Chapter 101: Epilogue
The severe pain from her heavy injuries and intense dizziness surged like a tide, swallowing her remaining consciousness. She felt her life force ebbing away, quietly waiting for the anticipated final blow from the tailed beast that would end everything.
Of course, losing consciousness at this moment was merely falling into a coma due to severe injuries—still far from actual death.
After confirming that Uchiha Itachi had completely lost consciousness and fallen into a deep faint, the crimson chakra cloak wrapping around Naruto and emanating terrifying pressure began to dissipate slowly like a receding tide.
The boiling energy gradually calmed and withdrew, finally disappearing completely back into Naruto's body, revealing the blonde boy's original form beneath.
Naruto let out a long breath and plopped down on the ground. Although this tailed beast transformation was willingly lent by Kurama without the corrosive madness of negative emotions, controlling such massive chakra far beyond his body's capacity at such high intensity still placed some burden on his physical form.
'Whew... exhausted. But according to Kurama's stubborn way of putting it just now... this is the power it's willing to lend me "for now"? That means, without going berserk, the trump card that I can stably control is the power of these four tails?'
This discovery made his blue eyes brighten slightly. This was undoubtedly a massive boost to his combat strength, and the source was completely "legitimate."
'Hmm... I'll need to find an opportunity to let the old Third Hokage know about this. See if I can squeeze some more training resources out of him with this information.'
After resting for a moment and recovering some strength, Naruto stood up again. His gaze fell on Uchiha Itachi, who had fallen unconscious from severe injuries.
The girl's pale face still bore traces of blood, her eyes tightly closed. Those two obvious tear troughs now added several degrees of vulnerability to her appearance.
'Tsk... Setting aside that extreme, perverted personality and twisted logic, just looking at this face... aside from the tear troughs being a bit heavy, she's actually quite pretty. Of course, she's still far inferior to her sister.'
Shaking his head slightly to dispel these irrelevant thoughts, Naruto knew clearly what he needed to do next.
'I've done all I can. Now I need to hurry and get Satsuki to the hospital.'
He formed hand seals and created a shadow clone to stay behind and watch over the unconscious Itachi. Then, this newly created shadow clone formed seals again.
Bang!
With a soft sound, the shadow clone voluntarily dispersed, becoming a puff of white smoke that disappeared. The memories it carried—regarding the precise location and Itachi's unconscious state—instantly crossed the distance and synchronized with the shadow clone serving as Menma.
'Good, the message has been delivered. Next, how to deal with this dutiful daughter is a problem for Shisui to worry about. My mission... is temporarily concluded.'
With this thought, Naruto wasted no more time and turned to run back toward Konoha's Uchiha compound.
He ran toward the still-sleeping Satsuki. Carefully bending down, he lifted the girl onto his back, ensuring she was secure before quickly heading toward Konoha Hospital.
---
Inside Konoha village, the entire area had fallen into complete panic and chaos. The Nine-Tails chakra emanating from the distance—substantial in its oppressive force and filled with violent, destructive aura—was like a nightmare returning, completely igniting the fears buried deep in the villagers' hearts.
Under the ninja's direction, panicked civilians dragged their families toward various underground shelters in hasty evacuation.
The ninja responsible for maintaining order had cold sweat beading on their foreheads. While desperately trying to calm the populace, they tensely kept looking toward the direction outside the village where the terrifying pressure originated, gripping their kunai tightly in preparation for combat should the worst situation arise.
However, at this critical moment when the highest leader's presence was desperately needed to command and stabilize hearts, the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen—the pillar of Konoha—was completely unable to fulfill his duties.
Not because he didn't want to, but because he—couldn't.
He was currently in the Hokage's office, but the situation was completely reversed. He wasn't sitting in the Hokage's chair, but standing silently to one side.
He never could have imagined that under his very nose, so many deals and conspiracies he knew nothing about had quietly occurred in Konoha.
Shimura Danzo... his old friend of many years had secretly reached an extermination deal with Uchiha Itachi. Having Uchiha Itachi personally slaughter her own clan... and this horrific massacre had ultimately brought forth the man before him—the leader of the Ember organization, Menma.
At this moment, this man wearing the eerie fox mask was sitting brazenly in the Hokage seat that rightfully belonged to him, his posture relaxed.
Meanwhile, he—the actual Hokage—could only stand aside like a servant. The cup of hot tea he had just personally brewed for his "guest" to maintain surface courtesy sat on the desk untouched.
Not out of fear of poison, but because Menma didn't want to remove his mask.
From Menma's calm narration, he learned of Danzo's ambitions and actions that had thoroughly enraged the Ember leader. He also knew that his old friend who had strayed down the wrong path was likely in grave danger, his fate sealed.
Rationally understanding that all of this was Danzo's own doing, the decades of bonds and shared experiences still stirred indescribable sorrow and sadness in the old man's heart.
However, at this moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't even have the luxury of grieving his old friend's demise.
Just moments ago, the continuous earth-shaking explosive sounds from Konoha's outskirts, and that torrent of chakra filled with violence and destruction that could be clearly sensed even at such distance—
Although the Third Hokage wasn't a professional sensor-type ninja, he would never mistake that chakra which had once brought pain to Konoha—
That was the Nine-Tails' chakra! And... this violent intensity—had it gone berserk?!
Combined with what Menma had just told him about the truth of the Uchiha massacre night and Itachi's extreme actions, a terrible hypothesis instantly formed in the Third Hokage's mind.
'Itachi... could she have done something to Naruto while stimulating Satsuki? Completely enraged the Nine-Tails?! Did she go too far?!'
Thinking of that potentially out-of-control scenario, the Third Hokage's heart instantly leaped to his throat. Overwhelming anxiety and worry nearly drowned him. He desperately wanted to immediately use the Body Flicker Technique to reach the scene at top speed, willing to risk his old life to prevent another possible "Nine-Tails Incident"
However, the moment his feet shifted slightly, an undisguised warning gaze pinned him firmly in place.
'I can't go!'
A cruel either-or dilemma weighed heavily on the Third Hokage's heart.
If he didn't go to stop it... allowing the Nine-Tails to completely rampage, given Konoha's current state, it might truly be completely destroyed! He couldn't sit by and watch such tragedy occur again.
But if he insisted on going... should he anger this unfathomably powerful, unpredictable leader of the Ember organization, Menma had the complete ability to level Konoha before the Nine-Tails could cause destruction. The result would still be annihilation.
Going meant destruction, not going might also mean destruction.
Enormous pressure weighed on the Third Hokage's shoulders, making his no-longer-young frame appear even more hunched.
He could only draw heavily on his pipe, thick smoke swirling around his wrinkled face, yet unable to dispel the deep gloom in his heart.
Only silent, repeated prayers remained in his heart, all hope placed on his grandstudent's child—Please, Naruto, don't be consumed by power.
Just then.
Click.
The Hokage office door—currently under strict orders not to be opened—was pushed open from outside.
Under the Third Hokage's gaze, two figures entered—the leader wore identical attire, height, and the same distinctive eerie fox mask as Menma currently seated in the Hokage's position.
Behind this newly appeared "Menma" followed another similarly fox-masked figure whose features couldn't be discerned.
Menma seated in the Hokage's chair seemed unsurprised by this. He slowly stood up.
"Have you already obtained what you needed?" the seated Menma asked.
The newly arrived Menma nodded. "Yes, found it. I can only say, worthy of being called the 'God of Shinobi's' cells... Even having died years ago, the remaining life force and energy are still terrifyingly powerful. It was hidden quite deep and took some effort, but I found it."
The seated Menma seemed satisfied with this answer, nodding slightly. "Then my task is complete. I'll leave the rest to you. Oh, and don't forget to collect that 'dutiful daughter.'"
With those words, under Sarutobi Hiruzen's astonished gaze, the Menma who had been sitting in the Hokage's chair disappeared with a soft "poof," transforming into white smoke.
'A shadow clone.'
The Third Hokage immediately turned his gaze to Menma who had just arrived at the door.
'Then this one... is the true form of the Ember organization's leader?'
However, Menma at the door seemed to have lost patience for further conversation. He casually raised one hand, withdrew a scroll from his sleeve, flicked his wrist, and tossed it to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
The Third Hokage instinctively caught the scroll.
"Take a look, Third Hokage," Menma's voice came through his mask. "Honestly, your old friend left behind far more 'surprises' than I imagined. Since Danzo died rather hastily, his subordinates apparently never received orders to destroy the evidence."
He pointed at the scroll in the Third Hokage's hands.
"This is merely a small portion. The rest... you'd better go see his lair in person to confirm for yourself."