As public opinion across the shinobi world boiled over, in the Sarutobi Clan compound...
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat by the window, staring fixedly at the Sky Screen as Naruto and Sasuke met with Uchiha Sen.
Pain covered his aged face. His brows were tightly furrowed, his eyes filled with helplessness and sorrow.
"All my life, I poured my heart and soul into protecting Konoha. Through the Hokage position, I raised the Sarutobi Clan into one of Konoha's greatest clans."
"Could it be... that my clan will face utter destruction because of me?"
A lifetime of achievements, a lifetime of prestige-only to become the very cause of his entire clan's destruction.
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura stood side by side, their faces equally pale, unable to stop the chill spreading through their bodies.
They stared fixedly at the Sky Screen, their eyes filled with bone-deep terror.
An earlier Sky Screen broadcast had already revealed the Shimura Clan's complete destruction, its name erased from Konoha.
Now it was the Sarutobi Clan's turn, the clan with the deepest foundations and greatest power, to begin its countdown to annihilation.
A chill ran down their backs as they immediately thought of their own clans.
Destroy the Shimura Clan. Settle accounts with the Sarutobi Clan.
Would their two clans be next?
Homura's voice trembled as he spoke in a frightened whisper. "Koharu, do you see it now? Naruto intends to purge all of Konoha's old clans."
Koharu's expression darkened. Her hands clenched tightly, and her eyes filled with dread.
"We're bound too closely to the Sarutobi Clan. We rise and fall together. If the Sarutobi Clan falls, neither of our clans will escape unscathed."
Undercurrents surged throughout the Konoha High Command.
On the Sky Screen hanging high above the entire shinobi world, the scene remained inside Konoha's