"No, that's not it. We have true peace—the kind that lasts..."
Naruto was about to say more, but Ōkami and Zō had already returned without a sound.
They held kunai, positioning themselves on either side of him, aiming for his temples and throat.
Just like with their earlier attack on Sasuke, all they saw were enemies threatening the village.
Whoosh! Clang!
But their surprise attack was stopped once again—this time by Nagato.
He appeared instantly in front of Naruto, sidestepping Zō's strike with a black rod in hand.
Four mechanical arms suddenly sprouted from Nagato's back.
Two of them extended rapidly, revealing metal skeletons that grabbed Ōkami's wrists from the side.
"What is this!?"
Ōkami and Zō stared at Nagato's suddenly quadruple-armed figure and immediately tried to retreat.
But Nagato had no intention of letting them escape.
The two mechanical arms gripping Ōkami retracted sharply, pulling her along with them.
At the same time, a third arm shot out and seized her neck, chains wrapping around her body to bind her completely.
The fourth arm swung forward in front of Ōkami.
With a metallic clang, the hand transformed into a cannon muzzle glowing with purple light.
"Asura Path."
Nagato's voice was ice-cold.
A purple beam erupted from the cannon, engulfing Ōkami's entire head.
BOOM!
Black dust scattered in the wind.
The headless corpse dropped from the mechanical arms to the ground.
"Ōkami!" Zō, who had only retreated a few meters back, watched her die in an instant.
Tsunade was also stunned.
She never expected Ōkami to be killed so quickly after just a brief exchange.
"Stop!" she shouted.
Nagato wasn't Naruto—he wouldn't listen to Tsunade.
His mission was to protect Sasuke and Naruto.
As for Ōkami and Zō, who had repeatedly attacked them, Nagato intended to make an example.
So he didn't stop.
After dealing with Ōkami, he immediately reached out toward the terrified Zō in the distance.
"Universal Pull."
Whoosh!
A powerful gravitational force appeared instantly.
Zō, his face still twisted in shock, couldn't resist at all.
His body hurtled toward Nagato at high speed.
Nagato's right hand slammed into Zō's stomach while his left grabbed his hair.
"Human Path."
The cold voice rang out again.
Nagato's right palm, which had struck Zō's stomach, glowed with purple chakra.
The next second, his hand clenched into a claw and yanked backward.
A soul resembling Zō was ripped out by Nagato's right hand.
The body twitched twice before going completely limp.
The entire exchange took only six or seven seconds.
Two Anbu captains were killed instantly.
Might Guy moved to help, but Sasuke stopped him.
"Kakashi told me to tell you not to act. Konoha's doomed—this isn't worth dying for."
"Besides, he can protect you and your students. Think about them—they've still got plenty of youth left."
"Kakashi..." Hearing Sasuke's words, Might Guy's expression turned complex.
After a long hesitation, he sighed and stepped aside.
Might Guy had risen from a commoner to Jōnin—he wasn't foolish, just rough around the edges.
Just as Kakashi said, Guy couldn't worry about himself, but he couldn't help worrying about Rock Lee, Tenten, and Neji.
All three were still young with their whole lives ahead of them.
Most importantly, Might Guy trusted Kakashi. He didn't believe Kakashi would betray him easily.
Maybe there was something he, a regular Jōnin, just couldn't know or understand.
So he decided to listen to Kakashi, stay put, and not get involved.
"Zō, Ōkami..."
Watching two veteran Anbu die before her eyes, Tsunade clenched her fists and bit her lip.
But she knew this wasn't the time for all-out war.
If Menma was drawn out, Konoha couldn't survive another catastrophe.
It was a slow death, but at least they had ten days to find a solution.
Maybe a turning point would appear.
For example, the other four nations might take action and distract Menma.
Nagato didn't care what Tsunade was thinking.
Seeing no one else attack, he tossed the corpse in front of her.
Then, looking around at the growing crowd, he shouted loudly.
"From now on, anyone who tries to escape the village will share this fate!"
"The Four-Star Village has surrounded Konoha. Anyone crossing the walls is an escapee—executed without mercy."
"Furthermore, their bodies will be displayed on top of the village gates as punishment."
"So, if you want to live, follow the surrender notice immediately."
"Those who meet the requirements can come directly to the gates and surrender. The Four-Star Village guarantees your safety."
After saying this, Nagato turned to Naruto and Sasuke.
"I'm leaving."
Sasuke said nothing, just nodded and vanished.
Naruto looked back at Tsunade. "Grandma, if you change your mind, come find me at the Gates of Konoha."
"You can even bring more than ten people—I'll help save their lives."
Without waiting for a reply, Naruto nodded to Nagato and disappeared.
Seeing the three vanish, half the surrounding ninjas turned their eyes toward Asuma.
The other half looked at Tsunade.
They'd all heard Naruto's words.
If Tsunade surrendered, she wouldn't need to lose her head or ears, and she could bring a dozen people with her.
Seeing the hostile looks from the other half of the ninjas, Asuma ignored the blood, picked up Hiruzen Sarutobi's body, and ran.
The Sarutobi clan ninjas followed quickly, skin crawling, afraid he'd be devoured alive if he lagged behind.
Behind Tsunade, Shizune sighed softly.
"Naruto's changed—not just his looks, but his personality too."
"If it were the old Naruto, he'd have tried to resolve the hatred, not act like this..."
"People change," Kurenai interrupted, turning to the Hokage.
"Lady Tsunade, the village is about to descend into chaos. What do you plan to do?"
Tsunade naturally knew the village would descend into chaos. No one wanted to die, especially not for someone else's mistake.
If Menma wanted to destroy Konoha directly, she could organize everyone to fight together.
But now...
Tsunade shook her head. "No matter how chaotic things get, we need to maintain some order."
"Shizune, pass the word: all ninjas increase daytime patrols. Severely punish anyone who kills civilians."
"And tell everyone here that what happened today stays here."
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