"Hiss, hiss, hiss—!"
Countless colorful, highly venomous snakes surged out of the mud like a tide, rushing towards Jiraiya and the Third Hokage!
"Damn it!"
Jiraiya used his white hair to coil around Hiruzen Sarutobi, formed hand signs, and turned to spit out a "Fire Dragon Flame Bullet," incinerating the snake swarm.
Seizing this opportunity, Orochimaru's body twisted eerily as if boneless, escaping the mud pit. He grabbed his Grass Sword and transformed into a blur, shooting forward.
"Retreat!"
Orochimaru uttered a low growl.
The Sound Four endured their injuries. Tayuya blew a short flute note to create a distraction, and Kidōmaru shot spider silk to entangle his companions. They followed Orochimaru's figure closely, vanishing like ghosts amidst the smoke.
"Splash, splash, splash—"
The sky was overcast, and finally, rain began to fall.
The heavy rain mercilessly washed away the bloodstains and mud from the rooftops.
Jiraiya set down Hiruzen Sarutobi and looked up, his vision blurred by the rain.
He looked down:
The burning streets steamed with white smoke in the downpour. Above the ruins, a blonde boy was directing countless orange Naruto's Shadow Clones, like busy worker ants, diligently searching, putting out fires, and setting up supports amidst the broken walls.
Those flickering orange specks were the most tenacious signs of life on this scorched earth.
He took a deep breath, the cold air, mixed with smoke, rain, and the smell of blood, filling his lungs. He said hoarsely, "Hokage-sama, the war is over."
Hiruzen Sarutobi wiped the rain from his face with a bleeding hand and said self-reproachfully, "This time, it was all my fault. Orochimaru was sitting right beside me, and I didn't even realize it, causing the Village to suffer such a calamity."
"Jiraiya."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's somewhat cloudy gaze turned to Jiraiya.
"I had originally planned to use the Reaper Death Seal to die with Orochimaru and kill him completely, but when I saw you arrive, I hesitated for a moment."
"As a result, Orochimaru still escaped."
Jiraiya said coldly, "That rogue Ninja, Orochimaru, will live in the shadow of his defection forever!"
"Regardless, this battle is our victory."
"That's right, we won. This is all thanks to that kid, Naruto."
Hiruzen Sarutobi also saw the very active Naruto's Shadow Clones.
In reality.
Orochimaru's Konoha Crush plan was a complete failure.
He didn't get his hands on Sasuke's body, which he coveted.
Nor did he manage to kill Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Although Konoha Village was invaded by Otogakure and Sunagakure, the damage was mainly to buildings. Casualties were minimized due to the addition of Naruto's thousands of Shadow Clones, and there were hardly any.
In this Konoha Crush plan, neither Orochimaru nor Konoha gained much, but Naruto profited.
Not only did his prestige greatly increase, but he also gained twelve Sharingan and removed the thorn in his side that was Danzo.
It's no exaggeration to say that Naruto is now completely free.
The next day.
The sky was gloomy, and a light rain was falling intermittently.
Behind the mountain, at the cemetery.
Naruto and the other Ninja of Konoha Village, led by Hiruzen Sarutobi, including Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado, and other Konoha higher-ups, came together to pay respects to the few victims of this Konoha Crush plan.
Wreaths were clustered together, and everyone wore dark clothing, holding black umbrellas, standing in the rain.
At the highest and foremost position, the portrait displayed was none other than Danzo Shimura's black and white photo!
No one knew why he died.
But it didn't prevent the eulogy from praising Danzo Shimura's greatness, extolling him for his heroic sacrifice in defending Konoha Village.
After the eulogy was read, every Ninja stepped forward to offer flowers.
When it was Naruto's turn, he walked to Danzo Shimura's portrait and placed a small chrysanthemum he had picked by the roadside.
"Lord Danzo, your heroic sacrifice to protect Konoha is worth remembering and praising. You are as noble and majestic as this chrysanthemum, which is a roadside flower, and you are a roadside… person."
After Naruto whispered to the portrait, he turned and left.
In fact, the impact of this Konoha Crush plan was still very significant.
For example, after Sunagakure was defeated, it immediately announced its surrender and shifted all responsibility to Orochimaru, claiming that everything was manipulated by Orochimaru.
Of course, Sunagakure's surrender and the redemption of Gaara and other Sunagakure Ninja came at an extremely high price.
Konoha Village, considering its national strength and the damage caused by the war, did not declare war on the Land of Wind's Sunagakure for revenge.
As for Hiruzen Sarutobi, although he survived, he also took responsibility for this Konoha Crush plan and voluntarily resigned from the position of Hokage.
Just like in the original story, after discussions between the Land of Fire's Daimyō and Konoha Village's higher-ups, Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado found Jiraiya peeking at the women's bathhouse, hoping he would take over as Hokage and become the Fifth Hokage.
Jiraiya, of course, declined and recommended Tsunade, who was also one of the Legendary Sannin, to be the new Hokage.
As for Naruto—
"Kurenai-sensei, why did you drag me along to buy sake?"
Naruto and Kurenai Yuhi walked through the commercial street of Konoha's reconstruction area.
The area had gradually regained its former prosperity, but the air still faintly carried the mixed scent of new paint and scorched earth.
"What else? Your teacher, me, owes you more and more money. Since I already owe you, why not owe a bit more, hahahaha!"
Kurenai Yuhi laughed heartily with her hands on her hips, looking like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water.
"Kurenai-sensei, are you trying to be a deadbeat?"
"Deadbeat, what does that mean?"
"Never mind, you wouldn't understand if I told you. Being a concubine is fine too."
As Naruto casually said this, Kurenai Yuhi bent down and pinched his cheek, kneading it playfully.
"Brat, you even dare to joke with your teacher, huh?"
"And besides, how old are you? Your teacher is much older than you. How—how could I be your wife?!"
As the cheerful and open-minded Kurenai Yuhi spoke, her beautiful face, uncharacteristically, flushed slightly.
"Teacher, I don't mind you being old…"
Naruto was about to continue his banter when suddenly, his peripheral vision sharpened, alerted to a shop in a street corner.
The shop's curtain was lifted by a gentle breeze, revealing two people sitting at a table near the entrance, their backs to the street.
They wore black cloaks embroidered with red clouds.
"No way, what a coincidence? Running into Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki, who are 'visiting' Konoha Village?"
"Could it be that going out with Kurenai Yuhi gives some kind of buff?"
Naruto withdrew his gaze, unable to help but complain inwardly.
In the original story, it seemed Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma Sarutobi encountered the duo of Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki while on a date.
However, at that time, Uchiha Sasuke and Kakashi Hatake were also present.
Indeed.
Naruto saw Uchiha Sasuke push aside the curtain and come out, and Kakashi leaning against the shop entrance.
Another gust of wind blew, lifting the curtain, but Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki, who had been sitting at the table, had vanished into thin air.
The air suddenly solidified.
Kurenai Yuhi's expression froze. Sensing the abnormality, she said gravely, "Those two just now were suspicious. I'll go follow them. Naruto, quickly go inform the others!"
Oh, Kurenai-sensei, Kurenai-sensei, if you go after them alone, you'll probably be taken down by those two Akatsuki members.
Naruto shook his head helplessly and likewise used the Body Flicker Technique to pursue them.