The Movements of the Various Factions

The next day, the sky was overcast, as if heavy rain could fall at any moment. A sorrowful atmosphere hung over the entire village.

Sasuke got up early that morning and put on black clothes. A faint sadness showed on his face. He sat at the living room table with his head bowed, lost in thought, while Chen sat across from him, yawning now and then as if he hadn't slept enough.

Just then, Sakura Haruno, Sasuke's teammate, came to see him. She was dressed in black too, and wore the same sorrowful expression.

"Sasuke..." Sakura wanted to say something, but Sasuke raised a hand, so she didn't continue. Then she glanced at Chen, her expression complicated. Though the look lasted only an instant, Chen still saw the hatred in her eyes—hatred for him.

"Let's go." Sasuke stood and headed straight outside. After he left, Sakura looked at Chen again. This time, she made no attempt to hide her feelings. Her eyes were full of disgust, as if she were looking at a pile of dog shit.

"Uchiha Chen, I don't care whether you understand this or not, but no matter what, I'll never let you get together with Ino. You're an idiot who doesn't deserve her." Without waiting for Chen to react, she ran off after Sasuke.

"Ugh! What's her problem? That big-forehead girl sure sticks her nose into everything. Does she really think she's somebody? Idiot!" Chen had hated Sakura Haruno ever since his previous life.

A group of people had gathered on the roof of the Hokage's Office. All of them wore black, and stood in silence. Sorrow hung over the crowd as they looked toward a long table. A row of photographs had been arranged on it, and in the middle was one larger than the others: a photograph of the Third Hokage of Konoha, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Just then, rain began to fall.

"It's raining."

"Even the heavens are crying?" Asuma Sarutobi said sadly, gazing at the falling rain.

"This funeral is in memory of the Third Hokage and the others who died in battle," said Mitokado Homura, the Third's teammate from their younger days and a Konoha advisor. Then he invited everyone to come forward and lay flowers.

"Why? Why did Third Grandpa have to die like this? Why..." Naruto looked at Konohamaru, who was sobbing beside him, and felt overwhelmed with grief.

No matter the circumstances, shinobi weren't supposed to show their emotions. They had to put their missions first, and never shed tears, no matter what.

"Teacher Iruka, why would someone... risk their life for another person?" After setting down a white flower, Naruto returned to the crowd and spoke to Iruka, who stood beside him.

"When someone dies alone, everything disappears. Their past, present, and future all disappear. Many people die easily in missions or wars. Hayate was one of them. Among the dead, some had dreams too. Everyone has something they cherish most: parents, siblings, friends, lovers. People who mean a great deal to them. They trust and help one another. From the moment we're born, we form bonds with the people we consider most important, and those bonds grow stronger as time passes. You don't need any profound reason. Anyone who has such a bond would do the same, because the other person is someone they cherish."

"Yeah, I think I understand how that feels, but... death really is painful."

"The Third Hokage didn't sacrifice himself in vain. He left us something important. Someday, you'll understand."

"Yeah! I think I understand a little."

While the memorial was taking place, Kakashi wasn't there. Instead, he went alone to Konoha's Memorial Stone. Heavy rain had begun to fall when footsteps sounded behind him. A woman with long purple hair stood behind Kakashi, holding a bouquet of white flowers.

"Are those for Hayate?" Though he didn't turn around, Kakashi knew who had come. "The Third's funeral has already started. You should hurry."

"Did you come to see Obito too, Kakashi-senpai? If you're always going to make excuses for being late, why not just come earlier?" Uzuki Yugao placed her white flowers before the Memorial Stone, then knelt and clasped her hands.

"I came early this morning... It's just that whenever I come here, I keep scolding myself for how foolish I was back then..." Kakashi began to turn away.

"Senpai, does the Hokage have a secret unit?" Uzuki Yugao suddenly remembered something. She stood and asked Kakashi, who was about to leave.

"A secret unit?" Kakashi turned around and looked at her in confusion. "I served in Anbu for many years, and I've never heard of a secret unit."

"Is that so?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Yesterday, while chasing an enemy, I ran into a strange Anbu member who claimed to belong to the Hokage's secret unit."

"Was he short, and did he sound young?"

"You've met him?"

"Yeah! At first I thought he was an Anbu member too, but later I noticed that he didn't have the distinctive flame tattoo on his arm. So he wasn't Anbu."

"Not Anbu? Then who could he be?"

"I don't know either, but he didn't seem to mean Konoha any harm. In fact, he saved quite a few people."

"I see."

"Anyway, the memorial for the Third is almost over. I have to go." After leaving her with those words, Kakashi didn't pay Uzuki Yugao any further attention and headed toward the Hokage's Office.

Afterward, the memorial for the Third ended, and the sky cleared. The Chunin began to leave one after another. Watching the young Konoha shinobi, Iruka couldn't help but feel moved.

"The little leaves of Konoha... Lord Third, it seems they've inherited the Will of Fire you spoke of. The little sparks that have fallen upon Konoha will one day burn brightly. They'll keep illuminating and protecting this village. Someday... one of them will become the next Hokage."

On the road from Konoha to Sand Village, several Sand Ninja appeared. One of them was Baki, who had confronted Kakashi and the others during the Konoha Crush Plan.

"Found them!" A Sand Ninja suddenly appeared in front of Baki and the others and spoke to them.

"Let's go!" The Sand Ninja led the way, and Baki and the others followed him toward a certain spot.

When they arrived, they found several badly decomposed corpses. All of them wore Sand Village shinobi uniforms. One of the bodies even wore a Mitarai, and nearby lay a Kazekage's hat.

"They've been dead for a long time. They must have died before the Chunin Ninja Exams began," one of the Sand Ninja told Baki, who had just arrived.

"I see. So that's what happened. That bastard Orochimaru killed Lord Kazekage, then either he or Kabuto impersonated him. I was too careless."

Elsewhere, in a dark Secret Room.

"Damn you, Hiruzen," Orochimaru said bitterly. His arms' souls had already been sealed away by the Reaper Death Seal.

"Actually, it wasn't that simple. After all, your opponent was the strongest Hokage among the Five Great Nations. Still, you're amazing. You actually managed to take out two of the Five Kage..." Kabuto Yakushi said respectfully to Orochimaru.

"Don't... try to comfort me again, or I'll kill you." Orochimaru fixed Kabuto with a chilling glare.

"That wasn't my intention. You may not have conquered Konoha, but the other purpose of your plan... Uchiha Sasuke has already been fitted with your collar."

"Heh heh heh... I paid for this with both my arms and all my jutsu. If I'd gotten Uchiha Itachi, things wouldn't have been so complicated, but that dream can no longer come true. Because he's stronger than I am." Itachi's cold eyes flashed through Orochimaru's mind. "That's why... I left that organization."

Meanwhile, in a secret base in Amegakure, a gigantic statue stood with nine figures perched on its fingers. This was the Akatsuki Organization's main base, and the nine figures were its core members—S-Class Rogue Ninja from various villages.

"According to information from outside, Orochimaru, who was once a member of our organization, joined forces with Sand Village yesterday to attack Konoha. They failed in the end, but Konoha suffered heavy losses, and he killed the Third Hokage." The speaker had short orange hair, various piercings across his face, and rings in his eyes. He was Deva Path Pain, one of the Six Paths of Pain.

At the news, Itachi opened his eyes.

"Tch! He was just a doddering old man who could barely walk. Orochimaru really is useless. What do you say, Zero? Let me go kill that traitor Orochimaru and bring back his ring. It'd be the perfect way to recruit someone for the organization." Deidara, standing nearby, couldn't help shouting.

"Leave Orochimaru alone for now. We can deal with him if we run into him later. Konoha is rebuilding, and they haven't chosen a new Hokage yet. They're leaderless, so no one should be paying attention to the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Our organization has spent so many years preparing for that plan, even though we're still not completely ready. But we can use this as a test. Who will go to the Land of Fire and bring back the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?"

"Let me go! I'll bring back the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Anyone who dares to stop me will get a taste of my Instant Art." Deidara volunteered eagerly.

"No. We can't cause too much of a commotion this time." Deva Path Pain didn't accept Deidara's offer.

"Kakuzu!" Deva Path Pain looked toward Kakuzu of the Waterfall Ninja.

But Kakuzu wasn't interested. "Hmph! I've got money to make. I don't have time for something as pointless as a test."

"I'll go!"

Just as Deva Path Pain was about to say something else to Kakuzu, Itachi, who had been silent until then, spoke up.

"You'll go? Very well."

"Ah! I'm starting to rust just sitting around here. I'll go out with you for a walk!" Kisame, Itachi's teammate, said.

"Good. That's settled." After Deva Path Pain spoke, he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

After some more bickering, the others went off to do their own things.