Losses

Chapter 92 Losses

The atmosphere inside the Hokage Building was so oppressive it was suffocating.

Advisors Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado trembled as they looked at the thick stack of battle damage reports in their hands.

"This—this is a devastating blow to Konoha."

Mitokado Yan's voice was dry, as if he had aged ten years overnight.

Looking at those shocking numbers, he now even feels a little regretful.

If I had died on the battlefield like Danzo, perhaps I wouldn't be facing this desperate and precarious situation today.

A squad leader appeared instantly, kneeling on one knee. His voice, hidden behind his mask, betrayed his exhaustion: "Hokage, advisor, the statistics are in."

"One hundred and twenty-three civilians died and more than three hundred were injured due to building collapses and stampedes — even more serious were the losses suffered by the ninja forces."

He took a deep breath, his voice trembling: "In this turmoil, including Chunin and Special Jonin, a total of forty-six people were killed and eighty-two were injured."

"Moreover—the Root base was completely destroyed, all classified documents were burned, and Lord Danzo and his elite subordinates—were all exterminated."

"The Dark Division has also suffered losses of over 30%, leaving our regular combat strength severely depleted."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in a chair, his pipe already extinguished.

He stared silently at the ruins outside the window, his cloudy eyes bloodshot.

But that's not the worst news.

"And—an urgent border report."

The Dark Army captain lowered his head even further: "After learning that we had suffered heavy losses, the Hidden Cloud Village and the Hidden Stone Village have already assembled troops at the border and demanded that we publicly explain the whereabouts of the Nine-Tails and provide a reasonable explanation."

Otherwise, they will use the pretext of maintaining the safety of the ninja world to jointly send troops to the Land of Fire to help the daimyo stabilize the turbulent situation.

"This is just an excuse for them to take advantage of the situation!"

Mitomon Yan said angrily.

"In addition, the daimyo also sent an ultimatum."

"This indicates that funding for Konoha will be frozen indefinitely."

"Until we hand over the murderer, or—Konoha elects a new leader who can quell public anger."

"Damn it! This is outrageous!"

Xiaochun, who was switching dorm rooms, slammed her hand on the table in anger.

"No more Nine-Tailed Fox, no more funding, and we're facing pressure from two major powers—all because of that damned brat! That damned fox spirit!"

"Now even the Sand Village dares to take advantage of our misfortune!"

"They claim it was all a conspiracy by Orochimaru and Naruto, and that they are also victims. Besides demanding Gaara's return, they even dare to ask us for compensation!"

The Third Hokage slowly closed his eyes, as if all his last bit of strength had been drained away.

Internally damaged, facing powerful enemies, pressured by the Daimyo above, and with the Nine-Tails missing below.

Konoha is now on the verge of life and death.

"Issue an arrest warrant."

"Naruto Uzumaki is classified as an S-rank extremely dangerous rogue ninja."

"Also, inform Jiraiya that Tsunade must be found as soon as possible."

"Only she can stabilize the daimyo and the people's hearts at this time."

"

At the gate of Konoha.

-

Jiraiya, carrying the scroll, took one last look at the devastated village behind him.

"Is this the result you wanted? —"

The bulletin board not far away was crowded with villagers who looked terrified.

Because the matter had become so serious, the Konoha leadership could no longer hide it and had no choice but to reveal part of the truth to the public.

The villagers were pointing and whispering about a newly posted emergency notice, occasionally letting out gasps of shock.

"That brat—is he really a fox spirit?"

"So many people were killed, even the advisor was—"

"That's terrifying—I'll stay far away from anyone with blond hair from now on!"

Sasuke walked past the crowd with a cold face, ignoring the chatter of the common people.

"Hey, Sasuke."

Jiraiya called out to him.

He reached into his pocket, pulled out a booklet with the word "Confidential" printed on it, and casually tossed it over.

"then."

Sasuke caught it instinctively.

This is the latest list of rogue ninja compiled by Konoha, which is usually only available to Jonin and Anbu members.

Sasuke turned to the first page.

What came into view was none other than Naruto.

[S-Rank Rogue Ninja: Naruto Uzumaki]

[Crimes: Assassination of high-ranking officials, slaughter of nobles, destruction of Konoha, plunder of the Nine-Tails, and subversion of the village]

[Specialties: Ninjutsu of all elemental attributes, sealing techniques, multiple shadow clones, and mutually multiplying explosive tags —]

[Reward Amount: 300,000,000 taels]

[Note: Extremely dangerous! Anyone below the rank of Jonin should flee upon encountering this!]

"Three hundred million taels of silver —"

Uchiha stood rooted to the spot, staring intently at the astronomical figure and the gentle-smiling boy in the portrait.

That smile, in his eyes now, seems like a mockery of the world.

Are you scared?

Jiraiya walked up behind him, his tone serious.

"No."

Sasuke closed the book, clutching it tightly in his hand, his voice cold: "I was just thinking—that loser has already left me so far behind."

He turned around, his eyes devoid of their usual restlessness, replaced only by an almost obsessive calm and longing: "Let's go, Jiraiya-sensei."

"Konoha needs that woman now, and I—need power."

"I want to stand in front of him and ask him myself."

"How many lives will it take to build his so-called new world?!"

And the truth about the Uchiha clan!

But Sasuke didn't say those words aloud.

Because he had discovered that others either genuinely didn't know or gave vague answers.

It seems that only Naruto knows some of the inside story.

Jiraiya watched Sasuke's retreating figure and smiled with satisfaction.

This orphan of the Uchiha clan was not defeated; instead, he became more mature and resilient.

It seems that no difficulty can ever defeat him.

"Let's go! Bring Tsunade back!"

Two days later, Konoha Village.

Two figures dressed in long robes with black backgrounds and red hues, wearing straw hats, appeared silently at the entrance of Konoha Village.

The bells jingled crisply in the wind.

"Mr. Itachi, is this your hometown?"

Kisame Hoshigaki, carrying Samehada on his back, grinned, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth: "Konoha—looks like it's just been thoroughly ravaged."

Uchiha Touch raised his head and looked in the direction of the Hokage Rock.

The rock face that should have been carved with the portraits of the Hokage of each generation is now just bare rock.

Collapsed houses and ruins under reconstruction can be seen everywhere in the village.

Even the usually expressionless Itachi Uchiha showed a hint of undisguised shock in his eyes at this moment.

"The Hokage Rock—has it all been destroyed?"

-

His stated mission at this time was to check on the Nine-Tails' condition.

If the conditions are right, you can take it with you directly.

The real purpose was to intimidate Danzo and the Konoha leadership, reminding them that he was not dead.

But now—

The village's leadership was preoccupied with their own problems, and the entire village was in complete chaos.

The situation had completely spiraled out of his control.

The two wandered through the Leaf Village.

Kisame looked at the newspaper that had been handed to him and let out a piercing laugh: "Hey, Itachi-san, come and see this."

"S-Rank Rogue Ninja Naruto Uzumaki, Bounty 300 Million Ryo!"

"The charges are—execution of a daimyo's relative? Killing Shimura Danzo? Destroying the Hokage Rock?"

"This kid—he's even more exaggerated than us!"

A glint of excitement flashed in Kisame's eyes.

"He's only twelve years old, is he a monster?"

As Itachi looked at the bespectacled boy with a gentle smile in the newspaper, a storm raged in his heart.

Danzo is dead?

The culprit who had been secretly manipulating Konoha and indirectly causing the Uchiha clan's annihilation was actually killed by the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?

"It seems the situation has changed."

Itachi put down the newspaper in his hand, his tone calm.

"The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki has completely lost control and has mastered extremely dangerous power."

"Let's go, Kisame."

"Now that he's no longer in Konoha, there's no need for us to stay here."

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