From the night of genocide, marching towards the strongest.

"Andy Lau!"

A figure rushed towards Shukaku at such speed that it seemed to cause the space itself to tremble slightly. Then, a punch was thrown out, instantly forming a high-pressure air blast in the shape of a tiger.

boom!

A tremendous roar resounded, and Shukaku, who was condensing the Tailed Beast Ball, let out a scream as its massive body was sent flying dozens of meters away.

Then he fell heavily onto an open space, kicking up clouds of dust, causing the ground to shake violently!

"Kai!?"

Kakashi was taken aback for a moment, but quickly realized what was happening and showed a surprised expression.

"Hey Kakashi, looks like I've scored another point!"

After landing, Kai gave a thumbs up, his teeth gleaming. At this moment, Kai had entered the seventh gate state, and his face looked somewhat ferocious, with veins bulging.

Kakashi nodded without arguing, and looked towards the place where Guy had fought earlier.

There lay Sunagakure Jonin Baki on the ground, seemingly dead or wounded, while Kankuro and Temari looked on in disbelief.

Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that his three students had bound him tightly.

"Naruto, you have quite a talent for taijutsu."

Kai glanced at Naruto, who had opened the fourth gate, and laughed: "You can discuss youth with me, Naruto."

"Let's talk about that later." Kakashi stepped forward, looked at Shukaku who was slowly getting up in the distance, and said in a deep voice, "Right now, we need to deal with Shukaku first."

"Ok!"

"Sakura!"

Kakashi gave a soft shout, waking up Sakura who was somewhat restless and looking around. He said in a deep voice, "Sasuke will be alright. Get ready for battle!"

"Yes, I understand, Kakashi-sensei!"

Sakura's gaze sharpened for a moment, then she quickly recovered and nodded in response.

On the rooftop of a building in the distance, Sasuke glanced at Shukaku, who was struggling to hold on against the combined attacks of Kakashi and Might Guy.

He then turned his gaze to the Four Purple Flame Formation, but the lush forest and burgeoning trees within the formation obscured his view, making it difficult for him to see what was inside.

After observing silently for a while, Sasuke headed straight for the Hokage Building.

Sasuke walked into the Hokage Building with practiced ease, occasionally unleashing a ninjutsu or two to destroy all the surveillance cameras around the corners before arriving at a room next to the Hokage's office.

This room is usually protected by secret agents and is engraved with a barrier array. Inside, there are various important documents and sealed books!

The entire Hidden Leaf Village is now engulfed in chaos, with all combat-capable personnel rushing to support the battle, and even clerical staff doing what they can.

So the entire Hokage building was empty, which benefited Sasuke, allowing him to take advantage of the situation.

A burst of black flames erupted, and the flames that could burn anything instantly burned a passage through the barrier in front of him. Sasuke opened the door and walked in.

Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that the contents inside were still neat and intact.

He knew nothing about barriers, and opening the barrier here was a simple matter in Sasuke's eyes.

What he feared was that if the barrier were forcibly broken, it would automatically destroy the data inside, leaving him with nothing.

He stepped forward, opened the huge sealed book in the middle, glanced at it carefully, and after confirming that it was correct, Sasuke put it into his storage scroll.

He got up and picked up a few books from the bookshelf. After looking at them and finding that they were mostly so-called confidential documents from Konoha and the Land of Fire, Sasuke lost interest, shook his head, and walked out.

In summer, the afternoon sun is dazzling and intense.

Just as Sasuke stepped into the Hokage Building, this grand drama of fatherly love and filial piety, initiated by Orochimaru, came to an end.

The Third Hokage died, Orochimaru's hands were sealed, and his soul was shattered.

As soon as Sasuke came out of the Hokage Building, he saw the Four Purple Flame Formation in the distance collapse, and several figures escorted the heavily injured Orochimaru away quickly.

On the other side, a large group of Konoha ninjas rushed towards the site of the previous battle to check on the Third Hokage's condition.

Sasuke slowly surveyed the Hidden Leaf Village before him, a strange glint flashing in his eyes. After a long silence, he murmured softly:

Goodbye, Konoha!

As soon as he finished speaking, Sasuke's figure disappeared from the spot.

On August 6, 1961, Orochimaru, a rogue ninja from Konoha, joined forces with Sunagakure to attack Konoha during the Chunin Exams, launching the Konoha Crush Plan.

The war resulted in heavy casualties for Konoha, causing numerous civilian and ninja casualties and material losses.

Most importantly, the Third Hokage, who had protected Konoha for decades, died in battle, and the news caused an uproar in the ninja world.

What the world doesn't know is that the Third Hokage wasn't the only important figure to die in this invasion.

This day was a day when light and shadow vanished simultaneously.

Chapter 154 Funeral

A few days later, in Konoha Village.

Although the Third Hokage, the core leader, was gone, two highly respected senior advisors, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, stepped forward at this time.

He methodically directed the villagers and ninjas to rebuild their homes.

Although the trauma of the invasion just days before is still unforgettable, life must go on for the survivors.

The sky was particularly gloomy today, and a light drizzle began to fall.

The weather was just like the mood of the people of Konoha.

The morning is the time for commemorating the deceased.

The Third Hokage's funeral was held on the rooftop of the Hokage Building.

Led by Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto arrived at the rooftop with uneasy expressions. When Kakashi's team arrived, the rooftop was already densely packed with ninjas dressed in black, their faces somber.

At a glance, there were about three thousand people in total. Apart from those stationed in various parts of the Land of Fire who were already on missions, all the ninjas who could come had come.

The ceremony was presided over by Koharu Utatane. As a high-ranking advisor to Konoha Village, she was the best candidate to preside over the ceremony, both because of her position and because she was a woman.

"Where leaves dance, fire will burn, its shadow will illuminate the village, and new leaves will sprout. The Third Hokage and his fellow villagers of Konoha did not die in vain; they left behind something important—the Will of Fire."

"This is also the will that the Third Generation has always upheld!"

"May the Third Hokage rest in peace, may our compatriots rest in peace..."

"The ceremony is complete!"

The three members of Team 7 solemnly took the white chrysanthemums and placed them one by one in front of the portrait of the Third Hokage, clasping their hands together.

After the memorial service, Sakura and Naruto still looked preoccupied. After a moment of silence, Naruto spoke up, "Kakashi-sensei, where did that bastard Sasuke go?"

Sakura remained silent, but turned her gaze to her teacher, her eyes showing concern.

Sasuke hasn't appeared since he said he was going into seclusion a month ago, and he didn't even show up during the Chunin Exams when such a big incident occurred.

After defeating the Sound Ninja and Sunagakure, Sakura and Naruto rushed to the Uchiha clan's territory, but no matter how hard they searched, they couldn't find Sasuke.

They seemed to have mysteriously disappeared, which made the two extremely worried.

Kakashi remained silent for a while, then shook his head: "I don't know, but don't worry, with Sasuke's strength and wisdom, he will definitely not encounter any misfortune."

"All right!"

Sakura and Naruto could only nod. Naruto clenched his fist and whispered, "If I see that bastard again, I'm going to beat him up. How dare he make us worry about him so much!"

Sakura sighed, her lips moved, but in the end she didn't say anything and fell silent.

Sasuke, you're not going to...

Sakura said with a heavy heart, thinking about how Orochimaru had tried to win Sasuke over in the Forest of Death, and the deep-seated hatred Sasuke carried. Sakura was filled with worry.

Hey......

Kakashi silently observed the expressions on the two students' faces, wanting to offer some words of comfort, but he swallowed the words back.

At this moment, Kakashi was also extremely worried about Sasuke's situation, fearing that he might have been poisoned by Orochimaru during that month.

Please, please don't let anything happen to you, Sasuke!

Kakashi sighed inwardly.

...............

The sky cleared up in the afternoon, and the sun hung high in the sky.

"As expected of a girl from Konoha, tsk tsk, that figure..."

On a rooftop, Jiraiya held a monocular telescope, intently watching the scene in the distance, occasionally letting out a lewd laugh.

"You're still as boring as ever, Jiraiya, just like your teacher!"

A steady voice sounded from behind Jiraiya. Jiraiya raised an eyebrow and turned to look at the person who had come.

"Uncle Yan, Teacher Xiaochun, what can I do for you two consultants?"

"What is it?" Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado looked at Jiraiya with serious expressions and said in a deep voice:

"You probably already know even if I don't tell you, right?"

"Don't be so serious. Is it because of the negotiations with Sunagakure?" Jiraiya chuckled, pretending not to understand.

“It’s not because of that.” Koharu Utatane shook her head and said in a deep voice, “The village is very weak right now. The Third Hokage has passed away. We need a trustworthy and strong leader to become Hokage to appease the villagers.”

"The Hokage?" Jiraiya muttered, then said, "Besides me, there should be other people in the village who are suitable to be the Hokage, right?"

"That's all!" Koharu Utatane narrowed her eyes, her expression turning somewhat grim, and said, "Besides the Third Hokage, Danzo also died that day!"

"We haven't released this information. You know Danzo's existence is a trump card to deter other ninja villages. If other ninja villages find out that Danzo is dead in addition to the Third Hokage's death, it will definitely bring great danger to our current village!"

Danzo!?

Jiraiya's expression changed slightly, and Mitokado Homura picked up the conversation, continuing, "We suspect that Orochimaru was also behind his death, and this time Orochimaru was able to invade Konoha so smoothly..."

At this point, Mitokado Homura remained silent, but all three of them knew the truth.

The fact that Danzo and Orochimaru collaborated in their early years could be kept secret from others, but not from the three of them.

Orochimaru's invasion this time was inseparable from Danzo's help. Danzo's death must have caused some rift between the two, which led Orochimaru to take action against him.

After all, the two of them never truly trusted each other; they were merely using each other.