"Sarutobi!" Sensing Hiruzen had completely lost his life, Enma sorrowfully crawled to his side.
'At least let me pull out this sword. You walked the path of a Ninja to its limit. This way of death suits you best.' Looking at the fallen Hiruzen, Enma silently thought.
However, as he tried to grab the sword, the sword moved on its own. Then, it directly floated into the hands of Takeru, who stood nearby.
It turned out the moment Hiruzen fell, Takeru had directly used Twilight Moon to break the barrier. The Kusanagi Sword was then controlled by Takeru's telekinesis and flew into his hand.
Enma, watching the Kusanagi Sword fall into Takeru's hands, felt unwilling, but he no longer had the strength to persist. He directly transformed into a puff of smoke and dissipated on the spot.
Takeru also examined the Kusanagi Sword briefly before putting it away.
"Damn it, my hands feel like they're burning!" Orochimaru also felt the pain in his arms and muttered.
"Orochimaru-sama..."! Because the barrier was broken, the four could only come to Orochimaru's side, warily watching Takeru.
They truly never expected Takeru could really break the barrier and seemed to do so effortlessly.
"The operation ends here. We're going back." Looking at the four, Orochimaru weakly said.
"Yes!" Hearing Orochimaru's words, the four naturally wouldn't hesitate, quickly responding before preparing to take Orochimaru and leave.
The commotion here also drew the attention of Kakashi and others below.
"Let's go!" The Anbu who had been watching the show finally reacted after seeing Orochimaru and the others preparing to leave. They gave chase, wanting to keep them there.
"Ninja Art: Spider Web Binding!" However, the three were like weaklings. As soon as they went up, they were intercepted by Kidomaru with a binding technique, making Takeru feel speechless.
Kidomaru and the other three, noticing the mysterious Takeru showed no intention of attacking, all collectively sighed in relief, including Orochimaru, who was being carried by them.
"Kakashi, they're moving. Should we pursue?" Guy, seeing Orochimaru and the others leaving, curiously looked at Kakashi.
"No, wait, Guy." Hearing his words, Kakashi directly stopped him.
"That's right. Acting recklessly without intelligence on the situation above might fall into the enemy's trap." Kabuto looked at Kakashi and the others and calmly said.
Actually, Kabuto also felt somewhat tense at the moment. After all, Takeru's actions were too erratic. If Takeru attacked them, he didn't know if they could escape safely.
At this moment, Baki and others gathered around Kabuto, facing off against Kakashi and the others.
As for Ui and Ritsu, they found the unconscious Karin and woke her up.
"Hey, what should we do?" At this moment, Baki directly looked at Kabuto beside him and asked.
"It's about time to retreat." Hearing Baki's inquiry, Kabuto directly said.
After all, even Orochimaru had fled now. Facing a large number of Konoha's Ninjas alone, even with confidence in his own strength, Kabuto didn't think he could escape under their siege.
Then, Kakashi began to accuse Kabuto, asking if he wanted to escape from him again. But Kabuto directly pointed out that Kakashi couldn't use the Sharingan perfectly like the Uchiha Clan yet, meaning Kakashi was also at the end of his strength.
Hearing his words, Kakashi could only frown and ultimately didn't make a move. Then, Kabuto quickly left the area.
As for Takeru, after picking up the Kusanagi Sword, he didn't pay attention to the standoff between Kakashi and Kabuto. He directly went to Ui and Ritsu.
"How are you? Are you alright?" Looking at the three girls, Takeru directly asked.
"We're fine, aside from being quite exhausted." Hearing Takeru's concerned words, Ui and Ritsu quickly shook their heads.
"Takeru, are you hurt? Want to take a bite for healing?" Karin also looked at Takeru expectantly, even extending her fair arm for him to bite.
"I'm fine. If I were injured, I could heal myself." Seeing Karin's action, Takeru helplessly shook his head. However, he was quite touched by Karin's concern.
"Takeru-nii, is it all over?" Ui also asked.
"Yes, it's over." Hearing this, Takeru gave a definite answer. The following time would be for holding the funeral and post-disaster reconstruction.
However, due to Takeru and the others, this disaster wasn't as severe as in the original work, though it was still quite serious.
These matters weren't closely related to Takeru. Having stepped in to solve so many Sunagakure and Otogakure's Ninjas was already going above and beyond. Of course, the most important thing was to change the plot.
Although Takeru could have completely stopped Orochimaru's plan to destroy Konoha from the start, for one, Takeru had already promised Orochimaru he wouldn't interfere with his plan. For another, killing the cannon fodders could increase his evaluation score.
…
Aside from here, Sasuke, Naruto, and the others also successfully caught up with Gaara and his team. After a series of clashes, they ultimately let Gaara leave.
Because Gaara, after Takeru's guidance, didn't release the full Shukaku like in the original work, he used the Vessel State to repel Sasuke and Naruto, then left with Temari and Kankuro.
Naruto, because he wasn't pushed by Gaara, didn't forcibly use the Nine-Tails' power to summon Gamabunta. So the two didn't have a fierce battle, and only Sasuke was somewhat unwilling after being repelled by Gaara.
Therefore, not long after, Naruto and the others directly returned to Konoha Village.
Time quickly passed two days. Takeru and the others received notice to attend the funeral of Hiruzen and the many Ninja who sacrificed themselves for Konoha.
Takeru and the others also uniformly wore black clothes and headed to the destination.
At the funeral, all Ninja in the village who had time to come had arrived. Everyone looked at the Third Hokage's portrait in silence.
Apart from Ninja who could enter inside, many Anbu and ordinary civilians also gathered outside the venue, silently watching inside.
"It's raining." Feeling the rain showering on them, Kurenai slowly said.
"Even the sky is crying." Asuma also calmly said. Hiruzen's passing saddened him, but he wouldn't lose composure now. Perhaps he had seen too much life and death.
"A memorial service is held to mourn the Third Hokage who sacrificed his life in this battle, as well as the other sacrifices..." The hosts, Konoha's two elders, began the eulogy...
Feeling the atmosphere of the venue, Takeru, Ui, and the others didn't feel too much. However, influenced by the venue's aura, Takeru inexplicably felt a wave of sorrow...
Although Takeru had the ability to save everyone back then, he didn't stop it immediately. Regarding this outcome, Takeru didn't regret his actions at the time.
Takeru had no obligation to save them, whether in the main world or mission worlds.
Although Takeru's performance had always been that of an absolute good person, for Takeru, everything he did was only beneficial to himself.
As for ordinary rescues, it was because Takeru felt it brought him more benefits. Another reason was like the core principle of the club Yukino initially established: "Those with abundance, with a compassionate heart, give their surplus to those in lack, extending a helping hand to those in distress..."
Takeru, possessing immense strength, was that person with abundance. If Takeru didn't have knowledge of the plot and strength far surpassing others, the role he might play would just be a marginal character struggling to survive in mission worlds.
Moreover, compared to letting a previous Hokage slowly die of old age, letting him die in war was perhaps his best end. And Orochimaru might have understood this, which was why he personally buried his teacher.
As everyone began to step forward to offer flowers, Konohamaru finally couldn't hold back his tears. Iruka, seeing this, gently patted his shoulder.
Looking at Hiruzen's portrait, Iruka couldn't help but recall the comfort and encouragement he received from Hiruzen when he was young...
Then he even embraced him. Naruto, looking at the deceased Hiruzen, also felt very sad because, although Hiruzen did many things unethically, his character image was still very well-established.
On the other side, Kakashi went to another place… where ordinary Ninja were being mourned. Today's events made him think of Obito.
"For Hayate? The Third Hokage's funeral has already started. Hurry up." Sensing the person behind him, Kakashi said emotionally.
"Kakashi-senpai also came to see Obito-san? If you have to think of a reason for being late every time, it's better to come a little earlier." Yugao also suggested.
"I came early in the morning. It's just that every time I come here, I want to endlessly blame my former foolish self." Hearing her words, Kakashi said emotionally.
Regarding their situation, Jiraiya, hiding in the shadows, also showed a reminiscent expression.