216. Confrontation with the Truth

All four of them walk out of the room.

Izuna turns towards Hashirama.

"Lord First, before you start, I have an important revelation for you."

"Well, it is nothing important. Go ahead."

Hashirama nods his head.

"Mom, Dad, I think it is about time to reveal the name of Grandfather.

Though, I already figured it out on my own. But still, I would like to listen it from your mouth."

Izuna's expression turns serious.

Sigh…

Akira takes a deep breath as he stares at Izuna's serious expression.

"Fine, I can't hide it anymore. One day or another, the truth will come in front of you."

"But… Akira-dear…"

Aiko holds Akira's hand.

"It's fine Aiko. Izuna deserves to know the truth of his heritage." Akira assures her.

He turns towards Izuna and Hashirama. He bows in front of Hashirama.

"Lord first, I apologize on behalf of my father, Madara Uchiha."

"What?!"

Hashirama eyes widen in surprise as he stares at Akira.

"As ridiculous as it may sound, but I am the son of Madara Uchiha and Izuna is the grandson of Madara Uchiha."

Akira takes a deep breath as he reveals the truth.

"I am sorry for hiding this truth from you. I did it for the safety of our family."

He turns towards Izuna and apologizes.

"Well, that took you long."

Izuna shakes his head.

"There is no need for any apology, Dad. I know you did it for our sake."

Izuna comforts Akira.

Ah!...

"Now after taking a close look at you. You do resemble Madara in his middle-age." Hashirama scrutinizes Akira.

"As for you… Hmm… your appearance does match with Madara's younger brother Izuna. You even share the same name as him."

"Yes, we named him after Uncle Izuna." Akira nods his head.

"I see… but still, I am curious to know about the identity of his wife. That guy was pretty dense; he never had any interest in any woman."

Hashirama curiously turns to Akira.

"Kasumi Uchiha! Mother's name is Kasumi Uchiha."

Akira reveals the name of his mother to Hashirama.

Hmm…

"Kasumi… Kasumi?! Where have I heard that name?"

Hashirama tries to recall the name.

"Yes, I remember now."

He bumps his fist on his palm as he recalls the name.

"Isn't she the little girl who would eavesdrop on Madara and me during our friendly spars?

She would usually treat Madara's wounds and would follow him around. But that dense friend of mine never paid any heed to her.

Well, can't blame him. It was the era of war and Madara shouldered the responsibility of Uchiha clan as the eldest son of clan leader. Haha…"

Hashirama laughs heartfully as he reminisce some old memories.

"Still, he never married her… So when?"

Hashirama turns towards Akira.

"Well…"

Akira forks out a scroll from his pocket.

"On her deathbed, mother passed this scroll to me with these parting words.

'When a man learns to love, he must bear the risk of hatred; much so for the Uchiha clan.

The loss of his younger brother was too deep for him to overcome.

Perhaps I was also blinded by my love that I failed to notice the hatred in his heart.'

Till that day, I held on it this letter and I could never bring myself to open this letter again."

Akira tightly clutches the scroll as tears flows from his eyes.

"I don't know what her words meant back then. But… but I could never bring myself to face the truth.

Maybe, this is the reason I am not as strong as father. I don't have a strong resolve like him."

"Father… weakness is not a sin; but staying weak is."

Izuna supports Akira.

"Thanks son."

Akira slowly opens the scroll as he reads its content.

'Son, if you are reading this again, then this means you have grown out from the shadow of your father.'

"Yes, Mother! I have a family now… a genius son and a loving daughter."

Akira wipes his tears as he continues to read the letter.

"Son, as much as it pains my heart to say this; but I believe your father isn't even aware of your existence. If he was, then I am sure he would have searched every corner of this world to get a glimpse of you."

"Mother!"

Akira gently touches the letter as a tear drop falls from his eye.

'I see. That makes sense. No wonder Grandfather made no attempt to search for his son. But what could be the reason for it?'

Izuna curiously stares at the letter.

Akira reads the contents of the letter aloud to Izuna and Hashirama.

"Hmm… I see. So, that's how it was. No wonder he was pissed when he fought against me."

Hashirama rubs his forehead.

"But still... to think that, he would face such circumstances."

Crack… crack…

Hashirama's edo body starts to glow brightly as it slowly dissipates.

"Looks like I don't have much time remaining, so I will relay some information about the person you fought against."

"Yes, Lord First." Izuna supports his father as he turns towards Hashirama.

"During the First Shinobi War, a number of shinobis died in the battle…"

Hashirama narrates the incident of his death to Izuna.

"So, Lord First? You mean to say that the same person is responsible for your death?"

Izuna asks Hashirama.

"Yes, I felt a similar chakra signature from the figure that attacked you."

Hashirama nods his head.

"But it has been almost forty years since your death. How could that person be still alive, if he was responsible for your death?"

Izuna curiously questions Hashirama.

'Jigen pretty much lived a thousand years; but still I want to hear the thoughts of Hashirama Senju.'

"Well… I have no idea about that." Hashirama scratches his head.

He grabs Izuna's hand as his eyes shine brightly.

"I can't entrust the responsibility of leading the village to Tsuna; but if you help her, then I can rest easy."

Ah…

"I think Tsunade-san is doing a great job."

Izuna scratches his head as he laughs awakardly.

Haha…

"That's good."

Hashirama nods his head.

"But still… don't let her ruin the village." Hashirama clutches his hands tightly.

Whoosh…

Hashirama's edo body slowly dissipates.

Sigh…

Izuna takes a deep breath and turns to his parents.

"Let's meet with the rest of the people."

The group returns to the room.

Whoosh…

An anbu member flickers in the room and bows in front of Tsunade.

"Hokage-sama. It's about time…"

"I see."

Tsunade nods her head.

She slowly walks out of the room.

"Funeral ceremony?!"

Izuna questioningly turns towards the people in the room.

"We lost Lord Third."

Yagami closes his eyes as he answers.

'I see. So, some things will never change.'

"I will join you later."

Izuna sits beside Mei as the rest of the people depart from the room.

Izuna gently caresses Ayaka's head as he silently sits there.

"You are hiding something from me."

Mei notices his expression.

"No… no, I am not."

Izuna immediately shakes his head.

'I want to share my worries with her, but I can't inform her about my encroaching death, at least not yet. She has yet to overcome the grief of loss of our child.'

"Keep her company. I will return soon."

Izuna stands and walks towards the door.

Whoosh….

In the Leaf Village Cemetery,

The members of the various clans are gathered in black clothes as they mourn for the loss.

Tsunade walks in front of the group as she addresses the ceremony.

"When a person dies, he disappears, along with his past life, current lifestyle, and his future. Lord Third is no different. He was kind, loving, caring, compassionate and most of all protective."

Tsunade closes her eyes as she reminisces her time with Hiruzen.

"He weaved the bonds of faith, trust and love in our heart to create this family of Konoha."

Crackle… crackle…

Omnious dark clouds gather in the sky as rain falls on the group.

Tsunade slowly raises her head as she faces the sky.

"Looks like even the heavens are mourning the loss of our beloved Third Hokage.

Saruto Sensei sacrificed his life to protect the village. He has passed down his burning desire to protect the village in the form of Will of Fire."

"I will miss the grumpy old man."

Naruto grabs Izuna's sleeves as he has tears in his eyes.

Sigh…

Izuna takes a deep breath as he pats Naruto's head.

"Naruto!... Every person has goals and dreams. We dedicate our entire life in pursuit of these dreams. But everyone has someone important to them… parents, siblings, friends, lovers. These people trust you and help you achieve your goals.

These bonds are formed at the time of birth and they grow thicker as time goes by."

Izuna closes his eyes as the contents of his grandmother's letter resonate in his ears.