Chapter 178: Time Spares No One
Freed from Orochimaru's control, Uzumaki Mito froze in place.
The Third Hokage, her opponent, exhaled in relief.
But the moment he relaxed, the exhaustion, injuries, and massive Chakra drain he'd been suppressing surged through him like a bursting dam.
The nearly seventy-year-Old Man swayed; had the summoned ape Enma not swiftly braced him with a powerful arm, he would have collapsed on the spot.
Supported carefully by Enma, the Third Hokage shuffled to the edge of a relatively intact rooftop nearby.
Hunched over, hands on his knees, he gasped for air, cold sweat beading on his forehead, his lips frighteningly pale.
He lifted heavy eyelids and looked past the broken roofline at Konoha Village below.
What met his eyes was devastation.
Houses burned, belching black smoke; craters, cracks, and fresh blood littered the streets; beneath collapsed buildings villagers and Ninja might still lie buried; distant sporadic fighting and wounded groans drifted on the air.
Gamabunta and his two brothers, having flung the three-headed serpent beyond Hidden Leaf Village's walls, now stood beside those very walls.
A Village that had known peace and prosperity was ravaged in mere moments.
As he took it all in, sorrow clouded the Third's wrinkled face, his brow knitting into a deep "river".
Self-reproach, grief, dread for the future—those crushing emotions stole his breath.
As Hokage he had failed to stop this calamity, failed to protect his people and his Village; the fault, he felt, was solely his.
He tried a brief meditation to recover strength and Chakra, yet the moment he sat the weariness rooted in his Soul only deepened, gnawing at bone and will like a parasite.
He was sixty-nine.
His body long past its prime, the last life-or-death battle this fierce had been the distant Second Ninja World War.
Back then he'd stood at his Peak.
Now time had caught up; decades of desk work and worry had hollowed him out.
This fight had drained every usable drop of Chakra, his mind stretched taut to the breaking point.
For an aging frame the cost was too great—perhaps even life-shortening.
Elsewhere, Jiraiya—who'd just shared a laugh at Naruto's teasing—finally remembered his teacher was still fighting.
He spun around, frantic, searching for the Third.
At last he spotted the Old Man: hunched, spent, almost shrunken, seated at a roof's edge with Enma.
"Old Man!"
Alarmed, Jiraiya dropped out of Sage Mode, vaulted across the rooftops in a few strides.
Up close the sight was worse.
The Third's face was paper-white, his breathing ragged, eyes dim; veins throbbed at his temples from overexertion and pain, as though half his spirit had been ripped away.
This… was far beyond normal post-battle fatigue.
"Medical Unit—get the Medical Unit up here for the Third Hokage—now!"
Jiraiya spun toward the cleanup crews below and roared at the top of his lungs.
He knew his teacher's condition, knew how brutal that fight had been.
Delay was unthinkable—expert care was needed at once.
The Old Man had wanted him to become Fifth Hokage; he couldn't die now!
If he did, Jiraiya couldn't edit his last words—he'd be stuck with the job!
At his shout the crowd below stirred; several Medical Ninja in Hidden Leaf Village uniforms, medical pouches on their backs, raced after the Anbu clearing their path.
Naruto stepped up to Uzumaki Mito and sealed her into a scroll.
Major combat was over, yet scattered enemies weren't fully cleared for another hour.
The Hyuga clan, meanwhile, were having a field day.
Usually they couldn't use their Byakugan freely inside the Village; sharp individuals could sense the gaze and glance around to spot a Hyuga.
With restraints gone, unleashing their power felt exhilarating.
————
After recapturing the mischievous Temari and her brothers, Naruto returned to the streets.
Temari stayed put while Kankuro fled with Gaara—Naruto had held back on purpose.
Gaara already bore a Flying Thunder God Seal; Kankuro was irrelevant—what mattered was the One-Tail.
Once he had Shukaku's Chakra he could use Magnet Release, and Naruto meant to play with command blocks.
More than that, he wanted to study Kekkei Mōra.
By definition it fused all seven natures—Fire, Wind, Earth, Water, Lightning, Yin, Yang—surpassing Kekkei Genkai and Kekkei Tōta.
The databooks listed only Kaguya, the Six Paths Sage, and Urashiki as users; even Ten-Tails Jinchuriki Madara with the Rinne-Sharingan merely had the "Limit" tag.
Still, those books were only reference—cling to them and you'd be blindsided someday.
After all, Kakashi had morphed from "genius graduate at six, Jonin at twelve" to "entered the Academy at six and graduated with Obito".
"The outcome diverged from your script—Old Man Third is still alive," Nine-Tails growled, pressing its fox face to the bars.
"Alive in name only; Jiraiya's already acting Hokage.
Remember, our goal was never mere destruction.
To some, death is the perfect revenge—but the dead feel no pain.
Let him dream of dying a hero for the Village; it won't happen."
Strolling the ruined streets, Naruto answered calmly in his mind, swiping a drink from a window, leaving payment beneath another bottle.
He soon found Hyuga Neji leading a Hyuga patrol.
"Neji, how's the sweep?"
"Quiet so far. Uncle and Hinata are covering other sectors; no stragglers detected."
"Hanabi?"
"Safe at home."
Naruto nodded. "Good."
Then Neji's brow twitched as if receiving a message.
A moment later he turned to Naruto.
"Inoichi just passed word: Lord Jiraiya wants you at Konoha Hospital—urgent."
The new acting Hokage clearly had something critical to discuss—likely the Third's condition or classified post-battle issues.
Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Got it."
Without another word he headed for the hospital at once.
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