Time doesn't slow down for peace, nor speed up for war.
But in times of extreme tension, the last couple of days had felt like a lifetime for the people of the ninja world—especially those in the Land of Fire.
Konoha was once again the target of war. The question was, did they still have the strength to stand against an allied force made up of multiple nations?
Danzō had used Hiruzen Sarutobi's death as a political weapon, fanning global anxiety and manufacturing a justification for war. At first, the public narrative leaned in Konoha's favor: the poor, beleaguered village standing against the "evil" Kirigakure.
But that narrative quickly collapsed when the armies of Kirigakure, Sunagakure, Amegakure, and Iwagakure gathered at Konoha's borders, and their supposed ally Kumogakure chose to remain motionless.
Kumogakure's sudden betrayal caught Danzō completely off guard.
Now, with enemy forces pressing in on all sides, Danzō was forced to hastily redeploy the army he had originally mobilized to attack Kirigakure, assigning them instead to various defensive positions to prepare for an all-out war.
The battle had finally reached his doorstep. But this time, there was no Hiruzen Sarutobi to bear the burden.
Danzō and Konoha's two advisors were suddenly struck by a harsh reality: their old schemes and political maneuvering were useless in the face of a real war.
So this was what Hiruzen had been dealing with all those years...
Only now, Konoha was weaker, and its enemies stronger. The situation they faced was even more dire than before.
Faced with overwhelming odds, Danzō was left with no choice but to turn to the very clans he had once suppressed—Akimichi, Nara, Yamanaka, Inuzuka, Aburame, Hyūga...
Shikaku Nara and the others agreed to assist Danzō, but each had their own agenda. The most common maneuver was quietly assigning their most talented clansmen to the safest possible positions.
The ninja world passed through two days and nights under a strange, ominous calm.
...
5:00 AM, two days later.
Konoha Village.
A piercing alarm, the highest-level emergency signal from the Barrier Corps, tore through the early morning silence and jolted every ninja in the village awake.
Enemy attack! An intruder has infiltrated the village!
"Summoning Jutsu!" bellowed the Animal Path.
A hydra-headed hellhound, a monstrous centipede, an explosive pelican, a wild water buffalo, a massive rhino, a foaming crab, a chameleon...
Each one a massive, top-tier summoning beast, appearing in different parts of Konoha at the Animal Path's command.
The Asura Path unleashed an onslaught of high-powered missiles and lasers from its mechanical body. Every blast caused massive destruction across entire districts.
And then came the other Paths—Preta, Human, Naraka—scattered throughout the village, launching ambushes from the shadows.
"Reinforcements! We need reinforcements!"
"Report to the Hokage! The west sector is falling!"
"Run! Get out of here! They're monsters—all of them!"
In just the opening clash, Konoha's ninja suffered devastating losses. Their only "gains" were casualty reports.
Distress signals flooded the Hokage Building.
"Lord Danzō! Shouldn't we send troops to reinforce the front?!"
Several Root members stepped forward, volunteering to counterattack. But Danzō remained composed, unmoved from his seat.
He didn't scold them.
Now that he was Hokage, Konoha was his to protect. He didn't blame Root for wanting to defend it.
But leadership required strategy.
"The enemy is ferocious. You are Konoha's final flame—don't die in vain."
Danzō's voice was calm and deliberate.
"Let the others hold them off for now. We need intel. Only once we understand the enemy can you strike effectively to protect the village."
Outside, the cries of civilians and the dying howls of ninja were barely audible to Danzō's ears.
"The sacrifices are necessary to gauge the enemy's strength."
The two advisors exchanged glances. They were about to object—but found themselves grudgingly persuaded.
Trading the lives of weaker ninja for valuable intel would reduce losses among the elites.
(Kirigakure's Bloody Mist would approve.)
Danzō did not charge into battle himself.
Without his direct order, Root stayed put.
Twelve years ago, when the Nine-Tails attacked, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Minato Namikaze had led from the front, risking everything to protect the village.
Now, twelve years later...
Where was the Hokage?
The disheartened defenders of Konoha couldn't find him anywhere.
Throughout the village, Pain's Six Paths continued their rampage.
Neither individual Paths nor the summoned beasts were opponents that regular ninja could handle.
To make matters worse, most of Konoha's capable fighters had been sent to the front lines in recent days.
All that remained were a few mobile jōnin and chūnin, some members of the intel, barrier, and logistics divisions, genin who'd be liabilities in real combat, and students from the academy.
This meager force stood no chance. Like a praying mantis trying to stop a cart.
Root was Konoha's last true reserve of elite strength.
And Danzō—who had never cared about the lives of his subordinates—was suddenly reluctant to throw them away.
Not until every sector had fallen. Not until cries for help echoed from every direction. Not until even from the Hokage Building, one could see the massive summoned beasts razing the village...
Not a single piece of accurate intel had reached Danzō.
They didn't even know how many enemies there were, where they were coming from, or what abilities they had.
In under an hour, Konoha's already-fragile defenses had completely collapsed.
Only then did Danzō finally admit it—his plan to use disposable ninja to wear down the enemy and preserve Root had failed.
The only thing being worn down was Konoha's life force.
He didn't have a Tsunade here to heal an entire village by herself.
Those fighting Pain were lucky to survive long enough to bleed out. Many died instantly.
The medical corps couldn't keep up. Worse, they were targeted once discovered. Over half were already dead or injured.
Of course they were. Taking out medics first was standard strategy.
Once the enemy found their location, the entire unit was wiped out.
...
"Hokage-sama!"
The two advisors could no longer hold their tongues.
Homura Mitokado stepped forward. "Please, order Root to defend the village!"
Koharu Utatane's voice trembled as she murmured, "If only Hiruzen were still alive... damn that Mizukage..."
Those lies were meant to fool outsiders. She was the fool for believing them herself.
Danzō glanced at Koharu with a strange expression but didn't bother mocking her.
He had more important things to worry about.
"Kirigakure first assassinated the Third Hokage, and now they've sent agents to secretly attack Konoha!"
He took off the Hokage hat and finally rose from his seat.
"This moment... belongs to us. We will defend Konoha!"
With a short but rousing speech, Hokage Danzō and his Root finally mobilized.
...
Outside the Hokage Building.
As Danzō stepped through the doorway, a quiet laugh echoed from above.
"Heh."
"Who's there?!"
The voice was youthful, bright—but dripping with sarcasm and rage.
"One hour, four minutes, and twenty-three seconds. That's how long it took for our Hokage to finally act."
Everyone looked up.
A young man with golden hair and bright blue eyes stood atop the building. The Root ninja gasped.
"Fourth Hokage?! Lord Hokage?!"
"Impossible!"
Some more alert Root members shouted, "It's a genjutsu!"
Danzō, upon seeing "Minato Namikaze," immediately realized he'd been caught in an illusion.
He dispelled it—and the figure changed.
Now, it was Hiruzen Sarutobi, his face contorted with fury as he pointed at the devastated village.
"Danzō! This is your idea of protecting Konoha?!"
Impossible. Hiruzen was dead. He was still in a genjutsu.
The enemy was a powerful illusionist—even his Sharingan couldn't break the spell.
"Danzō, I'm deeply disappointed in you."
Now it was Tobirama Senju.
"It was the right decision not to pass the title of Hokage to you all those years ago."
There was no point arguing with phantoms.
...
"Danzō-sama! Are you alright?!"
Another wave of genjutsu broke—this time thanks to a Root member dispelling it from the outside.
Danzō opened his eyes, ready to speak.
But then he saw the ninja's mask shatter.
Beneath it... was Uchiha Fugaku.
Uchiha Fugaku stared at him with his single eye, confused and concerned.
"Lord Danzō?"
That eye! It was a Mangekyō Sharingan!
He knew that pattern of tomoe better than anyone else—it was his own right eye!
It was him. Uchiha Shisui!
The world of genjutsu shattered like glass.
The pain of the mental assault, combined with the agony of having his right eye ripped from his body, slammed Danzō back into reality.
"Gah!"
Clutching the bleeding cavity where his right eye used to be, Danzō staggered backward. With his remaining left eye, he finally saw the true face of his opponent.
"Uchiha Shisui! Damn Uchiha!"
"Do you intend to destroy Konoha?!"
All the Root shinobi who had been standing at his side had collapsed.
They were his elite, handpicked and trained over the years. How could they all be wiped out so easily by just one man—Shisui?
Danzō raised both arms—
Whoosh!
A blade of fire arced through the air in a crescent slash, severing his bandaged right arm at the elbow. The limb spun into the air.
In the blink of an eye, Shisui appeared beside him, sword flashing.
"Not a chance! I won't let you use Izanagi!"
Gritting his teeth through the pain of losing an arm, Danzō slashed downward with a kunai using his remaining strength.
The kunai stabbed into Shisui—but it felt like it had struck nothing more than air.
The next instant, Shisui's body dissolved into a flock of crows flapping into the sky.
The crows dove at Danzō, pecking and clawing with their wings and beaks.
Danzō responded with ruthless precision, striking them down one by one with his kunai—but no matter how many he killed, they kept coming.
And in the cover of those black feathers, two short blades pierced his chest—one from the front, one from the back.
The blades struck true, stabbing through his heart.
Standing behind and before him were Shisui and another member of his squad—Uchiha Itachi.
Sasuke had not come.
The two had decided that this was their burden alone, that the cycle of vengeance would end with them. Sasuke would not be forced to bear it.
The crows dissolved one by one.
"There's still... an Uchiha."
Danzō turned his head and caught sight of Itachi's Sharingan. He realized there was still one Uchiha left alive—but he didn't recognize who it was.
"I'm Uchiha Itachi."
He had been only five years old when the Uchiha Clan was annihilated. It was his loyalty, and his betrayal, that directly led to its downfall.
The blade in his hand was buried in the heart of his enemy. Tears of regret welled in Itachi's eyes.
"I am the son of the Uchiha Clan's head—Uchiha Fugaku."
He could feel his life slipping away.
The transplanted cells of the First Hokage gave Danzō a tenacious vitality, keeping him barely alive.
But he had no chance of escaping.
With grim resolve, Danzō used his remaining left hand to tear off his clothing, revealing his torso covered in black sealing marks.
"For Konoha! For our future! I won't let the two of you leave alive!"
"It's the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Technique!"
It had already been activated. Even if Danzō died now, he could no longer stop the technique from unfolding.
Shisui instantly released his grip on the blade and grabbed Itachi, teleporting away with a flash.
In an instant, they escaped the range of the sealing jutsu.
Centered on Danzō, a massive black void expanded, engulfing a radius of a hundred meters.
Danzō—along with the entire Hokage building, and everyone still inside it, including Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu—vanished within that darkness.
Shimura Danzō, the Fifth Hokage of Konoha, along with the two former advisers, was dead.
...
With vengeance fulfilled, Shisui exhaled deeply, feeling a sense of satisfaction.
"For Konoha's sake, they couldn't be allowed to live. You said it yourself."
As he spoke, flames flared in his palm, consuming the eyeball he had held.
Itachi's eyes widened. "Shisui, you—"
"If both eyes still existed, it would cause unnecessary concern."
Shisui lifted his forehead protector, revealing his covered eye.
"I replaced it years ago with an ordinary eye."
He let the headband fall back into place and smiled faintly.
"There will be no more 'Shisui of the Body Flicker' or 'Shisui of Kotoamatsukami.'"
After spending the past few days reunited, Itachi could see that Shisui had truly come to terms with his past. His heart was calm—like still water.
He respected that, and offered no objections.
Gazing at the ruins of the crumbling, fallen Konoha, Itachi spoke heavily.
"I'll coordinate with Uzumaki Nagato. Our objective is complete. The attack can stop."
"Right."
...
Fifty kilometers outside of Konoha, at Nagato's location—
Through the eyes of Pain, he had seen Shisui and Itachi kill Danzō.
His hands, already raised to release another jutsu, froze mid-gesture.
He lifted his arm and pushed back Jiraiya's Toad Oil Flame Bomb with a carefully controlled Shinra Tensei.
"Jiraiya-sensei... this is the end of the line."
Since the beginning of the attack on Konoha, Jiraiya had abandoned the eastern front, where war had broken out with the Mist, and rushed back alone.
On the only route back, Nagato had intercepted him.
Now that Nagato was voluntarily ceasing hostilities, Jiraiya's unease only deepened.
"What happened?"
"Danzō, the Hokage, is dead."
The words hit Jiraiya like a thunderclap.
He didn't know how to respond.
He'd suspected something like this might happen—but now that it had, the reality weighed differently.
Some had once warned him not to take on those three disciples. That they would one day bring disaster to Konoha.
And now, it had come true.
"Jiraiya-sensei, return to Konoha."
Nagato stepped aside, clearing the path.
"I believe... Konoha will need you now more than ever."
Jiraiya had never been one for politics. He had always stayed out of such matters.
But from Nagato's tone, he could sense deeper intentions.
He asked, "What's going to happen to Konoha?"
"That depends on the Mizukage, the Kazekage, and the Tsuchikage."
Even Nagato didn't know what would become of Konoha—because even those three Kage likely hadn't made up their minds yet. Just like him, they were still figuring it out.
This was a matter that would have to be resolved through diplomacy.
Jiraiya didn't waste any more breath on Nagato. With a heavy heart, he launched himself into motion, sprinting back toward Konoha at full speed.