Chapter 55 – Ashes of the Third, Dawn of the New Konoha
An unfathomable Aike plus a pair of Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan.
Even in their prime, Hashirama and Tobirama would've had a hard fight.
Now, in cracked, half-powered Edo bodies?
They weren't even speed bumps.
"Don't worry," Hashirama said, patting his brother's shoulder. "They don't strike me as blood-crazed killers. Those two kids have their reasons. They won't go too far."
Then the execution began.
"Amaterasu!"
"Wind Style: Shuriken!"
"Blaze Style: Flame Spear!"
Three attacks converged.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, was erased so thoroughly that not even ash remained.
His final words, barely a whisper:
"All of this is my fault. Please… spare the village."
Naruto, Sasuke, and Izumi didn't answer.
They had never intended genocide.
Sasuke and Izumi only wanted the elders and Itachi.
Naruto's list was longer: the elders and the villagers who had tormented him.
That was all.
The moment Hiruzen died, the Four Violet Flames Formation collapsed.
"FATHER!!"
"LORD THIRD!!"
Asuma and the Will-of-Fire fanatics rushed in, collapsing around the scorched spot on the roof.
Hundreds of hateful eyes turned toward Naruto, Sasuke, Izumi—and by extension Aike and the four girls.
They looked ready to throw their lives away.
"STOP!"
"CALM THE HELL DOWN!"
Tobirama stepped in front of the mob, arms spread.
"Lord Second, they murdered the Third! We have to avenge him!"
"They cannot leave Konoha alive!"
Asuma glared straight at Tobirama.
"Lord Second, my father was the Hokage. Even if he made mistakes, only the village has the right to judge him—not a bunch of traitors!"
Tobirama's chakra flared.
"So you all want to die together?"
He swept his gaze across the crowd.
"Or do you really think numbers mean anything here?"
Hashirama walked up beside his brother.
"Tobirama's right. If you truly care about Konoha, don't provoke them."
"The village… can't take any more tonight."
The God of Shinobi still carried weight.
With the Third gone, Hashirama's legendary presence became the last anchor for the broken shinobi.
The mob quieted—except Asuma.
He had lost his father and his entire clan compound to explosions.
His hatred burned just as hot as Naruto's or Sasuke's.
Tobirama didn't bother arguing.
Sarutobi, Orochimaru, Naruto, Sasuke—Konoha's cancers.
Whoever died was fine by him.
As long as the village itself survived.
Then a new voice cut through the tension.
"Stand down, Asuma."
A white-haired man in wooden sandals leaped onto the roof.
"Lord Jiraiya?!"
The jonin lit up.
Orochimaru's face twisted.
"Troublesome."
He was going to be hunted for months now.
Naruto studied the approaching Toad Sage.
Jiraiya stared at the boy he once swore to protect.
"Naruto…"
He opened his mouth, closed it, then finally managed:
"I never thought you'd come this far."
"You reap what you sow, right?"
Naruto's voice was flat.
Memories from another life told him Jiraiya would have been family.
But in this life?
Just a familiar stranger.
Minato's teacher.
One of the legendary Sannin.
There was no way h
e didn't know how Naruto had been treated.
Yet he had never lifted a finger.
Why pretend now?
His blunt words dimmed Jiraiya's eyes.
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