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Naruto: End of the Shinobi World

Chapter 223 223: A Dead Hokage Is a Good Hokage · Oct 25, 2026

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Chapter List (423)

Page number / 9

201 Chapter 201 201: The Mizukage’s Head 2026-10-25
202 Chapter 202 202: Crippling the Raikage’s Arm 2026-10-25
203 Chapter 203 203: A Gift from the Heavens 2026-10-25
204 Chapter 204 204: The Intruder 2026-10-25
205 Chapter 205 205: Lies Repeated Until Believed 2026-10-25
206 Chapter 206 206: Konoha F4 (Konoha Council of Four) 2026-10-25
207 Chapter 207 207: The Shinobi Alliance 2026-10-25
208 Chapter 208 208: Something Happened to the Great Toad Sage 2026-10-25
209 Chapter 209 209: A Man Who Was Fishing 2026-10-25
210 Chapter 210 210: Lord Fukasaku ! 2026-10-25
211 Chapter 211 211: No. 6: Neji 2026-10-25
212 Chapter 212 212: Hearts Begin to Scatter 2026-10-25
213 Chapter 213 213: What the Hell Is This Lineup?! 2026-10-25
214 Chapter 214 214: Are You Sick? Listening to That Blond Idiot? 2026-10-25
215 Chapter 215 215: Naruto’s Temptation 2026-10-25
216 Chapter 216 216: Tailed Beast Chakra 2026-10-25
217 Chapter 217 217: In the End, You Still Relied on Power 2026-10-25
218 Chapter 218 218: Make the Windmill Turn Again 2026-10-25
219 Chapter 219 219: A Hokage With No One Coming to His Rescue 2026-10-25
220 Chapter 220 220: The Impure World Reincarnation 2026-10-25
221 Chapter 221 221: The Entrance of Uchiha Itachi 2026-10-25
222 Chapter 222 222: Congratulations on Raising an Itachi 2026-10-25
223 Chapter 223 223: A Dead Hokage Is a Good Hokage 2026-10-25
224 Chapter 224 224: I Regret Not Paying More Attention to You 2026-10-25
225 Chapter 225 225: Sakura Haruno Defects 2026-10-25
226 Chapter 226 226: All Dignity Lost 2026-10-25
227 Chapter 227 227: Naruto Becomes a Hero 2026-10-25
228 Chapter 228 228: The Hyūga’s Itachi? 2026-10-25
229 Chapter 229 229: This World Is Rotten 2026-10-25
230 Chapter 230 230: Thinking Too Much Leads to Trouble 2026-10-25
231 Chapter 231 231: We Need to Talk 2026-10-25
232 Chapter 232 232: I Can Accept Anything 2026-10-25
233 Chapter 233 233: Naruto Strikes a Deal with Danzō 2026-10-25
234 Chapter 234 234: Up Next to Take the Stage 2026-10-25
235 Chapter 235 235: Comparison Is the Cruelest Thing 2026-10-25
236 Chapter 236: Sasuke Has Changed 2026-10-25
237 Chapter 237: A Shattered Mindset 2026-10-25
238 Chapter 238: Has Naruto Defected? 2026-10-25
239 Chapter 239 239: A Storm Sweeps the Shinobi World 2026-10-25
240 Chapter 240: Where Did Karin Go? 2026-10-25
241 Chapter 241: The Sage of Six Paths 2026-10-25
242 Chapter 242: The Secret of the Byakugan 2026-10-25
243 Chapter 243: The Tenseigan 2026-10-25
244 Chapter 244 244: It Really Can Destroy the World 2026-10-25
245 Chapter 245 245: Orochimaru Isn’t Dead? 2026-10-25
246 Chapter 246 246: Giving Birth to a New Uchiha Clan 2026-10-25
247 Chapter 247 247: You’re a Demon, Aren’t You? 2026-10-25
248 Chapter 248 248: Was He Really Just “Observing”? 2026-10-25
249 Chapter 249: Someone Who Can Fight World-Destroying Naruto 2026-10-25
250 Chapter 250: The Invader? 2026-10-25

The hand gripping Uchiha Itachi’s kunai tightened almost imperceptibly.

His Mangekyō Sharingan remained calm, yet deep within, the faintest ripple seemed to pass.

As a former ANBU captain, how could he fail to sense the anomaly in all this?

Orochimaru did not wait for Itachi’s response—or rather, he did not need one.

He continued speaking, his voice carrying a cold clarity, as though he were observing the cyclical rise and fall of history itself.

”Because most intelligent people… can see it clearly.”

He raised a hand and gestured toward Konoha below—the village still standing amid flames and chaos, as if he were pointing out the course of a nation.

”The great tree that is Konoha has already begun to rot from within.”

”Its branches appear lush, but its roots have long been gnawed hollow by worms and ants. Factional strife. Clan divisions. A rigid leadership. And the Hokage… heh—has lost the people’s hearts.”

His gaze finally settled on Hiruzen Sarutobi’s aged, weary face, his tone almost cruel in its pity.

”Old man, you are like the largest and oldest branch on that tree—heavy, withered… and blocking new growth.”

”Only when that ’withered branch’ breaks and falls—”

His voice sharpened, certain, as though stating an inevitable future.

”—can Konoha’s stalled, rusting ’windmill’ cast off its burden and begin turning again! Only then can it be reforged in blood and fire, reborn with new vitality!”

He paused, glancing at the subtly moved Itachi, then at the Konoha elites below—those who, in tacit understanding, ignored the Hokage’s battlefield and focused on their own duties.

”Tell me, Uchiha Itachi—do you believe it?”

”If the old man dies here today…”

”I guarantee you—within three days. No, within one day!”

”All hidden conflicts within Konoha, all wavering factions, all those harboring ulterior motives… will instantly fall in line!”

”They will unite like never before! United in hatred against a common enemy!”

”Because the humiliation and grief of the Hokage’s death will become the strongest glue binding them together. It will be the hammer that shatters internal deadlock!”

”One dying, obsolete Hokage—who has already become an obstacle…”

”In exchange for a united, vengeance-fueled, outward-facing ’new’ Konoha—”

Orochimaru spread his hands as if presenting a flawless design. His golden eyes gleamed with a terrifying blend of madness and rationality.

”Isn’t that… a profitable exchange for Konoha?”

”A dead Hokage is the best Hokage.”

”And for me… to see this windmill turn again, to witness the collapse of the old order and the birth of new power…”

His lips curled faintly.

”Isn’t that… precisely the interesting spectacle I’ve been waiting for?”

Silence fell within the barrier.

Hiruzen’s expression could no longer be described as merely grim. It was despair at being utterly exposed—shame at the failure of his leadership.

Orochimaru had dissected the fragile unity he struggled to maintain, leaving it raw and bleeding.

Itachi stood silently beneath his hat. His expression remained hidden.

Beyond the sky projection, the entire shinobi world also fell into brief silence.

Everyone was shaken by Orochimaru’s naked, brutal logic: sacrifice the Hokage to force unity.

Cold. Cruel. Inhuman.

And yet… disturbingly persuasive.

”…Orochimaru—a missing-nin—understands Konoha better than Konoha’s own people?”

”Yeah… At first I thought no one rescuing the Hokage meant cowardice. That Konoha’s spirit had scattered… But when Orochimaru puts it that way…”

”Sacrifice a decaying old Hokage. Unite the village. Break the stalemate. Create a single, outward-facing force…”

”This way of thinking… it’s insane! But… if you really think about it… doesn’t it almost make sense?”

Only now did many realize—Orochimaru had not returned merely to destroy Konoha.

In his own way, he might be trying to ”reshape”—even ”save”—what he saw as a stagnant, decaying village.

”So… is Orochimaru trying to ’save’ Konoha in his own way?”

The question lingered.

Save?

Through war, death, betrayal, and the sacrifice of a Hokage? What kind of salvation was that?

”Then why?” someone asked. ”He’s a missing-nin! Why should he care whether Konoha lives or dies? Why take such risks for something that gains him nothing?”

Why indeed?

Revenge? Not entirely.

Amusement? The cost was too high for mere entertainment.

”Maybe… this is what they call charisma.”

”The truly powerful operate beyond ordinary logic.”

”They act because they wish to. No need for explanation. No need to conform to moral standards.”

”’This is my will’—that alone is their creed.”

”Orochimaru wants to see the windmill turn again. He wants to shatter the old order and witness change.”

”So he pushes. He creates the storm.”

”As for how many die… how much infamy he bears… he doesn’t care.”

”He cares only about the result—and the pleasure of watching it unfold.”

That interpretation left many deep in thought—and deeply unsettled.

”…You know,” someone muttered with a strange tone, ”compared to Orochimaru… Uchiha Itachi seems… far inferior.”

The remark drew murmurs of agreement.

”Exactly! Itachi’s handsome, powerful, those eyes are priceless—but something about him feels… twisted.”

”Right! Orochimaru’s creepy and disgusting, sure—but at least he’s clear about what he wants!”

”He wants immortality? He researches forbidden jutsu. He wants power? He experiments. He thinks Konoha’s stagnant? He comes back to push it forward! Clear and direct!”

”But Itachi? He massacres his clan ’for the village,’ defects ’as a spy,’ now returns to ’execute a traitor’ and save the Hokage…”

”It feels like he’s splitting apart at the seams!”

”What does he actually want? Does he even know?”

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