Meanwhile, at the Akatsuki Base in the Land of Rain.
Orochimaru stared at his own image on the Sky Screen as he said, "Make the windmill turn again." At first, he frowned slightly in confusion. A moment later, everything clicked, and he fully understood his future self's obsession and plans.
As expected, I could never let it go!
But the next instant, a sudden chill ran down Orochimaru's spine.
He turned sharply and met the piercingly cold, murderous eyes of Uchiha Itachi beside him.
An icy aura radiated from Itachi. His fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles had gone white, and he made no attempt to conceal his killing intent.
Orochimaru's eyes flickered. He deliberately looked away, feigning indifference.
Meanwhile, fury churned inside Uchiha Itachi.
Konoha.
It was the village he had slaughtered his entire clan to protect, the village he would defend with his life.
Yet Orochimaru had plunged it into chaos, ravaging it with war and slaughter.
His overwhelming killing intent locked squarely onto Orochimaru.
On the Sky Screen, wind howled through the forest.
After a relentless pursuit, Sasuke Uchiha finally caught up with Gaara, who was dragging his weakened body along in a desperate escape.
Fighting spirit blazed in his eyes. After a month of Kakashi's special training, his mindset had undergone a complete transformation. He believed he was now more than capable of crushing the defeated monster from Sunagakure.
But just as Sasuke prepared to strike and end their battle!
Gaara, sprawled helplessly on the ground, closed his eyes completely and sank into a deep sleep.
The next second!
BOOM!!
Towering waves of sand surged into the sky!
Savage tailed beast chakra swept across the surroundings!
Gales roared through the entire forest as the ground shook!
With Gaara sound asleep, nothing remained to suppress the One-Tail!
Shukaku, the One-Tail, descended!
His enormous, sandy tanuki body loomed over the forest. His eyes burned a vicious red, his fangs were hideous, and his devastating tailed beast pressure locked onto Sasuke!
At that moment, the tailed beast was a living calamity!
Facing Shukaku in his complete form, Sasuke instantly went deathly pale.
Before a true tailed beast's absolute power, he was too fragile to withstand a single blow.
He had no chance to fight back!
Even if his Sharingan could predict every attack, even with Chidori, he could never break through the tailed beast's defenses!
A vast sandstorm bore down on him, the threat of death engulfing his entire body!
Sasuke's pupils contracted. He could only dodge desperately, retreating again and again, driven back without any chance to retaliate.
The strength he took such pride in was a joke before Shukaku!
Just then, a figure burst through the dust and made a fearless entrance!
"Sasuke! I'm here to help!"
Naruto Uzumaki landed with a crash!
As Sasuke watched in utter disbelief and shock, Naruto summoned a giant toad without a trace of fear!
The colossal creature crashed onto the battlefield, holding its ground against the rampaging Shukaku!
The two enormous beasts faced off, shaking the entire forest!
Then, with a kunai in hand and explosive tags hanging all over him, Naruto used the toad as cover and charged behind Shukaku in a wildly unpredictable, utterly unconventional rush!
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!!
A chain of explosive tags detonated!
Flames burst skyward, the blasts striking precisely at Shukaku's most vulnerable spot beneath his tail!
Vicious as the One-Tail was, having his asshole blasted instantly threw his attacks into disarray!
Seizing this once-in-a-lifetime opening, Naruto leaped forward with every ounce of strength he had!
One slap!
He struck Gaara hard, square across the face!
SMACK!
The crisp, resounding slap echoed through the forest!
Gaara was slapped awake on the spot!
"Aah!"
The uncontrolled tailed beast chakra instantly reversed its flow!
The swirling yellow sand rapidly receded!
Shukaku, who had just been rampaging through the forest with no one able to stop him, let out a reluctant roar and withdrew completely into Gaara's body!
Silence settled over the forest.
Sasuke Uchiha, who had witnessed everything from start to finish, stood utterly frozen.
His eyes were wide, his mind blank, and the blood in his veins seemed to have stopped flowing.
He completely fell apart.
He stared fixedly at Naruto nearby, his eyes filled with disbelief at the absurdity of it all-and profound resentment!
The images on the Sky Screen shifted rapidly, skipping past the conclusion of Naruto and Sasuke's battle in the forest before abruptly settling on the devastated raised platform at Konoha's arena.
The Four Violet Flames Formation had already shattered and vanished.
On the ground, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi lay still, his body cold and lifeless.
This "strongest Hokage" had died heroically in battle.
Not far away, Orochimaru was in a sorry state. He seemed to have suffered grievous injuries, with none of his earlier sinister arrogance remaining.
Several subordinates quickly gathered around him, shielding him closely. Using the chaos in the village as cover, they withdrew at once, not daring to linger.
The Anbu ninja remaining at the scene did not pursue them. They gathered around the Third's body, standing with bowed heads, their faces beneath their masks filled with grief. The entire platform was deathly silent, steeped in endless sorrow.
The scene shifted again.
Kakashi looked back toward where the Hokage had fallen and let out a quiet sigh. In the end, he said nothing, turning away to continue eliminating the remaining invaders.
Then, ninja hurried to the compounds of the major clans, delivering the terrible news of the Third Hokage's death one by one.
In an instant, all of Konoha was shaken.
An old man sat in a seat of authority, with masked ninja fully prepared for deployment kneeling before him. His expression was calm and composed, without the slightest hint of panic, as though he had long foreseen how this upheaval would end.
He sighed softly and murmured each word with steady certainty. "Hiruzen, rest in peace. I will lead Konoha to glory."
The Ino-Shika-Cho Clans, the Hyuga Clan, and every other prominent clan immediately assembled.
Their leaders swiftly issued orders, sending everyone out to eliminate the invaders remaining in the village, suppress the unrest, and restore order.
The moment the great clans committed their full strength, the situation in chaotic Konoha turned around completely.
Meanwhile, the truth emerged that Rasa had actually been Orochimaru in disguise. Sunagakure had no strength left to fight and could only surrender to Konoha at once.
The upheaval that had swept through Konoha came to a swift and complete end after the Third Hokage's death.
Outside the Sky Screen, the entire Shinobi World erupted.
Everyone stared in bewilderment, utterly baffled by this bizarre conclusion.
"Wh-what the hell is going on?!"
"I knew something was wrong from the very beginning!"
"The Hokage was trapped in a death match, fighting alone inside that barrier, and not a single member of the Konoha Anbu, their elite forces, or their jonin went to help!"
"They all stood outside, waiting! They actually waited until the Third Hokage died before coming out in force to put down the unrest!"
"How was this a battle to defend the village? They were clearly... watching the Hokage die!"
"Was the Third Hokage abandoned by all of Konoha in the end?!"
Countless ninja and civilians argued among themselves, a chill creeping into their hearts.
Most chilling of all, the more they thought about it, was that figure who had appeared on the Sky Screen.
"Who is that sinister-looking man? He definitely knew about this invasion beforehand!"
"He seemed prepared for everything!"
"There's far too much going on beneath the surface in Konoha! They're nothing like the harmonious, united village they appear to be!"
"Isn't that... Danzo?"
Some ninja who had survived that era murmured among themselves.
Before you continue