[Tobirama Senju: “Hiruzen…
I’m truly disappointed in you!!!”]
[Hiruzen Sarutobi: “Sensei…
I’m deeply sorry…”]
[Danzō Shimura: “Sensei, Hiruzen is far too indecisive.
I request that I be appointed Hokage of Konoha instead!”]
[Root Jōnin: “That’s right!
Lord Danzō is the one most qualified to become Hokage!”]
[Ryōma Aburame: “Lord Second Hokage…”]
[Mei Terumī: “Hah.
Anyone who supports Danzō for Hokage must have something wrong with their head.”]
[A (Fourth Raikage): “What do you know?
They’re all Danzō’s subordinates.”]
[Rasa (Fourth Kazekage): “Now I understand completely.
In simple terms, this entire incident was a trap set by Danzō to frame Minato and leave a political stain on his record, wasn’t it?”]
[Ōnoki: “Exactly.”]
[Konoha Villager: “Damn…
I actually used to like Danzō.
I thought he was an honest official.
Turns out he was corrupt!”]
[Konoha Villager: “Looks like Lord Hiruzen is the only upright one…”]
[Hiruzen Sarutobi: “Ahem.
Let’s continue watching the video…”]
The video continued.
“You don’t need to worry about me.”
“The mission has already been completed, Obito…”
Minato looked at Obito with guilt in his eyes.
“Then let me make this clear.”
“Even if you knock me unconscious and drag me back to the village, I’ll still come back to rescue the comrade we left behind!”
Obito declared firmly as he turned toward the rest of the team.
“I will never abandon a comrade to die!”
“Obito…”
The other three watched him leave, concern written across their faces.
“What a stubborn kid…”
Unable to ignore his student’s safety, Minato hurried after him.
Deep within the forest, the two leaped from branch to branch.
“It doesn’t look like I can change your mind.”
“In that case, I’ll search the place where he fell into the river.”
Minato calmly analyzed the situation.
“Kakashi, search downstream.”
“Obito, search the upper section of the river.”
“Rin, go with Kakashi.”
After briefly assessing his team, Minato assigned their tasks.
“Understood!”
Rin nodded.
“The moment you find him, notify me immediately.”
Minato called after Obito’s retreating figure.
A moment later—
The four split up and headed in different directions.
The scene changed.
A lone shinobi tumbled from the cliff, struggling to his feet in the river below.
Leaning against a boulder, he gritted his teeth and yanked the weapon embedded in his back free.
Looking upward—
He saw countless dark figures racing across the sky above the cliff.
He tried to flee.
But his body was too weak to move.
“There he is!”
The enemy spotted him and quickly surrounded him.
Dozens of kunai were hurled toward him.
Just as death seemed inevitable—
“Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!”
Obito burst onto the scene, rapidly forming hand seals.
A massive fireball roared through the air, swallowing the incoming kunai and shuriken alike.
The blazing flames illuminated the battlefield.
The thrown weapons clattered harmlessly to the ground.
Obito clenched his teeth as he stared at the enemies gathered atop the cliff.
“There are too many…”
At that moment—
More than a hundred enemy shinobi crowded the cliffside.
Together, they hurled a rain of kunai fitted with explosive tags.
The sight was overwhelming.
The explosive-tagged kunai struck the river below—
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Water erupted everywhere.
Then—
More than a dozen enemy shinobi suddenly burst out of the river.
“Lightning Release: Chidori!”
Kakashi shot up from below, completing his hand seals in an instant.
The deafening chirping of a thousand birds echoed through the battlefield.
Lightning exploded outward, instantly incapacitating the surrounding enemies.
“Are you alright, Obito?”
Standing behind him, Rin asked with concern.
[Uchiha Inabi: “I actually like this Obito.
Not bad.
This is exactly the kind of person the Uchiha Clan needs!”]
[Fugaku Uchiha: “Obito is a kind-hearted child.
You should all learn from him.”]
[Uchiha Tekka: “As much as I hate to admit it, Obito really is impressive!”]
[Rin Nohara: “Obito, everyone’s praising you.
Aren’t you going to say something?”]
[Obito Uchiha: “I…”]
Watching the video, Obito was completely dumbfounded.
He had no idea what he was supposed to say.
Should he declare that he intended to kill everyone?
Or admit that he had been one of those responsible for the Uchiha Clan Massacre?
“Hmph…”
“This hypocritical shinobi world…”
“Just wait.”
“I’ll soon cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi and create a world where everyone can live in happiness.”
[Hiruzen Sarutobi: “Sigh…
I watched Obito grow up.
He was an innocent and kind child from the very beginning.
It’s a shame someone so pure was cruelly killed by shinobi from Iwagakure…”]
[Homura Mitokado: “Iwagakure killed one of Konoha’s shinobi.
Shouldn’t they be paying us compensation?”]
[Koharu Utatane: “.
I strongly demand that Iwagakure compensate Konoha!”]
[Ōnoki: “Hmph.
If Konoha spent more time teaching its children practical skills, perhaps so many of them wouldn’t have died.”]
[Tobirama Senju: “Monkey, what exactly is he talking about?”]
[Ōnoki: “Lord Second Hokage, perhaps you don’t know this, but Konoha’s leadership feared risking themselves in battle.
They reformed the Ninja Academy, and once children graduated, they were sent straight to the battlefield.”]
[Ōnoki: “The graduation requirements became laughably simple—master the Three Basic Jutsu and you qualified as a Genin.
Yet participation in the Great Ninja War required only Genin rank.
Sending children to die so carelessly…
it’s truly chilling.”]
[Rasa (Fourth Kazekage): “Ridiculous.
Konoha’s cemetery is full of memorials to heroes.
So if I learn the Three Basic Jutsu, die in battle, and get my name carved onto a monument, that makes me a hero?”]
[Mei Terumī: “Nothing more than a way to placate the villagers.
The Konoha leadership is still using that trick?
Shameless.”]
[Konoha Villager: “I-Is that…
really true?”]
[Konoha Genin: “Is Lord Third really that kind of person…?”]
The people of Konoha watching the broadcast were left speechless.
After all—
The Konoha leadership they had always believed in embodied the Will of Fire, sacrificing themselves to protect the next generation.
But what the video revealed…
…painted an entirely different picture.
In a dark alleyway—
Kakashi stared at the chat screen with a cold expression before letting out a quiet sigh.
“Compared to all of this…”
“I’d rather be reading something a little less depressing.”
He absentmindedly patted the copy of Make-Out Paradise tucked inside his vest, his expression remaining as calm as ever.
[Hiruzen Sarutobi: “Sensei, please don’t misunderstand.
At the time, Konoha’s economy was in terrible condition.
After the Nine-Tails’ attack, the village had barely begun to recover before the Third Great Ninja War erupted again.”]
[Hiruzen Sarutobi: “Those who gave their lives protecting the village are true heroes of Konoha, and we will remember them forever.”]
[Koharu Utatane: “Exactly.
The older generation protecting the younger generation—that is the true Will of Fire.”]
[Kakashi Hatake: “Lord Hokage is right.
Wherever the leaves dance, the Will of Fire burns on.
We of the older generation are willing to give our lives to protect the next.”]
[A (Third Raikage): “You Konoha people really know how to put on a performance.”]
[Tobirama Senju: ]