"Ah—!"
"Boom!!"
"Run—!"
"What is that?!"
"Help—someone help us!"
Screams and explosions overlapped as panic spread through Konoha.
The moment Ash drew his blade, a crimson flash erupted.
In the next instant, he vanished.
By the time the onlookers realized what had happened, Ash was already standing in a completed draw stance—his sword returned to its sheath.
Then—
A blood-red energy blade burst forth.
It roared across Konoha like a violent hurricane.
Everything in its path was torn apart.
Houses were shredded as if made of paper. People were swept into the raging wind, flung helplessly through the air, crashing into buildings—or into each other. Debris, wood, stone, and shattered walls spiraled endlessly.
At Ash's silent command, Gengar returned to its Poké Ball.
Even the Hokage Rock was cleaved cleanly in half.
The mountain split open, exposing emergency shelters hidden inside. The violent wind dragged civilians straight out of those refuges, scattering them across the ruined village.
With a single slash, Konoha was reduced to wreckage.
Not a single intact building remained. Broken timber and shattered stone littered the ground, the destruction far more complete than even Nagato's assault had been.
Before Susanoo could swing again, Orochimaru had already fled.
Of course, the price he paid was enormous.
His arms—and his very soul—had been completely sealed by the Third Hokage, leaving him unconscious and broken.
Ding—
"Collapse Mission: Konoha — Completed."
"Casualties exceed 10,000."
"Mission Rating: SSS."
"Reward: 5,000,000 Attribute Points."
Hearing the system notification, Ash smiled faintly.
"So Mokuton is mine now," he thought calmly.
Among the Five Great Ninja Villages, Konoha maintained roughly 300,000 ninja.
Kumogakure followed with 250,000.
Iwagakure with nearly the same.
Kirigakure held around 200,000.
Sunagakure barely reached 180,000.
"Hm. That's enough."
Ash glanced once more at the ruined remains of Konoha, then dispelled Susanoo.
Space twisted.
He vanished into a swirling vortex of space-time.
"It really lives up to the title of Killing God…"
After Ash's departure, the shattered peak of the Hokage Rock slowly rose from the rubble.
From above, White Zetsu and Black Zetsu observed the devastation.
"To think Konoha would be destroyed to this extent," White Zetsu muttered.
Black Zetsu's gaze flickered with deep meaning.
"The plan went smoothly," he said. "Although Konoha is a village, its ninja were never all gathered in one place."
No village—no matter how large—could house hundreds of thousands of ninja within its walls.
Konoha's true strength lay in its sphere of influence.
Ninja stationed across the Land of Fire regularly rotated through Konoha—some for missions, others for temporary residence. Officially, it was for coordination and logistical efficiency.
In truth, it was indoctrination.
Those who passed the Chūnin Exams were required to stay in Konoha for extended periods, subtly absorbing its ideology.
This time, however, only tens of thousands of ninja were actually inside the village.
Had all 300,000 been present—
Even Ash would have needed to exert real effort.
The following day, the news spread across the entire ninja world.
Orochimaru and Ash Ketchum had jointly destroyed Konoha.
There was no way to suppress such information.
The world was shaken.
The audacity alone was terrifying—but what truly stunned everyone was the target.
Konoha, the strongest and most influential ninja village.
Ash's title—Killing God—was no longer questioned.
With a single attack, he had erased Konoha's cityscape entirely.
This was no longer power measured by villages or nations.
It was power capable of rewriting the map itself.
Konoha did not issue a bounty on Ash.
Even if they did, no one would dare accept it.
More importantly, such an action might be interpreted as a provocation. If Ash returned again—even with preparations in place—it would only mean one thing:
They were courting death.
"This feels great."
Ash glanced at the massive increase in his attributes, his mood unusually relaxed.
"This is my first time completing a personal mission and earning five million attribute points in one go. Even Mewtwo only counted as a hidden task. Hopefully, I'll run into something this good again."
He stretched his body slightly.
"It should be about here."
After finding a secluded cave deep within the forest, Ash stepped inside and opened the System Store.
"System," he said calmly, "purchase Mokuton."
His eyes narrowed as he stared at the steep price tag—3.5 million attribute points.
Ding—
"Mokuton purchase successful."
"3,500,000 attribute points deducted."
"Remaining balance: 1,804,000 attribute points."
The moment the transaction completed, Ash felt an overwhelming surge of vitality flood his body.
Every cell seemed to awaken, brimming with life. His regeneration rate skyrocketed—comparable even to the effects of a Curse Mark.
Ash almost laughed out loud.
"So Mokuton comes bundled with its ninjutsu," he mused.
"Just like the Sharingan—once redeemed, everything manifests naturally. A full package."
If he'd been forced to exchange for Mokuton techniques separately, it would have been no different from trading for Hashirama's bloodline directly.
Fortunately, everything was unfolding perfectly.
Elsewhere—within the other ninja villages.
"This is unbelievable…"
After reviewing the intelligence report, the Fifth Mizukage spoke softly, shock evident on her beautiful face.
"To think someone would have the audacity to do this. It seems we'll need to reinforce the defenses of our village."
"Lady Mizukage," Ao said immediately, stepping forward, "this isn't the time for caution. Shouldn't we take advantage of Konoha's collapse and join the other villages in attacking them? Now is the perfect opportunity."
Konoha was in chaos.
Its leadership shattered. Its defenses broken.
Many elders in the ninja world would leap at the chance to beat a fallen giant.
"No."
The Mizukage's answer was firm.
"I won't approve it."
She continued coldly, "Do you really think Konoha is that simple? Leaving aside the Sannin, there are still hidden forces we know nothing about. Starting a war now would only drag Kirigakure into disaster."
She paused briefly before adding,
"Our village only recently escaped the control of the masked man. We haven't fully recovered yet."
"War," she concluded, "is not an option."
(End of Chapter)
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