Konoha Crush, Ended!!

Both a beaten Gaara and a spent Naruto sink to the earth as their duel ends. Nearby, the Third Hokage's still form drops as well, and Orochimaru rages at his old teacher for having sealed away his arms and stripped him of the ability to weave any techniques. With the offensive against the village no longer possible, the Sannin withdraws alongside the Sound Four. Watching their leader retreat, Baki and Kabuto recognise the loss and slip away too.

Temari gathers up Kankurō while Sasuke checks that Sakura is unharmed before hurrying to Naruto. Dragging himself toward Gaara, Naruto meets a frightened opponent who braces to be finished off and begs to be left alone. Instead, Naruto offers only sympathy, admitting he could easily have become the same kind of person had he never found people to fight for. He warns, though, that any harm done to those bonds would force his hand. Struck by how Naruto draws power from protecting others, Gaara turns the question inward on his own solitary path. As his siblings bear him away, he offers them an apology that leaves both stunned. The last of the attackers scatter, and the Leaf's shinobi gather quietly around the fallen Hokage.

Orochimaru abandons the invasion once the Third seals his arms and flees with the Sound Four, followed by Baki and Kabuto. Naruto reaches Gaara and, rather than striking, shares his own understanding of loneliness. Gaara begins to reconsider his self-centred worldview and apologises to Temari and Kankurō. The surviving invaders retreat, and Konoha's ninja mourn around the Third Hokage's body.

Part of the Konoha Crush arc and collected in Volume 16, this chapter appeared in Weekly Shōnen Jump issue 42 of 2002, dated September 30. Its Japanese title reads Konoha Kuzushi, Shūketsu!!, rendered in the Viz release as Operation Destroy Konoha, Terminated!!