The next day.
All of Konoha was in an uproar.
The heads of every major ninja clan appeared on the execution platform, sitting in a circle, silently waiting for the execution to begin.
Because Uchiha Fugaku had gone out to retrieve Uchiha Miyuki and hadn't returned yet, the position of acting clan head temporarily fell to Uchiha Shisui.
The same had happened to the Nara clan, the Akimichi clan, and several others whose leaders had been slaughtered by Danzo. Each had chosen a new clan head in a hurry.
The atmosphere around the execution platform was suffocating.
Most clans still followed Hiruzen Sarutobi, but Danzo's overwhelming power prevented anyone from openly resisting.
Everyone who dared to resist had been killed.
Especially the Sarutobi clan — from children to elders, all of them eradicated.
The two sons of the Third Hokage had died even more miserably.
In just two days, Konoha had become a river of blood.
"Is the execution about to begin?"
Yamanaka Inoichi, the sole surviving leader among the Ino–Shika–Cho, looked toward the platform nervously. He and the remaining supporters of the Third Hokage were waiting for the outcome with clenched fists.
If Sarutobi Hiruzen truly died, then for the sake of their families' continued survival, they would throw their support behind Shimura Danzo becoming the Fourth Hokage.
But if something unexpected happened…
Then they would firmly support the Third Hokage and eradicate the rebellion.
At the base of the platform, countless Konoha shinobi, civilians, and foreign village spies stared up in anticipation.
"The execution may begin!"
At the very top, Shimura Danzo spoke indifferently.
His long-cherished wish was so close he could almost taste it; he didn't want to wait even one more second.
"Danzo… can you really defeat all the great nations and accomplish what even the First Hokage could not?"
The Daimyo of the Land of Fire asked with a gloomy expression.
"Of course," Danzo replied, voice full of cold arrogance.
"Did you not witness my power these last two days? Ninjas are like chickens and dogs in front of me. Even if tens of thousands surround me, killing them would merely take extra time."
"…Indeed, you are far stronger than that failure Sarutobi Hiruzen. I truly don't understand why the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, chose him instead of you."
The Daimyo nodded, muttering criticisms of Tobirama.
He had witnessed Danzo conquer Konoha in only two days.
Even elite jōnin couldn't scratch him; they couldn't even withstand a single counterattack.
In the Daimyo's eyes, Danzo possessed enough power to intimidate the entire ninja world.
His heart throbbed with excitement.
The centuries-old wish of the Fire Daimyo lineage — unifying the entire ninja world — might finally be fulfilled in his era.
Compared to that achievement, the benefits he promised Danzo were trivial.
"Is that really the Daimyo of Fire? He looks as useless as the Wind Daimyo… and Danzo Shimura doesn't give off the aura of a true powerhouse at all."
Up in the sky, on Leviathan's massive skeletal back, Pakura looked down at Danzo with open disdain.
She couldn't comprehend how such an ordinary-looking man had defeated the strongest village in the world and taken total control.
She had woken up last night — in Jaeger's arms.
Her first instinct was to escape again.
But her second instinct — the correct one — screamed that this was her last chance. If she made the wrong choice, the ending would be catastrophic.
So she stayed still, pretending to sleep.
Turned out she was right.
Jaeger hadn't been asleep at all.
He spent the entire night torturing her in every way she had only ever seen in action movies.
If she weren't a physically tough shinobi, she wouldn't even have the strength to come watch this execution right now.
"Danzo is very powerful, Pakura-san! Even the Fourth Kazekage of your village would be one-shotted by him!"
Uchiha Miyuki pouted immediately when she heard Pakura's mocking tone.
She refused to let anyone call Danzo weak — because that would mean she was weaker than someone "weak," and absolutely not.
"Instant-kill the Fourth Kazekage? No way!"
Pakura snorted.
"Rasa is known as the strongest Kazekage in history. Even if he's weaker than Danzo, he wouldn't get insta-killed, right?"
"What do you think of my strength?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha asked suddenly, smiling.
"…Very strong. You could kill me instantly," Pakura admitted after a moment.
Though embarrassed, she couldn't deny the truth — Kasumigaoka Utaha had toyed with her yesterday with zero effort.
"Oh? Then you'll soon see Shimura Danzo's true strength."
Kasumigaoka Utaha smiled softly.
"Soon, Angel Leng and I will attack together. Honestly, I'm curious whether Danzo can withstand more than one of our strikes.
Of course… it's possible his strength has grown so fast he's now beyond both of us. If that happens, we'll rely on Mr. Jaeger."
"You, Angel Leng, and Mr. Jaeger… all against Shimura Danzo…"
Pakura glanced at Angel Leng's emotionless face and angelic wings, then sighed internally.
She actually felt sorry for Danzo.
She already knew their identities — Uchiha Miyuki's friends from another world. Monsters. Every one of them.
And Leviathan — the colossal bone dragon under her feet — was the same divine beast that fell from the sky months ago like a continent and killed the Third Raikage and the entire battalion of Iwagakure shinobi.
It was connected to Uchiha Miyuki.
Cloud Village had used that event as their excuse to declare war on Konoha, and every nation assumed it was a fabricated pretext.
After all, no one knew where that world-shaking bone dragon came from.
Some even believed it was an illusion.
Now it all made sense to Pakura. That overwhelming power—the force that annihilated the Third Raikage and tens of thousands of Iwa-nin in a single blow—that was Jaeger's doing.
The chaos that struck Iwagakure? That was Uchiha Miyuki and the mysterious woman from another world, Luo Hao.
And yet, down below, Shimura Danzo strutted around the execution platform as if he'd conquered the world on his own. Pathetic.
For all his bluster, Danzo was just a puppet—borrowing strength from monsters far beyond his understanding.
Pakura smirked, folding her arms as she watched from high above, standing atop Leviathan's back. Danzo had no idea just how small he really was.
Down below, the Fire Daimyo's voice boomed across the square:
"Let the execution begin!"
The crowd collectively held its breath.
Orochimaru and Hiashi Hyuga dragged out the battered Third Hokage, forcing him to his knees in the center of the platform. Hiruzen's body was broken, but his spirit remained fierce.
Orochimaru's grip was unyielding. Hiashi's eyes were shadowed by guilt.
"Orochimaru… Hiashi…"
Hiruzen's voice was raw, but steady.
"So this is what it's come to? You betray Konoha—betray me—just to survive?"
A flicker of remorse passed through Orochimaru's eyes, quickly buried by his usual cold smile.
"Sensei, you should know better than anyone—right now, Danzo's too strong. Konoha is his. If I resist, I die. There's nothing left for me but this."
And why should Orochimaru oppose Danzo? The freedom, the research, the resources—all of it surpassed anything Hiruzen ever offered him. Orochimaru's loyalty was always to his own ambitions.
Hiashi bowed his head, shame burning on his face.
"My clan comes first. I can't gamble with the Hyuga's future. I'm sorry, Lord Third."
Hiruzen exhaled slowly, a bitter smile on his lips.
"I don't blame you. We all have someone to protect."
But understanding didn't make betrayal any less painful.
Danzo's voice cut through the tension, sharp and impatient.
"Orochimaru! Enough sentiment. Execute your former master—show me your resolve!"
Orochimaru's lips curled, and the legendary Kusanagi blade slid out from his mouth—his final, twisted gesture to the man who raised him.
But before he could strike, the air split with a thunderous roar:
"Orochimaru! Betraying your master—how far have you fallen?!"
A massive shadow hurtled down.
With a tremendous crash, the adamantine staff of Enma, the Monkey King, smashed into the platform, splintering wood and blasting the crowd with wind. Shinobi and civilians alike staggered under the force.
Orochimaru stared in disbelief.
"That chakra—Sarutobi-sensei's summon?! No… Enma never had this kind of powerful presence!"
"Who the hell is that?! Stop him now, or he'll destroy the whole execution platform!"
Hiashi Hyuga's face was pale as he barked orders, panic seeping through his usual calm.
He'd already crossed the line, betraying the Third Hokage. If Sarutobi Hiruzen escaped execution now, retribution would be inevitable—and Hiashi knew Hiruzen would never forgive him.
"A-Ape King… Enma…"
Hiruzen's breath caught as he gazed at the massive Adamantine Staff.
A tear slipped down his battered cheek. Enma, his lifelong partner, had risked everything—gathering dangerous amounts of natural energy just to save him. That kind of power would tear any ordinary summon apart, but Enma still came.
"Eight Trigrams: Rotation!"
Hiashi, desperate, flared his Byakugan and unleashed his clan's ultimate defense. Chakra burst from every tenketsu as he spun in place, forming a whirling sphere of blue energy—the same jutsu that once batted away the Ten-Tails' limbs.
Orochimaru, lips curling in a cold sneer, had no intention of letting Hiruzen live. But with Enma's staff hurtling down like divine judgment, he could only react.
He raised the Kusanagi blade in one hand, and with the other slammed a palm to the ground:
"Summoning Jutsu: Triple Rashomon!"
With three thunderous crashes, three colossal demonic gates erupted from the earth, shielding Orochimaru, Hiruzen, and the others behind an impenetrable barrier. This was the legendary ultimate defense—a technique inherited from legends.
But Enma's staff fell like a hammer from heaven.
BOOM!
The shockwave was monstrous. The ground trembled as if Konoha itself might split open.
Triple Rashomon and Hiashi's Kaiten—so-called ultimate defenses—shattered in an instant under the impact.
The execution platform exploded into debris. Orochimaru and Hiashi were sent flying, along with stunned shinobi and terrified civilians scattered everywhere.
"It's not over yet! Sealing Jutsu: Adamantine Prison!"
Enma roared, and the Adamantine Staff multiplied—splitting into dozens of rods, forming iron cages in midair.
In a heartbeat, every clan head, every council member—even the Fire Daimyo and Danzo himself—were trapped, unable to escape as their cages crashed to the ground.
"Got them!" Enma shouted, chest heaving, as the staff-cages crashed into the plaza.
But in his desperate, uncontrolled state, dozens of civilians were caught in the chaos—some badly hurt, some worse.
Enma couldn't care. He'd overloaded his body with nature energy, sacrificing everything just to save Hiruzen Sarutobi, his oldest friend.
"Hiruzen! I'm here! Hang on!"
The gigantic Enma, grotesquely bulked-up from nature energy, grinned through the pain as he smashed the seals binding Hiruzen.
"Old friend…"
Hiruzen stared in shock at what Enma had become. Regret hit him hard. Had he truly let things get this bad?
"It's nothing, Hiruzen!" Enma rasped, tearing the last chains.
"Broken bones are nothing—Tsunade can fix you. But we have to get away now! We'll find Tsunade and Jiraiya—at least they never betrayed you, unlike that snake—"
"Domain Expansion—"
A cold, echoing voice sliced through the chaos.
Danzo Shimura glared out from within his cage, hand forming seals, voice dripping with venom:
"Infinite Void!"
A low hum filled the air. For an instant, everyone—Enma, Hiruzen, every ninja—felt themselves pulled into an endless black abyss.
It lasted less than a second, but the effects were crippling—invalid information and mental static forced into the mind. Most collapsed, paralyzed, for several agonizing minutes.
"A mere summon beast dares defy me? Hold your master and die together."
Danzo raised his hand.
"Reversal Technique—Red!"
A wave of repulsive force exploded outward like a miniature supernova.
Enma's body cracked, splintered, and then shattered under the assault. But with his last breath, he hurled Hiruzen skyward, toward the one familiar chakra he sensed above—he trusted it wasn't an enemy.
High above—nearly ten thousand meters in the sky—Angel Leng hovered, white wings beating softly against the wind. She looked down at the battlefield below, her voice tinged with quiet sorrow.
"What a loyal and courageous summoning beast… It's tragic he had to die like that."
Her expression darkened as she glared at the chaos below.
"I really can't stand that Shimura Danzo. He's not just cruel—he's ugly and arrogant to the core."
•••
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