The next day, the dust settled.
Under Tsunade's orders, Konoha notified all the major Hidden Villages of Sunagakure's invasion. Messenger hawks flew in all directions, carrying the news to every corner of the world.
[Sunagakure, Kazekage's Office]
Chiyo, who had been urgently summoned, sat in the office, staring at the letter in her hand, her aged face filled with worry.
"Ransom... that idiot Rasa, what on earth was he thinking?" she muttered, her voice tinged with helplessness.
Ebizō asked cautiously from the side, "Sister, are we raising the money?"
Chiyo slammed her hands on the table. "Of course we're raising it! What else can we do? He's the Kazekage—the face of Sunagakure!"
She stood up and paced back and forth in the office.
"The Fifth Hokage of Konoha has shown restraint. She's only making us bleed a little—she has no intention of annexing Sunagakure."
As for the other Hidden Villages, they were all, without exception, enjoying the spectacle. As long as Konoha didn't swallow Sunagakure, they didn't really care.
In fact, if it weren't for the fact that the Fourth Kazekage most likely wouldn't die, some of them might have even tried to carve a piece out of Sunagakure themselves!
Still, none of them had expected Rasa to be so bold as to join forces with Orochimaru to attack Konoha. His fate was entirely deserved.
---
Konoha Village, by a small stream.
With Tsunade serving as the acting Hokage, the risk of Orochimaru's invasion was completely eliminated. Jiraiya finally had time to take a stroll, preparing to both properly teach Naruto and observe Sasuke over the long term.
Compared to his earlier, aimless search for the Child of Prophecy, now that he had a clearer direction, his confidence had grown.
Jiraiya walked along the stream, his gaze lingering on a few figures by the riverbank—Team 7, who were on a mission to clean up litter.
Naruto was arguing loudly with Sasuke, Sakura was trying to mediate, and Kakashi was leaning against a tree, engrossed in reading Icha Icha Paradise.
Jiraiya watched the blond-haired boy, the corners of his mouth turning upward.
'What a resemblance!'
He looked exactly like Minato.
"Minato..." he murmured to himself. "I'll train your child well."
Then he strode forward.
Kakashi was the first to notice the approaching figure. He lowered his copy of Icha Icha Paradise with one hand, while the other moved toward his kunai, his body tensing. But the moment he recognized the newcomer, he immediately relaxed.
"Jiraiya-sama."
There was a hint of surprise in Kakashi's voice.
Jiraiya waved a hand, signaling that formalities weren't necessary. He walked up to the three young shinobis, his gaze sweeping over them before finally settling on Naruto.
"Hey, kid, are you Uzumaki Naruto?"
Naruto, who had been in the middle of arguing with Sasuke, was momentarily startled by the unfamiliar old man. "Huh? Yeah, that's me. Who are you?"
Jiraiya smiled. "Who am I? Heh heh, I am one of the legendary Sannin—the Great Toad Sage, Jiraiya-sama!"
Naruto blinked. "Great Toad Sage? What's that? Can you eat it?"
Jiraiya's face instantly darkened, and he pressed a hand to his forehead.
'This silly kid... he's nothing like Minato.'
---
Time passed swiftly, and another week went by.
Amid the eager anticipation of countless people, the Sky Screen quietly activated.
No flashy music. No fancy intro. Only the cold, mechanical voice—indistinguishable as male or female—resounded softly.
[Suppose it's one month before the night of the Uchiha clan's Massacre in Year 54 of Konoha. As a member of the Uchiha, how would you survive that night?]
In countless timelines across the Shinobi World, an instant of deathly silence fell.
[Konoha, Year One]
Hashirama and Madara once again stood side by side on their familiar cliffside vantage point. The moment the Sky Screen spoke, Madara's body jerked violently.
"Year 54 of Konoha… the night of the Uchiha Massacre! That means, counting from now, 53 years later, the Uchiha clan will vanish from the world?"
Hashirama turned to look at him, his eyes filled with concern.
"Madara…"
Madara did not respond. He only whispered to himself, "The Uchiha clan that Father and Izuna entrusted to me… lasted only 53 years?"
Hashirama opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but didn't know how to begin.
He remembered what the Sky Screen had said before.
The Uchiha of the future, there was still Uchiha Sasuke, and Uchiha Sarada.
But what difference did that make?
With only a handful of people left, it was no different from total annihilation.
---
[Konoha, Year 52. Uchiha Clan Grounds]
Dead silence. Not a single sound could be heard across the vast clan grounds.
Everyone stared at the Sky Screen, not even daring to blink.
"Is it finally going to talk about the specifics of the massacre?" someone muttered, their voice trembling.
"Year 54 of Konoha… that means, two years from now?"
"We'll all die in two years?"
Shisui stood among the crowd, a storm raging inside him.
"Survive the night of the massacre…" he muttered, "How could one survive?"
Or rather, what good would it do for just one person to survive?
How could the rift between the Uchiha and the village ever be closed?
How exactly did the so-called Night of the Uchiha Massacre come to pass?
"Shisui." Fugaku's voice came from ahead.
Shisui looked up and saw Fugaku staring at him, his eyes filled with an indescribable complexity.
"What do you think?"
Shisui was silent for a few seconds, then said, "Fugaku-sama… I want to know what the Sky Screen means by 'survive' first."
"Does it mean avoiding the disaster altogether? Or doing something in advance to prevent it from happening?"
"If the former… can we lead the clan away? If the latter—"
He didn't finish, but Fugaku understood. If the latter, it would mean a complete break with Konoha's leadership. Of course, either choice would result in a rift with Konoha.
"Let's watch for now. Since the Sky Screen is asking this question, maybe it will provide an answer."
---
[Konoha, Year 60. Akatsuki Hideout]
Itachi ignored the slightly amused glances from the other Akatsuki members, his eyes fixed firmly on the Sky Screen. He truly wanted to know—if he could do it all over again, was there any way to avoid the night of annihilation?
Just then, Hidan suddenly chuckled. "Itachi, the Sky Screen is talking about you."
"Survive the night of massacre? Isn't it simple? Just don't kill them."
As those words fell, a few soft laughs rang out in the hideout, sounding particularly harsh in the silence.
---
[Konoha, Year 50]
Minato stood by the window, his brow deeply furrowed.
"The Uchiha massacre happens in Year 54 of Konoha?"
Shikaku said in a low voice from the side, "Hokage-sama, by then you were already..."
He didn't finish, but Minato understood. By Year 54 of Konoha, he would no longer be around.
Minato turned to look at him. "Shikaku… if I were there, what would I have done?"
Shikaku said in a low, firm voice, "If you were there, none of it would have happened!"
*****
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