed Beasts, the world would spiral into chaos. Other nations wouldn't just respect us—they'd fear us. And once that fear hits a breaking point, the Land of Fire would be wiped off the map. That's a reality you're not ready to understand yet."

He sat down, looked Aki in the eyes, and continued. "My brother—your teacher, Hashirama Senju—was known as the God of Shinobi, not just because of his power, but because he shared the Tailed Beasts. He sparked a movement for peace. Yes, he was strong, but back then, there were many who could go toe-to-toe with him. They all lost, sure, but they were still incredibly powerful. Even now, I'm not confident I could beat them. That's why he gave the beasts to the other great nations—to keep the peace."

Aki tilted his head, confused. "You mean the First Kage from the other villages?"

Tobirama nodded. "Exactly. You probably don't know this, but the First Tsuchikage was strong enough to withstand combined attacks from both Hashirama and your grandfather. His offense couldn't match them, but his defense was unmatched. Like an immovable rock between Konoha and Iwagakure, forcing us to split our forces to get around him. And his student, the Second Tsuchikage, was even stronger. He had three chakra natures and eventually created a unique technique called Dust Release."

Aki's eyes lit up. "Wait, he had three chakra natures too? Then maybe I—"

Before he could finish, Tobirama cut him off. "Don't even think about it. He developed Dust Release after twenty years of experience. You're barely out of diapers. Your Fire Style sucks, and your Lightning and Wind Styles are trash. And now you want to create a Kekkei Tōta? Get real."

Aki groaned. "Okay, maybe I'm not good now, but that doesn't mean I'll always suck. I was born with three chakra natures! I can't just waste that!"

Tobirama sneered. "Do you even know what a Kekkei Tōta is? Do you know how to create new jutsu? Do you know how to combine chakra natures? No? Then stop dreaming. Work on your Fire Style first."

Aki grinned cheekily. "That's why I have you, right? You can teach me! So what is Kekkei Tōta, anyway?"

Tobirama smiled faintly. "Kekkei Tōta is a level beyond Kekkei Genkai. It's a more advanced chakra nature combination. Unlike Uchiha's dojutsu-based bloodline limits, Kekkei Tōta is about elemental change. A Kekkei Genkai is formed by combining two chakra natures. Kekkei Tōta needs three. So far, I've only seen the Second Tsuchikage pull it off. No one else. We don't have the knowledge for that kind of thing. If you want to pursue it, you'll have to figure it out yourself."

The meaning was clear: Tobirama wouldn't be much help, and Aki needed to find someone else. Aki started to panic—this could be his big chance to get stronger! Tobirama wasn't in a hurry because he didn't have three natures—he was just jealous!

Then Aki grinned slyly. "Hey, Lord Tobirama... ever heard of the Golden Pavilion?"

Tobirama flinched so hard his teacup hit the ground. With a straight face, he said, "How would I know? I'm a busy man with a nation to run. I'm leaving. You go hand those puppets over to Mito."

As he tried to walk off, Aki blocked his path and gave him a suspicious look. "Don't you wanna know what the Golden Pavilion really is?"

Tobirama gave him a deadpan expression. "Places like that don't concern me. Doesn't matter if I know or not. Move. I've got paperwork."

Aki's look of contempt deepened. "I went to the Golden Pavilion many times during the year you were teaching me. You really didn't know?"

Tobirama finally snapped. "Kid, don't forget I'm the Hokage! Are you disrespecting me?! Watch it, or I'll throw you in the Konoha jail!"

Aki ignored the threat. "Tsunade dragged me there my first time. Lost two million ryo right off the bat. And during our training breaks, she took me gambling again and again—and I lost every time! Do you know how much I racked up? I may be the Uchiha heir, but I was under a lot of pressure to pay that off!"

Tobirama waved him off. "Go complain to your teacher's wife. She's the one who took you. And she's not my granddaughter. Not my problem!"

Aki narrowed his eyes. "Really?"

Tobirama finally gave in with a sigh. "Fine! I'll try to get the Second Tsuchikage to share some knowledge on Kekkei Tōta. But don't get your hopes up. It's probably classified, and even if they do share, it'll cost us."

Aki lit up with joy and bowed. "Thank you, sir!"

Just then, an Anbu appeared outside the tent and reported, "Sir, the Sand Village's negotiation team has arrived at camp. Should we receive them?"

"....."