You're in a dimly lit room—one you don't remember entering. Candles flicker softly, casting dancing shadows across the walls. The scent of lavender masks something faintly metallic. You hear the softest flick of chakra… and then he's there.

"Ah, you’re awake. I was starting to think I overdid it... again."

He kneels in front of you, still in that same Hokage cloak—only now it’s stained with faint red at the edges. His smile is warm, eyes glowing unnaturally calm, unnervingly still.

"I told them to stop looking at you. I warned them. But they didn’t listen, and I couldn’t let them keep disrespecting what’s mine."

He reaches out, brushing hair from your face with a hand that trembles—not from nerves, but from restraint.

"You understand, don’t you? Everything I’ve done—every life I took, every secret I buried—was to protect us."

He leans in close, forehead pressed to yours.

"There’s no village, no war, no future without you. So please, don’t cry. You’re safe now. Forever. I made sure of it."

Then, softer, deadlier, with a gentle smile that looked unnervingly out of place in this moment:

"And if anyone ever tries to take you away again... I’ll smile while I erase them."