Hiruzen Sarutobi used Earth Release ninjutsu, exploiting elemental suppression to quickly neutralize the lingering effects of Naruto's Rasenshuriken. Only then was he able to prevent the casualties from escalating further.
Jiraiya and the others turned toward Naruto's position—only to discover that he was already gone.
Naruto's departure cast an unbearable weight over everyone present.
The war was finally over, but the price paid was devastating.
Konoha had suffered countless casualties, yet what the village found hardest to accept was Naruto's disappearance.
Every one of the Five Great Ninja Villages possessed a jinchūriki as their ultimate deterrent—a weapon to keep the others in check. With Konoha losing its jinchūriki, the village was forced completely onto the defensive.
A light rain began to fall from the sky.
Tsunade worked tirelessly to treat the severely wounded. Hiruzen stood silently where he was. Jiraiya gazed up at the sky, letting the rain strike his face—unable to tell whether the moisture at the corners of his eyes was rain or tears.
Without saying a word, Jiraiya began walking away.
Sensing something wrong, Hiruzen called out,
"Jiraiya, where are you going? Konoha needs you!"
"No," Jiraiya replied coldly. "What Konoha needs isn't me. The Konoha of today is no longer the village I once wanted to protect with everything I had. All I see now is darkness, decay, ruin, and ignorance."
Hiruzen tried to stop him.
"Jiraiya, I will step down as Hokage. I want you to succeed me as the Fifth Hokage!"
At the mention of the Hokage position, Jiraiya felt no joy at all. Instead, he asked,
"Then tell me, Hokage-sama—what do you plan to do about Danzō?"
"Danzō has committed many wrongs," Hiruzen replied, "but he has also contributed to Konoha. The Hokage stands in the light, but there must be someone in the shadows protecting the village where the light cannot reach. That is unavoidable."
"…Is that so?" Jiraiya said quietly. "Then Hokage-sama, you should find someone else to become the Fifth Hokage. I, Jiraiya, am not qualified for the position."
Carrying boundless disappointment, Jiraiya left the Land of Fire.
With grief in his voice, Hiruzen asked,
"Tsunade… did I really do everything wrong?"
Tsunade did not answer him directly. Instead, she addressed him formally.
"Hokage-sama, the injuries of the wounded here have stabilized, and the war has ended. It is time for me to leave as well."
Hiruzen's body trembled.
"Tsunade… even you are leaving?"
"Hokage-sama," Tsunade said calmly, "just as Jiraiya said—Konoha is no longer the Konoha it once was. When the Fourth Hokage entrusted Naruto to you with his dying breath, not only did you fail to protect him, you handed him over to Root. You betrayed the Fourth Hokage's trust.
"When my grandfather founded Konoha, his wish was for peace—to ensure children would no longer be dragged into cruel wars, but grow up safely in peace. Yet you personally destroyed that ideal."
Hiruzen tried to justify himself.
"But war came… I had no choice…"
"Then what about the Uchiha children?" Tsunade demanded. "I don't have fond feelings toward the Uchiha clan, but children are innocent. The Uchiha were still a clan of Konoha—so why were they exterminated entirely? Why were even newborn infants spared no mercy?
"And every Uchiha corpse had their Sharingan stolen. There's no need to think about who was involved—Danzō was certainly behind it. And you knew. You chose to turn a blind eye."
Tsunade shook her head in disappointment and, like Jiraiya, left the Land of Fire.
With both Jiraiya and Tsunade gone, Hiruzen suddenly looked far older than before.
This war had dealt Konoha a crippling blow.
The Uchiha clan was annihilated. The Nine-Tails' jinchūriki defected. Two of the Three Legendary Sannin—Jiraiya and Tsunade—abandoned the village. Countless registered ninja were killed or injured.
Among all the villages, aside from Sunagakure—which fought Konoha to the bitter end—Kumogakure, which lost the Two-Tails to an Akatsuki ambush, and Kirigakure, which had been sabotaged by Yōsuke and the others, only Iwagakure, which had watched from the sidelines, emerged as the greatest victor of the war.
Suffering no losses at all was the greatest victory of all.
This war completely reshaped the balance of the ninja world.
Once the strongest village in terms of overall power, Konoha plummeted to fourth place. If not for its advantageous geography, its strength might now have been even weaker than Sunagakure's.
Kirigakure, though damaged by Yōsuke and his group, had not suffered severe casualties. With reconstruction, it could quickly recover its strength.
Kumogakure, despite losing the Two-Tails to Akatsuki, still possessed the Eight-Tails. Its military power remained the strongest among the Five Great Ninja Villages.
Iwagakure, on the other hand, suffered virtually no losses and even captured a large number of Konoha ninja. Through special means, they could extract vast amounts of intelligence—making it an immeasurably profitable outcome.
Jiraiya returned to Mount Myōboku. There was something he needed to confirm.
The Great Toad Sage had once foretold that Jiraiya's student would be the Child of Prophecy—yet Naruto had chosen revenge against Konoha. Jiraiya needed answers.
He entered the palace at Mount Myōboku.
The Great Toad Sage, Gamamaru, his entire body orange, with yellow eyes, prayer beads around his neck, a pale violet cat's-eye gem engraved with the kanji for "oil," and a scholar's hat perched atop his head, was fast asleep.
"Great Toad Sage!" Jiraiya called repeatedly.
Gamamaru slowly awakened from his deep slumber.
"Who calls upon me?"
"Great Toad Sage!" Jiraiya said urgently. "It's me—Jiraiya. I need to ask about the Child of Prophecy!"
The Great Toad Sage spoke leisurely.
"Little Jiraiya… you wish to ask whether Uzumaki Naruto truly is the Child of Prophecy, don't you?"
Jiraiya nodded.
"If Naruto is the Child of Prophecy, is there still a chance for him to return to the right path?"
"I once said," the Great Toad Sage replied, "that the Child of Prophecy would bring tremendous change to the ninja world. But that change is not necessarily salvation—it may also be destruction."
Jiraiya was shaken.
"Isn't the Child of Prophecy supposed to be the savior of the world?"
"The Child of Prophecy can become a savior," Gamamaru said, "but only if properly guided. Instead, you all guided him onto a path of destruction."
Jiraiya asked unwillingly,
"Can it still be undone?"
"There is now another force interfering with the future," the Great Toad Sage answered. "The future has become unclear. Perhaps if you find that force and cooperate with it, you may be able to salvage what remains."
"I understand," Jiraiya said firmly. "I will definitely set things right."
"Jiraiya," Gamamaru said slowly, "for now, the Child of Prophecy is still Uzumaki Naruto. But before long, that may no longer be the case. When that happens, the future will become entirely uncertain. You do not have much time left."
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