No matter how dark the night is, dawn will always come.
The light of dawn, like a sharp sword, tore through the clouds hanging over Konoha, and warm sunlight poured down on the ruins.
The lucky survivors emerged from their shelters, staring at the once-bustling streets and village, now reduced to rubble overnight.
Countless friends and family had died, and the blood stained the earth, making it look entirely red. The air was filled with the acrid smell of burning.
The genin, who had often talked about war as if they wanted it to happen, were deeply hurt by the reality.
Many people had died, and homes had been destroyed in an instant. The cruelty of war was far beyond their imaginations. At this moment, what had been a fantasy in their minds became a bloody reality.
"Is this what war is like?"
Might Guy sat on the ground, lost and blank in his thoughts.
He had once dreamed of stepping onto the battlefield, making a name for himself, and becoming a great ninja like Minato Namikaze and Jiraiya.
But now, that dream has been shattered.
"It's very cruel, isn't it?"
Kakashi couldn't bear to see Guy in such despair. He walked over, embraced him, and gently comforted him, "But this is war—a reality that a ninja can never escape."
"Is there really no way to completely end the war?"
The young Might Guy looked at the gray-haired Kakashi with confused eyes.
"Unfortunately, this was a dream even the First Hokage couldn't fulfill." Kakashi couldn't provide an answer, so he ruffled Guy's hair and said softly, "Perhaps one day, you will find a way to end the war, but for now, you need to pull yourself together and come with me to the Hokage building."
The surviving ninjas received orders to gather in front of the Hokage building.
As more and more ninjas assembled in front of the Hokage building, everyone looked ragged, many injured, but their faces were marked with sorrow, anger, and hatred towards the Cloud ninjas.
The air was thick with anger, almost igniting the atmosphere, making it hard to breathe.
In the large square in front of the Hokage building, hundreds of people stood in a dense crowd, not a word was spoken; it was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
They were all waiting for the appearance of one person.
The Hokage's Anbu, dressed in black with white masks, exuded a silent pressure as they stood quietly in front of the crowd.
Then, a figure walked out of the Hokage building.
Warm sunlight shone on his face, dispelling the shadows. The moment his face was revealed, the silent crowd of hundreds of ninjas erupted into cheers.
"Hero!"
"Hero!"
"Hero!"
The repeated cries echoed as if they had been pre-arranged. The crowd's intense excitement had them hoarsely shouting, their voices rising like a wave, almost threatening to tear the roof off.
At this moment, in everyone's eyes, he was the hero—the one who saved Konoha—Uchiha Sogetsu!
Looking at the dense crowd and the hundreds of eager eyes, Uchiha Sogetsu slowly raised his hand to silence them.
In an instant, the loud cheers faded away, replaced by a deep silence.
Such a simple gesture could quiet hundreds of people. His commanding presence and charisma even surprised the people behind him.
"I'm very sorry I returned late," Uchiha Sogetsu said, his expression pained, voice low and hoarse, with tears in his eyes.
"I want to apologize. If I had been faster, perhaps the village wouldn't be in this state. So many lives wouldn't have been lost, and we wouldn't have been destroyed by the Cloud Shinobi."
Hidden in the shadows, Danzo's face twitched in anger. He cursed under his breath, realizing Sogetsu was clearly blaming him.
"No! We don't blame you!"
Someone in the crowd shouted with a tearful voice, "It's not your fault! You are the hero who saved Konoha, Lord Sogetsu!"
"That's right! You are a hero; you did your best!"
"Don't apologize, Lord Sogetsu! Let's take revenge together!"
Faced with the excited crowd, Uchiha Sogetsu had no choice but to raise his hand again to quiet them.
As the crowd calmed down, he looked around and said with a hint of bitterness, "Actually, I'm not qualified to act as Hokage. Lord Danzo did his best; this isn't the result he wanted. I hope everyone can forgive him and not blame him too much."
Danzo was furious; it was clear that Sogetsu was intentionally bringing up past events to shift the blame onto him!
Sure enough, the crowd erupted in anger.
"Damn that bastard Danzo!"
"If it weren't for that jerk, how could Konoha have been attacked?!"
"Danzo should die! He should disembowel himself in apology!"
"That's right!"
The filthy curses being thrown made Danzo so furious he nearly spat blood.
After calming the crowd, Uchiha Sogetsu took a deep breath. "Since I will temporarily take the position of Hokage, there are a few things I want to say to everyone."
"Lord Sogetsu, please go ahead!"
"Whatever it is, we are listening!"
Seeing that the time was right, he noticed through his spiritual vision that everyone's minds were filled with anger and hatred. He infused his words with a hint of 'hypnosis' and raised his voice, shouting, "Today, we stand here! On the land of Konoha! This land that our ancestors have watered with their blood and dignity!"
"Behind me are the statues of our past Hokages! The heroes who have led us to victory time and again in the face of war!"
"In front of me stand the ninjas of Konoha, groaning in anger and humiliation!"
"Look around you! Those are the destroyed villages, the relatives, friends, and children who fell beneath the ruins! They used the Jinchuriki to invade Konoha, trampling on our dignity, slaughtering our civilians, and destroying our homes!"
The crowd instinctively looked around at the ruins, their anger growing even stronger.
At the same time, a sense of humiliation filled their hearts, unknowingly guiding their hatred and resentment towards the invaders and Danzo.
"This hatred will not be avenged; Konoha and our dignity will cease to exist!"
"The Cloud ninja humiliate us, and even the weak Mist and Sand ninja dare to trample on our dignity. Should we continue to endure this?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the crowd erupted in a roar.
"No!"
"No!"
"No!"
Three powerful shouts seemed to shake the sky.
"Protesting and condemning is the act of cowards!"
Uchiha Sogetsu continued, "Such actions will only make them underestimate us even more!"
"We must crush their bodies, trample their dignity, ravage their lives from flesh to spirit, and make them tremble at the very mention of Konoha from now on!"
"In the name of revenge, we will unite!"
"We fight for Konoha, for those who have died, for our dignity and lives!"
"I, Uchiha Sogetsu, hereby make my vow!"
Uchiha Sogetsu seemed like a demon, stirring the hearts of everyone present. "I will lead you all to reclaim our lost dignity and crush those who dare to offend Konoha!"
"Crush them!"
"Crush them!"
"Crush them!"
The overwhelming battle spirit, mixed with intense anger and hatred, ignited everyone's emotions.
"We do not accept surrender! We do not accept reconciliation! We do not accept compensation!"
Uchiha Sogetsu spoke each word firmly and powerfully: "We have only one goal—destroy the village!"
Beside him, Danzo's eyelids twitched uncontrollably.
He thought he was extreme enough, but he never expected this guy to be even more radical!
As expected, not a single person from the Uchiha clan is normal!
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