Unfortunately, Sakura's moment of brilliance in this battle lasted only a few seconds. She was soon sent by Iruka to the hospital to tend to the wounded.
The scene then shifted to the Hokage's office.
Tsunade stood by the window, looking out at the village, which was burning and smoking in every direction. Her expression was cold, and an ANBU knelt on one knee behind her, rapidly reporting the battle situation.
"The Akatsuki… So they've finally come."
Clearly, she was aware of the intelligence that Nagato was coming to attack Konoha.
[During this battle, relying on the intel Jiraiya had given his life to obtain, Tsunade, as the Hokage, chose to believe in Naruto. Her original plan was to recall Naruto early to join the fight.]
[Unfortunately, what Tsunade didn't know was that the messenger toad she sent to recall Naruto had already been secretly killed by Danzō.]
[Danzō's strategy was to preserve the strength of his own forces. The casualties of Tsunade and her pro-Hokage faction, as well as the villagers, were not his concern. He also physically isolated Naruto from the battlefield, while using Tsunade's medical abilities to reduce casualties among non-Danzō forces during the fighting, waiting for the enemy to confirm that the Jinchūriki was not in the village and leave on their own.]
[But the problem was that the Fifth Hokage was Tsunade. And when the Hokage has already made a decision, subordinates may propose alternative plans to avoid unilateral actions, but once the decision is finalized, they are duty-bound to execute it loyally. And in the Pain invasion, Tsunade had already made her decision from the very start.]
[So at such a time, disobeying orders and acting in bad faith was a grave mistake, it would only divide their forces and allow the enemy to pick them apart one by one. And that was precisely what happened: Kakashi, fighting on the front lines with no support, was eventually overwhelmed and died. Tsunade, holding the rear, healed the entire village's shinobis and civilians until her chakra was completely drained. And a massive number of ordinary shinobis also perished after Pain unleashed his Shinra Tensei.]
[Had Naruto returned earlier, and had Danzō and his Root forces joined the battle, Konoha's losses would likely have been far lower, especially if Danzō had used his underground base to shelter civilians and had Root shinobis assist in evacuation efforts.]
[Furthermore, even if Naruto had been recalled too early—before he had figured out how to use shadow clones to absorb natural energy to sustain Sage Mode—Root's unique abilities and their unflinching, self-sacrificing style could have been used to cover Naruto while he entered Sage Mode on the battlefield.]
[Of course, if Danzō had acted that way, he wouldn't have been Danzō. In his eyes, everything was expendable—as long as it led to him becoming Hokage.]
---
[Konoha, Year 60. Hokage Office]
Tsunade slammed her fist on the desk, splitting it with a long crack. The documents, teacups, and pen holders on it jumped into the air, tea splashing across the surface.
Flames of fury nearly erupted from her eyes.
"Danzō! That bastard!" Her voice was squeezed through gritted teeth. She wished she could storm over to where Danzō was under house arrest, drag him out of his room, and shatter his skull with a punch.
Hiruzen sat nearby, his face ashen. The pipe in his hand had long gone out, yet he kept puffing on it, drawing nothing but air.
"Old man, are you still going to protect him?" Tsunade turned to stare at Hiruzen, her gaze sharp as a blade.
Hiruzen let out a long sigh. "It's not about protecting him. It's just… I've already ordered him placed under house arrest. And the Sky Screen is showing a future event, not the present."
Hearing that, Tsunade sneered: "A future event? Every single thing the Sky Screen has shown so far has proven to be true. So how long are you going to wait before you finally deal with Danzō once and for all?"
Hiruzen fell silent, unable to answer for a long time.
Tsunade stared at him for a few seconds, then turned her head away, saying nothing more.
Meanwhile, on the streets of Konoha, the villagers were even more furious.
Especially when they heard that Danzo was willing to sacrifice shinobis and civilians for the sake of the Hokage position, their long-suppressed anger finally erupted.
"Shimura Danzō! That dog!"
"No wonder he always hides in the shadows, he can't stand the light!"
"A man like that… what right does he have to be Hokage?!"
"He's not even fit to polish the Fifth Hokage's shoes!"
The crowd was livid, their curses rising in waves. Some even picked up stones and threw them in the direction of the residence where Danzo was under house arrest.
The ANBU operatives were forced to step in to maintain order, though even they were cursing Danzō in their hearts.
---
[Land of Waves, Tazuna's House]
Kakashi felt like his head was about to explode!
He died? He died in this battle?
Then who was the one fighting Obito later on?
Naruto and Sakura's eyes were already brimming with tears.
---
Soon, the screen switched to another battle scene.
"Tell me where the Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails... or else, I'll kill you," Tendo Pain said coldly, looking down at Iruka from above.
Iruka recognized the figure before him as a member of the Akatsuki. And hearing Pain's demand, flashes of Naruto's face appeared in his mind.
His voice was firm as he replied: "I have no intention of telling you anything!"
"I see... then I have no use for you." Tendo Pain raised a black rod, preparing to finish off Iruka and another nameless shinobi.
Just then, a flash of blue lightning streaked across the screen.
A hand shot out and firmly blocked the black rod.
The camera panned upward, revealing the handsome face of Hatake Kakashi.
Kakashi crushed the black rod with one hand and swiftly dodged a kick aimed at him.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
In an instant, multiple chakra-reinforced earthen walls rose around him—each one naturally featuring Kakashi's signature dog-head carvings.
"Chidori!"
Using Earth Release first to restrict the opponent's movement, then following up quickly with the Chidori—Kakashi's classic combo. Yet, it failed to hit Tendo Pain. Instead, Kakashi found a black rod piercing his left shoulder.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Tendo Pain unleashed his signature Jutsu, and Kakashi was sent flying more than ten meters away.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Beast Tracking Fang!" Kakashi pulled the black rod from his shoulder and, undeterred, launched another Ninjutsu to probe his opponent. Unfortunately, it was easily repelled by Tendo Pain.
BOOM!
A figure suddenly landed behind Kakashi, casually tossing out several bombs.
A closer look revealed it was Asura Path Pain, equipped with various weapons.
Kakashi swiftly dodged, then instantly teleported behind his opponent. However, Asura Path Pain, relying on shared vision, dodged the Chidori in Kakashi's hand.
Yet, as the battle progressed, Tendo Pain suddenly raised his palm: "Banshō Ten'in! (Almighty Pull!)"
A powerful gravitational force slowly pulled Kakashi toward him.
Squelch!!
Unable to resist, Kakashi was impaled through the heart by Asura Pain's arm, which had transformed into a blade.
---
[Land of Waves]
"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto and Sakura screamed in horror, and even Sasuke frowned as he looked at Kakashi.
"You three, don't get caught up in these scenes. I'm still standing right here. What's shown on the screen may not be the absolute truth." Seeing their worried expressions, Kakashi was genuinely touched, and spoke up to reassure them.
Bzzzt!
On the screen, Kakashi's figure suddenly dissipated into nothingness.
"A lightning style shadow clone, huh?"
But before the words had fully landed, two enormous hands descended from above, slamming directly toward Tendo Pain and Asura Path Pain. Tendo Pain sidestepped, but Asura Pain was crushed to pieces on the spot.
---
[Land of Waves]
"Huh, is that Chōji? The guy who spends all day eating snacks and sleeping actually becomes this strong in the future?" Naruto pointed in surprise at the Konoha reinforcements on the screen.
Earlier, the scene of Chōji and Ino holding off Kakuzu had been skipped over, so this was the first time Naruto had seen just how powerful the future Chōji had become, and it was hard for him to believe.
Thump!
Sakura smacked Naruto on the head.
"Idiot Naruto, don't gossip about people behind their backs! And besides, what right does a dead last like you have to criticize anyone?"
"Ow ow ow... Sakura, that hurts!" Naruto clutched his head and looked at her with a pitiful expression.
*****
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