Kurenai Yuhi's prediction had been dead on. Tsunade's attempts to stop it were useless. Under the shadow of the authorities, news of the executions at the gates spread through Konoha in record time. From shinobi to ordinary villagers, everyone knew the enemy had truly surrounded the village and that no one was getting out.
The Third Hokage and his old advisors—caught trying to sneak away—had been hanged right there at the gates. Two ANBU captains had been killed on the spot, without even managing to fight back. The gravity of the situation finally sank in. The weight of that surrender ultimatum pressed down on them all.
The defenseless villagers were like lambs to the slaughter. Once they realized why they were being targeted, chaos erupted. Some rushed to the temporary Hokage's residence, begging for protection. Others hid in makeshift tents, terrified to even step outside. A few even went to the Sarutobi clan compound to cause trouble and hurl insults.
Many villagers rushed to the gates to beg for forgiveness, trying to suck up to Naruto and shift the blame onto the late Hiruzen Sarutobi. That stopped when some clever shinobi snuck up to the gates and attacked, cutting down the villagers. They hacked off the ears of the dead, ran out past the gates to surrender, and were taken under protection.
Only then did the survivors scatter and flee. Unfortunately, less than half made it out alive. This gave a few ruthless Konoha chunin the perfect chance to surrender without risking their own necks. With these clever, cold-blooded ninjas setting the example, ordinary villagers soon faced a wave of assassination attempts.
Thankfully, Tsunade had given orders beforehand, and the clan shinobi held back. The ANBU, however, had no fear of death. Many chunin and genin who killed civilians, along with the most ruthless ones, were cut down on the spot by the ANBU. The public disturbance was crushed quickly, but the undercurrents kept surging.
That night, deep in the darkness when everything was quiet, a dozen or so villagers gathered at the base of the perimeter wall. Using the shadows as cover, they scaled the wall and scattered, fleeing into the forest. This wasn't the only group. Almost every few minutes, another dozen gathered, climbed the wall, and ran in all directions.
It was organized. Premeditated. As if they'd all planned it together.
And right behind each group of villagers who made it over the wall, shinobi from various clans emerged from the darkness. Following the villagers into the night, they scaled the wall and disappeared into the forest.
The plan was simple: use the villagers as a distraction to pull the perimeter forces away. Then the shinobi would make a break for it, increasing their chances of escape. Clearly, this was the work of shinobi who didn't want to kill civilians if they could avoid it. After all, Konoha was surrounded by a massive perimeter. They didn't think every single spot could be perfectly guarded. If just one person made it out and sent a signal, it would be a mass exodus—everyone who could run would be saved.
Soon, screams of agony echoed through the forest outside the walls. They came and went quickly, fading into silence. The signal the shinobi clans were waiting for never came.
Meanwhile, on the path leading to the main gates, four or five people draped in black cloth moved stealthily toward the entrance. Kishimoto Hirohiko, his body wrapped in bandages and being carried on his brother's back, whispered instructions to his family.
"Keep low, everyone. Stay covered in black cloth and don't make a single noise. Don't get noticed."
The man carrying him was his younger brother, Kishimoto Dairen.
"Big brother," Dairen whispered, "is it really true you're close with Naruto?"
Kishimoto Hirohiko's son, Kishimoto Yoshihiro, echoed the question in a terrified voice. "Yeah, Dad. If you guys were really close, why didn't he send someone to pick you up? Why didn't he warn you?"
"The Hokage did notify him," Hirohiko's wife sighed. "She even gave him more than ten chances to survive."
Hearing their doubts, Hirohiko and his wife exchanged a worried glance. Faced with his family's disbelief, even he was starting to have his own doubts. But this was his last resort. He didn't want to end up dead with his ear cut off by some desperate chunin looking to surrender.
"I used to be Naruto's editor," he insisted, trying to sound confident. "He was always happy with my work. There won't be any problems, I'm sure of it! Everyone rejected him back then, but I accepted his submissions. He won't forget that, right?"
He was trying to convince his family, and himself. Hearing his words, the others felt a little more confident and quickened their pace. But just as the main gates came into view...
A ninja with a sinister smile stepped out of the shadows right in front of them.
"Looks like I caught some strays who slipped past the ANBU's perimeter."
With just a few brutal punches and kicks, the four able-bodied men were on the ground. Hirohiko, wrapped in bandages and unable to move, was hoisted up by the ninja. A kunai pressed against his ear.
Seeing this, he didn't care about staying hidden anymore. He shouted, "I know Naruto! You can't kill us! If you kill us, Naruto will never let you live!"
"Shut up!" The ninja, afraid of being discovered, swung the kunai down toward Hirohiko's throat.
"I'm dead!"
Watching the blade come for him, Hirohiko squeezed his eyes shut, filled with despair.
But the pain never came. Instead, he felt his neck loosen as he was dropped to the ground. Cracking his eyes open, Hirohiko saw a very familiar blonde girl pinning the ninja to the ground. She was carrying several corpses in her arms, and one of them was even wearing a headband.
"I heard someone call my name," she said. "Didn't expect it to be you, Editor."
Naruto recognized him immediately. It all came rushing back—the forgotten acquaintance.
"You... you're Naruto?" Hirohiko stared at the girl before him, his face filled with disbelief.
The four people on the ground, hearing Naruto's name, scrambled to their feet.
"Big brother, you actually know Naruto!"
"That's great, Dad, we don't have to die!"
"Honey, I'll never complain about you being useless again!"
"Brother-in-law, you really are the most promising guy in the Kishimoto family!"
Naruto glanced at the group, then turned back to Kishimoto Hirohiko.
"You're different from the villagers who tried to kill me when I was a kid," she said. "Since you're the editor's family, come with me. I'll take you somewhere safe."
...
Early the next morning, dawn was just breaking. The gates of Konoha were already crowded with people. They stared in silence at the countless corpses hanging densely across the gates and the surrounding walls. No one could utter a word.
Tsunade, whose skin was already aging and sagging from excessive chakra use, looked even older. She stared at the bodies for a long time before asking, "Shikaku, did you get the count?"
Shikaku Nara took a deep breath and nodded. "We counted them all. Not a single person escaped."
"Not a single one..."
Hearing this, Tsunade slowly turned around. Her body was noticeably more hunched, looking more and more like an old woman.
"Let's go."
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