BOOM!
A terrifying explosion thundered through the Hidden Leaf Village. Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, the two senior advisors, watched the escalating situation with grim expressions.
"The Akatsuki assault has begun," Danzo said, pushing open the door.
"Danzo?"
"An Akatsuki attack? Danzo, are you certain?" Koharu asked, her voice laced with doubt.
"Yes. Leading the charge is Pain, the Akatsuki leader who defeated Jiraiya, alongside the Uchiha survivor, the SSS-rank rogue ninja who recently cut down Itachi Uchiha: Kanon Uchiha."
Homura and Koharu gasped in shock.
"Not only did they kill Jiraiya, but they've moved to strike Konoha directly?!" Homura's face twisted in simmering rage.
"I told you from the start, not a single Uchiha should have been left alive! Hiruzen was always far too soft," Koharu muttered, lowering her head.
"Indeed," Danzo nodded. "They have been hunting the Tailed Beasts across the lands. Kanon Uchiha alone has already captured three."
"And their objective here?" Koharu inquired.
"The legacy of the Fourth Hokage: Naruto Uzumaki." Danzo stated flatly. "And Kanon Uchiha's goals likely align with theirs. Yet, in this moment of crisis, the Fifth Hokage is actually summoning Naruto back to the village."
Hearing Danzo's words, the two elders who once stood by Hiruzen Sarutobi furrowed their brows.
"Doing that is just adding fuel to the fire! What is she thinking?!" Homura demanded.
"Precisely. If we allow the Fifth's orders to stand, Konoha is doomed to perish."
…
BOOM!
Another massive explosion rocked the foundations of the village. Pain's ruthless offensive was tearing the Hidden Leaf apart. Kurenai Yuhi stepped out of her home, her abdomen noticeably rounded with pregnancy. Shikamaru rushed over to her side.
"Kurenai-sensei! You shouldn't be out here!"
"What's happening, Shikamaru?"
"The Akatsuki have infiltrated. They're carrying out a terrorist attack."
Before Shikamaru could finish, an explosion erupted from a nearby rooftop. A giant centipede with the Rinnegan surged toward them.
"Shadow Stitching Jutsu!"
The massive centipede was skewered instantly. Having neutralized the summon, Shikamaru turned back. "Kurenai-sensei, could you please head back inside?" He escorted her to safety as quickly as possible.
Meanwhile, Sakura had reached the high-casualty zone. The area was a graveyard of rubble; houses teetered on the verge of collapse. Sakura looked at the bodies strewn through the debris, her expression clouded with pain. But she had to focus on finding survivors. With a heavy heart, she navigated the ruins, scars left behind by Pain's path of destruction.
At the Konoha Hospital, Sakura saw a flood of wounded shinobi and civilians, their faces bloodied and torn. Pain's invasion had plunged the entire village into a nightmare.
…
Elsewhere, amidst a sea of wreckage, Kanon walked alone. She was indifferent to the corpses surrounding her, collateral damage from Pain's assault.
Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out. "So it really is you... Kanon Uchiha."
Kanon turned slightly. It was Ino's voice. Standing before her were Neji and Tenten as well. Neji's jaw was set tight as he glared at Kanon. He had already learned that Rock Lee had met a tragic end at the edge of Kanon's blade. Fury surged through him, and the veins around his eyes began to bulge as he activated his Byakugan.
"Neji Hyuga?" Kanon's expression didn't flicker. She looked at him as if he were entirely beneath her notice.
"Kanon Uchiha! You actually killed Lee!" Tenten snarled, her eyes burning with hatred.
Ino froze, staring at Kanon in disbelief. One of their own classmates, Lee, who was so close to them, had been murdered by Kanon's hand.
"He's dead. If it bothers you that much, I don't mind sending you down to join him," Kanon said, her tone hollow and cold.
"You...!" Neji's veins throbbed with rage.
"Kanon Uchiha, he was your comrade back in Konoha!" Tenten screamed.
At the word "comrade," the memory of Team Hana and the fallen Otogakure flashed through Kanon's mind. Tears of blood began to seep from her eyes.
"Comrades? I have no such thing anymore." Her voice was a chilling whisper. "And there is nothing left that can hurt me."
Kanon drew her Kusanagi Sword and looked at the three of them with dead eyes.
Suddenly, a massive wooden spike shot toward the back of Kanon's head from behind.
"I've got her!" Tenten shouted.
It had been a distraction. Tenten's outburst was meant to draw Kanon's attention so Captain Yamato could strike from the shadows.
But in the next heartbeat, everyone froze, including Yamato. The wooden spike passed straight through Kanon's head as if she weren't there. She had used her intangibility to phase through the attack.
Seeing their stunned silence, Kanon's lips curled into a distorted, sickly smile. She raised her hand, and a brilliant white light, the glow of Dust Release, enveloped her Kusanagi Sword.
She moved. In a blur of speed, she appeared directly in front of Yamato. Looking into his panicked eyes, she thrust the Dust Release-infused blade forward. It was too fast for him to comprehend.
Before Yamato could even react, his heart was skewered. Even Neji, with his Byakugan, only sensed the sudden shift in chakra a fraction of a second too late. Kanon had struck with ruthless efficiency.
She radiated a killing intent so suffocating that Tenten and Ino's legs began to tremble. Even Neji felt a cold shiver run down his spine.
"Captain Yamato!!" Ino screamed.
Kanon pulled her sword from Yamato's chest. She turned her head slightly, placing a finger to her lips.
"Shh..." she whispered. "He's sleeping. Now, it's your turn."
Her voice was soft, but her expression was one of pure madness. At her feet, Yamato, Konoha's only Wood Release user, lay motionless, dead in a single stroke.
Tenten fumbled with a scroll, preparing to unleash a sea of weapons. Just as she moved, Neji roared, "Tenten! Get back!"
It was too late. Kanon's right eye shifted from three tomoe to the Mangekyo Sharingan. A black flame erupted on Tenten's body.
"Amaterasu."
At Kanon's cold command, Tenten's screams filled the air.
"Tenten! Kanon, stop this!" Neji cried out, lunging forward to stop her.
"Burn to nothing!" Kanon roared. Even Neji stumbled back as the black flames of Amaterasu latched onto him, beginning to consume his body.
The harrowing screams of Tenten and Neji echoed through the ruins. Ino collapsed to the ground, staring at Kanon in sheer, paralyzing terror. Her pupils contracted, and a warmth spread between her legs—she had lost control of her bladder. Neji and Tenten were being incinerated before her eyes; Tenten was already a blackened husk, and no amount of water or frantic rolling could extinguish the inexorable flames.
Listening to the music of their agony, Kanon laughed hysterically. Her Mangekyo faded back into the three-tomoe Sharingan.
"Hahaha! It seems you've finally come to understand a little bit of pain."
Kanon raised her sword and charged toward Ino. Just as the blade was about to fall, another sword intercepted the strike. A purple-haired Anbu ninja wearing a mask stood before Ino. It was Yugao Uzuki.
Yugao glanced around. Neji and Tenten were dead, their bodies reduced to charred remains. Only Ino was left, and she was catatonic with fear.
"Get out of here! I'll handle this!" Yugao shouted to Ino.
The shout finally snapped Ino out of her trance. She forced her trembling legs to stand. "I... I have to help..."
"You'll only be a hindrance! Go!" Under Yugao's urgent command, Ino finally turned and fled.
…
The Hokage Office.
"I'm counting on you," Tsunade said to the messenger toad, Kosuke.
"Understood," Kosuke nodded.
As he prepared to leave, Homura and Koharu burst into the room.
"Keep Naruto at Mount Myoboku!" Koharu shouted.
"What?!" Tsunade's eyes flashed.
"We have reports that the Akatsuki leader and the rogue Kanon Uchiha are attacking the village," Homura stated.
"How do you know that?"
"We heard it from Danzo. He says their target is the Jinchuriki, Naruto."
"And so what?" Tsunade snapped.
"I turned a blind eye last time, but this is different," Homura argued. "Naruto is just a child. The invaders defeated even Jiraiya, and Kanon Uchiha killed Itachi. If Naruto is taken and the Nine-Tails falls into their hands, then..."
Before he could finish, Tsunade grabbed both elders by their collars, her teeth bared.
"Tsunade! Let us go! What do you think you're doing?!" Cold sweat poured down their faces. "How dare you treat us advisors like this..."
Tsunade wasn't interested in their posturing. "Who do you think you are?! How long do you intend to keep treating him like a child?!"
"He has inherited the Will of Fire and grown into a man. Naruto is surpassing Jiraiya as we speak!" She roared. "He isn't some hidden tool for the village to use to stop a war! He is a shinobi who protects the Leaf! He is Naruto Uzumaki!"
She shoved them both to the ground. "Do you know what Jiraiya, Sarutobi-sensei, and even Chiyo-sama of the Sand had... that you two lack? It's the power to believe!"
"Just as my grandfather, the First Hokage, believed in you and entrusted Konoha to your care, it is now your turn to believe in the children and entrust it to them!"
The two advisors were finally silenced. They nodded slightly and turned to leave. "Do as you wish."
Having dealt with the elders, Tsunade turned back to Kosuke. "Go. Report the situation to the Great Lord Elder."
Once everyone had cleared out, Tsunade left the office to take command in the field. Seeing her go, Kosuke nodded. "Alright, I'd better get to Fukasaku-sama!"
Before he could make a move, a dark shadow closed in. A blade flashed, killing the messenger toad instantly. Blood splattered across the floor under Danzo's sword.
"A bunch of useless fools," Danzo muttered. "Growing in age but not in wisdom, completely cowed by Tsunade. It seems I must handle this myself. Only I can take the mantle of Hokage and lead Konoha toward a true future. But at least now, I don't have to worry about the Nine-Tails."