Several days later.
In Konohagakure, a group of craftsmen stood atop towering lifts, hammering away at Hokage Rock. Danzō's statue was nearly finished, while below, workers moved back and forth carrying materials. The outlines of many new buildings had already taken shape.
This area had once been Konoha's administrative center—but after Sasuke's Nine Thunder Arrows, it had been reduced to rubble.
"It's finally done!"
A worker excitedly tossed aside his tools and shouted. Hearing this, many of the others turned to look, relief spreading across their faces.
Rumble—!
All of the workers stiffened at once, slowly lifting their heads toward one corner of the village. That was where the Hokage's temporary office complex had been built—but now the sky above it was completely swallowed by dark clouds, twisted lightning raging wildly within. The sight was terrifying.
Boom!
A bolt of lightning as thick as a door slammed down, instantly kicking up rolling clouds of dust where the temporary offices stood. Before the dust could even settle, every worker turned and ran.
They had seen it clearly—the dark clouds above the office complex had transformed into a massive, lightning-wreathed vortex, drifting lazily toward the construction site. Once the workers were far enough away, jagged bolts of lightning shot out from the swirling clouds and crashed violently into Hokage Rock.
The freshly carved statue of Danzō was instantly blown apart into countless fragments of stone.
Then several more bolts struck.
This time, the statue of the Third Hokage was erased as well.
"Uchiha Sasuke! Don't push things too far!"
Asuma Sarutobi leapt onto the rooftop of a building near the administrative zone and roared at the rotating thunderclouds above. The clouds, however, paid him no attention. After spinning for a short while, they drifted away toward the horizon.
Elsewhere, deep inside an underground shelter, Danzō stared coldly at a row of electronic monitors. Behind him stood Aoba Yamashiro, Genma Shiranui, and Raido Namiashi.
When the storm finally vanished into the distance, Danzō strode forward and said in a low voice,
"Go to the Nara clan."
Far outside the village, a bright green Venus flytrap suddenly emerged from the trunk of a massive tree. Space warped, and a man wearing a single-holed spiral mask—Obito—appeared atop the branch.
"He's beyond our sensory range," Black Zetsu said in a raspy voice. "Sasuke never landed. He's been flying upward the entire time using Light-Weight Rock Technique. Intelligence from Iwagakure mentioned that Orochimaru used Edo Tensei to summon the Second Tsuchikage. It seems Orochimaru's hideout is in the sky."
Obito gazed upward, his tone emotionless.
"Inform Pain immediately. He'll know what to do."
"Understood."
The flytrap closed, and Black Zetsu melted back into the tree.
At the same time, high above the clouds, inside a vast hall, Naruto and Minato Namikaze stood before a crystal sphere ten meters in diameter. Both watched as a black-and-white silhouette vanished into a distorted vortex.
"The target completely disappeared—how is that possible?" Gen'ya's incredulous voice echoed from the other side of the sphere.
"I can't sense my Flying Thunder God marker either," Minato said with a nod. He then turned to Naruto, puzzled. "Naruto, why did you stop me earlier?"
"It's not time yet."
Naruto shook his head. "On the night of the Uchiha massacre, he collected countless Sharingan. Even Uchiha Itachi mastered forbidden techniques like Izanagi and Izanami. Someone wearing Madara's name would definitely have prepared those techniques for himself."
"Then who is he really?" Minato asked thoughtfully. "From the Second Hokage's memories, we already know that the 'Uchiha Madara' who died was only a disguised shadow clone. If he isn't Madara, then who could he be?"
"We'll know his identity soon enough," Naruto said with a light chuckle.
In truth, Naruto had wanted to act as well. But knowing Obito's identity, he understood that only Kakashi's Sharingan could truly counter him. Since the Sharingan cloning experiment wasn't complete yet, waiting a little longer posed no problem.
Clatter—
The doors to the hall opened, and Sasuke entered, expressionless. Naruto, however, smiled faintly—he could clearly see the satisfaction in Sasuke's eyes.
"Lord Minato," Sasuke said politely.
Then his gaze shifted, and his heart sank slightly.
Naruto was wearing that irritating smile again.
"Uh… Sasuke, why didn't you just kill Danzō?" Minato asked hesitantly. "You've already destroyed several of his temporary offices over the past few days."
"Because he's savoring his revenge," Naruto answered with a smile. "He wants Danzō to experience what the Uchiha clan once endured—being shunned and feared."
"Right now, the entire shinobi world knows that the Fifth Hokage, Danzō Shimura, abandoned the village during an enemy attack and fled to save himself. Especially among Konoha's civilians—everyone knows that getting close to Danzō means risking their lives. Before long, he'll be despised just like a Jinchūriki."
"And Danzō is even more dangerous," Naruto continued. "He's the Hokage. Anyone dissatisfied with him risks being branded a rogue ninja. If Sasuke pressures him a few more times, Konoha will become another Kirigakure."
"Hmph."
Sasuke snorted coldly. Having his thoughts exposed so easily by Naruto left him deeply annoyed.
Minato shook his head repeatedly. Danzō had already become a rat crossing the street. Since Sasuke destroyed his first temporary office, most civilians no longer dared approach ninja at all.
What shocked Minato most was that Danzō, in a moment of sheer foolishness, had once set up an office in a civilian district to test Sasuke's resolve. Sasuke responded by dropping a projector, warning the civilians to evacuate within the allotted time—after which the sky mercilessly unleashed lightning.
As a result, public resentment turned into outright hatred. Danzō instantly became the source of disaster in everyone's eyes. Some even privately praised Sasuke as a man of principles who would not slaughter innocents.
Minato felt that after dying once, the world had become utterly unfamiliar.
Just as he was sighing inwardly, Naruto suddenly frowned—then vanished in a flash.
The scene shifted.
Naruto now stood beside Hiashi Hyūga.
In the not-so-spacious courtyard lay numerous grotesquely twisted corpses, surrounded by Hyūga clan guards.
Naruto's gaze sharpened. With a flick of his finger, chakra threads dragged a silver-haired, white-robed corpse into his hand. Upon closer inspection, it was nothing more than a puppet.
Hiashi's expression changed.
"Someone remotely controlled these puppets to breach the barrier," he said grimly. "They demanded that I hand over Hinata and Hanabi, claiming the Hyūga clan had violated its destined fate."
(End of Chapter)
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