The image shifted again.
A silver-haired man wearing a mask appeared on the screen.
Hatake Kakashi stood with his eyes lowered, his voice heavy with guilt.
"Lady Fifth… this is my responsibility. I failed to guide him onto the right path."
Tsunade shook her head grimly. Her words carried unmistakable anger—bordering on disrespect.
"What does this have to do with you?"
"If anyone's to blame, it's that old man, the Third—!"
She stopped herself mid-sentence, but the resentment and accusation were already unmistakable.
"If it weren't for them… how could someone capable of destroying—and determined to destroy—the entire shinobi world even exist?"
Her voice trembled with both fury and lingering fear.
Kakashi stood silently at her side.
Tsunade took a deep breath, forcing herself back into the role of Hokage. Resolve hardened her expression.
"Notify ANBU," she ordered.
"Recall Team Hawk."
She paused, eyes sharp as blades, then delivered an order that shook the heavens.
"And also—convene a Five Kage Summit."
"This is to respond to a world-ending crisis."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Kakashi vanished in a flash to carry out the commands.
Only Tsunade remained in the office.
She walked to the window and looked out over the prosperous village below. Her voice was barely above a whisper—yet through the Sky Screen, it reached every corner of the shinobi world.
"I hope… the shinobi world can still be saved."
"I'm counting on you… Team Hawk."
As if deliberately giving the world time to process this bombshell, the Sky Screen shifted again.
Scenes of Konoha's ANBU mobilizing at emergency speed filled the sky—dark figures leaping across rooftops, tension thick and lethal.
This brief interlude brought no comfort.
Instead, the sense of an impending storm grew heavier.
"A… world-ending crisis?"
"What is Team Hawk?"
"Is she talking about the Third Hokage and the higher-ups? What did they do to create a monster like that?!"
"A Five Kage Summit… what kind of enemy requires all Five Kage to unite?!"
Speculation. Fear. Shock. Rage.
Emotions spread like wildfire across the shinobi world.
Compared to this, the news of the Uchiha clan's destruction suddenly felt insignificant.
A colossal shadow from the future now loomed over the entire world, suffocating all beneath it.
Konohagakure – Hokage Office (Present)
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at the Sky Screen.
Tsunade's undisguised accusations struck him like a lightning bolt.
He stood frozen, completely unaware that his pipe had gone out.
"I… created a monster that will destroy the world?"
He muttered in disbelief, his face filled with confusion, grievance, and a sense of cruel absurdity.
"How could I… how could I possibly be capable of something like that?"
Since taking office, Hiruzen believed that even his compromises and darker decisions had been made for Konoha's stability.
Marginalizing the Uchiha?
That was to prevent a coup.
Tolerating Danzō?
That was to handle the filth that couldn't be brought into the light.
But how did any of that connect to destroying the shinobi world?
He couldn't understand it.
Yet he understood one thing clearly—
He could never explain himself.
This Sky Screen was broadcasting to the entire world.
Whether he believed it or not, the other Kage—and the shinobi world at large—would.
And they would blame Konoha.
Blame him.
In an instant, Hiruzen Sarutobi became the target of every accusation.
As expected, the other great villages immediately seized the opportunity.
While reeling from the words Five Kage Summit and world-ending crisis, they turned their outrage squarely on Konoha.
"Damn you, Hiruzen Sarutobi!"
The Fourth Raikage roared in fury.
"You caused this disaster, and now you want to drag the entire shinobi world down with you?! Spread it! Let everyone know what kind of menace Konoha's Third Hokage really is!"
The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, sneered coldly.
"So this is the truth behind Konoha's so-called benevolence—rotting from the inside."
He ordered his intelligence division to aggressively publicize the narrative of 'Hiruzen Sarutobi, creator of a world-ender', sparing no effort to smear Konoha.
Even the shrewd Ōnoki moved swiftly.
"Emphasize to the public that the future crisis stems from Konoha's leadership failures," he commanded.
"Iwagakure is an innocent, righteous party caught in the fallout. Point every spear at Hiruzen Sarutobi and Konoha."
At once, the shinobi world's propaganda machines roared to life.
Truth no longer mattered.
With the Sky Screen's "evidence" and deliberate manipulation by the villages, the charge of 'World-Ender's Creator' would soon be firmly nailed onto Hiruzen Sarutobi.
A Narrow Alley Outside a Casino
Tsunade slammed her fist into the wall.
The solid stone instantly spiderwebbed with cracks.
"I knew it! I knew something this bad had to happen!"
She ground her teeth, her chest heaving.
"Otherwise, how could I ever have gone back to be that damn Hokage?!"
Shizune hugged Tonton nervously, worry written all over her face.
"Lady Tsunade…"
Tsunade's gaze cut toward the sky.
The exhaustion and despair on her future self's face felt painfully real.
"To push future me into that state… to the point of summoning the Five Kage…"
She cursed under her breath.
"You damn old men—just how big a mess did you make?!"
"This is screwing me over too!"
A Small Town in the Land of Fire
Jiraiya's laughter and nosebleed were long gone.
Only solemn gravity remained.
He stared up at the Sky Screen, thoughts racing.
"A crisis that destroys the shinobi world… the Child of Prophecy…"
The words of the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku echoed in his mind.
His disciple would bring immense change to the world—
either salvation… or utter destruction.
"…Could it be because of my student?"
Jiraiya's heart sank.
Then he shook his head sharply.
"No. Not enough information yet."
"I have to uncover the truth—who this so-called world-ender really is, and what connection they have to the prophecy."
He realized then—
Wandering and writing were no longer enough.
He would have to actively investigate.
Actively intervene.
The Mysterious Space
Yin An watched the system panel with satisfaction as emotion values surged wildly—
Shock. Fear. Confusion. Panic.
Harvested from across the entire shinobi world.
"Perfect," he said with a smile.
"The groundwork is done."
"Next… it's time to roll out Team Hawk and that little thing called the World-Ender, one by one, to really warm things up."
The Sky Screen shifted again.
The scene transitioned to a vast, snow-covered complex—
The Land of Iron.
Inside a solemn conference hall, five high-backed chairs were arranged in a wide arc—
symbols of the pinnacle of power in the shinobi world.
As the future Five Kage appeared one by one—
Their faces broadcast clearly to the entire world—
A wave of unprecedented uproar and shock swept across the land once more.