Naruto: Starting as the Third Hokage with Tears in His Eyes

With a soft thud, the once invincible mass of flesh crashed heavily onto the top of a broken bone spur below, then slid down and lay sprawled on the ground.

It was a pool of shapeless, unconscious mud.

Kaguya Honebami's body, his dignity, his ambition, and his ridiculous fighting spirit were all crushed at this moment.

From the appearance of Susanoo to the complete crushing of Kaguya Honebami.

Uchiha Shisui glanced at the eastern sky, which was already beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn.

"just."

He muttered to himself.

"I can make it in time for the Hokage's breakfast."

As soon as the words were spoken, the majestic, emerald-green giant in the sky transformed into countless points of light and vanished silently, as if it had never existed.

Shisui's figure landed once again on the dilapidated top of the Mizukage Building. He withdrew his Mangekyou Sharingan, restoring his usual clean and gentle black eyes, and coldly looked down at the devastated village below, and the Hidden Mist ninjas who stood there as if their souls had been ripped out.

The entire Hidden Mist Village fell into an even deeper, more deathly silence than before.

If the previous battles were noisy and violent...

At this moment, fear is solidified into amber, sealing everyone inside.

Yagura leaned against his broken coral staff, panting heavily. He looked at Shisui, his eyes filled with nothing but endless awe, in addition to the relief of surviving the ordeal.

Mei Terumi slumped to the ground, letting the acid mist corrode the ground with a hissing sound. She looked at the sky, a complex, bitter smile on her lips.

It turns out that he never took the Kaguya clan seriously from the very beginning.

It turns out that behind that seemingly gentle smile lies a godlike power capable of overthrowing a nation.

While all the Hidden Mist ninjas were still immersed in the miraculous terror and shock, unable to extricate themselves.

"Tap...tap...tap..."

A leisurely footstep, seemingly out of place on this desolate battlefield, rang out clearly in the silent square.

The crowd looked in the direction of the sound, either in horror or numbness.

Amidst the ruins, the man they had assumed was far away on the flagship—the Third Hokage of Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi—had appeared in the center of the plaza without them noticing.

With his hands tucked into his sleeves, he strolled leisurely, as if taking an after-dinner walk, step by step, toward the muddy mass of Kaguya Honebami.

Behind him, the first golden rays of dawn burst forth from the sea, stretching his shadow far and wide, like a black cloak silently enveloping the entire desolate square.

"despair."

"despair."

"despair."

The footsteps were neither hurried nor slow, each one precisely striking the most vulnerable spot in the hearts of every Hidden Mist ninja.

They watched numbly.

Watching the man walk up to Kaguya Honebami.

That was once the most unruly, most ferocious and bloodthirsty weapon of their Hidden Mist Village, the last pride of the Kaguya clan, but now it was like a discarded rag, its shape barely recognizable, with only the faint rise and fall of its chest proving that it was still alive.

Yagura's breathing stopped.

Everyone thought that the final blow was about to strike.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi only glanced down at it, his gaze as if he were looking at a roadside rock that was in his way.

He didn't look at the Kaguya clan members who were kneeling on the ground, trembling like leaves, nor did he look at the Kirigakure civilians in the distance whose eyes were filled with a mixture of fear, confusion, and a glimmer of hope.

He squatted down.

This action made Yagura and Mei Terumi's hearts skip a beat.

In their minds, the victors, when facing the losers, especially such a stubborn enemy, can only be destroyed.

But this man, the Hokage of Konoha, actually squatted down and looked directly at a puddle of mud.

A soft, emerald-green light shone from Hiruzen Sarutobi's palm.

Medical ninjutsu.

The light covered Kaguya Honebami's mangled body, forcibly holding his bones, which were almost crushed into powder, in place, keeping him alive until his last breath.

"Uh...ha..."

Kaguya Honebami let out an unintelligible hiss, and finally, in his pale pupils, he focused on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face, which was carrying a gentle smile.

Hatred, confusion, and a deeper fear surged in his eyes.

He doesn't understand.

"Killing you would be too easy for you."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice was very soft, as if he were catching up with an old friend.

"It would be better if you lived such a painful life."

He withdrew his hand, stood up, and patted off non-existent dust from his sleeve.

"I want you to see with your own eyes how those people you despise the most rebuild this village that you destroyed with your own hands, bit by bit."

"I want you to see with your own eyes how the peace you scorn takes root, sprouts, and blossoms in this land, a flower more resilient than your bones."

"Use the rest of your life to witness all of this. Use every last breath you take to prove how foolish and ridiculous your faith is."

These words, without a single swear word, are more chilling than the most vicious curse in the world.

Killing you would be merciful.

Letting you live is the most extreme and cruelest judgment.