Although Konoha ultimately claimed victory—having driven off the Sound ninja and forced the Sand ninja to flee—those who fought within the village gained nothing tangible.
In fact, they suffered significant casualties and extensive building damage. Their greatest loss, however, was the death of their top leader, the Third Hokage. So despite prevailing, the village's morale had fallen to its lowest point.
A somber, oppressive atmosphere shrouded Konoha. Konohamaru, the Third Hokage's grandson, cried uncontrollably, while Naruto Uzumaki stood there in a daze, tears streaming down his face.
The very first person to acknowledge him—the beloved "Grandpa Hokage"—was gone.
But for now, the ones bearing the heaviest weight were Konoha's Elder Council.
"Danzo is dead too," announced Koharu and Homura.
"Only one person from Root survived."
Jiraiya, no longer joking, but solemn, reported,
"According to that lone survivor, Root was destroyed by a single individual plus a swarm of puppets. The man wore the Akatsuki's black-and-red cloak and possessed purple ripple-pattern eyes capable of endlessly unleashing repulsion and attraction."
"He killed Danzo, wiped out Root, then slipped into the Hokage Building to abduct Yamato, stealing the Scroll of Seals and other scrolls in the process."
"He can fly and vanish from sight; his repulsive force can annihilate anything without leaving a trace."
"As for the puppets, there's evidence they belong to Sasori of the Red Sand, who once wiped out an entire small country. His mastery of puppetry apparently no longer requires chakra threads to control them. Taking advantage of the chaos, he stole numerous corpses—likely for puppet-making."
When Koharu finished, Homura turned on Jiraiya and scolded him:
"Jiraiya, you once took on a disciple outside the village, a young man with the 'Sage Eyes,' yet you never reported it or brought him home. Because of that, he ended up joining the Akatsuki and conspiring with Orochimaru to launch the Konoha Crush, indirectly causing the deaths of both Hiruzen and Danzo. You must take responsibility."
"Hey, hey… Don't pin all this dirt on me!" Jiraiya snapped, grim-faced. "I don't even know for sure if that guy is Yahiko. The Root survivor's description claims he's covered in black rods—he could just be a puppet that resembles my old student. And anyway, the Third Hokage was the one who invited the Sand here. Who could've guessed Orochimaru would pose as the Fourth Kazekage and team up with the Akatsuki he once joined?"
"Now that it's happened, instead of passing blame around, shouldn't we hurry up and pick a new Hokage?" At that, Jiraiya broke into a slightly mocking grin. "What rotten luck Danzo had. The old man is dead, so that made him the obvious candidate for Hokage again—but he wound up dying right alongside Hiruzen. What a pity."
"Quiet, Jiraiya," Koharu snapped, forehead twitching in annoyance, then proposed, "Since both Hiruzen and Danzo are gone, and you share some blame in all this, you'll take the mantle of Fifth Hokage."
"No thanks. I'm not interested." Jiraiya shook his head without hesitation. "My own investigations show the Akatsuki's real targets are the tailed beasts and their jinchūriki. In this incursion, they revealed their Sage Eye user early—yet didn't seize Naruto. Instead they went after the Scroll of Seals and Root. This is suspicious."
"If that really was the Sage Eyes, no one from Root should have survived unless he left the witness intentionally. The Root survivor also said that back in the day, Danzo and Hanzo of Amegakure had conspired to do something which provoked revenge today."
"If all he wanted was revenge, why say that the Akatsuki base is in the Rain Village?"
Hearing that, Koharu and Homura exchanged sharp glances. "You're saying it was deliberate?"
"Could be," Jiraiya replied uncertainly. "Or maybe he simply didn't notice the survivor. That's why I have to keep investigating. An organization of S-rank rogues, possibly led by someone with the Sage Eyes, is way too dangerous."
"Then let the Anbu handle the investigation," Koharu said stonily. "Konoha can't go on without a Hokage. There's no one but you to become the Fifth."
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "Who says? We still have one Sannin left, don't we?"
"You mean…?" Homura and Koharu's eyes widened.
"Right. That woman is far more suitable than I am. She's Konoha's princess, after all," Jiraiya said, convincing the two Elders.
…
The next day, heavy clouds crowded the sky, and distant thunder rumbled.
Soon, a light rain fell. All the Konoha shinobi wore black clothes and carried white chrysanthemums to the memorial for those who died in battle, joined by many villagers.
A large number of framed portraits stood on a table blanketed in white flowers. Two were enlarged, placed front and center. The rain intensified, as if the heavens themselves were weeping for the fallen.
Though the atmosphere was appropriately somber, Izayoi nearly burst out laughing after placing his white chrysanthemum down.
The sight of Danzo's memorial photograph, newly moved "into the light" after his death and set right next to Hiruzen's, was almost too much. Izayoi forced himself to hold it in.
Holding his hands in respectful prayer, he silently intoned, "Lord Danzo, rest in peace. I promise I'll make Root great again!" Then he returned to the line, face stiff and expressionless. The rain sliding down his cheeks might as well have been tears.
Many shinobi wore similar, expressionless faces. Others wept in hushed sobs or openly bawled, or stood with silent tears.
Most were either staunch believers in the "Will of Fire" or younger ninja who hadn't experienced the village's darker side.
After half an hour in the rain, the memorial concluded, officially ending the era dominated by the Third Hokage and Danzo Shimura.
Once the Fifth Hokage took office, Konoha would enter a new age. As Orochimaru had said, the windmill that had lain idle for many years would finally start to turn again.
The higher-ups and the Land of Fire's leadership now faced a hectic period—not only cleaning up after the battle, but also hunting for Orochimaru and the Sound Village, and grappling with how to handle the Land of Wind and the Sand.
Negotiations loomed. After all, Konoha still had the One-Tail jinchūriki, the Kazekage's children, and many captured Sand-nin.
The Sand would never give up on them. At the same time, both villages had lost their "Kage" figures.
Neither could afford a full-scale war, or they might trigger a Fourth Great Ninja War. Thus, the only choice was diplomatic give-and-take.
Izayoi himself had no interest in these political tangles. He didn't even have time yet to sort through all his spoils from the Konoha Crush.
Once the rain let up, he started scouting a location for his new house. He had no intention of rebuilding on his old land.
Instead, he planned to buy new property and erect a bigger place. With Danzo gone, and himself recognized as a new star in Konoha, he no longer worried about people questioning his wealth's source.
Absent concrete proof, no one would dare cross a top-tier fighting force. And if they did, he still had the Hyūga sisters' cover.
"Hey, Onii-chan, now that you don't have a place anymore, where will you stay?" asked Hanabi, walking beside Izayoi with her older sister. "An inn's so cramped and pricey. Why not live at our house?"
"Yeah, Izayoi-kun, come stay with me," Hinata added gently. "I can persuade Father."
Izayoi looked tempted for a moment, but remembering he'd have to see Hiashi Hyūga's corpse-like scowl every day—and endure the Hyūga clan's constant Byakugan scrutiny—he shivered. "No need," he teased Hinata. "It's not quite time for me to drop in yet."
Hinata's cheeks flushed; she let it go. For a boy to abruptly move in with the clan princess, even if he was a bright future star, would spark too much gossip.
Hinata knew Izayoi's pride would not stand for that. He often joked about her "keeping" him, but she knew how proud he truly was.
Then, shrill wailing caught their ears. "Damn those Sand-nin and Sound-nin! My onsen was just about to open—it isn't even finished, and now it's destroyed! I took out loans to build the place, so now I'm finished!"
A middle-aged man in a black suit, apparently here from another region, was kneeling on a patch of rubble, sobbing as if he'd lost everything.
Izayoi brightened visibly. Rising into the air under the startled gazes of passersby, he hovered overhead to size up the property's ruins. Moments later, his face lit with a trace of excitement. He landed by the grieving man.
"Interested in a deal? I'd like to buy your onsen," Izayoi said with a smile.
"Y-Yes!" The man's eyes shone as if seeing a lifeline.
"Hinata," Izayoi turned, "go to Ino's flower shop, ask her to…" He murmured instructions softly in her ear. Hinata nodded and vanished via Body Flicker. Then Izayoi told the man, "We're off to the Hokage Building."
As Konoha was the Land of Fire's military nerve center, under the "One Nation, One Village" system, any property transfer needed the village's approval and witness.
Izayoi was unsure of the land's fair price, but he didn't want to be cheated—hence he'd arrange for a Yamanaka to help. After all, business trickery existed in every world.
"Alright," the man eagerly agreed. No matter if Konoha offered a little compensation for the damage, repairing everything and then opening would cost time he didn't have. Meanwhile, interest was piling up on his loans. He was all too willing to unload this "hot potato."
By the time Izayoi and the man reached the Hokage Building, Hinata returned with Ino Yamanaka in tow.
"Incredible, Izayoi. You're buying an onsen? Where'd you get the money?" Ino teased.
"I borrowed it. I'll have to pay it back," Izayoi fibbed, glancing at Hinata to maintain the charade.
"Must be nice, you two," Ino sighed. "I wish Sasuke-kun and I were like that." She didn't look terribly surprised, just envious.
Hinata blushed faintly, offering no rebuttal. From what she'd observed, Sasuke had zero interest in women. If he were female, Hinata might have seen him as a rival. Sometimes, he clung even more than she and Hanabi combined.
After a bit of conversation, Ino turned to the middle-aged man, "Yusuke-san, can we trouble you?"
"Not at all," he smiled. With Konoha's green flak jackets about and two Byakugan girls watching, he wouldn't dare lie.
Soon, he sold the onsen's land to Izayoi for 66,666,000 ryō—far more than the lot was worth. Izayoi also covered a portion of the man's losses.
Once they signed a contract and received a new land deed, Izayoi happily offered to treat Ino and Yusuke to a meal, but the latter declined. Ino, however, gladly accepted. With the weather still cool, it was perfect for a hotpot.
So the four of them headed to a hotpot restaurant. While the three girls chose dishes, Izayoi took out a map of Konoha and circled the onsen's plot.
He also marked some neighboring houses. The onsen site alone could hold a house twice as large as his old one, but he wanted something even bigger—an onsen, a large yard, a huge new place to live.
Over the following days, he went door to door. With offers no one could refuse, he bought up all those houses. Including the onsen, he ultimately spent 280 million ryō.
It was no small feat to pry property from stingy "Konoha civilians." With the land in his name, Izayoi hired professionals to measure it, then began drafting designs. Once he was satisfied and the plan finalized, construction would begin.
~~~
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