Akimichi Chōji gripped Ino with his left hand and Shikamaru with his right. His father, Akimichi Chōza, had sacrificed his life to carve out a narrow path through the mist-shrouded chaos so they could escape. The ground behind them was littered with frantic footprints, scattered limbs, and dismembered corpses.
After what felt like an eternity, they finally made it out of the city. As they ran with a fleeing crowd, Shikamaru spoke up, carefully choosing his words
."If we keep running together like this and get caught, we'll all go down together."
Ino and Chōji understood what he meant, but… neither of them wanted to let go. Right now, all they had left was each other.
"Split up!" Inuzuka Hana didn't hesitate. She grabbed Kiba and Akamaru and darted off in another direction. Her figure quickly vanished into the withered forest.
With his kikaichū insects clearing the way, Aburame Shino also broke off and ran in a different direction.
The Ino-Shika-Chō trio still clung to each other. As for the girl with the pink hair—Haruno Sakura—no one knew where she had gone...
What no one expected was that Sakura had been tailing Tenten the entire time, and because of that, she became one of the first people to escape safely from the City of Peace.
Sakura… had a bit of luck on her side. In the original timeline, she'd been entangled with Naruto and Sasuke and ended up a winner in life. Now, for some reason, she had taken notice of the unusual Tenten and managed to survive in the midst of looming disaster.
Her lungs burned with every breath, her body pulled taut like a drawn bowstring. Sakura didn't know if Haruno Akira and Haruno Mabuki had made it out safely. Chakra surged within her, pushing her forward, fueled by guilt and remorse over abandoning her parents to escape alone. That guilt made her run even faster.
Compared to Sakura, Tenten remained calm throughout. That was because… her parents didn't live in the City of Peace anymore. She didn't have that kind of burden weighing her down.
Before Konoha was destroyed, Tenten's parents had already moved away.
It had started with the economic crisis. The ninja tools shop her family ran couldn't stay afloat and went under. At the time, Neji hadn't completely lost his humanity and would occasionally drop hints to Tenten and Lee.
Lee didn't understand, but Tenten picked up on it. Her parents, being merchants, had a good nose for financial trends. They stocked up on supplies, sealed them in scrolls, and left this troubled land well before the Chūnin Exams began.
Just like Sasuke had always played the "cool" card, Neji had retained a few human traits. He would open up slightly to Tenten and Lee—but only to them. If they didn't know what was good for them and insisted on getting themselves killed, he wouldn't hesitate for a second.
Tenten had calmly seized a sliver of hope. She only tried to save Rock Lee. When that failed, she didn't help anyone else.
"Sorry… but in a situation like this, it's hard enough just keeping myself alive."
Among the original "Konoha 12," Tenten's Team 3 was already a year ahead of the others. She only really knew Neji and Lee well. The rest she'd only met during the Chūnin Exams. She had no reason to risk her life for them.
She didn't mind Sakura following her. The more people who survived, the better.
The environment was deteriorating fast. The forests of the Land of Fire were no longer vibrant—just a graveyard of dried leaves and broken branches that reached like claws, ready to devour anyone who got too close. Every now and then, the distant sound of a scream would echo through the trees.
Tenten and Sakura both knew those screams were the last cries of those who hadn't made it out—slaughtered without mercy.
Among the dead, there were likely many familiar faces. But they didn't have time to mourn, let alone turn back to help. If anything, each scream was a reminder to run faster. Every death was buying them a few more seconds to escape.
It was a selfish yet brutally realistic thought. Conflicting emotions swirled in Tenten's heart—one voice insisting she was right, telling her to run faster, and another cursing her for being heartless.
...
On the outskirts of the City of Peace, a strange white creature poked its head out from underground. Its nostrils twitched as it sniffed the chaotic air, and a look of disgust twisted its face.
"So gross..." White Zetsu muttered to himself.
Using the Mayfly Technique, he had burrowed deep into the ground beneath the City of Peace. Down there, he had seen hollowed-out cavities eaten away by decay—and countless mutilated corpses.
Nothing but corpses!
The stench of rot filled the tunnels. Carnivorous insects scurried across the piles of rotten flesh, but White Zetsu didn't actually feel disgust. He was simply mimicking human behavior.
He didn't dare get too close, fearing instant death if he were discovered.
The City of Peace had undergone a thorough purge. All remaining threats were wiped out completely.
Inuzuka Tsume, Aburame Shibi, and other scattered survivors were eliminated. Sasuke didn't even bother chasing the rest—he found it too tedious. Besides, he had sensed something unsettling: a pair of eyes watching him.
A white cloak, black orbs floating behind him, an overwhelming presence. His eyes had concentric rings, and a red spiral mark sat in the center of his forehead. Who else could it be but the Sage of Six Paths?
The Sage could clearly see that Sasuke was using a power utterly unlike chakra.
In the past, no matter how catastrophic a war or massacre became, the Sage of Six Paths never intervened.
He stood too far above it all. He observed the world from a detached height, indifferent to good or evil, caring only about the long-term consequences people or events might have.
Like a company CEO who doesn't care about an employee's personal morals—only whether they generate profit.
Closer to home, the Third Hokage knew full well about Danzō's dirty past and still kept him in power. They called it "private moral failing, but no fault in his greater duties." Even bullies and delinquents could be turned into village-protecting heroes.
The Sage's power and vision were so far beyond others that he had already foreseen the future. As long as the timeline he preferred didn't change, he wouldn't bother interfering with what happened along the way.
But now, the situation had spun out of control. He had no choice but to step in.
Among all the seeds planted by the true Demon's body, Sasuke was without a doubt the most eye-catching. His ability to draw attention and provoke others was unparalleled.
The Sage of Six Paths had been observing Sasuke for a long time but still couldn't pinpoint the hidden manipulator behind him. Even so, Sasuke was clearly a lead worth following—an excellent thread to unravel the bigger mystery. Thus, Sasuke now carried the buff: [Being Watched by the Sage of Six Paths].
The Demon fell into deep thought. Should he let Sasuke keep drawing the Sage's gaze as a decoy? Or should his true body throw out even more chaos to mess things up?
On second thought, it seemed like he had overlooked that scheming bastard, Black Zetsu.
As a qualified mastermind, the Demon couldn't let someone else steal his spotlight!
You're it, Black Zetsu—time to take the fall!
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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