"Who is he?"
The ninjas of Konoha Village stared in confusion at the mysterious man who had just appeared.
"When did he show up? Why didn't anyone sense his presence?"
They muttered among themselves, stunned by the sudden appearance.
"That young man called him 'leader'. He must be even stronger," one of them guessed nervously.
"So what? We all saw Lord Hokage fight. No matter who this man is, Fugaku-sama will win," a younger shinobi said with blind confidence.
But some of the older ninjas began to whisper with uncertainty.
"Hey... doesn't that guy look familiar?"
"Yeah... now that you mention it, I think I've seen him somewhere before..."
Their hushed voices grew louder, but they were soon interrupted.
---
"Please, grant me a favor and let Orochimaru go," the man said lightly.
His voice wasn't loud, but it was clear enough for everyone to hear.
A wave of silence swept over the crowd. They turned to the young man in white standing behind him, their eyes wide with shock and disbelief.
"What?! That guy is Orochimaru?!"
"No way! I was wondering why he looked familiar. It really is him!"
"But he looks so young! He should be in his forties... How does he still look like he's in his twenties?!"
Murmurs turned to gasps. Orochimaru's name had long been etched into Konoha's history as one of the legendary Sannin, feared and respected.
Even though years had passed since the Second Ninja World War, the name "Orochimaru" still carried weight. Now, seeing him young and alive was enough to spark chaos.
---
Uchiha Fugaku's eyes narrowed.
He looked at the man again, and the face in front of him slowly merged with the memory of a younger Orochimaru.
"You are... Orochimaru?" Fugaku asked, stunned.
He couldn't believe it.
This man, who looked even younger than Fugaku himself, was a legendary ninja from an earlier era?
As Hokage, Fugaku knew Konoha's history well. He had read countless reports about Orochimaru. He knew that the man had one obsession—immortality.
He was willing to perform inhumane experiments, cross moral boundaries, and destroy lives just to live forever.
And now, looking at Orochimaru's youthful and vibrant appearance, Fugaku realized something that made his heartbeat quicken:
Orochimaru had succeeded.
The experiments had worked.
Fugaku's breath became ragged. Greed flickered in his eyes as he stared at Orochimaru. Immortality. Eternal life. The power to overcome death itself.
He had to possess it.
Who wouldn't?
No one wanted to grow old and die. The fear of aging, the finality of death—they haunted every shinobi. But now, the path to immortality stood before him.
He could not let Orochimaru escape. That was the only thought echoing in his mind.
---
Orochimaru smiled knowingly.
He could see the hunger in Fugaku's eyes, but he wasn't worried.
After all, he wasn't alone. His leader had come.
"Give me a favor," said Tendo Pain once again, his voice cold but calm. "Release Orochimaru, or I will act."
Fugaku sneered.
"Favor? Who do you think you are? This is Konoha, not a place for your arrogant demands."
But even as he mocked the man, Fugaku's words began to falter.
His expression changed in an instant—from smug superiority to horror.
He trembled slightly, his eyes wide with terror.
Because his Mangekyō Sharingan had shown him a glimpse of the future.
A future where Konoha was destroyed by the very man standing before him.
---
In that vision, the village lay in ruins.
Tendo Pain hovered above the city like a god, the sun casting a golden halo around his rising form.
"It's ridiculous," Pain said coldly to the shinobi below. "A bag of rice must be carried several floors. A bag of rice to the second floor."
The shinobi watched in stunned silence as Pain rose higher into the sky.
"A bag of rice made by me. A bag of rice I wash the mud from. And that pile of black tiles..."
His words sounded bizarre and nonsensical, yet carried an air of doom.
Pain floated upward until he was a mere dot in the sky.
No one knew what he was planning.
Then he shouted, "Wakla, every grain is covered with mud! Who will give you a bag of rice?!"
A blinding white light burst forth.
The villagers shielded their eyes, dazed and confused.
Then came his roar:
"Shinra Tensei!"
---
An overwhelming repulsive force exploded from Tendo Pain, radiating outward like a massive shockwave.
Buildings shook violently. The earth quaked.
Then, all at once, Konoha collapsed.
Entire blocks crumbled. Streets split. Towers fell like dominos.
The once-vibrant village was annihilated in an instant, reduced to rubble.
Dust choked the air. Fires broke out. Blood painted the shattered remains of homes.
The cries of villagers turned to silence.
Almost everyone died.
Only one pink-haired girl survived, shielded by Tsunade's summoning beast, Katsuyu.
She looked around at the hellish scene.
She fell to her knees and began to sob uncontrollably.
---
And back in the present moment, Fugaku's legs nearly gave out.
He had seen it. Everything.
The total annihilation of the Leaf Village.
And the man responsible stood right in front of him.
A man not bound by mercy, not limited by strength.
A god among mortals.
And his name was Pain.
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