The speaker was Hashirama Senju!
Having seen the photographs of Danzō Shimura's death, Hashirama knew that the young Obito Uchiha was telling the complete truth.
Tsunade, who had learned of this sooner than the others, was filled with uncontrollable rage.
But Danzō was already dead. Whether it was her anger or the betrayal by Danzō towards the Uchiha, there was nowhere left for this fury to be released.
"But I don't understand," Sakura asked. "Why would the masked man specifically take Kakashi-sensei's body and kill Danzō? Was it because of the Sharingan in his arm?"
Having encountered the masked man herself, and with Kakashi present at the time, Sakura hadn't noticed any special reaction from the masked man toward Kakashi.
Also, if he truly was the mastermind behind Akatsuki, why hadn't he killed Danzō earlier? Why wait for the moment when Pain attacked the village?
Just then, a toad summoned from Mount Myōboku appeared, informing them that the toad responsible for liaising with them in Konoha had been killed.
Everyone froze!
Especially Tsunade! A flash of shock crossed her face.
She knew that frog had been inside the Hokage's office.
With ANBU stationed inside and outside the Hokage Tower, who could have killed the Mount Myōboku toad while she was away from the office and on the rooftop, summoning Katsuyu?!
And what could their motive be? Aside from preventing Naruto Uzumaki from returning from Mount Myōboku, there was no reason to kill a harmless toad.
The first suspect to rule out was Pain. Though he had the ability, he had come to Konoha specifically to find Naruto Uzumaki!
"If there are no surprises…" The Edo Tensei Fourth Hokage said, "The one who killed the Mount Myōboku toad is Danzō Shimura."
Amidst the shocked expressions of everyone present, he continued his analysis. "Only he had the authority to freely enter and exit the Hokage Tower, and… at a critical moment, he would sacrifice Konoha's safety for his own selfish desires, blocking Naruto's return."
"How could…?"
"Fourth Hokage, what evidence do you have? Why say this?"
Young Obito stepped forward. "We once traveled back to the Nine-Tails' Rampage era. The one who ordered the Uchiha clan to stay off the front lines was Danzō Shimura. If Fugaku and the others had fought, they could have controlled the Nine-Tails with the Sharingan!"
They might even have sealed the Nine-Tails before Minato-sensei made that decision.
And they might have discovered the true identity of the 'Masked Man,' preventing his descent into darkness.
Sakura, as Sasuke's teammate and someone who had always liked him, listened in stunned silence.
She didn't know about these events. How much did Sasuke-kun know?
The Edo Tensei Fourth Hokage said, "Once the Inuzuka clan sends their ninken to track the scent near the corpse, everything will be proven. They'll also find Danzō Shimura's body, and the arm with the Sharingan."
Suddenly, a ninja from Kakashi's class spoke up. "I know! The reason Obito killed Danzō Shimura was because of Kakashi!"
"Kakashi-sensei?!"
Sakura turned to the man with the small black sunglasses. "What does this have to do with Kakashi-sensei?"
Genma Shiranui explained, "Obito Uchiha and Hatake Kakashi were both students of the Fourth Hokage-sama."
"Wait! So that means…" Sakura's eyes widened.
"Kakashi-sensei's Sharingan..."
They had all seen it earlier. Before the masked man put on his mask, his left eye had been tightly shut. As a Medical-nin, Sakura could tell that there was no eyeball beneath that sunken left eyelid.
"That's right. Obito is the Uchiha who once gave his Sharingan to Kakashi."
"In short, Obito didn't die back then—he was saved by someone," Minato Namikaze said. "But that also marked the beginning of a life spent being manipulated."
"Manipulated?!"
Shikaku Nara asked, "Hey, hey, this is getting more complicated. Wasn't Obito Uchiha already the mastermind behind Akatsuki? Who else could possibly be using him?"
Hashirama Senju replied, "The root cause lies with me. I never imagined Madara hadn't truly perished. Instead, he lay dormant until this junior named Obito Uchiha emerged, using him to continue his plans. Perhaps I should have listened to Tobirama and preserved Madara's Sharingan separately…"
This very matter had sparked a fierce argument between the two brothers years ago.
Tobirama insisted on preserving the Sharingan separately and placing Madara's body under strict sealing to ensure absolute security.
At the time, Hashirama thought Tobirama was targeting Madara, but now he realized that Tobirama had considered things far more thoroughly than he had.
"Hmph!"
Mentioning this, the younger brother and military strategist, Tobirama Senju, turned away in displeasure, ignoring his naive older brother.
Hashirama, feeling a little guilty, promised Tobirama he would listen next time, but Tobirama reminded him there would be no "next time"—they were both dead!
Hashirama: Depressed.
"Beyond that, there's one more person—Black Zetsu, who's always been by the masked man's side. He's the real mastermind who even deceived Madara."
"Let me organize my thoughts," Nara Shikaku said. "ObitoUchiha was manipulated by Madara and Black Zetsu, becoming the mastermind behind Akatsuki. Then, when Pain attacked the village, they could have notified Naruto earlier to bring him back to Konoha, but because of Danzō Shimura's interference, Kakashi died unexpectedly. After that, the Obito Uchiha from another world, driven by rage, killed Danzō Shimura. Now, you're here, seeking the Obito Uchiha of this world—the masked man—to settle the score. Am I right?"
As expected of Nara Shikaku—he quickly distilled a very complicated situation into a few sentences anyone could understand!
"No wonder…"
Sakura lowered her gaze, looking at Kakashi-sensei's body, her heart heavy with sorrow. Even if the later Hokage had arrived sooner in the battle, Konoha had already suffered immense losses.
The Edo Tensei Minato didn't share his suspicions about his counterpart from another world. Instead, he looked at Naruto of this world, believing their theory was correct. If that hypothesis was true, then Kakashi, who had died here, and all the Konoha ninjas could be revived.
...
When the Konoha people learned that Akatsuki had a mastermind behind them—and that this mastermind was Obito Uchiha, whom Konoha had once thought of as dead—they were in shock.
On the battlefield, Naruto Uzumaki also learned that Pain, like himself, was a disciple of the Pervy Sage.
"In other words," Pain said, "I am your senior, sharing the same master. If you truly desire peace, you should understand my actions. It's a pity Jiraiya never understood our 'justice'..."
"Nonsense!!" Naruto Uzumaki didn't wait for Pain to finish speaking, already unleashing the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken. "What you've done! How does any of it relate to peace?!"
The Pervy Sage! Kakashi-sensei! Even Gaara died at their hands before!!
The wind howled...
Minato Namikaze's unfinished Rasengan, infused with Wind Release, swirled in Naruto's hands, its overwhelming chakra forming a wind-shrouded Rasenshuriken.
"Hoo hoo, adding Wind Release to that Rasengan?" the Second Hokage praised. "This is truly remarkable. The fine wind chakra converges like needles within the shuriken. A direct hit would leave no possibility for healing or repair."
"Mhm." The First Hokage hummed in approval, nodding in agreement with the praise for Naruto Uzumaki.
The Edo Tensei Minato stared wide-eyed at Naruto Uzumaki on the battlefield, completely stunned at how perfectly the Rasengan had been developed!
The Konoha ninjas watching were equally shocked. They had never seen such a technique before!!
Fueled by fury, Naruto hurled the Rasenshuriken at Pain!
"He threw it?!!" Sakura gasped in shock.
But that wasn't all!
The thrown Rasenshuriken turned into an area-of-effect attack. The Human Path Pain, unable to evade, was instantly shredded within the vortex of Wind Release!
"Starting with such a powerful ultimate move!" Even the usually unflappable Shikamaru couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
Shino, Ino, Hinata, Chōji, and the others watched from different vantage points. Seeing Naruto Uzumaki, who had once been the lowest-ranked student in the ninja academy, now surpassing them all, they were deeply moved.
"That Naruto, who once shouted about becoming Hokage... seems like he's really about to achieve it," Ino murmured in awe.
Even Sakura, his close companion, hadn't anticipated his progress to be so rapid!
The last time they met, Naruto could only wield the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken like a Rasengan for close-range attacks, confronting enemies head-on.
Sakura recalled their battle against Akatsuki's Kakuzu, when Naruto first used the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken. That memory inevitably brought to mind the injury she had discovered when she later examined his arm.
"I told him before that this technique causes significant damage to his arm! He should have been forbidden from using it by now!" Sakura's voice revealed a hint of tension and worry.
"It's fine."
The Edo Tensei Fourth Hokage suddenly spoke: "The Senjutsu has enhanced his physical constitution. Even repeated use of the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken won't cause any major issues."
Sakura jumped at hearing the legendary Fourth Hokage speak directly to her, her heart racing slightly.
"I-I see."
Having received an answer from the Fourth Hokage-sama himself, Sakura looked toward Naruto on the battlefield. "I guess I worried for nothing."
Though it was meant to be a private thought, Sakura didn't expect the Fourth Hokage to turn to her, flashing a warm smile and sincerely thanking her: "Sakura, right? Thank you for worrying about Naruto."
"Huh?!"
Sakura froze, stunned that the Fourth Hokage knew her name?!
…
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