Kakashi glanced at Guy.
"So what do you think?"
Guy's expression was serious. "I think it might be the Nine-Tails."
At this point, Guy still didn't know that Naruto was Kakashi's student.
Kakashi fell silent.
He already knew it wasn't Naruto.
"Kakashi, I believe the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki lost control."
Kakashi shook his head. "I don't think that's the case."
Guy looked puzzled. "Aside from the Nine-Tails, who else could cause that kind of destruction?"
That explosion just now had reshaped the entire terrain behind Konoha.
Other than a Tailed Beast Bomb, no one could possibly do that.
If Guy had known about Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama, he would never have said that.
While the two spoke, the Third Hokage approached.
"Kakashi, how's Naruto's condition right now?"
The Third also suspected Naruto had gone berserk.
Such incidents weren't rare in the Great Ninja Villages.
Jinchūriki losing control happened from time to time—
not every one of them could become a perfect host.
After thinking for a moment, Kakashi said,
"Lord Hokage, I don't believe it was Naruto."
The Third frowned slightly upon hearing that.
He thought Kakashi might be covering for the boy.
But he didn't blame him.
In fact, he held great expectations for Naruto.
Placing Naruto in Team 7 under Kakashi was proof of that.
In the Third's mind, at least one of Kakashi's students was destined to become Hokage someday.
Though Naruto was a jinchūriki, the Third clearly saw potential in him.
In fact, the Third had already chosen the next Hokage in his heart the moment he had Kakashi train Naruto and his teammates.
It would basically come down to either Naruto or Sasuke.
That was how Hokage candidates had been chosen for generations.
The reason he also favored Sasuke, despite the boy's Uchiha lineage, was because the Uchiha clan was now gone.
Even if Sasuke became Hokage, he wouldn't be influenced by his clan.
So, despite both Naruto and Sasuke having somewhat complicated statuses in Konoha right now, they were both actually candidates for the next Hokage.
Of course, the Third didn't want Naruto to do anything that could endanger the village.
But the massive explosion behind Konoha—only a jinchūriki could cause that.
Even if he didn't want it to be Naruto, the evidence pointed straight to him.
The Third looked sternly at Kakashi.
"Kakashi, I hope you understand how serious this situation is."
But Kakashi shook his head.
"Lord Hokage, if it really was Naruto... then who stopped him?"
"In the entire village, aside from you, there's no one capable of stopping a rampaging Naruto."
"Moreover, to release a jutsu with such overwhelming power means he would've been completely out of control."
"The Nine-Tails' seal would have nearly broken open."
"But in reality, after that explosion, everything went quiet."
The Third was momentarily stunned.
Kakashi was right.
If it had truly been Naruto, who could've stopped him?
And Kakashi had just handed the Third the perfect excuse.
He hadn't wanted the villagers to associate the disaster with Naruto anyway.
Now he could use Kakashi's reasoning to clear the boy of suspicion.
"I'll have the ANBU investigate this thoroughly," the Third said after a pause.
"In the meantime, tighten the village's security."
After agreeing with Kakashi's assessment, the Third led a group of jōnin toward the back mountain.
When they saw the enormous crater, even the Third Hokage couldn't help but take a sharp breath.
Such destruction...
"Other than a Tailed Beast Bomb," the Third murmured, "only those two could have done this."
He was thinking of something—something unsettling.
His brows furrowed deeply.
He had already accepted Kakashi's earlier analysis, but now, standing here, he could sense no trace of the Nine-Tails' chakra.
A Tailed Beast always left behind dense chakra residue after going berserk—
yet here, there was none at all.
That meant Kakashi was right.
It wasn't Naruto.
And that, in itself, was even more terrifying.
It was one thing if a Tailed Beast had caused this—
but if a human had... that meant only monsters on the level of Uchiha Madara or Senju Hashirama could be responsible.
Could Konoha even handle such a being?
Thinking that, the Third's face grew increasingly grave.
The jōnin who had come with him stood speechless before the crater, their minds blank with disbelief.
Even Guy looked grim.
"Even if I opened the Seventh Gate, I couldn't cause this level of destruction. It's too terrifying."
Kakashi gazed at the crater again.
Even after seeing it a second time, he still felt a chill deep in his chest.
The fact that Yoruha had survived an explosion like that—
it could only mean there was a tremendous power hidden within him.
A power even he didn't understand himself.
If he had known, he never would have unleashed it.
Asuma and Kurenai, too, stared at the massive pit in silence, their faces solemn.
There were simply no words for what they were seeing.
The Third Hokage shook his head slowly.
"I don't know whether it was someone from outside the village or from within."
"I just hope it was someone from inside.
If such a terrifying power belongs to someone outside... the ninja world may soon see another being on par with those two."
Even if the culprit turned out to be a Konoha shinobi, that alone would mean this person was an enormous threat.
But the Third still hoped this power belonged to someone within the village—
because at least then, they might still be able to win that person over.
If it were an outsider, one who could inflict such destruction on Konoha,
then that person clearly bore no goodwill toward the village at all.
After observing the crater for a while, the Third turned away expressionlessly.
He instructed the ANBU beside him,
"Keep strict surveillance over this area for now.
And as for what happened tonight, keep it confidential.
We'll say the ANBU were conducting an experimental ninjutsu test."
The ANBU members standing near him nodded.
The Third then turned to Kakashi.
"Kakashi, come with me."
Kakashi nodded.
The two disappeared from the back mountain in an instant.
Later that night, when villagers—who had stayed awake awaiting news—heard that the explosion had been caused by an ANBU experiment, they finally relaxed and went home.
Many of them had feared the village was under attack.
But such an excuse could only fool ordinary villagers and lower-ranked ninja.
It couldn't deceive Danzō.
At Root Headquarters, Danzō leaned on his cane, his bandaged eye glinting faintly as he looked down at a kneeling shinobi.
"Was it the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki that went berserk?" Danzō's voice was low and cold.
The Root ninja replied,
"No, there was no trace of the Nine-Tails' chakra at the scene."
"But the level of destruction could only be compared to a Tailed Beast Bomb."
Danzō's expression tightened. "Not the Nine-Tails?"
"There was no Nine-Tails' chakra detected at all. It shouldn't be."
Danzō stood up, his face dark and heavy.
"If it wasn't the Nine-Tails, then who was it?
And does this person pose a threat to Konoha?"
The thought made him uneasy.
"What is Hiruzen up to?" he muttered.
"Has he been developing some kind of secret weapon?"
Danzō's brow furrowed even deeper.
He worried that the Third Hokage might have created something powerful enough to threaten his own position.
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