The Flying Thunder God formula?
The moment he saw the Flying Thunder God mark, Sarutobi Hiruzen thought of many things.
The one who killed the Daimyo… wasn't Uchiha Obito, but Fox?
That mark was unmistakably Fox's Flying Thunder God formula.
It wasn't Obito trying to delay Konoha's advance by assassinating the Daimyo, but… Fox himself attempting to eradicate the one nation, one village system by killing the Daimyo of two nations.
The Daimyo's coffin was extremely luxurious. The inner lining was pure gold three centimeters thick, while the exterior was crafted from precious wood. The coffin itself stood one and a half meters tall. If another person hid inside, no one at a distance would notice.
"Guruguru," wearing his spiral mask, instantly appeared inside the coffin.
The Mangekyō Sharingan within the eyehole of the mask spun rapidly.
All of this happened in the blink of an eye.
In the next instant, a black dot appeared beneath Sarutobi Hiruzen's feet.
The dot rapidly expanded, becoming a black mire-like island.
Anything that touched the Island of Miasma began to collapse inward.
The two coffins compressed into paper-thin sheets of wood.
Black Ant collapsed into a puddle of flesh.
The First Prince of the Land of Fire collapsed into a puddle of flesh as well.
So Fox had used Flying Thunder God to send Akatsuki's Spiral Zetsu here?
At first, terror filled Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes.
Then it turned into disappointment.
He could have accepted Fox killing him. Konoha's internal conflicts had claimed countless lives already.
Being Hokage was never easy.
Many people resented his policies, and many resented him personally. He had always been wary of hatred originating from within Konoha itself.
But what he could not accept… was Fox collaborating with Akatsuki to kill him.
This dōjutsu was called Mangekyō: Island of Miasma.
It belonged to Akatsuki's Spiral Ztsu.
Spirak Zetsu had obtained Uchiha Gogo's eyes and, with Uchiha Madara's help, transplanted them into himself, gaining access to Gogo's Mangekyō ability.
Why would Fox go this far?
For the sake of his goals, was he truly willing to cooperate with enemies like Akatsuki?
There was no longer much time left for Sarutobi Hiruzen to think.
Caught off guard by the Flying Thunder God and Island of Miasma, both his feet had already stepped onto the black mire.
His legs began collapsing.
Unable to resist the horrifying compressive force of the Mangekyō technique, Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately slapped explosive tags onto the roots of his thighs.
Boom! Boom!
Two consecutive explosions erupted.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's legs were blown off at the thighs, and he barely escaped the Island of Miasma.
The black mire had only consumed his legs.
However, through the smoke, a foot slammed into his back.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was sent flying toward the doorway of the bedchamber.
At the entrance stood numerous Konoha ninja, including Black Ant's loyal ANBU subordinates, Yamanaka Kari and the Hokage's assistants, Guardian Ninja Captain Sarutobi Seihi, and the other guardian ninja.
Sarutobi Seihi caught the Third Hokage and was horrified to discover both of the Hokage's legs had been severed, leaving behind a mangled mass of blood and flesh.
Daring not to let go of the Hokage, Sarutobi Seihi held him up with both arms.
"Mangekyō: Island of Miasma!"
Another Island of Miasma appeared beneath Sarutobi Seihi's feet.
His first instinct was to throw the Third Hokage away.
But his strength was too weak.
His thoughts could react, but his body could not keep up with the speed of his mind.
Standing atop the black mire, Sarutobi Seihi's body began collapsing.
Before death claimed him, Sarutobi Seihi remembered what the Hokage—Clan Leader Hiruzen—had told him the previous month.
The Hokage had instructed him to continue training diligently every day and never let himself decline.
But the castle had been too safe.
For more than ten years, there had never been an enemy attack.
The guardian ninja sent by Konoha were all elite shinobi, and several years ago, Sarutobi Seihi had already begun to slack off.
The Daimyo had spared no effort in currying favor with him.
Whatever the Daimyo enjoyed, Sarutobi Seihi enjoyed as well.
For over a decade, the position of guardian ninja captain had never changed hands.
Sarutobi Seihi had once thought that even if the village offered him the position of Jonin Commander in exchange, he would never trade places.
Being the guardian ninja captain was simply too comfortable.
Not only did he receive preferential treatment from the Daimyo, but he also had authority over recommending ninja for Land of Fire missions.
The power in Sarutobi Seihi's hands was immense.
And in all those years of indulgence, his strength had gradually declined instead of improving.
If Sarutobi Seihi had thrown the Hokage away at that moment, the Hokage could still have survived.
But his sluggish body ended up killing the Hokage.
By the time Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted to act again, it was already too late.
The Sarutobi Seihi behind him was too slow.
The Island of Miasma activated almost instantly.
Holding the legless Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sarutobi Seihi collapsed into a puddle of flesh.
Only by the colors within the flesh could one vaguely distinguish which parts belonged to Sarutobi Hiruzen's armor and which belonged to Sarutobi Seihi's flak jacket.
Not only did Sarutobi Seihi collapse, but Yamanaka Kari, Hyūga Masuyoshi, the ANBU, the Hokage's assistants, and everyone else nearby collapsed into pools of flesh as well.
Seeing Sarutobi Hiruzen die, a burden finally lifted from Yoru's heart.
After Danzō's death, Sarutobi Hiruzen's attitude had changed greatly. For the past four years, he had strongly supported Yako and Tsunade's work.
But Hiruzen was still Hiruzen.
He had merely compromised with Tsunade and Yako temporarily.
Sarutobi Hiruzen would never allow Yako to completely destroy the order of one nation, one village.
The Sarutobi clan's deep ties with the Fire Daimyo through the Guardian Ninja system were among the clan's core interests.
Yako had never intended to persuade Sarutobi Hiruzen.
People like Hiruzen and Ōnoki could only be killed.
Their way of thinking could never be changed.
Yako burst through the roof of the bedchamber and rose into the skies above the castle.
Then let the Five Release Great Barrage bloom one final time… as a farewell for Sarutobi Hiruzen.
High in the sky, Yako formed hand seals and created four shadow clones.
The five figures simultaneously formed seals, each preparing a different elemental technique.
"Forbidden Technique: Five Release Great Barrage!"
Earth Release: Flying Gravel.
Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet.
Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet.
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.
Lightning Release: Thunder Crash.
The five elemental techniques crashed toward the ground.
The castle was magnificent beyond compare.
The southern half of the central axis contained three palaces dedicated to state affairs.
The northern half contained the Daimyo's bedchamber complex, library complex, and rear gardens.
Rows upon rows of courtyards stretched out on both sides of the central axis, connected by narrow alleys for servants.
Those alleys existed so servants could leave quickly after attending to the nobles.
The dazzling light of the five elemental techniques painted the entire castle in brilliant colors.
When the techniques struck the ground, the massive chakra forces clashed and repelled one another before erupting into terrifying explosions.
The shockwave swallowed the Daimyo's bedchamber complex and the administrative palace at the same time.
Everyone in the capital could see the terrifying mushroom cloud rising above the castle.
Some intelligent observers roughly estimated the blast radius.
The castle itself was a massive structure five kilometers across.
Yet the mushroom cloud's explosion radius covered nearly two kilometers, obliterating the very heart of the castle.
Then came the second Five Release Great Barrage.
The third.
The fourth.
The fifth.
After the central core of the castle was destroyed, the remaining four barrages spread outward, completely annihilating the entire fortress.
Very soon, news spread across the ninja world:
The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had been killed.
And the royal castle of the Land of Fire had been utterly destroyed.