"Tobirama, he cursed me…"
The God of Shinobi complained with a pitiful look on his face.
Unfortunately, his younger brother didn't buy it at all.
"Brother, this is not the time for that. Be serious."
"But…" Hashirama pointed resentfully toward Pain, who was ignoring them and talking to Naruto Uzumaki instead. "His voice is exactly like yours. He used your voice to curse me."
Wearing an expression that clearly said I really need comfort right now, the Edo Tensei First Hokage was promptly ignored by the Second Hokage. His familiar bouts of dejection immediately kicked in.
This earned a few sidelong glances from the Fourth Hokage and the two Obito. Compared to the First Hokage who had just used Sage Art: Wood Release: Flower World Tree Descent to protect Konoha, the First Hokage in front of them now…
…was honestly a bit disillusioning.
Edo Tensei Tobirama twitched at the corner of his eye but still chose to ignore him, fixing his gaze on Pain in the distance and Naruto Uzumaki standing opposite him.
At this moment, Naruto was still reeling from the shock of seeing Konoha in such a state, his mind filled with worry for the village and the safety of his companions.
"Was it Captain Yamato? Was it Captain Yamato who used Wood Release to protect the village?!"
Naruto turned around, searching anxiously for familiar figures.
Ever since the Pervy Sage sacrificed himself, his dependence on Kakashi-sensei, Iruka-sensei, Captain Yamato, and the others had quietly grown deeper, though he hadn't realized it himself.
But not only could he not see them, he couldn't even sense their presence…
Under the influence of Sage Mode's heightened perception, he should have been able to easily detect those familiar life forces.
Only Iruka-sensei's presence remained. Had Kakashi-sensei and Captain Yamato gone out on a mission?
"Naruto."
Shino Aburame's voice came from nearby.
He and the members of his clan had used their insects to gnaw open a passage beneath the trees, just wide enough for one or two people to squeeze through.
"Shino!"
Seeing a living companion was an enormous boost for Naruto at this moment.
Immediately after—
"Fang Over Fang!!"
Another opening was blasted open as Kiba Inuzuka and his mom burst through.
"Bang—!"
A single punch shattered the Wood Release barrier, and the person who emerged from below was—
"Sakura!"
"Gentle Step: Twin Lion Fists!"
"Hinata!"
As more and more openings were forced through the Wood Release, Naruto saw an increasing number of his companions poke their heads out from beneath its protection.
"Chōji, Ino, Shikamaru…"
"And Iruka-sensei!! Grandma!!"
Seeing those two emerge as well, the deep-seated fear in Uzumaki Naruto's heart, which had lingered even after returning from Mount Myōboku with Sage Arts, was finally pushed down little by little.
"What the heck… you scared me to death!"
He let out a huge breath, his heart finally settling somewhat.
With his powerful sensory abilities, he had noticed the five figures standing over there long ago. It was just that his concern for Konoha's safety had made him temporarily put Pain and the others out of his mind.
Shima-sennin hopped over.
"Naruto, it was those people who protected Konoha. I saw it clearly from here."
Naruto nodded. Looking at the damage to the Wood Release beneath his feet, it wasn't hard to imagine what would have happened without those trees protecting the village. How badly Konoha would have been destroyed, how many people would have died, no one could say.
The Fifth Hokage emerged from beneath the Wood Release and first greeted Naruto, then immediately turned her gaze toward the First Hokage over there.
Staring at her young grandfather, her eyes were filled with disbelief.
Even under these circumstances, Pain did not act rashly, calmly watching as those people gathered beside the Fifth Hokage.
The ANBU accompanying Tsunade, along with Konoha's strategist-level figures like Shikaku Nara, fixed their eyes on the people who leapt over.
"The First Hokage-sama! The Second Hokage-sama! And…!"
"Minato-sama! It's Minato-sama, the Fourth Hokage?!!"
The people of Konoha erupted in disbelief and excitement.
"So it really was the former Hokage-sama protecting the village!!"
Konoha ninja who emerged from beneath the Wood Release barrier cheered in delight.
Naruto Uzumaki stared blankly at the blond figure. Not long before heading to Mount Myōboku, he had met this guy once. That same guy had even treated him to a popsicle.
"Big bro, you really are the Fourth Hokage after all…"
Naruto, already showing the beginnings of a handsome young man, looked so stunned that the few people who knew the truth about his relationship with the Fourth Hokage were left a little speechless.
After all, the Minato who had bought him a popsicle back then was actually Minato from the Kannabi Bridge Timeline, who had crossed into this world.
Because of that, the Edo Tensei Fourth Hokage Minato paused for a moment before fully understanding.
This world was connected to two previous crossings. One was the world where Obito took Kakashi's body, and the other was the world where another version of himself crossed over and learned of Jiraiya-sensei's death.
Three crossings, all at different points in time within the same parallel world.
Once he pieced that together, Minato understood what Naruto standing in front of him had gone through.
According to his other self, Jiraiya-sensei's death had dealt Naruto an enormous blow. Yet he had managed to pull himself together, master Senjutsu, and grow into someone this outstanding.
Minato's unmoving Edo Tensei heart surged with joy at the sight of his future son.
Hearing Naruto call the Fourth Hokage "big bro," the expressions of the few people from the other world varied.
That nickname was really something.
Tobirama Senju stood with his arms crossed. Just a moment ago, he had been full of praise for Naruto Uzumaki in his heart. The next moment, a hint of disdain crept onto his face.
"He really is exactly like big brother. A natural-born airhead."
Hashirama suddenly felt a little dejected…
But before he could sink into it, they noticed something else. The instant the Second Hokage spoke, the younger generation present in Konoha tensed up completely.
"What's wrong?" Tobirama asked, puzzled. "Why are you all looking at me like that?"
The Konoha ninja found it hard to explain. They wanted to speak, but couldn't quite bring themselves to.
It couldn't be helped. They had truly suffered under Pain.
Originally, the Second Hokage had only made an offhand remark. But because his voice sounded far too similar to Pain's…
No, not just similar. It was exactly the same.
That alone made the Konoha ninja subconsciously tense their muscles and enter a combat-ready state.
After all, they had only ever seen the Second Hokage on the Hokage Rock. None of them had ever heard his voice. How were they supposed to know the Second Hokage standing in front of them was the real Tobirama Senju, and not some Pain clone in disguise?
Even Pain turned his gaze over.
"Who are you?"
That identical voice…
Even Tobirama felt awkward.
"What are you staring at? I am the Second Hokage!"
Pain: "..."
Naruto looked at him, then looked at the Hokage Rock.
"Wow, big bro, you really do look exactly like the Second Hokage on the rock, dattebayo!!"
"It was carved based on my face, you idiot!"
"Huh? Oh." Naruto nodded obediently, as if to say, okay, sure, whatever you say.
That overly well-behaved look was oddly similar to Hashirama whenever he got lectured by his younger brother, once again proving the strange greatness of Ashura chakra reincarnations.
At that moment, Tsunade walked up to Hashirama.
"Grandfather!"
"We'll talk later, Tsuna," the First Hokage said, glancing at Pain, who was already growing restless. "Let's deal with this guy first."
Pain let out a cold laugh.
"Ridiculous. They're nothing more than a few Edo Tensei puppets."
Tsunade was furious and wanted to charge at Pain immediately, but she forcibly suppressed her anger and turned her gaze toward Obito Uchiha.
"Let me make one thing clear first…"
She paused.
"I don't know what method you used to bring several Hokage here, but shouldn't you return 'him' to Konoha?"
After some thought, Tsunade had already seen the abilities of Obito Uchiha and learned about the so-called "Masked Man" from him. The fact that their abilities were identical made her instinctively guard against the man in front of her for Konoha's sake.
Naruto asked, "Grandma, who is he?"
Tsunade replied, " Obito…Uchiha…"
"Uchiha?! Sasuke's clan?!"
Nagato, preparing himself for the coming hard battle, was focusing on recovering his chakra and didn't pay much attention to their conversation.
From his vantage point, he could clearly see the fan-shaped Uchiha crest on the back of Young Obito Uchiha's clothes.
"So Itachi didn't wipe out the entire clan back then."
Other Konoha ninja also noticed the emblem on Young Obito's back.
"That kid is Obito Uchiha?!"
"That's right! It really is Obito!! But his age hasn't changed at all. He looks exactly like he did when he died!"
"Summoning three Hokage with Edo Tensei is one thing, but why specifically summon that dead-last Obito Uchiha from back then?!"
"I don't get it. Is there some kind of scheme here?"
"At least thanks to the First Hokage-sama he summoned, we managed to survive."
Adult Obito Uchiha: "..."
Young Obito Uchiha: "We're still alive!! This isn't Edo Tensei!!!"
Only then did Tsunade realize that everyone was talking about Young Obito Uchiha, even though she had clearly been referring to the scarred man.
Even the Hokage herself was a little confused.
"Which one of you is Obito Uchiha?!"
Adult Obito Uchiha answered, "Both of us. We're just from different points in time."
The answer made sense, yet it was still hard to believe.
Naruto didn't really understand what they were talking about. After looking around, he asked, "By the way, Grandma… why haven't I sensed Kakashi-sensei at all? Where is he? Did he go out on a mission? I can't even feel his chakra."
When he asked that question, he already had a vague premonition in his heart.
Even though he felt uneasy, avoiding the truth had never been his style.
More importantly, he was certain to face a fierce battle with Pain next. It was better to ask clearly now and avoid any misunderstandings later.
"..."
Naruto's question made many of those who knew the truth lower their heads.
Just as Naruto's heart sank, Adult Obito transferred a crystal coffin that had only been completed not long ago out of Kamui's dimension.
Inside the crystal coffin lay a Konoha jōnin. His clothes were slightly tattered, but his relaxed brow made him look as though he were finally enjoying a rare, peaceful sleep.
Frozen in the state he had been in at the moment of death, he wore Konoha's standard ninja attire and jōnin vest. His mask was damaged, his forehead protector had fallen off during battle, and strands of silver hair spilled across his forehead.
If not for his unmoving chest, the hands folded over it holding pure white flowers…
One might have thought this Konoha jōnin was merely sleeping quietly inside the ice coffin.
The moment they saw the coffin—
Naruto Uzumaki bit his lower lip, his eyes flying wide open in shock. Sakura Haruno's tears burst out uncontrollably.
Chōji, whom Kakashi had once saved, collapsed to the ground and wailed.
Some Konoha ninja couldn't bear to look anymore. Others stared with sorrow in their eyes. Still others fell silent, wondering when it might be their turn to die like this, giving their lives for the village and their missions.
"Kakashi-sensei!!!"
Naruto shouted, fury and shock crashing together.
"What the hell is going on?!!!"
His voice was hoarse. The instant he saw Kakashi Hatake's body, his eyes were filled with rage, disbelief, and a trace of fear.
Not long ago, he had lost the Pervy Sage. And now, not much time had passed before he lost Kakashi-sensei as well?!
Sakura broke down completely the moment she saw Kakashi's body, crying out in grief.
Even though the First Hokage had helped them withstand Pain's strongest attack, far too many companions had already died at their hands.
"Who did this?!!" Naruto's anger boiled over, directed straight at Adult Obito Uchiha.
"Calm down, Naruto," Tsunade said softly. "It was Pain…"
She continued, her voice heavy with sorrow.
"Konoha's elite jōnin, Kakashi Hatake—"
"Died in the line of duty during the battle with Pain…"
"Sacrificed."
Tsunade's expression was filled with sorrow, and as she announced the mourning of the fallen, a wave of grief washed over Konoha.
The village had lost an exceptional ninja, and the Konoha ninjas had lost a comrade of immense value. But even more than that, they mourned not only Kakashi but also the many others buried beneath these trees.
When Six Paths of Pain and Konan attacked the village in search of the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki, they showed no mercy. Anyone who was unaware, hid the truth, or refused to cooperate was executed on the spot.
Before them, aside from extraordinary jōnin like Kakashi, nearly every other ninja had been subjected to a brutal, one-sided slaughter.
Naruto's gaze…
It visibly changed.
Fear and shock gave way to pure, unfiltered rage!
The most important people to him—the family he had fought so hard to gain—were being taken from him.
The Pervy Sage had been killed by Pain.
Kakashi-sensei had perished in battle against Pain.
Sasuke had left Konoha because of Itachi in the Akatsuki.
And the people who had started to accept him, the ones he swore to protect as Hokage—the responsibilities he had vowed to shoulder, everything he had fought for.
All the things he had painstakingly worked to gain—shattered one by one by Pain!!!
Yet even now, Pain didn't spare him a single glance.
Instead, Pain was focused solely on Obito Uchiha standing across from him.
"Who the hell are you?!"
Naruto's eyes narrowed as he remembered the ability Pain had used to move Kakashi's body earlier.
He also recalled the powers Kakashi had used—both reminded him of one person.
Madara Uchiha!
…
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