Seen from that perspective, many things suddenly made sense.
Jiraiya still didn't know exactly what had happened, but he had already reached a conclusion.
Danzo had definitely been involved somehow.
"You really deserve to die, Danzo."
The more Jiraiya thought about it, the angrier he became.
No. He absolutely couldn't let Danzo get away with this.
Meanwhile, everyone else remained overwhelmed by the terrifying power of Shinra Tensei. They had already witnessed it once before, yet seeing it again was still just as shocking.
In the video, Sakura Haruno had only just emerged from Katsuyu's protection.
When she saw the village before her reduced to a barren wasteland, she stared in stunned disbelief.
"What is this? How could this happen? Naruto… hurry up and get here!"
Sakura had completely broken down.
She couldn't believe that this was the village where she had lived since childhood.
Her mind had begun rejecting reality itself.
"Please, Naruto!"
The instant Sakura screamed his name, a figure appeared in a burst of summoning smoke.
It was none other than Uzumaki Naruto, already in Sage Mode.
"Wait… Is that Naruto?"
Uchiha Sasuke stared at the far more handsome Naruto in the video, unable to believe his eyes.
For the moment, he even forgot his fury and shock over Konoha being leveled.
That entrance was way too cool!
How could anyone show up surrounded by a bunch of toads and still look that amazing?
Being strong was temporary. Looking cool lasted forever.
Kaede Kitahara had once written that line in his diary, and Sasuke wholeheartedly agreed.
Why else would he have become Sunny Sasuke?
Why else would he possess the strongest Pretend Release in history?
Until now, Sasuke had always been the one with the coolest entrances. He had never once seen Uzumaki Naruto reach such unprecedented heights of style!
"Is that Sage Mode?"
Jiraiya sensed the aura radiating from Uzumaki Naruto in the video.
There was no mistaking it. That was definitely Sage Mode.
But Naruto's Sage Mode was far more refined than his own. His appearance had barely changed at all.
On top of that, Naruto had entered Sage Mode at Mount Myoboku before being summoned directly to the battlefield.
Jiraiya's first thought was, You can do that?
But Naruto, do you realize how stupid that makes me look?
"So this is Naruto in the future?"
Namikaze Minato watched his son in the video.
This Naruto was even stronger than the son he had personally met. In that state, his son's combat strength might not be any weaker than his own.
It made Minato feel like Bai Suzhen, who gave birth to a child, got locked inside a pagoda, then emerged to discover that her son had effortlessly become the top scholar, gained everything he could possibly need, and even found himself a wife.
Namikaze Minato had no idea who Bai Suzhen was, but that was exactly how he felt.
He had suddenly acquired a fully grown son without experiencing any of the pain.
There was no need to educate him. Naruto had already developed into his complete form.
It had spared Minato all the trouble of raising a child, but it had also taken away much of the joy that came with watching one grow.
"That's me, all right!"
Seventh Hokage Naruto couldn't resist giving himself a thumbs-up.
Unlike everyone else, who was tense, miserable, and heartbroken, he knew how the battle ultimately ended. Naturally, that made it easier for him to relax.
Konoha had paid an enormous price during this battle. Every building in the village had been destroyed, and everything would need to be rebuilt afterward.
But at least the number of casualties hadn't been too severe.
Technically, an incredible number of people had died, but Nagato-senpai had brought them back with the Outer Path — Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique.
If you rounded things off, then basically no one had died in this battle.
That made sense, right?
Of course it did!
That was why Naruto could still appreciate his incredibly cool entrance.
He really looked amazing!
And he had still been young back then.
Unlike now, when he was already a Middle-aged Guy.
His energy and stamina were nowhere near what they used to be. Even Hinata said he couldn't perform anymore.
All a middle-aged man could do was shed two bitter streams of tears.
Not even the Hokage could escape such a fate.
In the video, Deva Path Pain quickly descended after Uzumaki Naruto's sudden arrival.
Naruto looked from side to side, still stunned by his surroundings. He didn't seem to understand where he was.
"Where's the enemy?" Gamabunta asked.
Shima leaped forward.
Fukasaku looked at her seriously. "What happened, Ma? Why didn't you summon us to the Hidden Leaf Village?"
"This is Konoha!"
Shima gave them a horrifying answer.
They were already in the Hidden Leaf Village.
But this place looked nothing like the prosperous Konoha they remembered.
It had been completely leveled.
"What happened here, Granny Shima?" Gamakichi cried in shock.
"Take a good look around you," Shima said, pointing toward their surroundings.
Only then did they truly see what lay around them.
Everything nearby had been reduced to shattered ruins. In the distance, however, the five enormous faces carved into Hokage Rock remained intact.
That landmark was the only thing allowing them to recognize this place as Konoha.
"Who did this should be obvious," Shima said. "The feeling is exactly the same as when I stood on that boy Jiraiya's shoulder."
Uzumaki Naruto still couldn't accept that the place before him was truly Konoha.
His pupils narrowed into the horizontal shape of a toad's.
In an instant, overwhelming fury consumed him.
This was the Hidden Leaf Village where he had grown up.
It held every memory he possessed.
It held everything he loved.
At the same time, Tsunade, standing beneath Hokage Rock, finally saw Konoha's current condition.
She was beside herself with rage.
But she had already exhausted every last bit of her strength.
The diamond-shaped mark on her forehead had vanished, proving that she had released Creation Rebirth. She had poured out all her Chakra and distributed it through Katsuyu to protect the people of Konoha.
Only then did everyone notice that many people were still alive beneath the rubble.
Not everyone had died.
Countless fragments of Katsuyu were scattered throughout the village, shielding many residents and saving their lives.
Even so, that attack had been far too terrifying.
Many others hadn't survived.
Among them was Hatake Kakashi, who had already exhausted all his Chakra long before the attack struck.
When the people watching the diary saw that so many had survived thanks to Katsuyu, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Aside from Seventh Hokage Naruto, none of them knew what would happen afterward.
They had no idea that the Outer Path — Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique would eventually revive the dead.
As far as they understood, only those who survived now would have a future.
Under such circumstances, every additional life saved was precious.
Konoha might have been reduced to nothing, but as long as its people remained, losing the village itself didn't matter.
Preserve the land but lose the people, and both will eventually be lost.
Preserve the people but lose the land, and both can one day be restored.
"You've saved me the trouble of looking for you."
When Deva Path Pain saw Uzumaki Naruto appear, he showed no sign of panic.
He merely watched everything before him in silence.
Deep inside, he even felt a trace of delight.