The clash of ninja shook the entire village. Explosions thundered one after another, flames and smoke rising into the night. Every technique carried the power to shatter mountains and split stone.
Though the villagers were not near the battlefield, they could still feel the tremors beneath their feet and see the glow of fire in the distance. Fear spread through their whispers.
"What kind of enemy could have broken into the village itself?"
"Even during the Great Ninja Wars, no one ever stormed into Konoha…"
"To think—so many familiar shinobi rushing past us, all heading toward the flames. This must be far worse than we imagined."
One by one, clans mobilized. The Uchiha, the Hyūga—even the Hyūga clan's Main Family was spotted moving out, their cold, aristocratic eyes glinting.
A few villagers muttered resentfully, "Those noble clans… always so arrogant."
But others hushed them quickly. "Careful! Say that too loudly and you'll bring trouble on yourself. Whatever you think of them, they're still risking their lives to protect the village. We commoners can only watch."
There was still reassurance in one thought: The Hokage himself had already taken the field. And Kakashi the Copy Ninja was with him. Surely, the enemy would be driven back.
Among the crowd, however, one man paused outside the bathhouse, towel still draped around his neck. His expression tightened as he sensed the massive chakra surging from afar.
Jiraiya of the Legendary Sannin.
"…Impossible. Has someone really breached the village's defenses?" he muttered, eyes narrowing. "The old man's not so weak. Even in his age, there aren't many alive who could stand against him…"
Then his face darkened. A chakra signature too familiar to ignore.
"Orochimaru."
His teeth clenched. "Damn it. That snake… has he come to take revenge on the old man?"
Jiraiya shook his head with a sigh. "Every time Orochimaru shows up, nothing good follows. Guess I'll have to put my research on hold."
With that, he darted toward the flames. The closer he came, the more he was shaken. That scale of Fire Release ninjutsu—it wasn't something just anyone could wield. At that level, only a Kage… or worse.
His heart sank. "If it's not the old man's combination techniques, then… could the Shura of the Ninja World truly have returned?"
When he arrived, the scene was grim. Dozens of Konoha shinobi lay broken on the ground—Root, ANBU, ordinary jonin, and chunin alike. Some groaned in pain, others lay lifeless.
And then Jiraiya saw him.
Pain.
The leader of the Akatsuki turned his head, rippled eyes meeting Jiraiya's. For the first time, his expression shifted slightly. His attacks slowed, releasing the wounded special jonin he had nearly finished.
On the other side, Orochimaru slammed his palms to the ground. Earth rose into a wall, blocking Hiruzen Sarutobi's jutsu.
The battlefield froze.
Jiraiya's arrival was impossible to ignore. His chakra flared like a bonfire in the night—immense, unhidden, undeniable. His very presence was as oppressive as a wall.
Orochimaru sneered. "Jiraiya, that fool, has come… It seems I won't be taking your head today, sensei."
Hiruzen's gaze flickered. He knew well—whenever Orochimaru and Jiraiya crossed paths, the battle shifted. The war between teacher and student could not continue here.
Orochimaru clicked his tongue, withdrew his technique, and turned to leave without hesitation. With Jiraiya here, the chance to kill the Hokage was gone.
"OROCHIMARU!" Jiraiya shouted after him, voice raw. His heart surged with emotion. "Wait! I have something to say—don't run away again!"
But Orochimaru only vanished into the night.
Pain, too, halted his offensive. With a quiet hand seal, his body dissolved in a summoning technique, vanishing from the battlefield.
And so—only Aoyama remained.
Every surviving shinobi turned their eyes upon him. Aoyama scratched his cheek awkwardly. For the first time, the situation was no longer in his favor.
Akatsuki was not a guild of comrades, but a den of traitors bound by convenience. If captured, no one would come to his rescue. Pain had left him without a word, without even attempting to bring him along. To Akatsuki, Aoyama had no value.
His body screamed. Releasing the Eight Gates left him drained, his strength collapsing. He fell backward, helpless, and was quickly bound by Konoha's sealing techniques.
With Aoyama subdued, the monstrous summons he had brought—Godzilla and Kong—vanished instantly, forcibly banished back to their kaiju world. Without his chakra, they could not remain.
Kakashi approached, his face conflicted. "I'll speak to the Hokage for you. But I need you to cooperate. Tell us everything about Akatsuki… and about Orochimaru."
Aoyama nodded at once. "Fine. I'll talk. But I refuse to fall into Root's hands. If ANBU takes custody, I'll tell you everything. About Orochimaru. About Akatsuki. Every detail."
The Third Hokage himself walked forward then, staff in hand. The crowd of shinobi parted instinctively as their Hokage approached.
Hiruzen looked down at the fallen young man, his gaze complicated. A child of Konoha who had strayed into the shadows, who had once been manipulated by Danzo's Root. He remembered all too well the missions that had pushed Aoyama away from the village.
Finally, Hiruzen closed his eyes and exhaled. When he spoke, his voice carried both sternness and compassion.
The village… can erase your status as a rogue. You may return to Konoha as a shinobi once more.