Chapter 62: Substitution

Logan stopped.

He turned slowly and locked eyes with Sarutobi Hiruzen.

It was a strange scene.

Danzo lay dead at his feet.

Whether it was Logan, who had just avenged his clan, or Hiruzen, who had witnessed the death of his old friend, neither showed a trace of emotion.

No joy, no sorrow, no anger.

They stared at each other as if meeting for the first time. Calm. Detached. Neither could read the other's thoughts.

"Grandpa," Logan said quietly, "are you planning to stop me?"

"You think you can just walk away after killing someone?"

Logan pointed to the ground beneath him.

"Danzo and Itachi conspired to annihilate the Uchiha clan. A blood debt must be paid in blood. Is that wrong?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen answered flatly, "No."

"I didn't come here to kill him. Danzo cast a genjutsu on me and attacked when the negotiation failed. He tried to kill me. I fought back. He died. Is that wrong?"

Again, Hiruzen said, "No."

Logan tilted his head slightly. "Then what exactly are you trying to say, Lord Hokage?"

"Danzo has done terrible things. His death may be justified. I understand your reasoning, Logan. But he wasn't just Danzo—he was a senior Konoha official. If you kill him in front of me, I must respond. That is my duty as Hokage."

Sarutobi Hiruzen removed his Hokage cloak, revealing the tight-fitting combat uniform underneath. His voice deepened.

"I must give the village an explanation."

"Third Lord!" Jiraiya called out, stepping forward to intervene.

But the moment he moved, he froze in place.

Raindrops clung to his body like steel nails. His limbs refused to move.

It wasn't just Jiraiya. Everyone—Kakashi, Might Guy, Asuma—stood rooted to the spot, pinned by the rain, unable to lift a finger.

Sarutobi Hiruzen now understood how Danzo had fallen. The storm was not just weather—it was willpower.

Logan stepped forward, slowly approaching Hiruzen.

Behind him, Star Platinum materialized in silence.

Hiruzen's eyes narrowed. He formed a one-handed seal, preparing to cast a jutsu.

Jiraiya, who had seen Star Platinum in action, grew panicked. Ignoring the pain of the raindrops piercing him, he tried to break free and stop the fight.

On the other side, Might Guy dropped into a horse stance. A visible aura surged around him, the unmistakable prelude to opening the Eight Gates. He was ready to fight to the death.

Just as the air grew taut, like a string on the verge of snapping—Logan spoke.

"Old man… do you have someone in mind for the next Hokage?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen blinked, surprised by the question. He didn't respond immediately.

Everyone froze.

Logan bent down and picked up the Hokage robe Hiruzen had discarded. He shook off the rain and draped it back over the old man's shoulders.

"If not, then take care of yourself."

His gaze shifted to Danzo's corpse.

"Konoha has a darkness in it that makes people sick."

Then he turned to look back—at Jiraiya, Kakashi, Might Guy, the crowd gathered behind them, and the distant village bustling with ordinary life.

On those villagers' faces were sincere smiles, rare and precious in a world like this.

"But there is also light worth protecting."

Hiruzen's jutsu faltered. His hands lowered.

"As for the explanation you wanted…"

Logan raised a finger toward the sky.

The natural energy within a several-kilometer radius surged into him. A fierce wind gathered and soared into the clouds, stirring waves and flashes of thunder.

In the dark sky above, golden lightning crackled in the shape of dragons.

Logan's finger dropped.

Boom!

A blinding flash tore through the clouds.

Thunder roared. Eardrums rang. Vision blurred.

A massive thunderclap descended, and with it came a torrential rain even fiercer than before.

You couldn't see.

You couldn't hear.

Even your own voice was lost in the storm.

And then—silence.

Five seconds later, the rain began to ease.

Sarutobi Hiruzen slowly opened his eyes. The ruins of the Uchiha district had vanished.

No—what remained couldn't even be called ruins.

Everything—every brick, every piece of furniture, every speck of rubble—had been pulverized into grains smaller than fingernails. It blanketed the ground like dust.

What terrifying destruction.

But what was even more terrifying—no one had been hurt.

The storm had avoided everyone present.

Such absolute control… was far more frightening than raw power.

Hiruzen understood now. If Logan had wanted to, he could have killed everyone here just moments ago.

Logan gently patted Hiruzen on the shoulder.

"…That's my explanation."

With that, he turned and walked away.

Asuma bit down on his cigarette, tried to light it, and gave up. It was soaked. Instead, he just inhaled the scent of tobacco and pointed toward Logan's back.

"I really hope I can have a drink with him someday."

"He's the enemy," Kurenai Yuhi said beside him.

"Is he, though?"

Kurenai opened her mouth to respond, but no words came.

They had seen it all.

If Logan hadn't had the power and awareness to resist, he would've been enslaved by the Distinguished Heavenly Gods—or dead at the hands of Root operatives.

In the end, Logan had only killed Danzo.

Nothing more.

"You're not wrong," Kurenai murmured.

She nudged Asuma with her elbow. "You seem oddly cheerful."

"Ahahaha—do I?"

Of course he was in a good mood. For years, he and his father had clashed, especially over Danzo.

Now that Danzo was dead, Asuma could barely stop himself from throwing a party.

He glanced at Danzo's body, then looked at Hiruzen, who stood still in the rain, wearing his soaked Hokage robe.

"He looks like a drowned monkey," Asuma muttered.

---

It rained all night.

When the sky finally cleared, the sun peeked over the horizon.

Konan turned her head, looking back toward Konoha. Her voice was soft.

"That's Konoha. That's the Third Hokage… Still so slow."

Sasuke looked confused.

"Slow? What does that mean? Shouldn't we be talking about strength?"

Konan shook her head.

"Back when the Uchiha were exterminated—if Sarutobi Hiruzen had acted faster and more decisively, the tragedy might've been avoided.

And today—if he'd arrived and immediately ordered everyone in the village to attack Logan without hesitation, maybe Danzo would still be alive.

After all…"

She glanced at Logan's distant figure.

"That guy… he acts fierce, but he wouldn't kill someone like Kakashi or Jiraiya. People with hearts."

"He's slow to save people. Slow to kill. Always hesitating. That kind of man being Hokage… Konoha can afford it because it has a strong foundation. But if it were a smaller village, they'd be gone by now."

There was a time when Konan had followed Jiraiya to learn ninjutsu. Back then, she envied the people of Konoha. The air seemed sweeter. The moon looked rounder.

But now, the world felt broken.

And only Pain's plan could fix it.

She looked ahead at Logan.

"…No. He's changed somehow."

Øóffer going on for diamond tier

pàtreøn (Gk31)