On the screen,
The image of Hiruzen Sarutobi falling remained fixed, making it hard for the watching Konoha shinobi to breathe.
His final words, in particular, resonated deeply, making them understand the Third Hokage's fervent spirit.
"Konoha isn't just an organization to me. Every year, new shinobi are born. They grow, fight bravely, and sacrifice themselves to protect the village."
"And after I die, they will inherit the Will of Fire. They understand... where leaves dance, fire burn!"
Just as everyone was moved by Hiruzen Sarutobi's words,
The Fourth Raikage touched his nose and asked rather tactlessly:
"Sarutobi, if you were going to use the Reaper Death Seal anyway, why didn't you seal the Nine-Tails yourself? Why let the Fourth Hokage do it?"
"I mean, if the Fourth Hokage had survived, Orochimaru wouldn't have dared to cause trouble, right?"
Onoki: "Fourth Raikage, are you still fixated on Minato Namikaze? Now I am going to defend him!"
Fourth Raikage: "It's called respect for the strong, what do you know, old man! Without Minato around, there's no one pushing me to get faster! It's lonely at the top!"
Listening to this, Terumi Mei rolled her eyes, somewhat speechless at the Fourth Raikage's words.
Jiraiya: "I don't know if you all noticed, but Orochimaru's objective is to take Sasuke away and claim his body."
As soon as Jiraiya said this,
Sakura instantly panicked. She had assumed Sasuke willingly left the village with Orochimaru simply to become stronger.
She never imagined such a sinister motive behind it.
If Sasuke actually reaches Orochimaru's base, he'll surely die!
At that moment,
Sakura didn't care anymore about keeping Sasuke's departure a secret.
She yelled towards the Konoha leadership: "Please, save Sasuke! He's left the village!"
"What? Sasuke isn't in the village?" Ino asked, surprised.
She suddenly realized that throughout the entire viewing, Sasuke hadn't appeared once.
She had thought he was off mourning somewhere over the Uchiha clan massacre.
"Sasuke... defected?" Rock Lee, leaning on his crutches, looked puzzled. He had always envied and admired Sasuke's Sharingan and incredible talent; his future seemed so bright. Why would someone like that defect?
Seeing the secret was out, Hiruzen Sarutobi addressed Might Guy, Genma Shiranui, and the other jōnin of their generation, "Go and assist Kakashi in retrieving Sasuke!"
"What?! My rival Kakashi ditched me to handle a mission alone?!"
"Lord Third, you're playing favorites!" Might Guy wailed, clutching his head dramatically.
"Quit whining and get going, Guy!" Genma sighed, exasperated.
"Burn bright, my youth!" With a roar, Might Guy dashed off, completely forgetting to ask for mission details or directions.
...…
Hearing that Sasuke had left the village,
The Fourth Raikage's eyes darted around. He thought, 'Could I take this chance to eliminate Sasuke? No one would know who did it...'
However, Jiraiya, who was watching him closely, noticed his expression.
"Lord Fourth Raikage, please put aside those thoughts. Sasuke's life is crucial. There can be no mistakes."
Onoki also chimed in,
"Fourth Raikage, set aside your grievances for now. After all, the future has clearly changed—Hiruzen Sarutobi is standing right here, alive, isn't he?"
The Fourth Raikage nodded in agreement.
"Hmph. I'm not that petty."
Just as they were discussing this, the screen unexpectedly flickered back to life.
This left them feeling a bit resigned.
The Kage-level shinobi, in particular, felt conflicted. They had spent significant time watching these visions with Konoha. They wanted to return to their own villages, worried about leaving them unattended, but feared missing crucial glimpses of the future.
"I wonder what it will show this time..."
[On screen—]
[Two colossal statues, hands locked in the Seal of Confrontation, filled the view.]
[Judging by their appearance and attire, one depicted Madara Uchiha, the other Hashirama Senju.]
[The view zoomed in, revealing a teenager standing atop each statue's head.]
[Sasuke Uchiha stood upon the Madara statue, while Naruto Uzumaki stood upon theHashirama statue. Naruto was panting heavily, staring intensely at Sasuke, who had his back turned.]
["Sasuke! Are you really running away?!" Naruto cried out, his voice filled with anguish.]
[Hearing him, Sasuke turned his head slightly, revealing a face half-covered by the curse mark's pattern. He smirked contemptuously. "Hmph, loser. So it's your turn this time? I told Sakura to stay out of my business!"]
[Naruto stared, stunned, at this almost unrecognizable Sasuke. Memories of their past together flashed through his mind.]
These memories playing in Naruto's mind were also displayed on the screen for everyone to see.
[Naruto tied to a post after failing Kakashi's test, forbidden to eat. Sasuke hesitantly offering him his own food.]
[A flustered Sasuke asking Naruto for tips on tree climbing with chakra. Later, both standing triumphantly atop trees under the night sky, laughing.]
[During the battle with Haku, a severely wounded Sasuke shielding Naruto with his body, claiming weakly, "My body... just moved on its own... I didn't mean to save you..."]
[In the classroom, Naruto accidentally kissing Sasuke after being bumped by another classmate...]
[Naruto's hands stuck together, Sasuke reluctantly helping him use the restroom.]
[And more memories...]
A/N: The Naruto vs. Sasuke battle is coming up! Can I ask for power stones and comments on both paragraph and book.✌🏻✌🏻