Four Violet Flames Formation exploded into countless purple light particles and scattered as Sound Four was released.
Sound Four Body Flicker Technique appeared next to Orochimaru, holding Orochimaru's unconscious arms and dragging him away from the roof.
Before Orochimaru left, he looked back at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was lying on the ground. The old side face had no breath of life, but the smile at the corner of his mouth was still there.
Orochimaru's vertical pupils trembled violently, then turned his face away without saying another word.
ANBU rushed to the roof from all directions at the same moment that Barrier was released.
When they landed next to Hiruzen Sarutobi, Third Hokage had already stopped breathing.
Several ANBU knelt down and turned over Hiruzen Sarutobi's body, inspected it carefully, and finally confirmed: Third Hokage was killed in action.
Someone knelt on the roof on the spot, their shoulders shaking violently and unable to make a sound.
The moment the news spread, the entire Konoha fell into great grief.
In the refuge cave, the villagers who had just received the news from their families covered their faces one by one.
Some people sobbed softly, while others hugged their children tightly in silence.
The ninja who was still fighting bloody battles with the enemy also stopped what he was doing, glanced at Third Hokage Rock on Hokage Rock, and then clenched the weapon in his hand again.
They are still alive, their relatives are at the rear, Third Hokage used his life to save Konoha, they have no time to grieve, they still have a battle to fight.
The combined forces of Otogakure Ninja and Sunagakure Ninja that invaded Konoha quickly collapsed after losing the core command of Orochimaru. Konoha won the final victory in this defensive battle.
But everyone knows that what Konoha lost in this war was a Hokage who had ruled the village for decades.
At the same time
In a forest far away from Konoha, Gaara slowly opened his eyes with a hoarse cough.
"Ahem..."
The first thing he saw when he woke up was Naruto sitting next to him.
"Gaara, you're awake."
"Naruto Uzumaki... you..."
Gaara propped himself up and sat up, then froze.
He sensed that Shukaku was missing.
The voice that had been roaring in his ears since he could remember, full of hatred and destructive desire, disappeared.
Gaara subconsciously sunk his consciousness inside the seal. Shukaku was still there, but it was now covered with a thick seal.
Gaara raised his head and looked at Naruto in disbelief.
"Don't worry, Shukaku is still in your body."
Naruto saw Gaara's doubts and explained, "I just reinforced the seal. The structure of your village's Sealing Technique is too rough. I'll replace it with a better one Sealing Technique."
"In the future, it won't even be able to enter your dreams without your permission."
"That's it!"
Gaara put his hands down from the back of his neck. He did not ask Naruto why Sealing Technique was so strong.
"Why did you help me seal Shukaku?"
"Given the current hostile state between Konoha and Sunagakure, you should hand me over to your ANBU Torture and Interrogation Force instead of helping me suppress Tailed Beast."
Gaara raised his head and looked at Naruto: "You really want to use Shukaku as a bargaining chip in exchange for post-war benefits, right?"
Naruto After listening, he nodded first, then shook his head.
"Yes, but not entirely right."
Gaara said nothing, waiting for what Naruto would say next.
A normal ninja's first reaction after learning that a ninja from an enemy village had inflicted Sealing Technique on him would be anger or fear, but Gaara did not.
He is used to being treated as a tool, so he will only calmly analyze how Naruto plans to use him.
"First of all, you Sunagakure did lose this time."
"Secondly, you were taken advantage of by Orochimaru."
Naruto raised two fingers and then put them down. "Finally, I help you seal Shukaku not to use it as a bargaining chip in exchange for post-war benefits."
"Orochimaru?"
Gaara's brows moved slightly.
"The Fourth Kazekage in the examination room is Orochimaru pretending to be."
"Your Fourth Kazekage has probably been killed by Orochimaru."
"The joint operation of Sunagakure and Otogakure Ninja was planned by Orochimaru from the beginning. You Sunagakure are just cannon fodder he used to attract Konoha's main force."
Gaara only frowned slightly after hearing the news, and then quickly regained his composure.
"You should know this soon after you return."
"Gaara, I know better than you what happened to Jinchuriki, because I am Jinchuriki myself."
"I have been treated as a Fox Demon container since I was a child. No one dares to look at me when I walk on the street."
Gaara said nothing.
He heard understanding from Naruto's tone.
Understanding is not a pity from above, but a silent confirmation that people who have drowned in the same deep water can give each other.
"So have you ever thought about changing this Shinobi World?"
"Change this Shinobi World that treats people like us as weapons and monsters and constantly creates tragedies."
Naruto looked into Gaara's eyes and asked word for word.
"Change Shinobi World?"
Gaara's voice was filled with doubt.
He felt that he had turned a cold eye on the world, but the word change was still too far away.
"The game between the major powers and the killings between ninjas are ultimately based on interests."
"Why did Sunagakure cooperate with Orochimaru to invade Konoha? The most direct reason is resources."
"Sunagakure is located in a desert, and the cultivated land area is less than one-tenth that of Fire Country. The water source depends on a few old wells that are drying up."
"Every year, the top leaders of your village have to fight with the Wind Country nobles for food and water. The ninja establishment is cut down again and again. In order to save money, you even regard Chunin Ninja Exams as the upper limit for screening Genin in the village."
"A ninja who grew up in this environment is fighting for survival itself every minute of his life."
"But have you ever thought about it, since Shinobi World has Ninjutsu that can assassinate people, why is there no Ninjutsu that changes the environment, grows food, and opens up water sources?"
"You Sunagakures are short of water all year round, have you ever thought about letting Wind Release ninjas blow the distant cumulonimbus clouds over?"
"Let Earth Release ninja search for underground veins under the sand?"
"If our country is well off, who would risk the lives of all the ninjas in the village just to grab a well?"
"Who would raise Jinchuriki like us who have been treated as weapons and monsters since birth?"
Gaara was silent.
A picture appeared in his mind that was not about killing and fighting.
The streets of Sunagakure are no longer filled with yellow sand. Children no longer need to learn how to kill enemies from an early age. Those Jinchuriki like him are no longer hated monsters.
This image was so unfamiliar to him that he didn't know how to describe it when it first appeared in his mind.
"What are you going to do?"
"How do you plan to change this Shinobi World?"
Gaara asked.
"With our status and strength, it is not the time to talk about this, but I would like to invite you to change together."
Naruto stood up and threw a Kunai engraved with a five-pointed star Flying Thunder God Mark towards Gaara: "If you become the leader of the village or Kazekage in the future, we will talk about it."
"I hope that by then we will no longer be enemies, but partners who can work together in this direction."
"Of course, if you ultimately choose to follow the same old path as the previous generation, then just pretend I didn't say anything."
"I return Shukaku to you. You can continue to use it as a war weapon, but in this case we will only meet on the battlefield."
"Naruto Uzumaki Your ideas are very advanced, and once people know about it, you will become a thorn in the eyes of many people."
Gaara took Kunai, looked down at the five-pointed star on the handle and then looked at Naruto:
"Aren't you afraid that I will spread your thoughts?"
Naruto shrugged. "The fact that I have this idea shows that I have the courage."
"And having this kind of courage means that I have the corresponding strength."
"So I don't really care."
Gaara was silent for a moment, and then put Kunai into his ninja bag.