At the center of the Sarutobi clan grounds, inside the Four Purple Flame Formation, the previous three Hokage of Konoha were locked in a fierce battle. Orochimaru stood at the side, controlling the reanimated First and Second Hokage, while Kimimaro was brutally slaughtering the last surviving Anbu operative.
Yes—four elite Anbu had entered, each at least of Special Jōnin level. Yet after a four-on-one battle, it was now down to one-on-one.
Taijutsu, ninjutsu, even genjutsu—none of it worked on Kimimaro.
As one of Orochimaru's meticulously cultivated vessels, Kimimaro was terrifying even in the original timeline. Had he not been stricken by his hereditary disease, Orochimaru would've never needed to gamble on raising Sasuke.
The Kaguya clan, descendants of the Six Paths lineage, already possessed monstrous talent. Combined with the Shikotsumyaku's regenerative power, close-quarters capability, and Orochimaru's vast combat knowledge—Kimimaro was the definition of perfection.
And Kimimaro's fanatical loyalty ensured that, if Orochimaru took his body, the chance of rejection was essentially zero. Had that future come to pass, Orochimaru would've been far stronger than he was during the Konoha Crush—possibly reaching super-Kage level.
Kimimaro, still a child here, had no disease hindering him. He could unleash 100% of his Shikotsumyaku. Even four elite Anbu couldn't suppress him. He gradually gained the advantage.
"Wood Style — Deep Forest Emergence!"
Massive trees burst from the ground, filling the confined space inside the barrier. The last Anbu couldn't dodge in time and was bound by a thick trunk. Before he could struggle, Kimimaro's bone sword pierced his heart.
With that, all four Anbu were dead. Kimimaro only expended a huge amount of chakra—any wounds he sustained were already regenerating.
With his guards gone, Sarutobi Hiruzen was left completely alone. What made him even angrier was that despite the battle raging for so long… he had seen almost no reinforcements.
Especially from the major clans—not a single one had arrived.
As an old veteran politician, Hiruzen immediately understood exactly what was happening.
"Short-sighted fools… they really think Konoha will be better off after I die? Without me, this village would've fractured long ago!"
His fury caused an opening. Hashirama smashed him with a punch, then followed up with a devastating combo.
The moment Hiruzen hit the ground, countless wooden vines surged toward him, ready to tear him apart.
"Summoning!"
Enma appeared, majestic as ever. But when Orochimaru drew the Kusanagi Blade and joined the fight, Hiruzen was once again pushed into a corner.
In the chaos, one of Hiruzen's fingers was sliced off by the Kusanagi, making hand seals even harder.
Forced to desperation, Hiruzen finally used the Reaper Death Seal—and this time he aimed to take all four: the First Hokage, the Second, himself… and Kimimaro.
The moment the Shinigami grabbed him, Orochimaru finally saw the looming Death God behind Hiruzen—and fear appeared on his face for the first time.
"Orochimaru… clever all your life, yet in the end nothing more than a pawn of the Uchiha. Since that's the case, you can die with me!"
The Shinigami's hand tore out of Hiruzen's stomach, clamping onto Orochimaru's soul, ready to pull it free.
In panic, Orochimaru commanded the Kusanagi to strike back, hoping to force Hiruzen to dodge and interrupt the jutsu. But he didn't know—once the Reaper Death Seal begins, there is no turning back. Hiruzen no longer cared about mortal wounds.
"Why didn't you dodge?!"
Orochimaru's entire body was numb, able to move only his fingers and mouth.
"Hehehe… as your teacher, let me give you one final lesson. When facing someone who has embraced death, you must end them instantly. Hesitate, and even the mighty can fall in the gutter. But you won't have the chance to apply this… because for eternity, you'll be with me—suffering inside the Shinigami's belly!"
Orochimaru stared at the Death God grinning behind Hiruzen, and terror consumed him.
"I still have to pursue immortality… still have to learn every jutsu in existence… I will NOT die with you!"
"Kimimaro! Lend me your strength!"
"At once, Orochimaru-sama. To die for you is my honor!"
Kimimaro stopped resisting. He concentrated all his chakra into a single rib, which burst from his chest as a bone spear.
At that moment, his soul was fully ripped out by the Shinigami.
Kimimaro's body turned gray and lifeless—dead. But the bone spear, infused with all his chakra, continued flying—
and pierced Hiruzen's heart.
A fatal strike. As an ordinary human, Hiruzen lacked Orochimaru's immortality or Tsunade's regeneration. He couldn't survive such a wound.
His strength collapsed instantly. Orochimaru pried his soul free from the Shinigami's grasp.
"You old fool—DIE!"
In fury, Orochimaru smashed Hiruzen's skull, killing his former teacher.
Even in death, the Reaper Death Seal did not end. In fact, the caster's death completed its final stage.
The souls of the First Hokage, Second Hokage, Third Hokage, and Kimimaro were swallowed whole. Inside the Shinigami's stomach, they would suffer forever—alongside the Fourth Hokage and half of the Nine-Tails.
Barely escaping death, Orochimaru gasped for breath. He picked up Kimimaro's corpse.
"Retreat!"
The barrier dissolved. A Sound ninja fired a signal flare, summoning all surviving Sound shinobi.
Uchiha Rokuro also saw the signal. He had already defeated Kakashi and Guy—Kakashi couldn't stand anymore.
His Sharingan drained chakra rapidly. Against ordinary enemies, he could end fights quickly using illusion and prediction. But against Mangekyō Sharingan—Rokuro's—he had no advantage. In prolonged battles, Kakashi exhausted himself faster than a Chūnin.
As for Might Guy, he was not yet the "Blue Beast of the Fourth War." Even opening Seven Gates only made him elite jōnin level. Kurenai had collapsed long ago—Rokuro spared her, or she would've died.
"Orochimaru has finished his part. I'll be leaving too. Guy—you're strong, but you still need training. Even if you force open the Eighth Gate now, your body would disintegrate before you throw a single punch."
"And Kakashi—your Sharingan is strong, but your body can't handle it. If you want to keep up, pluck it out. Otherwise, you'll fall behind even Guy."
With that, Rokuro used Flying Thunder God and teleported to Orochimaru.
He immediately saw Kimimaro's charcoal-black corpse.
"So Kimimaro used his last strength to break the Reaper Death Seal. A pity… but at least his death saved you. More meaningful than in the original timeline."
Seeing Orochimaru grieving, Rokuro didn't comment further. He drew his Dimensional Blade and opened a portal.
Orochimaru stepped through first, returning to the Sound Village.
Sound shinobi carried the bodies of the fallen. Rokuro counted—of one thousand Sound ninja, fewer than five hundred remained.
Half the army was gone.
After the last ninja passed through, Orochimaru had already prepared Kimimaro's body and walked back toward Rokuro.
"It's done. Rokuro… you won't break your promise, will you?"
He was nervous. With the First and Second Hokage's souls sealed forever, Edo Tensei had lost its greatest weapons. Without those two, Orochimaru's strongest trump card was crippled.
He feared Rokuro would no longer honor their deal.
"Uchiha Rokuro" smiled calmly, handing him a hard drive.
"No need to worry, Orochimaru-sensei. I always keep my word. This contains not only Uchiha genetic samples—but also dozens from the Hyūga clan. Consider it a small compensation for Kimimaro's death."
Orochimaru's eyes lit up.
"The Hyūga? Rokuro… you've researched their bloodline too?"
Seeing a hint of arrogance in Orochimaru's eyes, Rokuro took out a sealed container—the pair of high-purity Byakugan extracted earlier.
When the seal opened, Orochimaru immediately sensed the terrifying chakra inside.
"I never realized the Hyūga possessed such potential!"
Rokuro resealed them.
"Of course. Among the ninja world's three Great Dōjutsu—Byakugan, Sharingan, Rinnegan—only the Rinnegan stands above the rest. The Hyūga haven't produced strong warriors in decades only because of the cursed Caged Bird Seal. Their raw bloodline power is not inferior."
The evidence was undeniable. Orochimaru left silently.
Rokuro considered reminding him about the Kaguya bloodline's potential, but decided against it.
"With Orochimaru's madness, he'll study the Kaguya clan anyway. If I say too much, it might backfire. Do your best, Orochimaru… whether the world sees an artificial Ōtsutsuki may depend on you."
It was clear just how brilliant Orochimaru was. Now that he had Rokuro's guidance, his achievements would only rise higher. There was a real possibility that he might truly succeed in creating an artificial Ōtsutsuki.
And if the Ōtsutsuki clan could be manufactured on demand, then in the future there would be no need to fear the arrival of any Ōtsutsuki invasion force. After all—if everyone is an Ōtsutsuki, who would fear whom?
This idea was far more reliable than Kaguya's naïve plan of using White Zetsu to fend off the Ōtsutsuki. As for the Sage of Six Paths—he was nothing sacred at all. A man who could seal away his own mother… what kind of saint was that? He wasn't much better than a glorified filial traitor.
"Mission complete. Time to head home."
Rokuro used Flying Thunder God to return. Meanwhile, not long after the battle ended, the other clan leaders sent scouts toward the Sarutobi and Shimura compounds. Soon, those scouts discovered the corpse of Sarutobi Hiruzen.
When the news was brought back, although everyone had already guessed the outcome, when the truth was confirmed, the assembled clan heads still fell silent for a long time.
Before long, medical-nin from the Konoha Hospital poured in, working to save the wounded.
Three days later, Konoha held a grand funeral. The daimyō of the Land of Fire and various nobles all arrived to pay their respects to the Third Hokage.
At the same time, Jiraiya and Tsunade finally received the news.
Jiraiya's face was filled with shock, while Tsunade remained silent—no trace of sorrow could be seen on her face.
"Orochimaru… that bastard actually did it. Damn it!"
Jiraiya was shocked, but also deeply guilty. For years, he had been chasing Orochimaru, hoping to bring him back to Konoha. Never in his wildest imagination had he believed Orochimaru would go as far as killing their own master. With this, Orochimaru's return to Konoha was now a complete impossibility.
"Tsunade, Konoha is in chaos. Stop being stubborn and come back with me—take up the position of Hokage!"
"Hokage? Hmph. Only an idiot would want that seat. No one who becomes Hokage ends well. Both my grandfathers died terribly. That old Sarutobi died terribly. You want me to die badly too?"
Tsunade grabbed the bottle beside her and chugged fiercely. Shizune tried to pull her back but couldn't move her at all.
Jiraiya sighed.
"Tsunade… sensei is gone. Can't you forgive him? Back then, Nawaki's death—"
Bang!
Tsunade smashed the table with one punch, fury filling her face.
"Nawaki was my only little brother, the final heir of the Senju! And he died that absurdly?! You think all these years I've done nothing but drink and gamble? You think I never investigated?"
Jiraiya's expression changed drastically.
"Then… you mean there really was more behind what happened?"
"Hmph. Of course. But I have no evidence. Every lead has gone cold. But all of them pointed toward Root. Even Orochimaru himself had unclear ties to Root. You think all of this is just coincidence?"
Tsunade's fists cracked loudly. Jiraiya fell silent.
"Then why didn't you tell me? If we worked together—"
"Together? First, I have no solid proof—only fragments. Even if we did find proof, at best it would show Root was responsible. And with the Third's personality, he definitely would've tried to protect Danzo. Once he stepped in, would you really raise your blade against him?"
Jiraiya had no response.
Tsunade walked to the bar counter and yanked another bottle from the terrified owner, drinking heavily.
"Tsunade-sama, please! If you keep drinking, you'll pass out!"
"Shut up. I want to get drunk. Only when I'm drunk can I stop thinking about these damned things!"
She shoved Shizune aside and raised the bottle, but Jiraiya caught her wrist.
"What? You want to fight me, Jiraiya? Fine. Show me your Sage Mode—otherwise, you're not my opponent!"
Seeing her raised fist, Jiraiya went pale, remembering vividly the last time she broke several of his bones.
"Tsunade… even if you can't forgive the old man, can't you at least care about Konoha? Your grandfather built that village with his life. The Senju sacrificed countless clan members to protect it. Even you… have given far too much."
"Right now, the Uchiha dominate the village. Only your return can balance them. Do you really want to see Konoha become the Village of the Uchiha?"
At the mention of the Uchiha, Tsunade finally calmed down. She shook off Jiraiya's grip and set down the bottle.
"Think, Tsunade. With the Uchiha's temperament, if they take full control of Konoha, they will definitely clash with the other clans. Konoha will break apart. And when it breaks, the entire Land of Fire will descend into chaos and war. Countless lives will be lost."
Jiraiya held her shoulders, staring into her eyes.
"You created the Medical-nin Corps so fewer comrades would die on the battlefield. If you refuse to return as Hokage, far more people will die. Is that the result you want?"
"Think of Nawaki… and Dan. They died for Konoha. Can you bear to watch the village they gave their lives to protect crumble?"
Under Jiraiya's persuasion, Tsunade finally agreed to return and assume the role of Hokage. Her hemophobia even seemed to miraculously vanish. In the end, with both Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō dead, everything suddenly took a turn for the better.
With Tsunade's return, the Third Hokage slain by Orochimaru, the Sarutobi and Shimura clans suffered devastating losses. Over 70% of their civilian members were killed or injured; nearly 90% of their shinobi died. Overnight, the two once-mighty clans fell from top-tier to third-rate. Unless they produced another Kage-level powerhouse like Hiruzen, they would soon stand on equal footing with common civilian shinobi.
As the saying goes: when a whale falls, all things prosper.
With the downfall of the Sarutobi and Shimura, the remaining clans of Konoha enjoyed a surge in influence—and none benefited more than the Uchiha.
They reclaimed all their old territory and absorbed numerous shops and parcels of land.
Although Konoha was not the capital of the Land of Fire, ninja were a high-income, high-mortality profession, and most spent money lavishly. Few saved anything unless they came from a well-established family. After all, every mission might be their last—so why bother saving what might end up in someone else's hands?
Because of this, many merchants flocked to Konoha, making its commercial districts exceptionally profitable. Shops and land in the village were worth a fortune—prime CBD-level assets.
And the Uchiha inherited over a hundred shops and two entire streets of property. They became rich overnight.
While the Uchiha feasted, the other clans drank their fill of the leftovers. Even powerful civilian jōnin received benefits. As a result, no one cared to stand up for the Sarutobi or Shimura. Only those two clans were suffering; the rest lived in prosperity.
Given such upheaval, every major nation watched closely. Especially the Land of Lightning. Their war with the Land of Fire had ended less than a year ago, skirmishes along the border were frequent, and by all logic, this was the perfect time for the Hidden Cloud to launch a new attack.
Unfortunately for them, the existence of Uchiha Rokuro and Uchiha Izumi made the Hidden Cloud hesitate. Their Fourth Raikage still hadn't fully recovered from his last injuries.
But though they dared not attack, letting go of such a golden opportunity made them restless and unwilling.
In this tense climate, a messenger from Kirigakure first visited the daimyō of the Land of Lightning, then entered Kumogakure to meet the recovering Fourth Raikage.
Three days later, on a nameless island off the coast of the Land of Lightning, the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails jinchūriki, Killer B, set foot on the beach—only to see the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, waiting for them.
"Brooo~ that guy's got a tailed beast too—strong as hell, yo~ better be careful~~"
Killer B waved his arms rhythmically as he rapped his warning.
Ignoring his rapping brother, the Raikage strode toward Yagura—when suddenly a sharp whistle cut through the air. Instantly, the Raikage activated his Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
"Mizukage! You dare set me up?!"
Yagura's expression did not change.
"Fourth Raikage, I came alone, bearing sincerity. Why would I set you up?"
"Sincerity? That man in the sky is the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki! You plan to team up with him to assassinate me, don't you?!"
Even Killer B entered his tailed-beast cloak, opening his mouth to gather chakra—the Tailed Beast Bomb forming rapidly.
But just as the tension peaked, Ōnoki descended with his son Kitsuchi, laughing loudly.
"No need to panic, bratty Raikage. I'm not here to kill you. The Fourth Mizukage invited me—to discuss dealing with Konoha."
END OF CHAPTER
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