A violent shockwave swept through the entire Daimyo's estate. As a Tailed Beast Bomb detonated, the royal palace—a landmark that had stood for a thousand years—was instantly reduced to ashes.
Sasuke had maintained excellent control, strictly limiting the blast radius of the Tailed Beast Bomb. With a single strike, only the Daimyo's estate was completely leveled. The areas beyond its walls remained entirely untouched, without a single scratch. Those surrounding walls seemed to separate two entirely different worlds: on one side lay the peaceful dwellings of the common folk, and on the other, a soul-shaking expanse of jagged ruins.
It had been that way before, and it was that way now.
"Who... who are you?"
Sakura tossed a simple-looking young boy onto the ground. He looked at the four people before him in a state of panic.
"Minamoto Musashi, right?" Sakura asked calmly.
"The Seven-Tails attacked the Daimyo's estate. Before the Daimyo passed away, he entrusted me with his final decree," she continued. "He chose to go down with his palace. From this moment on, you are the Daimyo."
Sakura threw the scroll onto him. The boy's face twisted into an expression of incomprehensible shock.
His father had died with the estate? He was now the Daimyo?
The sheer volume of information was too much for the eleven or twelve-year-old boy to process, leaving his mind in a fog. He hurriedly unfurled the decree, and familiar handwriting met his eyes.
To my beloved son, as if we were meeting in person:
The Land of Fire has endured for a thousand years, yet today it faces a catastrophe unseen in a millennium. As the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, I bear the burden of ten thousand citizens; thus, I shall go down with my capital.
But though I may perish, the people must not. Without a Daimyo, the Land of Fire will descend into unprecedented chaos. By chance, I have encountered the Konohagakure ninja, Sakura Haruno. I have entrusted her to carry this decree out.
I hope my beloved son can pull himself together, ascend to the position of Daimyo, and stabilize the situation of our nation.
The 78th Daimyo of the Land of Fire,Minamoto Yota's Last Words.
The decree was quite brief, even appearing rushed, but as the boy named Minamoto Musashi looked upon his father's final letter, his eyes grew moist. Soft sobs began to escape him.
Sakura glanced at Musashi and then looked up at the Seven-Tails hovering in the sky.
"Take care of him," she instructed Karin. Then, she leaped toward the Seven-Tails.
Karin gave a quiet nod of affirmation and looked at the boy sobbing silently while clutching the decree. In the ninja world, it wasn't just ninjas who possessed chakra; everyone did. It was simply a matter of how much. Karin could sense that the meager chakra within the boy felt extremely... pure and kind.
He must be a good kid—or perhaps just a total pushover? she thought.
After unleashing the Tailed Beast Bomb to level the estate, the Seven-Tails did not take any further action, simply floating silently high in the air. Although the entire capital was in chaos due to the explosion and many were fleeing the city, that didn't mean everyone had left. There were still a significant number of daredevils and onlookers watching the Seven-Tails in the sky with curiosity.
What Sakura needed to do now was "subdue" the Seven-Tails in front of these people to clear herself of any connection to the beast.
Under the gaze of the masses, Sakura and the Seven-Tails staged a "life-and-death struggle." The battle was "intense," with blows exchanged back and forth. Several Tailed Beast Bombs "missed" and exploded among the clouds. Finally, with a "full-power punch" from Sakura, the Seven-Tails was defeated, crashing miserably into the ruins of the Daimyo's estate.
As the Seven-Tails hit the ground, Sasuke took the cue to deactivate Fu's Tailed Beast transformation.
Looking at Fu, who had returned to human form and lay curled in a coma on the ground, Sakura pulled a burlap sack from her ninja tool pouch and casually bagged her up to take her away.
When Sakura returned to the group, Musashi had stopped crying.
"You are Sakura Haruno," he said, looking up at her.
"What should I do now?"
Watching Sakura, who had just shown such "divine might" by taking down the Seven-Tails single-handedly, Minamoto Musashi felt completely lost and instinctively looked to her for guidance. Even without this display, he knew her name. Her brilliant performance on the battlefield was something even someone raised in the Daimyo's palace had heard of. Now that she had personally captured the "culprit," Musashi's trust in her grew even deeper.
Sakura narrowed her eyes at the seemingly innocent boy and spoke at a measured pace.
"A ninja has audaciously attacked the Daimyo's estate; the capital is no longer safe. I suggest you return to Konohagakure with me to prevent any other outlaws from launching another attack on the new Daimyo."
Musashi nodded without the slightest hesitation. "Fine, I'll do as you say."
He then looked at Fu, who was bundled in the sack, his eyes reflecting undisguised hatred. "What about her?"
"She was merely being controlled; the mastermind is someone else," Sakura replied smoothly. "That is precisely why, for your safety, returning to Konoha with me is the best choice."
Sakura had an answer for every one of Musashi's doubts. He didn't offer a single word of protest. Being entrusted with the final decree by his father, being personally rescued from a world-ending attack, and then seeing her bravely capture the Seven-Tails... all of this had built a foundation of absolute trust in his heart.
Konoha Ninja, Sakura Haruno—loyal, reliable, peerless in strength, and devoted to the country. She is truly a model for all shinobi!
"Alright, let's go."
Rewinding to one day ago...
The entirety of Konohagakure was plunged into an eerie atmosphere. Every ninja was questioning their reality. It was all because of an announcement released from the Hokage Building.
The Fifth Hokage had been decided: the position would be filled by the leader of Root, Danzo Shimura.
Now, this Danzo Shimura might have been a stranger to the younger Konoha ninjas, but three years ago, they had become all too familiar with him. He was the commander who had suffered that crushing defeat in the Land of Rivers. Furthermore, Sakura Haruno, who was originally expected to shine, wasn't even mentioned in the announcement.
Kakashi stood in the crowd, hands in his pockets, staring at the announcement with an unreadable expression.
"This Lord Danzo... isn't he a bit old?" a ninja standing near Kakashi scratched his head in confusion.
"I heard he was a disciple of the Second Hokage, just like Lord Third."
"Uh... then what about Lady Sakura?"
"Isn't Lady Sakura still young?"
"Who ever heard of a sixteen-year-old becoming Hokage?"
"But this Lord Danzo must be in his seventies, right?"
"The longer you live, the more experienced you are. Doesn't that just prove Lord Danzo's competence?"
"But Lady Sakura has been handling official duties for Lord Third for a long time now, hasn't she?"
"What do you know? That was just Lord Third's way of intentionally training his disciple."
Hearing the chatter around him, Kakashi sighed silently and turned to leave. There were Root members among the commoners.
Even though Sakura had already taken over the Hokage's administrative duties—leading to a nearly refreshed governing system with rapid and efficient results in civil affairs that everyone praised—Danzo Shimura had dismissed it all with a simple phrase: "training a disciple."
It all came down to the fact that Sakura was too young. Back then, Minato Namikaze becoming the Fourth Hokage at twenty-two was considered a miracle. It was even more unthinkable for a sixteen-year-old Sakura to take the mantle of the Fifth.
A single comment about being "too young and needing more training" could easily sweep away years of military merit and political achievements. This was the only angle from which Danzo could attack her.
Kakashi walked alone through the streets, wanting to find Sakura and ask for her perspective. After all, back on the battlefield, Hiruzen Sarutobi had made it clear to Kakashi that she was the future Hokage and had to be protected at all costs.
However, he couldn't find the pink-haired girl at her house, the training grounds, or the Hokage Building. As he left the Haruno residence, Kakashi looked around and frowned.
Someone was monitoring the house. Was it ANBU... or Root?
"Kakashi."
Just as Kakashi was about to check in with Hiruzen Sarutobi, a voice called out to him.
"Lord Jiraiya?" Kakashi froze as he saw Jiraiya standing behind him.
"Want to find a place to talk?" Jiraiya's expression was uncharacteristically solemn, causing Kakashi's heart to sink.
Inside a private booth at a Konoha tavern, Jiraiya set up a barrier to ensure no one was eavesdropping before speaking slowly.
"After Terumi Mei returned to Konoha yesterday, she was detained by Danzo on charges of being a foreign spy."
Kakashi's eyes widened in disbelief. "How is that possible?!"
A spy? That was a complete joke.
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