Immediately after, Kakashi, wearing his mask, appeared on screen. He lowered his gaze, his voice thick with a heavy, hollow self-reproach:
"Fifth Generation, I apologize for this... I failed to guide him onto the right path."
Tsunade shook her head, her expression grim. Her words carried a sharp edge of disrespect as she spat: "What does this have to do with you? If anyone is to blame, it's that old bastard, the Third Hokage! If it weren't for them..."
Tsunade's words stopped abruptly, but the cold weight of her accusation hung in the air. "If it weren't for them... how could a person capable of destroying—and intending to destroy—the Ninja World have appeared?"
Her voice was a jagged mixture of fear and fury. Kakashi stood silently to her side, his posture stiff. Tsunade took a deep breath, forcing her racing heart to calm as she displayed the iron resolve of a Hokage.
"Inform the Anbu. Recall Hebi."
She paused, her eyes turning as sharp as surgical blades. "Furthermore... initiate the Five Kage Summit! We must unite to deal with the crisis of the Ninja World's destruction!"
"Yes!" Kakashi accepted the order, vanishing with a sharp shush to make the arrangements.
Only Tsunade remained in the office. She walked to the window, gazing at the prosperous Konohagakure. She whispered softly—a sound barely audible, yet transmitted to every corner of the world through the screen: "I hope... the Ninja World can still be saved. It all depends on you... Hebi."
The image on the heavenly screen began to switch, showing scenes of Konohagakure's Anbu being urgently mobilized. Figures darted across rooftops in a tense, deadly atmosphere. The brief intermission did not calm the audience; instead, the oppressive feeling of an impending storm grew heavier.
"The Ninja World... destruction crisis?" "Hebi? What is that?" "Are they talking about the Third Hokage? What did he do?! Did he create a monster?!"
Speculation, fear, and anger sprouted and spread like a plague. The news of the Uchiha Clan Massacre seemed insignificant now. A massive shadow from the future loomed over the entire world, causing a suffocating terror to take root.
Inside the Hokage Office, Hiruzen Sarutobi watched Tsunade's undisguised accusations. He felt as if he had been struck by a bolt of lightning, frozen in place, completely unaware that his pipe had gone out.
"I... I created a world-destroying monster?" He muttered to himself, his face etched with bewilderment and a sense of incredible absurdity.
Hiruzen knew his time in office involved dark deeds, but his intention was always for Konohagakure's stability. Marginalizing the Uchiha was to prevent a coup; indulging Danzo was to handle the darkness. How did any of this lead to the end of the world?
He couldn't figure it out, but he knew he couldn't explain it away. The screen was broadcasting to everyone. The other Kage would absolutely believe it. They would all blame Konohagakure.
Sure enough, the other major Hidden Villages immediately seized this opportunity.
"That bastard Hiruzen Sarutobi! The mess he created is going to drag down the entire world!" The Fourth Raikage's furious roar nearly blew the roof off his office. "Start propagating this immediately! Let the entire world know what kind of scourge the Third Hokage is!"
"Hmph, Konohagakure is hypocritical indeed, utterly rotten inside." The Fourth Kazekage Rasa sneered, ordering his intelligence department to tarnish the village's image further.
Even the shrewd Ōnoki seized the moment: "Emphasize that this future crisis originated from the wrong decisions of Konoha's Leadership. Direct all blame towards Hiruzen Sarutobi!"
The propaganda machine of the entire Ninja World roared to life. Regardless of the truth, the accusation that Hiruzen was the "World Destroyer Creator" was being cemented by the "irrefutable evidence" from the sky.
In an alleyway, Tsunade angrily punched the wall with a thunderous crack, the solid structure instantly shattering under her fist.
"I knew it! I knew something big was going to happen!" She gritted her teeth, her chest heaving violently. "Otherwise, why would I ever go back to being that damn Hokage!"
"Lady Tsunade..." Shizune whispered, clutching Tonton tightly.
Tsunade looked sharply toward the sky. The despair on her future self's face was too real. "To make my future self look like that... You damned Old Man, just how much trouble did you cause!"
In a small town, the playful grin on Jiraiya's face was long gone, replaced by an unprecedented seriousness. "The crisis of the Ninja World's destruction... the Child of Prophecy..."
He recalled the prophecy of the Great Toad Sage. His disciple would bring immense change—either as the dawn or the calamity. "Could it be... because of my disciple?"
His heart sank, but he shook his head vigorously. "No, I must find out the truth. Who is this 'World Destroyer,' and what is their connection to the prophecy!"
Meanwhile, in the mysterious space, An watched with satisfaction as the emotional energy of shock and fear pulsed frantically on his system panel.
"The groundwork is almost complete," He smiled, his voice smooth and calculating. "Next, it's time to let 'Hebi' and that 'World Destroyer' make their appearances to warm things up."
The image on the screen shifted to a magnificent cluster of buildings covered in ice and snow—the Land of Iron. Inside the solemn meeting room, five high-backed chairs were arranged in an arc.
When the future Five Kage appeared one by one, clearly displaying their faces to the entire world, an unprecedented uproar swept across the land!