"For a missing-nin, the only true safety lies in death."
Naruto said nothing more. He paid Itachi no further attention, simply standing his ground and waiting in silence.
Hiruzen had not spoken a word from the very beginning, nor did he so much as glance at Itachi.
"Everything I have done," Itachi said, "was for the sake of Konoha."
"For the sake of Konoha?" Naruto sneered, then whispered softly.
"Here they come."
Suddenly, the forest was filled with dense silhouettes. Thirty ninja clans marched forward in a vast, formidable formation.
Itachi narrowed his eyes, straining to identify the newcomers. He recognized them instantly, they were all Konoha-nin clans. The Hyuga Clan, the Kurama Clan... even the Nara Clan, the Akimichi Clan, and the Yamanaka clan.
"Welcome, Clan Heads. You have made the most correct and wisest of choices."
Naruto smiled at the gathered families, then stepped forward to address them. "From now on, we are 'Konoha'."
"Itachi-san," Naruto added, his tone dripping with mock politeness, "right now, you are making an enemy of Konoha."
Itachi's voice was cold. "Konoha is more than just these people."
"Is that so?" Naruto replied noncommittally. He turned his head to address the former leaders of the village. "Welcome, Clan Heads, to watch A Good Show together-"
"The Destruction of Konoha."
The moment the words left his lips, Naruto fired a Ki Blast toward the sky. The sphere of energy ascended gradually before finally detonating high in the air.
It looked just like a blooming flower.
"Please wait a moment, everyone. The Prologue is about to begin."
--**--**
Inside Konoha Village.
The battle between Suna-nin and Konoha-nin had ground to a bloody stalemate.
Neither side could gain the upper hand, only the bodies of the fallen continued to pile up, one after another.
Watching those figures fall, Rasa felt his heart bleed.
The Land of Wind did not possess the abundant resources of the Land of Fire, nor did Sunagakure boast the sheer numbers of Konoha. Every single ninja under his command had been raised with massive effort and expense.
Rasa had arranged multiple contingencies, hired powerful experts, and secured outside aid, yet they had barely managed to fight Konoha to a draw.
He had still underestimated Konoha's strength.
As time dragged on, Konoha-nin poured into the battlefield like an endless stream of ants, while the Sunagakure forces dwindled.
Rasa began to feel the grip of anxiety. 'Why haven't they come yet?'
*Boom.*
A sudden explosion rang out overhead, seizing Rasa's attention. The moment he saw the Ki Blast detonate in the sky, a smile finally broke across his face. He immediately issued an order with desperate impatience.
"Sunagakure, all forces, retreat!"
He turned to his right-hand man, the teacher of his own children. "Baki, retreat!"
"Kazekage-sama, if we keep fighting, we might win!" Baki argued, his voice thick with reluctance.
In Baki's view, this was the critical tipping point of a deathly struggle. Either Konoha died, or Sunagakure lived. How high was the price Suna had paid for this moment? How many sacrifices had they made? They had fought so hard to reach this stage, and now the Kazekage was calling for a retreat? Baki could not comprehend the order.
If he wasn't one hundred percent certain of the Kazekage's identity right now, he would have suspected Rasa had been swapped out by an imposter again.
"I said, retreat. Do you intend to disobey my direct order?"
Rasa repeated the command, his tone twice as heavy.
Baki, knowing Rasa's temper all too well, realized the Kazekage was losing his patience.
He could only grit his teeth and obey. "Yes!"
"Sunagakure, everyone retreat!"
"Eh? We're leaving already? I haven't played enough yet, un!"
Hearing Rasa's order, the most disgruntled person on the battlefield was undoubtedly Deidara. He had finally found the perfect opportunity to scatter his "Art" everywhere, he hadn't had nearly enough fun, and now they were pulling out.
He still had several pieces of 'Art' he hadn't shown these Konoha-nin.
He'd had a blast today, but he wasn't fully satisfied.
At this time, Deidara was only a little over fifteen, and his most powerful Art had not yet been developed.
"Let's go Deidara." Sasori was indifferent. Standing on the side of Sunagakure had felt weird to him from the start, if not for Pain's orders, he likely would have left long ago.
"A fruitful harvest." Kakuzu was the first to leave, carrying a Black Burlap Sack over his shoulder with a satisfied look.
"I wonder how things are going on Itachi-san's end." The person most concerned about Itachi turned out to be his assigned handler. "This is Konoha, with his strength, leaving should be a simple matter."
"Almighty Pull."
It was only then that Nagato controlled Pain to slowly reveal himself. He raised a hand, seizing Deidara, who had been planning to sneak off for one last bombing run, and dragged him back by his rear collar.
"It is time to retreat."
"Yes, Leader," Deidara replied listlessly, wilting. 'Damn it, I should have tested the power of Number 17 earlier.'
Currently, Deidara's Clay Doll Series had been developed up to Number 17. He had originally planned to field-test it, but he'd run out of time. Before long, he would complete the even more powerful doll series, 'C3 - Number 18'.
Akatsuki was only assisting Sunagakure to fulfill a mission, there was no need to reveal all their trump cards or risk their lives here.
Essentially, they were just playing around. Not a single one of them was fighting seriously.
Upon receiving the signal, they chose to withdraw immediately.
Akatsuki's departure greatly reduced the pressure on the Konoha Elite Jonin. Simultaneously, the news of Sunagakure's withdrawal allowed the ninja on both sides to breathe a collective sigh of relief.
Aside from a handful of ninja who had succumbed to bloodlust, ignoring orders to charge deep into enemy lines only to die miserable deaths, both Konoha and Suna forces began to distance themselves with tacit understanding. They held the line, confronting each other but refraining from further attacks.
The Sunagakure ninja retreated steadily, and the Konoha-nin did not pursue, watching until the last enemy had vanished.
"They retreated! Suna retreated!"
A cheer erupted from the Konoha ranks.
Then, more voices joined the chorus. "We won!"
"Jiraiya-sama, we won!"
Jiraiya laughed heartily and collapsed onto the ground, utterly spent. Fighting two tailed beasts in a row, followed by an fight with a ninja of Rasa's caliber, even the Toad Sage was half-dead with exhaustion.
He didn't know why, but it was finally over.
But was it really?
Laugh while you can... for the moment of greatest joy is often the precursor to the deepest despair.
Just as the Konoha-nin were celebrating the end of the war, a sharp-eyed observer noticed a black dot appearing in the sky above the village.
"Jiraiya-sama, what is that?"
Jiraiya looked up, following the ninja's pointing finger.
"Is that... a person?"
He soon confirmed it. The figure in The Sky was indeed a person, someone familiar.
The black dot grew larger and larger until a figure wearing a white robe hovered directly above Konoha.
With that striking blond hair, who else could it be but Naruto Uzumaki?
This was Naruto's main body, the previous Hattori disguise had already been swapped for a Shadow Clone.
Naruto looked down at Konoha, a sneer curling his lips as he extended his index finger.
Hovering just above his fingertip was a Small Black Sphere the size of a marble, bobbing rhythmically up and down.
===============
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