Outside Konoha, to the east, in a vast forest training ground.
The once scattered remnants of Konoha's shinobi clans were gradually regrouping.
Leading the retreat were the two Hokage advisors, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, along with the heads of the great clans.
At present, the skies were clear, and the Complete-Body Susanoo had not pursued them, so the march of the group slowed significantly.
Koharu was disheveled, utterly exhausted, like a stray dog with nowhere left to run.
She turned to look at the other shinobi from the clans—each one equally drained, their faces ashen, some even numb.
They had fought for days, and now only sheer survival instinct kept them moving forward.
"Everyone… switch to marching on foot," Koharu sighed.
Her words carried a trace of despair.
With her order, the frantic flight shifted into a slow march.
After this battle, only about 1,500 shinobi had escaped Konoha alive.
They were the core elites preserved by the Hyūga, the Ino–Shika–Chō, the Inuzuka, the Aburame… and a handful of others.
"Sigh…"
Homura swept his weary old eyes across the survivors, sorrow plain in his gaze.
Now, nearly all of Konoha's older and middle generations of shinobi had perished.
Only the younger ones remained—Kakashi, Yamato, Might Guy, and a few others.
Fortunately, they had also managed to bring Naruto, the Jinchūriki, with them. At the moment, he was under the protection of Kakashi and the elite ANBU.
As Homura withdrew his gaze, he noticed Koharu signaling to him.
The two Hokage advisors separated from the group.
The remaining shinobi began to murmur anxiously.
Chōza Akimichi looked stricken. In a low voice, he asked, "Shikaku… who exactly is our true enemy?"
Hearing this, Inoichi Yamanaka lifted his head, his eyes falling on Shikaku—the sharpest mind among them.
Shikaku's expression froze for a moment. He glanced back at his old comrades and said with resignation, "Haven't you already figured out the answer?"
First, Konoha had been invaded by Iwagakure. Konoha allied with Mount Myōboku to resist, only to draw in a joint invasion from Iwa, Kumo, and Suna.
Then, Konoha's refuge was destroyed by the three great villages. The shinobi clans' families were slaughtered by their forces.
At the very end, the Uchiha entered the fray. With one decisive strike, they ended the era led by Hiruzen Sarutobi and drove out all three great villages without distinction.
And all of this traced back to the Night of the Uchiha Massacre.
The answer was obvious.
"Can we ever go back?" Inoichi asked quietly.
Shikaku shook his head.
"No. On the night of the Uchiha massacre, we stayed silent. That Uchiha Yu sparing us from total annihilation was already an act of mercy."
"What about our children?" Chōza asked, his voice trembling with the true question that weighed on them all.
Shikaku turned his gaze back toward Konoha, sorrow in his eyes.
"Once we're settled, we'll try to gather intelligence. Shikamaru is a clever child. As long as he's alive, he'll take care of Chōji and Ino."
"Sigh…"
The three old Ino–Shika–Chō sighed in unison.
Shikaku truly was brilliant, but in the face of Uchiha's absolute power, all strategies and calculations had proven meaningless.
On the other side of the forest—
"What's going on? Why did I suddenly lose all sense of our teacher and the First Hokage?" Homura asked in a panic.
"I don't know. I tried to dispel the Edo Tensei binding on our teacher and the First Hokage, but nothing worked. I suspect even if we tried to summon them again, it would still fail…"
Koharu's wrinkled face grew darker. She was exhausted, on the verge of collapse.
Homura thought for a moment, then spoke quickly: "This must not be revealed. Once we reach the capital of the Land of Fire and establish a new foothold, we must find Lady Tsunade immediately and make her Hokage, so she can stabilize the situation!"
"There's no other way," Koharu muttered.
Konoha Village.
The Shelter.
The Uchiha had already taken control of all the civilians within the shelter.
In addition, they held captive three Edo Tensei bodies—Hiruzen Sarutobi, Asuma, and Danzō.
However, before the Uchiha arrived at the shelter, many ordinary citizens had already fled Konoha in groups.
Tamamo originally wanted to round them all up, but Izumi stopped him.
Izumi felt there was no point in wasting energy—those who wanted to escape would just find another chance to do so, even if they were dragged back.
Now, the Uchiha stood nervously at the edge of the shelter, staring toward the heart of the village. That place had long since become a wasteland, with only that monstrous beast and the endlessly regenerating Edo Tensei shinobi remaining.
Boom—Boom—Boom—
The Gedo Statue seemed to have infinite energy, tearing apart the Edo shinobi of the Sarutobi clan again and again.
As for the Kumo-nin and Suna-nin squads left behind to cover the retreat, they had long been swallowed whole, crushed into bloody paste beneath its limbs.
"Why do you think it hasn't come for the shelter?" Minami suddenly asked.
He was simply curious. After all, there were more people gathered here.
The moment he spoke, however, he realized the atmosphere had shifted. Looking around, he saw the sharp, contemptuous stares of his teammates stabbing into him like kunai.
"…"
Minami shut his mouth.
But in the very next instant—
The chaos in the village center suddenly quieted.
The Gedo Statue, as if bored with crushing the Sarutobi Edo Tensei, lifted its head and turned toward the shelter.
With his Byakugan, Nono could clearly see its movements. Her face went pale with horror.
"Run!!"
"Minami, your damn mouth is cursed!" Tamao cursed, scooping up Hiruzen and Danzō's Edo bodies and sprinting toward the shattered Hokage Rock.
"What do you mean cursed…" Uchiha Minami sucked in a sharp breath, realizing for the first time just how ominous his words could be.
The earth quaked violently once more.
The Gedo Statue spun around and began charging toward the shelter. The ground collapsed beneath its massive, twisted limbs, each step sending up clouds of dust and debris.
Though its movement wasn't fast, its sheer size made distance meaningless. In just a few strides, it loomed before the shelter, opening its maw to unleash a furious roar.
Unlike the imposing but majestic Susanoo, the Gedo Statue was pure nightmare—no one could look at such a creature without terror.
The Uchiha held their ground, but the helpless civilians, unable to climb the cliffs, fell into utter despair. Screams tore from their throats as they stood frozen, awaiting death.
At the last possible moment—
A beam of dark-red light descended from the heavens. The Uchiha raised their heads in unison, holding their breath.
The Complete-Body Susanoo landed squarely in front of the Gedo Statue. The impact shook the earth, sending fragments of buildings flying.
The sight of the dark-red Susanoo filled the civilians with unease.
For Hiruzen, Danzō, and the others, it was pure despair.
This could only mean that Uchiha Yu had finished eliminating Konoha's remaining forces.
The war was over.
Inside the armored helm, Uchiha Yu stood tall, gazing down at the Gedo Statue.
With his arrival, the beast's fury seemed to subside. Slowly, it crouched low to the ground, motionless.
One moment, it was a demon descending upon the world.
The next, it was quiet as a pet.
Above the shelter, the Uchiha all breathed sighs of relief. The surviving civilians, too, felt the fleeting joy of having cheated death once again.
°°°
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