The Kakashi incident had delayed Akatsuki's schedule by several days, but it didn't mean the mission would be postponed indefinitely. The entire Akatsuki mobilized, including Kita as backup and Sakura as… well, as nothing officially, though Karin also joined at her insistence.
Even though Itachi, Obito, and Kita knew Konoha's barrier codes, Nagato insisted on forcing entry. With a single Shinra Tensei, they burst through the skies above Konoha—the scene was truly spectacular.
So-called defensive maneuvers didn't even exist. With all of Akatsuki deployed, only offense mattered; Konoha had no chance to defend. Akatsuki focused on the mission, while Sakura performed her assigned tasks.
Her house—the place that once felt like home—was still there, but everything inside had been devastated. The empty rooms no longer echoed with the small joys of returning home and kicking off her shoes.
Sakura kicked off her boots at the entrance. Outside, the sound of destruction shook the ground.
Pain rained from above: Pain himself was attacking Konoha, while Deidara's C2 blast reduced the Hyuga main gate to rubble.
Sakura bent silently, aligning her shoes. When she straightened up, tears blurred her vision.
Everything… is gone.
Pain had said that human life was insignificant, like grass. At such times, in such circumstances, her parents' lives were no more than that. Even if one chose silence, true safety meant never being able to speak at all.
And yet… she had still made mistakes. Walked the wrong path. Had she stayed, she would still have been Konoha's Haruno Sakura, with a mother who scolded her for not taking care of herself and a father who always made poor jokes.
Her feet traced each floorboard until she arrived at what she considered a small, secret hiding place.
As a child, she had discovered a hollow space under a floorboard, where she stashed all her secrets: pocket money she hid from her parents, old homework of the boy she secretly liked, ceramic figurines, pressed flowers from Ino, coins, and even a bright red ribbon she couldn't bear to return after falling out with Ino.
And a letter—still new.
…So… I'm the only one… who doesn't understand…
Reinforcements did arrive. Aid was present. Yet the ANBU who rushed in first were already down. Nagato hadn't even acted before Kakuzu and Hidan neutralized them. Pain had promised not to kill Hyuga, but not anyone else. Becoming a ninja meant accepting the risk of death; dying in defeat was nothing new. Fortunately, they hadn't delivered a fatal blow.
Then the elite of the elite began to strike.
Itachi truly didn't want to confront Sasuke yet—Sasuke hadn't awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, and wasn't a match. Plus, fighting now would delay the mission. But if Sasuke charged, he couldn't hold back.
"You're blatantly avoiding the mission. Is that really wise?"
Kisame slashed a charging ANBU with Samehada. Privately, Itachi was lazy, cunning, and manipulative—a schemer who valued "Daikichi" above all—but in public, he maintained a cold composure, and with his distinct face, he could enchant countless young girls. Now, the notorious Uchiha Itachi wore the mask of a solemn, brooding figure. Honestly, without seeing his private cunning, Kisame might have believed it.
Though Itachi wanted to protest that this wasn't avoidance—he was dealing with a troublesome opponent—it was impossible to explain in front of outsiders. So he simply said:
"Boring."
To others, it sounded like a judgment of Sasuke.
Was Itachi slacking, or was Sasuke overconfident? Konoha pondered; Akatsuki debated.
Indeed, Sasuke was overconfident. Under the thunderous Raikiri, the Hyuga were flattened, but the damage hit the Susanoo instead. Beyond minor vision deterioration from repeated Susanoo use, nothing else was significantly harmed.
But Deidara was furious!
He was supposed to obliterate the Hyuga with C3 after the initial strike—but Sasuke got there first.
Emerging from the Raikiri's chaos, Deidara nearly attacked Sasuke, fury burning in his eyes. Were it not for Kita's timely intervention, Sasuke might have died.
At first glance, Itachi and Sasuke seemed evenly matched, but to Akatsuki, Itachi was holding back the ocean.
Meanwhile, the delayed reinforcements and the elite of the elite had finally arrived. Nagato's concern was his younger apprentice and his own teacher.
They appeared through reverse summoning. Furious were Naruto and Jiraiya. The one intercepted was Hiashi Hyuga, the mission's target.
The eight sealing rods were not yet fully embedded in Hiashi's body. That pair of white eyes…
And now, they were blocked.
The Sixth Hokage demanded an explanation. "Akatsuki, did you break into Konoha expecting to die?"
But to Nagato, the words of his teacher mattered more.
—Nagato, what exactly are you trying to do?
It was a question so good it left him unsure how to answer a question that required no answer.
Supporters, rescuers, attackers—all paused.
Nagato had expected to see his teacher in Konoha, but witnessing him didn't affect the mission. Stepping on the Hyuga lands in the name of world peace felt hypocritical when facing Jiraiya's sincere gaze. Prepared speeches of righteousness dissolved in shame.
"You've turned my village into this! I will never forgive you!"
Naruto's voice rang out.
Nagato saw the hatred in Naruto's bright blue eyes—it was expected.
But the pain in Jiraiya's dark eyes? Unexpected.
Perhaps life is not just pain and hatred. This man with snow-white hair truly yearned for peace. He had genuinely cherished those three children in Amegakure long ago.
Nagato abandoned his prepared words.
"I am here to demand fairness, sensei."
Akatsuki noticed their leader acting against expectations again.
Jiraiya, speechless, likely anticipated hearing a rebellious statement and then lecturing his former student on its futility. But now… fairness wasn't something you could simply demand.
World peace was easier than fairness. After years of war, peace might return. But fairness—who has ever truly experienced it?
Nagato spoke:
"Sensei, I have seen clearly. As long as selfishness exists, this world—no, humanity—will never be at peace."
He stood amid ambushes, unmoving, weapons unraised, while Akatsuki prevented anyone from acting rashly.
"The world does not need humans to assume they know what is best. It exists regardless. Human arrogance makes it cruel. The blame is ours, and so long as we, Akatsuki, exist, those debts and injustices will be reclaimed without fail."
"Enough with the nonsense! Debts are yours alone! You've ruined my village! Murderers, that's all you are! Don't talk about changing the world! My village, this world—they don't need you to change it!"
Naruto shouted.
Nagato thought Naruto had a silver tongue, but words didn't matter. Akatsuki didn't rely on speeches to act.
The battle erupted, immense in scale.
Akatsuki's power surpassed ordinary ninja. Fighting such strength required extraordinary means. Naruto and Jiraiya's sage techniques were formidable, but Itachi wielded Susanoo, and Kita—next only to Nagato—was not there just to watch.
Was this war?
It was a war, yet one fought without deploying full forces. Only the Sixth Hokage, Jiraiya, and Naruto could match it one-on-one. Others fought skirmishes. Lesser ninja had to contend with Nagato's single summoned creature for a time.
This was Hyuga territory. The opposing side, calm and peaceful, seemed untouched by the chaos below.
━━━━ ❖ ━━━
If you're enjoying the story, the complete fanfic is already available on P@treon(.)com/Crimson_Lore