Mei Terumī closed her eyes.
Tears slid down from the corners of her eyes.
They were very light. Only a single drop.
She didn't wipe it away. She just let it flow.
"Nobunaga..."
She whispered softly.
"Do you know how much I hoped you would beg for mercy?"
"If you begged for mercy, I could have forgiven you."
"If you admitted your mistake, I could have taken you back."
"If you said sorry, I could have—"
She couldn't go on.
Because saying these things had no meaning anymore.
He had already said, 'I'm waiting for you to come and kill me.'
He had already said, 'Hate me.'
He had already blocked all the paths.
She stood before the mirror.
For a long time.
Then she opened her eyes.
The tears had already dried. There was no expression on her face.
In those emerald eyes, the fire burned differently.
It wasn't hate. It was something else.
It was resignation.
It was helplessness.
It was—
Never mind.
She turned and walked toward the door.
After taking two steps, she stopped.
She didn't look back.
"Idiot," she said softly.
"How did I... take a liking to an idiot like you..."
She pushed open the door.
Sunlight shone in from the corridor window, falling on her.
She walked forward.
Into the sunlight.
Into that future, whatever it might be.
...
The third match.
On the arena, two people had already taken their positions.
Sasuke. Gaara.
Sunlight fell on them, stretching the shadows of the two boys long.
Sasuke's stance was steady. With hands in his pockets, his face held no expression. But in those black eyes, a light was burning. It was the light of an avenger, a light eager to prove himself.
Gaara stood opposite him, head lowered.
The aura on him wasn't right.
Nobunaga stood at the edge of the field, his brow slightly furrowed.
That kind of Chakra fluctuation was all too familiar to him.
Shukaku.
It wasn't the usual quiet, sleeping state. It was restless, uneasy, a state where it could burst out at any moment.
"What's going on..."
Nobunaga muttered, "Wait, could it be Orochimaru!"
The proctor raised his hand.
"Begin!"
Sasuke moved.
Fast. Very fast.
He charged at Gaara, throwing a punch toward his face.
Gaara didn't move.
Sand rose automatically, blocking Sasuke's path.
Sasuke's fist slammed into the sand; the sand shattered, then quickly reconsolidated.
Sasuke didn't stop. Punch after punch, kick after kick, his offensive grew more and more fierce.
But Gaara still didn't move.
He just stood there with his head lowered.
Sand swirled around him like a flowing wall.
The audience on the sidelines began to whisper.
"Why isn't that Sunagakure kid moving?"
"Did he get scared stupid?"
"No, look at his expression—"
Someone noticed.
Gaara's face.
On that face, something was twisting.
It wasn't anger. It wasn't fear. It was something else.
It was pain.
In the spectator stands, the Third Hokage's brow furrowed.
"Something's not right," he said.
The 'Kazekage' beside him gave a small laugh.
"What's not right?"
The Sandaime shot him a look.
A light flickered in those old eyes.
"You know what I'm talking about."
Orochimaru's smile deepened.
"The Sandaime is sharp as ever."
He stood up.
"In that case—"
He raised his hand and removed the bamboo hat from his head.
The face under the mask was pale and eerie, with vertical snake pupils.
"Let's start ahead of schedule then."
The Sandaime's pupils contracted sharply.
"You—"
"Long time no see, Hiruzen-sensei."
Orochimaru smiled.
In the next second, the Four Violet Flames Formation rose.
A transparent purple light wall instantly enveloped the entire spectator stand, trapping the Third Hokage and Orochimaru inside.
"Hokage-sama!"
Anbu members rushed forward, only to be repelled by the light wall.
The Four Violet Flames Formation. Once it was up, those outside couldn't enter, and those inside couldn't leave.
The Sandaime stood there, looking at Orochimaru opposite him.
"You've finally made your move," he said.
Orochimaru smiled.
"I have waited a long time for this day."
The Tailed Beast erupted.
The Konoha Crush plan officially began.
Nobunaga stood at the edge of the field, watching all of this.
His gaze followed the direction where Temari's trio had left, and then followed Naruto's back as he rushed forward.
He knew what would happen next.
The battle between Orochimaru and the Sandaime. The rampage of the Ichibi Shukaku. The chaos of Konoha. And—
Mei Terumī.
That woman would definitely make a move.
Taking advantage of the chaos. Taking advantage of his distraction. Taking advantage of when he was least on guard.
Nobunaga took a deep breath.
Then he turned.
He ran.
He ran in the other direction.
It wasn't fleeing. It was a choice.
Right now, Konoha had two most chaotic places.
One was over by the spectator stands. The battle between the Third Hokage and Orochimaru. Within the Four Violet Flames Formation, the life-and-death struggle of two Kage-level powerhouses. It was dangerous there, but there were Anbu, Jonin, and the entire power of Konoha.
The other was over by Gaara. The rampage of the Ichibi Shukaku. That boy could completely lose control at any moment. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were there too. But they were a group of Genin facing a Tailed Beast.
Where should he go?
Nobunaga kept running.
His mind was spinning rapidly.
He couldn't go to the Sandaime's side. He couldn't enter the Four Violet Flames Formation, and even if he did, he couldn't change anything. That was a battle between Orochimaru and the Sandaime.
But Mei Terumī might not think so.
The most dangerous direction was instead the safest.
Nobunaga ran even faster.
The wind whipped past his ears, very sharp.
There was another thought in his mind.
The butterfly effect.
He had changed so many things. His entanglement with Mei Terumī. His deal with Shukaku. And those things he didn't know about that might have already been changed by him.
Would Naruto and the others still have things go as smoothly as in the original story?
Would Gaara still be moved by Naruto as in the original story?
He didn't know.
He only knew that he had to go.
To take a look.
To confirm.
To—
What he was going to do, he didn't know.
But he had to go.
A booming sound came from the distance.
It was Shukaku's roar.
Nobunaga ran toward that direction, into the chaos.
Into that future, whatever it might be.
But before he had run far, a figure flashed out from the side, blocking his path.
Auburn hair, emerald eyes, a smile on that exquisitely beautiful face.
But that smile was so cold it made one's skin crawl.
"Nobunaga," Mei Terumī spoke, "Where do you think you're escaping to?"
Nobunaga's footsteps came to a sudden halt.
He looked at her.
It wasn't a Water Clone. It was her real body.
Behind her stood two more people.
Ao. That sensory-type Jonin was currently squinting at him, as if confirming something.
Zabuza. Holding the executioners blade, his face held no expression, but there was killing intent in those eyes.
Three people.
Nobunaga's heart sank.
He scanned the surroundings.
Konoha was already in chaos. Booming sounds came from the distance—Shukaku's roar. Further away, the light wall of the Four Violet Flames Formation was still flickering, containing the battle between Orochimaru and the Sandaime.
Anbu figures darted everywhere; no one could spare a thought for this side.
The streets were empty, shops were all closed, doors and windows tightly shut.
No one would come to help him.
Not a single person.
"Now no one can save you."