"It's not their fight. You brought this calamity down on yourself," Kaito said coldly, his voice echoing through the charged air. "They owe you nothing. If they had followed your orders, they'd be corpses like the ones scattered on the ground."
"What did you say?" Hiruzen Sarutobi turned sharply, glaring at the clan leaders behind him. No one moved. No one spoke.
All across the battlefield, the leaders of Konoha's major clans averted their eyes, their silence as heavy as stone. They weren't cowards—but they weren't fools either.
The thunder domain still surged around them. To step forward now would mean stepping into death. No amount of courage would change that. And as clan heads, they had responsibilities far beyond their own pride.
"Y-You cowards…" Hiruzen muttered, his anger bubbling to the surface.
"I'll stand with you," Homura Mitokado said as he stepped forward. "Even if the others don't, I can't abandon you. We're in this together."
He and Hiruzen had been comrades since youth—if they fell, they would fall side by side.
Suddenly, Jiraiya stepped forward, sighing heavily. "Kaito… enough."
Everyone turned to look at the Toad Sage.
"Konoha was built by your ancestor, Senju Hashirama. Are you really going to destroy what he created with your own hands? Do you want to make the Land of Fire vanish from the map? Do you want to turn the Five Great Nations into four?"
His voice was tired, his shoulders sagging with the weight of realization. "Now I get it… this is why Orochimaru warned me not to get involved. He told me not to interfere in the matter between you and Sensei."
He closed his eyes for a moment. "I should've listened. I should've taken the mission to guard the borders. But I stayed… and now here we are."
Whether Kaito's words were true or not didn't matter anymore. Jiraiya had seen enough to understand the weight of his former master's sins—and why Tsunade had abandoned the village.
"I'm sorry, Kaito-sama." A voice came from beside him.
Namikaze Minato stepped forward with a solemn expression and pulled out his signature kunai. "The Third Hokage has treated me kindly… I can't let him die like this."
"Very well. That makes three of you." Kaito's smile was thin and sharp. "Anyone else? Come forward. I'd like to know how many are willing to die for Hiruzen Sarutobi."
"Wait, Kaito-sama." Nara Shikaku raised a hand. "You say you're from the Senju clan. Can you prove it?"
"If you can show us undeniable proof," he continued, "the Nara clan will back away from this fight and leave it to your two clans."
"My Akimichi clan will do the same," Choza added. "We don't want to interfere in personal vendettas."
"The Yamanaka clan, too."
"The Aburame clan stands down."
One after another, the clan leaders voiced their intentions.
Kaito heard them all, and he understood. They were terrified—and rightly so. Their statements were excuses to avoid getting involved, to save face before retreating.
But he didn't mind. He hadn't come for them. His targets were the four corrupted clans and those who had enabled them.
He didn't want to disrupt the future more than necessary. He'd kill only those who had ruined the Senju name.
"Very well," Kaito said. "If proof is what you want—here it is."
A vibrant, overwhelming aura exploded from his body. It wasn't bloodlust, it wasn't killing intent—it was life. Pure, radiant life force flooded the battlefield.
The chakra of the Senju.
(Bro, you got just 1% though ( ･ั﹏･ั))
Shikaku's breath caught in his throat. "That life force… that vitality… it's unmistakable. He's from the Senju."
He stepped forward and bowed slightly toward Kaito. "As promised, the Nara clan will withdraw. Forgive us, Hokage-sama."
Then, he turned to his people. "Nara clan, fall back!"
As his clan began to move, the other clan leaders followed suit.
"We're sorry, Hokage-sama," they all said as they departed. One by one, Konoha's clans removed themselves from the fight.
Hiruzen could only watch as the foundation of his power crumbled. His face turned pale with rage—but what could he say?
It wasn't one family. It was all of them. He was alone now.
Only the civilian shinobi remained, and Kaito looked at them with understanding. "You may leave as well. I know your struggles. You were never part of their schemes."
A moment passed. Then Might Guy's father, Might Duy, stepped forward and quietly turned to leave. Though he possessed the Eight Gates, he wasn't foolish enough to fight someone who had turned the village into thunder.
His action became the catalyst.
One after another, the civilian ninja followed, slipping away until only two or three hundred shinobi remained.
And they were all from the four clans Kaito had condemned.
"So many of you still left," Kaito said with an icy grin. "Looks like the Sarutobi clan really benefited during Hiruzen's time as Hokage."
Hiruzen clenched his teeth. "Leave, now! This fight doesn't concern you!"
But before they could react, Kaito's shadow clone appeared among the thunderclouds. His presence was regal, godlike—standing unbothered amid the deadly currents of lightning.
He lifted his arm—and the entire sea of thunder surged like a living tide.
Bolts of lightning crashed down in waves, devouring the remaining shinobi. Screams rang out as their chakra-based attacks—fire, earth, wind—were launched in desperation.
But their ninjutsu vanished the moment it touched the thunder, swallowed whole without a trace.
The sea of lightning showed no mercy.
In seconds, the battlefield was silent again.
Blood, smoke, and scorched earth lay in every direction.
Hiruzen's eyes widened with horror. His hands trembled as his heart pounded. "Kaito… I swear, I will never forgive you!"
Kaito remained still. "No need to be so upset. Your sons aren't here."
Hiruzen blinked in confusion.
"I knocked them unconscious and sent them to the forest outside the village. You can thank me later."
Of course, he would never admit the real reason. Changing too much would create a butterfly effect. Some things—some characters—had to be preserved.
"Liar!" Hiruzen roared, leaping into the air. "Enma, now!"
The golden staff in his hand expanded rapidly, transforming into a towering column as he brought it crashing down toward Kaito.
Jiraiya moved.
"Ninjutsu: Needle Jizo!"
His long white hair wrapped around him and shot forward like thousands of piercing quills.
Homura formed seals quickly.
"Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
A massive dragon of flame surged into the sky, bearing down on Kaito.
Meanwhile, Minato flicked his special kunai at Kaito and vanished.
A Rasengan formed in his palm.
---