At the critical moment when Konoha’s very survival hung in the balance, the last remnants of the Sarutobi clan finally arrived.
A force composed of women and elderly clan members appeared on the battlefield.
Sarutobi Biwako, the wife of Hiruzen Sarutobi, had brought the Sarutobi clan’s final reserves with her, placing their hopes on this group of old and infirm people.
And on the connections and favors those old members had accumulated over the years.
These people were supposed to be the last seeds Hiruzen Sarutobi had left behind for the Sarutobi clan. Whether a group of elderly and infirm people could still put down roots and flourish was another matter entirely.
The moment Biwako arrived, she shouted,
"Kushina, Konoha’s survival depends on you! Please, you must release the Nine-Tails and use its power to help Konoha turn the tide of this battle!"
Minato Namikaze, whose wife was holding him firmly in place, also looked at Kushina pleadingly.
A jinchūriki who had been called a human weapon truly possessed the power to change the course of a battlefield.
Who could have expected Kushina’s only response to be:
"I’m sorry, but the affairs of Konoha Village in the Land of Fire are something Uzushiogakure of the Land of Whirlpools cannot interfere in."
Those words sounded so unfamiliar—and yet so familiar.
It seemed that something very similar had happened more than a decade ago.
Back then, when Uzushiogakure of the Land of Whirlpools had desperately sought assistance, Konoha had given them exactly the same answer:
"I’m sorry, but the affairs of Uzushiogakure in the Land of Whirlpools are something Konoha Village of the Land of Fire cannot interfere in."
More than a decade later, Uzumaki Kushina, a survivor of the Land of Whirlpools, had returned those exact words to Konoha.
Only then did everyone notice that although Kushina’s Forehead Protector bore the familiar whirlpool-like design, it did not have the raised point found on Konoha’s symbol.
It was a genuine circular whirlpool.
This was not a Konoha Forehead Protector.
It was the Forehead Protector of Uzushiogakure.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was still desperately resisting, froze.
He stopped the ninjutsu in his hands, while Joseph knocked his helmet flying.
Uchiha Danjō, leader of the Kōga Group; Uchiha Gen, leader of the Iga Group; the Mangekyō Sharingan wielder Uchiha Tenzen; and the red-eyed swordsman Uchiha Hyōma, along with a host of Uchiha elites, surrounded him.
With nowhere left to run, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally abandoned his resistance.
He could not understand how he had ended up in such a situation—betrayed by everyone and abandoned by all.
He looked at Uzumaki Kushina and asked aggrievedly,
"Kushina, Konoha saved you when your family was destroyed. We tolerated your willfulness and spoiled you. We gave you the finest education and cared for you. Don’t any of those things deserve your acknowledgment?"
Kushina was furious.
She was also deeply wronged.
But there were no words she could use to express everything she felt.
She only wanted to say one thing:
She owed Konoha nothing.
"Lord Third, couldn’t I have received everything you gave me in the Land of Whirlpools as well? And even if we take a step back, didn’t the Land of Whirlpools pay a price for all of it? The Uzumaki Clan’s sealing techniques—don’t you think the Sarutobi clan knows how to use them?"
"Enough!"
Biwako was furious upon hearing such an ungrateful response.
"Kushina, the Nine-Tails inside your body belongs to Konoha! You have no right to refuse to give anything back to Konoha! You are Konoha’s jinchūriki! Know your place!"
As she spoke, the enraged Biwako charged toward Kushina.
A massive figure suddenly appeared in midair.
Uchiha Kasumi Hyōbu threw a single punch.
A shower of blood filled the sky.
Biwako’s body was blown apart.
Kushina stood beneath the bloody rain, droplets staining half of her face.
"Heh..."
"The only reason I was able to become such a powerful jinchūriki was because Konoha didn’t possess anyone capable of controlling a jinchūriki."
"Once you saw the benefits of having an Uzumaki serve as a jinchūriki, it was inevitable that the next jinchūriki would be another Uzumaki, even if it wasn’t me."
"Eventually, there would always be another Uzumaki you could recruit and bring under your control."
As she spoke, Kushina took a step forward.
She no longer cared about holding Minato back.
If this man truly loved the village more than he loved her, then so be it.
"That damned Mito Uzumaki..."
"She not only allowed Konoha to stand by while the Land of Whirlpools was left to die, but at the end of her life, when she passed the Nine-Tails on to me, she even taught me that no matter how painful or harsh life became, I had to hold on to the belief of ’loving the village, supporting and protecting the people I love,’ and devote my life to it."
Kushina ran the tip of her tongue over the blood at the corner of her mouth.
The foul, metallic taste of blood somehow tasted incredibly sweet to her.
"But the village I loved is already gone."
"And the people I supported, the people I was willing to give my life to protect, are all dead."
"Who am I supposed to sacrifice myself for now?"
After saying this, Kushina suddenly began laughing hysterically.
Her laughter echoed throughout Konoha.
And the village that had committed evil for so many years had finally begun to reap its last bitter harvest.
Those who betrayed their allies would, in the end, be betrayed by their allies.
The giant serpent, "Dalyuan," crawled forward.
No one dared to block its path.
The great serpent lowered its head and carried Kei directly before the Third Hokage.
Hiruzen Sarutobi faced the young man before him.
Kei was like the rising sun, blazing with vitality as he illuminated the old man whose life was already approaching its twilight.
Yet the old man still refused to admit defeat.
He had not lost to this boy.
He had only lost to fate.
"Young man, I did not lose to you. I merely lost to shameless betrayal."
"I don’t have much time left, so I’ll give you one final piece of advice."
"Filthy methods can bring you victory for a time, but the only correct path in this world is to reach the end of your life with a clear conscience!"
Kei waved his hand, cutting off the great educator before he could continue his life lessons.
"Third, don’t use your failed life to teach me how to live."
"Instead, let me tell you a fundamental truth."
"When someone has lived too comfortably for too long, it’s inevitable that they’ll become deaf and blind to reality."
"And you are the perfect example."
Kei turned around and stood with his back to Hiruzen, looking over the ruined remains of Konoha.
The Third Hokage, covered in blood and gore, looked utterly nauseating.
"The strongest Hokage..."
"From the moment you were fortunate enough to obtain a position that should never have belonged to you, you began believing that the entire world ought to revolve around you."
"And as fate would have it, from that moment onward, the world really did revolve around you."
"You actually came to believe that you were the chosen one of fate."
Kei suddenly felt that Hiruzen’s life resembled that of that "Colonel Card" character he’d once heard about.
An ordinary background.
A bewildering rise to power.
Then, suddenly, he could sit and laugh with people who had once been completely beyond his reach.
And under his rule, the country continued prospering without much difficulty.
A life like that would make anyone’s head swell.
"You... You knew?!"
Hiruzen stammered after hearing Kei’s words.
He was certain now.
Kei knew about the disgraceful circumstances surrounding his rise to the position of Hokage.
"I know."
"Isn’t it just the fact that you people abandoned the Second Hokage?"
At this point, everything had already been decided.
There was no longer any need for complicated schemes or excuses.
"You’re not planning to use that against me?"
Hiruzen clearly found it difficult to believe.
Kei shook his head.
"What kind of relationship do I have with the Second Hokage?"
"Do I really need to seek justice for him?"
That made Hiruzen even more unable to accept the situation.
"So, after learning the truth, you never intended to use it to force me out of office?"
"Heh."
Kei gave his trademark mocking laugh.
He did not answer Hiruzen’s question directly.
"That’s the thing about the ’Strongest Hokage.’"
"You’re nothing more than a fool who thinks he’s clever."
Kei continued speaking to himself.
"Sigh..."
"Everything gained through luck will eventually be lost through a lack of strength."
"But I have to admit, Third, you really were lucky."
"You muddled through and made a mess of things for all these years, yet you managed to survive until this age before finally losing everything."
After saying this, Kei turned around and looked at Hiruzen.
"All things considered, you got your money’s worth out of this life."
The truth hurts the most.
Hiruzen could not accept what Uchiha Kei was saying.
"Uchiha Kei, stop mocking a defeated man."
"Don’t you fear that one day you might also fail?"
"I have lost, but I absolutely did not reach this position through luck alone!"
"Konoha honored me as the strongest Hokage because Konoha developed to its present state under my rule. It is far wealthier and more prosperous than it was under the previous generations!"
Looking at the stubborn Third Hokage, Kei crouched down.
He had no intention of allowing Hiruzen to die while still clinging to his pride.
"Old man, read a few more books in your next life."
"Don’t believe every flattering word people tell you."
As he spoke, Kei grabbed Hiruzen’s hair, just as the Third Hokage had once grabbed Jūbei by the hair.
"You need to understand something."
"Any social organization, once it reaches its second or third generation, will naturally transition out of its period of fragmentation and reconstruction and enter a period of vigorous development."
"At that point, it doesn’t matter whether anyone is governing it."
"You could tie a dog to the seat of power, and it would still prosper!"
Kei had no idea whether Hiruzen understood what he was saying.
But Kei knew that he was speaking the truth.
Throughout history, rulers who inherited a stable foundation in the second generation were often hailed as enlightened rulers. Their realms would experience tremendous development and become increasingly powerful.
Yet when one examined the personal abilities and character of many of those so-called enlightened rulers in detail, they were often a complete mess.
But none of that mattered anymore.
Hiruzen was going to die regardless.
Kei personally sent him on his way.
A Sanike blade flashed through the air.
Hiruzen Sarutobi—
bowed his head in defeat.
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