"I am so..."
"I am so sorry."
Hashirama looked down, a mix of embarrassment and unease on his face. He felt uncomfortable even speaking to Emiya Shirou. What his younger brother had done was so egregious that calling it "biting the hand that feeds you" would be an understatement.
This kind of betrayal… even his apology felt hollow. If he weren't already dead, he, as the older brother, would have grabbed a kunai and offered his own life to atone for his brother's actions.
"Big brother..." Tobirama frowned, wanting to defend himself but unable to find the words.
Back then, he didn't have the strength to deal with Madara. The only one who could have… the only possible option… had been Emiya Shirou, the man he himself had summoned with Edo Tensei.
But Shirou's power had exceeded his wildest imagination. Now, Tobirama was facing the consequences: he had personally driven someone who had once been kind to Konoha directly into the enemy's camp.
"There's no need to apologize," Emiya Shirou said, shaking his head indifferently. He ignored Hashirama's apology and scanned the Konoha ninja present. "Clinging to the past is useless now. We are enemies."
"..."
Hashirama's hands clenched. He heard the finality in Shirou's voice, and an expression of deep sadness crossed his face.
"..."
Tobirama looked visibly uneasy.
"..."
Minato hesitated, unsure of what to do.
"Nagato, Konan, we're leaving," Emiya Shirou said calmly, glancing at the two who had just been healed by the slug.
"Lord Emiya..." Nagato said, his head hung in shame. Konan looked at Shirou with pure gratitude. They never expected him to expose himself at their most vulnerable moment just to save them.
"Yes," Konan replied, quickly helping Nagato to his feet. She cast a worried look at the vigilant group of Konoha ninja standing not far away.
But… the Konoha ninja stood frozen. Without orders, they didn't know what to do. Were they supposed to stop these enemies from leaving?
In that moment, no one moved. Even those with the authority to make the decision were conflicted. Should they treat Emiya Shirou as an enemy, or as a friend Konoha had lost forever? The village's history with this man seemed to be fading away with his departure.
It felt like the dust was about to settle.
"!!!"
Orochimaru's eyes flashed with urgency. He shot a nervous look at the three Edo Tensei Hokages. He still needed them to deal with Emiya Shirou!
If Shirou and the others just left peacefully, he and Obito would be hunted down by the Akatsuki. Those people would never forgive his betrayal.
Luckily, Orochimaru still had a friend. A friend who had never received any favors from Shirou and had always been wary of him—a friend from Mount Myoboku.
"Wait!"
At that moment, Jiraiya suddenly snapped out of it. Ignoring his injuries, he leaped up to block their path. He had almost forgotten!
The Great Toad Sage had warned him about Emiya Shirou. If Shirou intended to change the course of the ninja world, he had to be stopped. He couldn't be given the chance.
"Sorry about this," Jiraiya said, standing alone between Shirou and his two students. He raised a hand. "I can't let you leave just yet."
He spoke seriously, recalling the prophecy. "The Great Toad Sage once told me that if, one day, you tried to change the world to achieve your so-called peace, you must be stopped. He didn't say how you'd do it, but he told me your vision is definitely not what we want!"
"Jiraiya-sensei..." Minato hesitated for a second, then jumped to stand beside his teacher, his expression firming. The Fourth Hokage trusted his teacher's judgment. He couldn't just let Shirou walk away.
"Actually, the Akatsuki's plan isn't that special," Orochimaru said calmly, beginning to stir the pot. His eyes flashed with delight. "The Akatsuki, under Lord Emiya, plans to collect the Tailed Beasts. They want to create a weapon of war powerful enough to destroy a country and kill millions in a single blow. A weapon to force the world into their version of peace."
"!!!"
The Konoha ninjas were all shaken. Even Hashirama and Tobirama couldn't help but turn to look at Shirou in shock.
"Orochimaru, you!" Konan stared at him, a mix of anger and panic in her eyes.
"Is anything I said wrong?" Orochimaru sneered, his snake-like pupils flashing with a dangerous light. "I was once a member of the Akatsuki. I may not know everything, but I know a thing or two about your secrets."
"!!!"
Jiraiya looked at Orochimaru in surprise but quickly refocused on Shirou, his expression hardening. If this was true, he absolutely could not let Shirou leave. Konoha had to use this opportunity to keep them here.
"Are you saying you deny it, Lord Emiya?" Orochimaru smiled slyly, convinced he had him cornered. "I know many of the Akatsuki's secrets…"
"Orochimaru…" Nagato glared at him, his eyes dark.
"Is this really true?" The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, also stepped forward. "Lord Emiya," he said, standing in front of his student Jiraiya, "is it true that your eternal peace involves creating a weapon that could kill millions at any time?"
Hiruzen didn't want to believe it. He hoped, desperately, that Shirou would deny it. Years ago, Hiruzen had watched this same man fight with everything he had to save the life of a single dying patient.
Could he now be planning to create a weapon that could kill millions with ease?
But Emiya Shirou's answer wasn't the one Hiruzen, or anyone who had ever known him, wanted to hear.
"On the surface..." Shirou raised his eyes slightly, making no attempt to deny Orochimaru's words. "Yes. That's more or less correct."
"!!!"
The casually spoken words hit the crowd with the force of a landslide.
"Big brother…" Tobirama locked eyes with Shirou, finally finding his moment to argue. "Achieving peace through power and killing… that's exactly the kind of evil method Madara would use."
"..."
Hashirama remained silent.
"Hehehehe…" Orochimaru looked at the shocked crowd, smirked, and quietly slipped away. His goal was finally achieved. From this moment on, there would be no peaceful resolution.
The situation was about to spiral out of control. Not even Emiya Shirou could escape this, and not even the First Hokage's regrets could stop him from fighting Konoha's ninja now.
"Finally," Orochimaru said with satisfaction, folding his arms as he watched the tension build. A pleased smile spread across his face. "The real feast is just beginning…"
At the same time, a space-time vortex swirled open beside him. Obito Uchiha appeared, his gaze fixed coldly on Shirou. "It looks like our plan is working. At least everything is going according to plan."
"Relax," Orochimaru said with a sly smile. "No matter what, there won't be any mistakes. It may be an underhanded tactic, but it's an honest one. As long as they set foot in Konoha and couldn't deny their goals, this war was inevitable. Our only job now is to sit back and watch the Hokages deal with the man who used to be the safest person in the world, and is now the most dangerous."
He glanced at Obito, still smiling. "Want to make a guess? Who's going to win?"
"..."
Obito just frowned and vanished back into the vortex without a word. After all, Orochimaru was just another pawn. Obito was focused on the Eye of the Moon Plan—he needed to find a way to claim Nagato's Rinnegan.
But he wasn't the only one who wanted it.
Danzo Shimura was hiding in the shadows, clutching his bandaged arm, itching for the right moment to act.
Meanwhile, a face appeared on the wall at the top of the arena—one half white, the other black.
"Are you sure nothing will go wrong?" White Zetsu whispered nervously, looking at the crowd surrounding Shirou. "Doesn't Lord Emiya have a few too many enemies right now? And none of them are weak… We can't deal with most of those people!"
"Relax. Nothing will go wrong," Black Zetsu said, a sinister smile on his face as he watched Shirou fall into the crisis. "It's finally starting… Go, Wei Yuan. Become the enemy of the entire world. Every human is driven by their own desires and attachments. Only I am your true companion, the only one who will stand by your side…"