The moment the news spread—
the shinobi world exploded.
No one expected Konoha's internal collapse to barely hit the streets before the other four great villages moved immediately—wearing righteous faces while loudly "condemning" the Uchiha.
Shock.
Pure shock.
If it weren't all four villages acting at once, people would've thought the Fourth Great Ninja War had already begun.
Even so, the impact was enough to chill countless shinobi to the bone.
Everyone understood one thing clearly:
Konoha—the village that had sat on the "Number One" throne for so long—was about to be dragged off it.
Hiruzen's faction had been wiped out.
And when the Third Hokage, the elders, Root, and an entire major clan all vanished overnight…
Konoha's strength didn't just drop.
It collapsed.
Worse still, this time it was four villages striking together.
No matter how monstrous Uchiha Ren was…
one man couldn't punch four armies into dust.
So the shinobi world churned like a storm sea.
Countless people began to "mourn" Konoha.
To "mourn" the Uchiha.
To "mourn" Ren—regretting that he'd flipped the table on Konoha's leadership…
only to hand the four great villages the perfect excuse.
A mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
Land of Fire Border — A Casino
"Open it."
A blonde woman with the kanji for Gamble on her back stared calmly at the table and spoke in a flat voice.
Tsunade.
One of the legendary Sannin.
Across from her, a chubby gambler was drenched in sweat, eyes trembling like he was about to cry.
He couldn't understand it.
Why did the "legendary sucker"—the famous "big sheep" everyone loved to fleece—suddenly turn into a walking calamity today?
"Open."
The dealer glanced between them and called it.
Both lifted their cups.
The result was instant.
"She won!"
"The 'big sheep' won again!"
"No way…"
The casino, silent a second ago, erupted into chaos.
The chubby gambler rolled his eyes back and fainted on the spot.
Tsunade frowned and swept her gaze around the room.
"Anyone else?"
The gamblers all instinctively took several steps back.
No one dared sit down.
From morning until now, Tsunade had won dozens of rounds in a row. When someone's luck was that insane, only a fool challenged it.
And gamblers hated being fools.
Yet Tsunade didn't look pleased.
She looked… uneasy.
Her luck had improved—but instead of joy, she felt a growing restlessness.
Like something terrible was about to happen.
"Tsunade!"
A blur rushed in.
Shizune sprinted through the door, ignoring the mountain of chips, and leaned in close to whisper urgently.
Tsunade's expression changed in an instant.
"What?"
Then she stood so hard the chair scraped the floor.
"We're going back to Konoha."
She didn't even look at the table as she strode out.
Shizune stared at the chips for half a second—eyes full of pain—then gritted her teeth and chased after her.
Behind them, the casino was left with only a crowd of gamblers staring at the untouched fortune, eyes shining like wolves.
Land of Rain — Akatsuki
A tall tower in the heart of Amegakure.
When word reached Akatsuki about what had happened in Konoha—and about the four great villages preparing to strike—everyone's expressions shifted.
Stunned?
Of course.
They hadn't expected the Uchiha to be hiding a monster like this.
Someone who didn't like Konoha's leadership?
He didn't scheme.
He didn't compromise.
He just killed them—cleanly, brutally, and without leaving himself any retreat.
If anything, that kind of person felt like he belonged in Akatsuki.
"Teacher Sarutobi… is dead?"
Orochimaru's pale face twitched with disbelief.
He'd lost count of how many times he'd thought impossible since hearing the news—but reality didn't care what he believed.
He had joined Akatsuki largely because of the Rinnegan…
and because he'd always planned to one day kill Hiruzen with his own hands.
Now Hiruzen was already dead.
Orochimaru's gaze drifted—slowly—toward the newest member standing in the shadows.
Uchiha Itachi.
More precisely…
toward Itachi's eyes.
The Rinnegan was difficult.
A Mangekyō Sharingan… might be closer.
Itachi noticed the look and gave a cold snort.
If anyone watched closely, they'd see it—
Itachi was different now.
His eyes were empty.
No warmth.
No hesitation.
Only a quiet, frozen cruelty.
After Konoha's "Will of Fire" had been smashed to pieces…
his beliefs had collapsed with it.
And hidden beneath his clothes—
Black Zetsu had already planted Hashirama cells into his body.
In the center of the room, the Deva Path spoke at last.
"Now that the shinobi world is destabilizing…"
"Our plan to collect the tailed beasts will be delayed."
"What? Delayed again?" Hidan complained immediately.
Kakuzu didn't even look up.
"Fine by me. Hidan, we can do more bounty jobs in the meantime."
"Like hell I'm going with you!" Hidan snapped.
Working with Kakuzu always felt like being chained to a ledger—because Kakuzu treated money like religion.
Biwa Jūzō bared his teeth.
"I was planning to move with Itachi to deal with the Three-Tails."
"Looks like that's postponed too."
Sasori's voice scraped out like rusted metal.
"Now the world's chaotic. Let them tear each other apart."
"When Konoha and the four villages bleed each other dry…"
"That's when we move."
The Deva Path's voice returned—flat, final.
"Since we're delaying…"
"We'll recruit additional members. I'll send the list."
Then:
"Meeting adjourned."
"This time, we watch."
Mount Myōboku — The Great Toad Sage Awakens
Deep within the sacred land of Mount Myōboku, inside an ancient temple—
an old orange toad sat half-asleep.
Yellow eyes.
A necklace of prayer beads.
A scholar's cap perched crookedly on his head.
The Great Toad Sage.
He dozed.
Then—
his eyes snapped open.
"What…?"
His old face tightened with shock.
The future…
had changed.
Completely.
The so-called "Child of Prophecy" blurred into nothing.
The shinobi world's fate became a fog so thick he couldn't see through it.
For the first time in a long, long time—
he could no longer read tomorrow.
A moment later, two elder toads hurried in.
Fukasaku and Shima.
"Great Sage—Jiraiya is here."
"He says it's urgent."
The Great Toad Sage sighed, as if he already knew.
"…Let him in."
"Yes."
Minutes later, Jiraiya stumbled into the temple like a man whose soul had been hollowed out.
He dropped to his knees.
"The old man… was butchered."
His whole body trembled.
He couldn't understand it.
He had left Konoha to bring Orochimaru back.
And while he was gone—
his teacher died.
Worse—
after the news broke, Jiraiya had returned secretly to Konoha once…
and discovered something that made him go cold.
The new, Uchiha-led Konoha had printed and distributed a document:
"The Third Hokage: Ten Sins."
It was everywhere.
In every street.
In every hand.
Hiruzen's reputation had been executed right alongside his body.
In the current Konoha, Sarutobi Hiruzen wasn't a hero.
He was a rat in daylight—despised by all.
Jiraiya's fists clenched until his nails dug in.
Even if he hated many of Hiruzen's choices…
that man was still his teacher.
A father in all but blood.
He couldn't accept this ending.
"I know," the Great Toad Sage said heavily.
"Konoha's future… the world's future…"
"It has all changed."
"I don't even know where it leads now."
Jiraiya's voice turned rough.
"But I… I can't accept it."
"No matter what, as Hokage… he did more good than harm."
"The Uchiha went too far."
The Great Toad Sage fell silent for a beat, then spoke.
"Uchiha Ren… I have never seen him in my dreams."
Jiraiya froze.
"…Never?"
The Great Toad Sage nodded slowly.
"His past and future are both chaos."
"Either my power is insufficient…"
"or he is something outside the flow."
An anomaly.
An intruder in fate.
The temple went quiet.
Then the Great Toad Sage asked:
"Say it."
"What do you want to do?"
Jiraiya hesitated—then forced the words out.
"The four villages are about to attack Konoha."
"I want to bring my teacher back."
The Great Toad Sage's eyes narrowed.
"Impossible."
Jiraiya's jaw tightened.
"Then let me borrow Mount Myōboku's treasure…"
"the Sage Talisman."
The Great Toad Sage's tone turned even heavier.
"Even more impossible."
"That talisman is filled with senjutsu chakra."
"It can pull someone back from the brink of death—once."
"But Hiruzen is already dead."
Jiraiya bowed his head, voice stubborn.
"I believe you have a way."
"The world is in chaos. Konoha is on the edge."
"I want you to intervene."
The Great Toad Sage sighed.
"The Sage Talisman is out of the question."
"But for Konoha…"
"For the world…"
"I can use a forbidden technique."
Jiraiya looked up sharply.
"…Which?"
The Great Toad Sage's voice dropped.
"Edo Tensei."
Jiraiya's eyes widened.
"Edo Tensei…? Isn't that a forbidden technique in the Scroll of Seals?"
Fukasaku's face darkened.
"Jiraiya."
Shima scolded too.
"The Great Sage has lived since the era of the Sage of Six Paths."
"To him, that's a small technique."
Jiraiya coughed awkwardly.
Then—because he was Jiraiya—he got greedy.
"If we're doing Edo Tensei…"
"Then bring back the First and Second Hokage as well."
"That's the only way to truly suppress Ren and the Uchiha."
Fukasaku and Shima looked like they were going to explode.
"Enough!"
"Don't push your luck!"
But the Great Toad Sage… didn't get angry.
He stared into the distance, thinking of the fog where the future used to be.
Then he nodded.
"…Fine."
Only magic can fight magic.
Perhaps only Senju Hashirama could truly restrain the Uchiha.
As for Edo Tensei?
To others it was a sin.
To him…
it was just a tool.
The only problem was—
he had once promised the Sage of Six Paths not to interfere with the shinobi world lightly.
And now…
he was about to break that promise.
He closed his eyes.
"…Just this once."
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