The moment Jiraiya's words landed, Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression shifted-sharp, instinctive, and ugly, as if someone had ripped away the last thin layer of pretense and exposed the rot beneath.
When they had drafted the plan, desperation had dressed itself up as necessity. To "stand against Kirigakure," they had told themselves, they could not afford restraint. No method was too extreme, no line too sacred-especially after Orochimaru whispered his solutions into the Hokage's ear with that smooth, poisonous certainty of his.
So Hiruzen had agreed.
Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei ("Impure World Reincarnation")-he had approved it without blinking.
He had even allowed graves to be violated. Not enemy graves. Konoha's. The resting places of people who had once bled for the village's banner-Hatake Sakumo, Might Duy, Yūhi Shinku. They were dragged from the earth like tools reclaimed from storage, their bodies and souls forced back into motion, puppets made to kill and die for someone else's war.
At the time, Hiruzen hadn't felt there was anything wrong with it.
But now that the war had ended in defeat-now that the adrenaline was gone and the reality remained-clarity arrived like a knife.
He had been reckless. He had been impulsive. He had trusted Orochimaru's counsel too easily and made a judgment that would stain Konoha longer than any battlefield loss.
Outside the village, Konoha had been crushed by Kirigakure. And because they had used Edo Tensei, they were being condemned by every other great nation with a fury that bordered on hysteria.
Inside the village, it was worse.
They hadn't just lost shinobi-they had lost something harder to rebuild: trust. Hatake Kakashi, Might Guy, Yūhi Kurenai… people who had once believed in Konoha without needing to be told to, now looked at Hiruzen and felt their hearts go cold.
Because anyone with a human soul-anyone other than monsters like Uchiha Itachi-would find it unbearable to imagine their dead parents, their dead loved ones, torn from the grave and fashioned into a weapon. Forced to fight, forced to serve, forced to "pay" even after death.
Kakashi, Guy, Kurenai… they were no exception.
They might not betray Konoha outright. They might still obey orders, still wear the forehead protector. But resentment? A quiet, corrosive hatred toward the man who allowed it?
That was unavoidable.
Koharu Utatane released a weary sigh, her face lined with exhaustion. "This surprise attack plan failed… and the Mizukage, Chiba, spread the intelligence to the entire shinobi world. Now Konoha is condemned from without and fractured from within… sigh…"
Hiruzen's voice snapped like a lash. "If the plan had succeeded, Kirigakure would have suffered heavy losses on their own soil! They would have attacked out of revenge. Even if they spread rumors then, we could have dismissed it as spiteful slander born from humiliation!"
His hand tightened around the pipe, knuckles whitening. "But now everything is useless. We're the ones who bled. We're the ones who lost our elite."
"And that damned Mizukage exposed Edo Tensei immediately." His eyes burned with fury and shame. "A truly sinister man!!!"
Jiraiya said nothing.
Because what could he even say?
Hiruzen had declared war. Hiruzen had authorized the invasion. Hiruzen had accepted Orochimaru's proposal. And Hiruzen had allowed the bodies and souls of Kakashi's father and others to be turned into disposable soldiers-forced to fight for him.
And now Hiruzen was calling the Mizukage "sinister."
Even Jiraiya-loyal to Konoha to the bone-could only stare at him in silence, the bitter taste of it rising in his throat.
Danzō Shimura cut in coldly, as if disgust itself were a luxury they couldn't afford. "Stop wasting time assigning blame. Think about how to respond."
"Chasing guilt is meaningless."
Hiruzen fell silent for a long time, drawing heavy, repeated pulls from his pipe as if smoke could fill the gaps where certainty used to be.
"First, we stabilize the situation," he said at last, voice hard. "Externally, we announce that the claim of Edo Tensei is Kirigakure's fabrication-Chiba's rumor."
"We calm the other great nations."
"And internally, we do the same. We soothe Kakashi, Guy, and the others. Konoha cannot survive another betrayal. Not now."
Koharu frowned. "But the news of the declaration of war has already spread through the entire shinobi world. Are we simply going to stop?"
"If we do, Konoha becomes an even bigger joke…"
Hiruzen's gaze sharpened, brittle pride forcing his spine straight. "Those are Chiba's words. We don't acknowledge them. If we refuse to admit it, what can he do?"
Even as he said it, heat crept into his face-shame that even his thick skin couldn't fully smother. Because this wasn't merely disgrace. It was humiliation, complete and public.
Even Danzō scoffed. "Hiruzen, that's an ostrich policy. Do you think if you say it loudly enough, the rest of the shinobi world will stop laughing at Konoha?!"
Hiruzen glared at him. "Then what do you propose?!"
Danzō's smile was razor-thin. "What does it matter what I propose?"
"After all… you're the Hokage, aren't you?"
The words were a clear echo of Hiruzen's earlier authority-I am the Hokage. A deliberate twist of the knife.
Hiruzen's temper erupted. "You-!!!"
Koharu pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled sharply. "Enough. Both of you."
"Hiruzen, Danzō, calm yourselves. If you start tearing each other apart now, Konoha truly is finished."
Then she turned to Danzō, voice lower, more pointed. "If you have a plan, say it. We're all tied to the same rope. If Konoha falls, what meaning does it have for you to become Hokage?"
Danzō's expression eased-barely.
"The reality is obvious," he said. "Konoha alone can no longer restrain Kirigakure."
"Kirigakure's momentum is already unstoppable. At this point, no single village can stand against them."
"Even our alliance with Sunagakure changes nothing. Konoha has suffered too many calamities-our foundation has been hollowed out. And Sunagakure…" He scoffed. "They're weaker still."
He leaned forward, voice like stone. "If we want to defeat Kirigakure-or at least resist them long enough for Konoha to survive-then we must unite every force that can be united."
Koharu's eyes narrowed. "You mean…"
Danzō said it cleanly, without hesitation. "Beyond Sunagakure, we pull in Kumogakure-possibly even Iwagakure. We form a single front, mobilize the shinobi world's power, and encircle Kirigakure."
"Then we divide them."
The room went still.
Hiruzen let out a cold laugh that sounded more defensive than confident. "Easy words. Why would Kumogakure and Iwagakure ally with us?"
"Three years ago those nations were chanting about an anti-Konoha coalition, ready to 'crush' us!"
"This is not three years ago," Danzō replied. "Back then, Kirigakure hadn't grown like this. And Kirigakure was overseas-war against them promised limited profit."
"Konoha and the Land of Fire are vast and fertile. Everyone covets that. Of course they could be swayed into surrounding us."
"But now?" His eyes sharpened. "Now Kirigakure has proven itself again and again. Their influence has expanded to a point that can't be contained."
"You think Kumogakure wants to watch a single village rise above the entire world?"
"And Iwagakure?" He snorted. "They claim alliance, but Ōnoki is an old fox. Do you truly believe he shares a heart with Kirigakure? He follows the wind."
His voice dropped, final as a verdict. "There are no eternal enemies. No eternal allies."
"Only eternal interests."
Silence lingered, heavy and reluctant.
Koharu spoke slowly. "Danzō's proposal sounds outrageous… but it isn't impossible."
"Kirigakure's surge is obvious. If this continues, it won't just be Konoha that's eclipsed. The other villages will be forced beneath them as well."
She turned to Hiruzen. "I think we should try."
Jiraiya exhaled, the sound weary, as if the years were finally catching up to him. "Strategically, it's plausible. But don't forget-we're being cursed by the entire shinobi world right now because of Edo Tensei. We're practically public enemy number one."
"In that climate… will the other great nations truly join hands with us to oppose Kirigakure?"
Danzō's reply was ice. "That doesn't matter."
"In wartime, every method becomes 'reasonable.'"
"When the Shodaime Hokage died, the other four great nations tore up their agreements and attacked Konoha together. Did they speak of morality then?!"
His voice rose, sharp with conviction. "As long as there's a common enemy-or a shared benefit-people and villages are the same."
Hiruzen fell quiet again, eyes fixed somewhere distant, as if staring at a future he hated but could no longer deny.
"At this point…" he said at last, voice hoarse, "it's the only plan we have."
"It may not succeed. But we can only treat a dead horse like a living one."
Danzō nodded once. "Then I will handle it."
Hiruzen looked at him-long, weighing, suspicious. "No."
"This time, I go personally. Kumogakure, Iwagakure… only the Hokage himself can demonstrate Konoha's sincerity."
Danzō understood immediately: Hiruzen still did not trust him.
He gave a cold snort, then continued, as if changing subjects cost him nothing. "There's also another option. If we are truly driven into a corner… we can contact that organization."
Hiruzen, Koharu, and Homura all changed expression at once.
"You mean…" Koharu began.
Danzō spoke each word like a nail being hammered in. "Yes."
"Akatsuki."
Jiraiya's heart jolted.
Has Konoha really fallen this far?
Even Hiruzen looked shaken-but then the thought arrived like poison logic: he had already cooperated with Orochimaru, a traitor, a monster… and Orochimaru had once been part of Akatsuki.
If they could cross one line, how different was the next?
"…If we reach true despair," Hiruzen said slowly, "a final gamble may not be impossible."
His gaze snapped to Danzō, suddenly fierce. "But listen carefully."
"This matter is yours-only as a contingency."
"Before I give the order, you are not permitted to contact Akatsuki privately."
"If you disobey…" His voice dropped, heavy with threat. "Even after all these years as comrades, I will not spare you."
Danzō gave a harsh humph, but did not argue.
Hiruzen turned to Jiraiya. "Jiraiya. The work of stabilizing the village falls to you."
"Kakashi. Guy. They trust you."
Jiraiya sighed-deep, resigned-and nodded. "Understood."
In the Hokage's office, the four of them set down the framework that would define Konoha's response to this crushing defeat.
Publicly, they would unify their message: the declaration of war, the invasion of Kirigakure, the use of Edo Tensei, even the grave-robbing-all of it would be branded as Kirigakure's slander. Whether anyone believed it was irrelevant.
At least, Hiruzen had decided to believe it himself.
Strategically, Hiruzen would personally contact the other great nations, hoping to create an "anti-Kirigakure alliance," a final struggle for survival torn from the jaws of death.
Danzō, if driven to desperation, would prepare the possibility of cooperating with Akatsuki.
And Jiraiya would calm Konoha's internal ranks-holding the village together with his own reputation before resentment turned into fracture, before fracture turned into collapse.
…
While Konoha's leadership drowned in panic and desperation, Kirigakure stood in stark contrast-radiant with victory.
This time, against Konoha's invasion, Kirigakure had suffered almost no losses.
Yet they had "killed" Orochimaru and sealed away the Shodaime Hokage, Senju Hashirama, and the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama. The remaining Edo Tensei puppets had been released, their bindings broken, their souls finally allowed to ascend.
And Konoha's elite had been wiped out once more.
Even Mount Myōboku-Konoha's ally-had lost not a few toads.
Most crucial of all, Chiba had spread the intelligence to the entire shinobi world: Konoha's invasion, their declaration of war, and their use of Edo Tensei on the battlefield.
Now, the other great nations condemned Konoha with unrestrained fury.
At the post-war meeting, Mei Terumī smiled, eyes bright with a victorious sheen. "This time, Konoha truly lost the wife and the soldiers."
"Their plan achieved nothing. They only bled themselves dry-and disgraced themselves before the entire world."
Hōzuki Mangetsu nodded. "Exactly. A complete loss. No real gains, and their name is in the mud. Every shinobi will spit at the mention of Konoha."
Hyūga Hiashi sneered. "Hiruzen Sarutobi has gone mad."
"Edo Tensei didn't just disturb the souls of the Hyūga and Uchiha dead-he even exploited the bodies of the fathers of shinobi still living in Konoha, like Hatake Kakashi and Might Guy!"
"At this point, he's probably being cursed by ten thousand mouths inside his own village."
Uchiha Yashiro sighed, the sound filled with bleak understanding. "Yes… only now do I truly understand. Hiruzen Sarutobi is capable of anything."
Tsunade was silent for a moment.
Then she spoke, her voice low, edged with something both bitter and sorrowful. "Hiruzen… has become increasingly deranged."
"He wasn't always like this. But he clung to the Hokage's seat for too long. His desire for authority swelled, decayed, and consumed him from the inside."
Her eyes hardened. "Now he's nothing but a corpse that still grips power."
She glanced toward Chiba. "Mi-Mizukage-sama. What do you intend to do with Orochimaru?"
Chiba's smile was calm, almost faint.
"Orochimaru?" he repeated. "He's an enemy, yes… but also extremely useful."
"I won't kill him."
"But I will ensure that his loyalty to Kirigakure is eternal."
Tsunade's eyes widened slightly. "How?"
"I have my own method," Chiba replied.
Tsunade nodded and didn't press further. She understood the kind of man Orochimaru was-how impossible it was to bind him with ordinary chains.
"For him," she murmured, "that's actually… a surprisingly good outcome."
"Orochimaru pursues 'truth' without any real sense of morality. If you can subdue him, you prevent him from doing further harm-and you can turn his talent into strength for Kirigakure."
Chiba nodded, pleased. "Exactly."
In truth, he had already decided Orochimaru's fate long ago.
Chiba had always held a trump card for people like Orochimaru.
The answer was-
Kotoamatsukami (Heavenly Eye of Absolute Control).
Uchiha Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan dōjutsu: the ultimate genjutsu that could alter a person's will without them ever realizing it.
It was perfect for someone like Orochimaru.
First, Orochimaru's resistance to genjutsu was not particularly high-Kotoamatsukami was tailor-made to seize him.
Second, even if Chiba "killed" Orochimaru here, the man would revive elsewhere through one of his countless contingencies. That would only let him escape-and Chiba had no intention of releasing such a serpent back into the wild.
Third, setting morality aside, Orochimaru truly was useful-more useful than almost any shinobi in the world in terms of knowledge, experimentation, and theoretical development.
If Orochimaru could be made eternally loyal and put to work, Kirigakure would gain development unlike anything it had ever seen.
And so, Chiba did exactly that.
At that moment, he released Orochimaru from the sealing of the Totsuka no Tsurugi ("Sword of Totsuka")-and with the timing of a surgeon and the cold certainty of a ruler, he had already placed Kotoamatsukami upon him.
Eternal loyalty to Chiba.
Eternal loyalty to Kirigakure.
Orochimaru looked around the room, then fixed his gaze on Chiba. His lips curved into a gentle, obedient smile-so unnatural on that face that it sent a faint chill through the onlookers.
"Greetings, Mizukage-sama," he said respectfully. "What are your instructions?"
Watching the once-monstrous scientist now stand so compliant, so subdued, everyone's awe toward Chiba's methods deepened again, almost to the point of disbelief.
Even Tsunade couldn't hide her complicated emotion.
Two of the Legendary Sannin…
And now, both belonged to Kirigakure.
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