The battlefield was silent.
Smoke drifted through the ruined streets of Konohagakure, carrying with it the stench of blood, dust, and burning timber. Cracked stone and collapsed buildings stretched as far as the eye could see. The once-prosperous Hidden Leaf Village had been reduced to broken ruins.
Although the Sand and Sound forces had not deployed their full strength, the damage inflicted upon Konoha was catastrophic.
Had Jiraiya not arrived in time to intercept the summoned giant snakes at the village gates, the devastation would have been far worse. Even so, the toll was staggering—nearly a fifth of the village lay in ruins, countless shinobi lay wounded or dead, and civilian casualties were impossible to fully count.
The price of war had been paid in blood.
And yet, despite everything, the most devastating blow had not come from the enemy army.
It came from within.
The Fall of the Third Hokage
Sarutobi Hiruzen—Third Hokage of the Leaf—had fallen in battle.
His body, now covered respectfully with a cloak, lay upon the shattered stone platform where he had once fought Orochimaru to his final breath.
Nearby, Jiraiya stood in silence.
The wind stirred his white hair as he stared at his fallen teacher, grief etched deeply across his weathered face. Though he had long since prepared himself for the day he might lose Sarutobi, nothing could dull the pain of witnessing it firsthand.
Orochimaru had won.
Not only had he succeeded in killing his former master, but he had also plunged the village into chaos and humiliation.
Yet even that was not the worst of it.
The Greatest Blow
"Did Menma… really do it?"
Jiraiya's voice was low, heavy with disbelief as he turned toward Kakashi.
"Did he really kill Genma… and leave with Orochimaru?"
Kakashi, his visible eye shadowed, nodded slowly.
"Yes… it happened in front of us. There was no misunderstanding."
The words felt like knives.
Menma Uzumaki—the son of the Fourth Hokage.
The jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails.
The child the village had feared, pitied, and abandoned.
Now… an enemy.
Jiraiya clenched his fists.
"How could this happen…?"
No one answered.
They all knew the truth, yet none wanted to say it aloud.
Menma had not been manipulated or controlled.
He had chosen his path.
And that made it far more terrifying.
Aftermath of War
Around them, Konoha's shinobi worked tirelessly—rescuing survivors, extinguishing fires, carrying the wounded.
Might Guy stood nearby, his body still steaming faintly from the aftermath of opening the Seventh Gate. His breathing was labored, but his eyes were sharp.
Shukaku had been driven back—barely.
Had Guy not pushed his body beyond its limits, the village would have been erased from the map.
Gaara, now unconscious and restrained, had been taken into custody. Temari and Kankurō were captured soon after, while the remaining Sand shinobi either surrendered or were hunted down.
The cost had been immense.
The Weight of Leadership
As medics rushed back and forth, Jiraiya turned toward the group of elders approaching from behind.
Homura Mitokado.
Koharu Utatane.
Their expressions were grim.
"This village needs leadership now more than ever," Koharu said quietly. "With Hiruzen gone, we cannot afford chaos."
Jiraiya closed his eyes.
"I know."
He glanced once more toward the ruins where the battle had raged.
"And now… Menma has chosen his path."
The weight of that statement pressed down heavily on everyone present.
The boy who carried the Nine-Tails—the son of Minato Namikaze—had turned his back on the village.
A danger greater than any external enemy.
Elsewhere — In the Shadows
Deep beneath the village, within the hidden chambers of Root, another man listened in silence.
Danzo Shimura.
As a masked operative finished his report, Danzo's visible eye narrowed.
"So… the Nine-Tails jinchūriki has defected," he said quietly.
"Yes, Danzo-sama. He left with Orochimaru."
For a moment, there was silence.
Then
Crack.
Danzo's cane struck the stone floor.
"That fool…" he muttered. "Orochimaru dares to steal what belongs to Konoha."
His lone eye gleamed coldly.
The death of Hiruzen had cleared the board.
The defection of Menma had changed everything.
A new era was beginning—one forged not by ideals, but by power.
And Danzo Shimura intended to be the one who seized it.