Succession

Indeed.

Kakashi Hatake was absent.

At this critical moment, with the tides shifting around Konoha's walls, he was at the cemetery tending Hatake Sakumo's grave.

The wind swept through like scattered clouds, and leaves drifted down.

In the distance, explosions rose and fell one after another.

Yet this place was eerily quiet.

"Father... if it were you, you would definitely help the Hokage, wouldn't you?" Kakashi's voice came through his mask.

He seemed to be speaking to a stone monument.

A mocking smile tugged at his lips, as though he were ridiculing himself—or perhaps something else. "But in the end, I'm not you."

If foreign enemies had invaded, he would not have hesitated. He would have charged into battle without a second thought, even if it meant dying on the battlefield.

But what about now?

This was merely a Konoha civil war.

Whether it was the Three Ninja or Konoha's direct descendants, they were all true-blue Konoha people.

Who was he supposed to help?

In theory, Kakashi drew his salary from the Third Hokage and should have aided the Hokage faction.

Yet for some reason, he could not muster even the slightest fighting spirit, nor did he have any desire to act.

Jiraiya's speech on the long street had reached his ears as well.

Perhaps what Kakashi wanted was exactly the same as what those powerless civilians wanted.

"Konoha White Fang, Hatake Sakumo..."

"A powerful man renowned throughout the ninja world, an elite who killed countless enemies. He abandoned a mission to save his comrades, could not bear the gossip of others, and ultimately took his own life..."

Kakashi's voice carried a trace of sorrow.

"A kid like Naruto Uzumaki faced an even harsher environment from childhood."

"Even he could do it, Father... were you really worse than a child?"

The past was already gone, and no one could make sense of the truth from back then.

But this knot in his heart left Kakashi unable to find a reason to step forward.

"Looks like... it's over?"

He noticed that the explosions...

Had suddenly ceased.

The Hokage faction had lost.

And it was a crushing, absolute defeat—one where they had no ability to fight back at all!

Those Chunin and Jonin had been caught off guard by all sorts of bizarre ninjutsu from the group of young people behind the Three Ninja. One wrong step led to another, and they were beaten down until their Chakra and stamina had been completely exhausted.

The only two standout figures were an elite Jonin and a Genin who had graduated just one year ago.

Might Guy and Rock Lee!

All their other comrades had lost the will to fight. Only these two stood surrounded by Chakra like tangible flames, swirling and surging around them with terrifying momentum.

"Ohhh!!! This is youth, Lee!" Might Guy was wreathed in radiant flames, completely different from everyone around him.

The wildly burning Chakra around Rock Lee evaporated every drop of sweat and tears on his body. "Yes! Teacher!!"

The big and small bowl-cut pair moved each other to tears and embraced as they cried. They looked utterly ridiculous, but none of the ninjas surrounding them dared underestimate them.

Half of Hozuki Suigetsu's shattered head transformed into water and slowly regenerated. Even his voice trembled. "Are these two monsters? I almost died just now!"

He could not even tell who had attacked him.

His body could not keep up, his eyes could not keep up, and even his thoughts could not keep up!

Kabuto Yakushi spat out two teeth, then used the Mystical Palm Technique against his broken jaw. His voice was muffled. "I'm fine. How are you, Kimimaro?"

Not far away, Kimimaro and Jugo stood back-to-back, their bodies covered in black pipe-like markings. They had clearly released their Stage Two Cursed Seals.

He clutched his chest and abdomen, his expression blank. "Six ribs broken. Minor internal organ ruptures. I can continue fighting."

As for Tayuya, Sakon and Ukon, Jirobo, Kidomaru, Akado Yoroi, Zaku Abumi, Dosu Kinata, Kidomaru, Kin Tsuchi...

Those weaker small fry were already sprawled all over the ground. The only difference was that some had been completely crippled, while others had merely been knocked unconscious.

Hozuki Suigetsu had finally calmed down and could not help snorting. "Trash is trash. Lord Orochimaru used precious materials from other worlds to enhance and modify them, yet they couldn't even withstand one move from someone else! It's a shame I don't have a suitable weapon. If I could get the Kubikiribōchō..."

Orochimaru had changed drastically recently. Even the once arrogant and unruly Hozuki Suigetsu had finally submitted under Scientific Conditioning.

This battle was his pledge of loyalty.

"Enough! Everyone, stop!"

The Third Hokage's aged voice suddenly rang out.

Yet no one in the field obeyed his command.

The group of ninjas from the Sound Ninja only listened to Orochimaru and Tsunade's orders. As for the Konoha ninjas willing to listen, even if they wanted to stop, they lacked the ability to do so and could only keep fighting back.

Still, those words had meaning. Orochimaru, who had been relentlessly pressing him, suddenly stopped and gave him a chance to catch his breath.

Taking a deep breath, Hiruzen Sarutobi turned his gaze toward Tsunade and Jiraiya like a furious old lion king. "Disciples, why aren't you acting?"

Tsunade crossed her arms and said proudly, "We're only doing what is right. Orochimaru alone is more than enough to deal with you."

After becoming a Reincarnator, the center of gravity of Orochimaru's combat power had long since shifted completely, mostly toward technological ninja tools, biochemical modifications, and Scientific Ninjutsu.

And now, relying only on the fifteen-percent combat power boost from the team contract, Orochimaru could already leave the Third Hokage gasping for breath without using a single trump card.

With a Dragon riding his face, how could he lose?

It was impossible to lose!

"Teacher Sarutobi, before we act, I only want to ask one question."

Jiraiya's emotional intelligence was clearly not high enough for him to understand the instructions of the leading big sister.

Still immersed in sorrow, he stared straight into Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes. "You're the Hokage! Couldn't you even take care of one child?"

Though he spoke vaguely, the Third Hokage understood.

His momentum immediately weakened. "I had my reasons."

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt bitter inside.

People had closer and more distant relations. After all, Naruto was separated from him by another degree, while Danzo, Koharu, and Homura were comrades who had shared life-and-death bonds with him.

At certain times, he had to make a choice.

"Reasons?"

Jiraiya was finally enraged. In his mind, black was black and white was white; centrists were all unreliable fence-sitters. "What did Naruto ever do to wrong Konoha? Or did Namikaze Minato—the Yellow Flash, the Fourth Hokage, Naruto's father—do something that harmed Konoha, so his son has to repay his father's debts?"

Hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi's face alternated between green and red.

After a long silence, he opened his mouth, yet could not utter a single word.

Only after a while did his lips move as he said weakly, "For Konoha..."

"Heh."

Orochimaru's cold laugh interrupted the Third Hokage's defense. "It's all for the village. I've heard enough of the old men's high-sounding words to make me sick."

Why had Naruto suffered so much as a child?

Some people believed it had all been Danzo's doing, but as Hokage, if the Third Hokage had not tacitly allowed it, who would have dared bully the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? Did they really think Kurama would not kill people once Naruto's mentality collapsed and the seal cracked?

People might not remember your kindness when you add flowers to brocade, but if you offer charcoal in the snow, they will remember your grace.

That was the Third Hokage's way of thinking, and it was how he had acted all these years.

In truth, he had been playing with fire. If Naruto had not been influenced by Asura Chakra since childhood and naturally inclined toward kindness, Konoha would probably have typed GG amid laughter years ago.

"Ah... Jiraiya, you idiot..."

Tsunade sighed, her gaze sharpening. "Then let's all go together! End this quickly!"

A moment later, everything settled into dust.

That day, Wind Rises in the Land of Fire. Konoha's banners changed, and power passed into new hands.

There will be another chapter before 12:30.