Although It Is a Clichéd Butterfly Effect, It Is Indeed the Most Fitting Title

Things took a few unexpected turns.

Kenichi Amamiya had once heard of the butterfly effect, but he never expected that one day he would become the butterfly flapping its wings and triggering such massive changes.

"The Fourth is dead. From that perspective, he truly was a qualified Hokage." Looking at the grieving Konoha Villagers and Minato Namikaze lying in the coffin, Orochimaru couldn't help but sigh.

He had never previously considered Minato Namikaze a qualified Hokage. The man's strength was just so-so, and his military exploits weren't nearly as illustrious as his own. Yet last night, Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, had sacrificed himself.

For Konoha, Minato Namikaze—who had only just assumed the mantle of Hokage not long ago—gave up everything he had, including his own life and the life of his wife.

Konoha fell into profound grief. The ninjas and villagers who perished during the Nine-Tails Attack were reduced to a list of names; that thin sheet of paper bore the immense weight of lost lives.

However, Konoha's higher-level combat power had also run into trouble.

"Teacher, why? Third lost an arm?" Kenichi Amamiya felt that having his pupils dilate in shock was hardly enough to describe his current feelings.

A grief-stricken Hiruzen Sarutobi was currently mourning his late wife, Sarutobi Biwako. But that wasn't the point—the point was that Third was missing an arm.

He was missing his left hand.

This wasn't right.

Kenichi Amamiya remembered that although Third lost his wife in the original timeline, he himself came out of the incident completely unscathed, resuming his duties as Hokage with all four limbs intact and embarking on a new chapter of his Hokage life.

Yet at this moment, Third had lost his left hand.

"Last night, the Fourth sustained injuries fighting a mysterious individual, and then—" Orochimaru recounted the events of yesterday, which Kenichi Amamiya hadn't been strong enough to witness and therefore naturally hadn't known about.

Upon learning the details, he found out that because the Fourth was injured, it caused the Nine-Tails to unleash a second Tailed Beast Bomb. To prevent the beast bomb from striking the center of Konoha, Third had charged straight at it.

However, a suddenly appearing mysterious individual had severed Third's left hand, before subsequently vanishing under the combined assaults of Third and the Fourth.

Even so, they successfully eliminated the threat of the Tailed Beast Bomb.

The rest of the story unfolded much like Kenichi Amamiya remembered: the Fourth still sacrificed himself and successfully resolved the Nine-Tails crisis.

"Then Teacher, what about the position of Hokage next?" Kenichi Amamiya blinked. He always felt as though the world seemed to be conspiring against him. If Hiruzen Sarutobi was missing an arm, could he really take up the mantle of Hokage again?

"Who knows." Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, deep in thought about something unknown.

Kenichi Amamiya cast a strange glance at his teacher. Surely this teacher of his wasn't thinking about becoming the Hokage, was he? That was impossible, right?

Yet looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had lost an arm, Kenichi Amamiya grew somewhat less confident.

After all, within the current Hidden Leaf Village, apart from Teacher Orochimaru, there really didn't seem to be anyone else suitable to become the Fifth Hokage.

While Third's reputation had risen significantly, making up for the fallout from the Third Shinobi World War, the loss of an arm was an undeniable fact, which would certainly impact his combat power.

Jiraiya happened to be away from the village, which left Kenichi Amamiya somewhat baffled. After all, logically speaking, when his own disciple's wife was giving birth—an event of such immense importance—Jiraiya's absence was truly quite strange.

Still, Kenichi Amamiya remembered that in his past life, this crucial plot point of the Nine-Tails Attack had been picked apart for all sorts of bugs, so perhaps it wasn't entirely unexplainable.

"Teacher, where is Lord Jiraiya?" Kenichi Amamiya couldn't help asking.

"He happens to be away from the village." A trace of sarcasm curled the corners of Orochimaru's mouth. If Jiraiya had been in Konoha, perhaps Minato Namikaze wouldn't have died?

Kenichi Amamiya twitched his mouth. This really was—

So this was the convergence of the world line, was it? In any case, Minato Namikaze was destined to die on the night of the Nine-Tails, and Jiraiya's absence didn't seem all that strange anymore.

"Lord Orochimaru." Kakashi walked over, causing Kenichi Amamiya's expression to turn somewhat unnatural.

Kakashi was still alive, and didn't seem to have noticed that his eye had been replaced, yet facing him still made Kenichi Amamiya feel a bit awkward.

He constantly worried that Kakashi might pick up on something.

"What is it?" Out of the corner of his eye, Orochimaru glanced at his disciple, noting the flash of tension that had crossed the boy's face.

Could it have something to do with Kakashi?

Orochimaru grew contemplative.

"Lord Third asked me to inform you to come over." Kakashi was still very respectful toward Orochimaru, save for his blood-red eyes, which betrayed the turbulent state of his emotions.

Kakashi was a true creature of misfortune; first he lost a close friend, then he was forced to let his teammate die by his own hands, and now, to top it all off, his teacher and teacher's wife were both dead.

If Kakashi had been a pure-blooded Uchiha, he probably would have awakened the Mangekyo by now.

"Alright." Orochimaru smiled and then left, showing no intention of calling Kenichi Amamiya along.

Kenichi Amamiya took a deep breath, looking at the silent Kakashi standing beside him, and for a moment didn't know what he should say.

"Kakashi, my condolences." Kenichi Amamiya knew this was the time to test his acting skills.

He was certain that Kakashi knew nothing about yesterday's events—or more accurately, didn't know the truth of what had happened, since Kenichi Amamiya had knocked Kakashi out before the latter turned around.

"Kenichi, were you alright yesterday? It felt like someone knocked me out." Kakashi's blood-red eyes stared at Kenichi Amamiya, and his words allowed Kenichi Amamiya to inwardly let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm sorry. I only saw a blur of a black shadow yesterday, and then I passed out. Fortunately, Teacher came and rescued me." Kenichi Amamiya spoke with an apologetic expression.

His strength was inferior to Kakashi's; since Kakashi hadn't seen clearly, it was entirely reasonable for someone like him, weak as a chick, to lose consciousness immediately, right?

"As long as you're alright." Kakashi forced his eyes wide open, then turned and walked away.

Kenichi Amamiya saw Kakashi appear to channel chakra, seemingly directing it toward his face.

Was he wiping away tears?

Kenichi Amamiya didn't know.

Gazing at the villagers and ninjas around him weeping over the loss of their loved ones, Kenichi Amamiya took a deep breath and silently followed behind the Akimichi Clan Head ahead of him.

As a disciple of the Sannin Orochimaru, Kenichi Amamiya's standing position was right behind Konoha's Great Families, allowing him to go ahead and mourn the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.

It was also his final chance to look upon the face of the deceased Fourth.

Kenichi Amamiya brushed his hand against the edge of the coffin, then glanced around and quietly gripped a strand of yellow hair in the palm of his hand.