While the fires of war were being lit in the Land of Iron, a small tavern in a town controlled by the Resistance within the Land of Fire sat in tense silence.
Naruto sat at a table, looking with great distress at the group of people who had tracked him down.
To his left, sipping a drink, was his former best friend Sasuke; to his right was his biological father, Minato. Across from him sat Kakashi, Jiraiya, Sakura, Hinata, and various other former classmates and comrades.
It could be said that every person in this world who cared for him, and everyone he cared for, was gathered here.
In the past, for a Naruto who had always craved the recognition of others, this would have undoubtedly been a joyous occasion. But the problem was that he no longer wanted to be entangled in those conflicts. He wanted no further connection to his past; he only wanted to stay here quietly and do what he could for the suffering civilians.
Under Allen's guidance, he had traveled through countless villages and towns across the Land of Fire. He had compared the lives of the common folk under the Resistance to those living under the rule of the nobility and Daimyos. He began to realize how much the latter, as a decaying old power, had lost the hearts of the people. He also understood why shinobi and hidden villages were so widely detested.
After experiencing so much, his feelings for Konoha had gradually faded.
What Naruto never expected was that just as he had settled his heart to do some real work, so many familiar faces would suddenly appear.
Thinking of this, he let out another sigh. "Sigh... I've told you, I'm not a ninja anymore, and I'm not going back with you. I'm sorry, Pervy Sage, Kakashi-sensei, and Fa... Father. I just want to live a normal life here. I don't care what happens to Konoha. Perhaps its destruction wouldn't be a bad thing for the shinobi world as a whole."
"What?!"
Jiraiya's eyes widened instantly, seemingly unable to believe such words had come from Naruto's mouth.
"Naruto! The Third, Danzo, and the two deceased advisors may have done many things to wrong you, but Konoha is still your home, the place where you were born and raised," Kakashi reminded him with a stern tone.
He could hardly believe that in such a short time, Naruto had been influenced by Allen to the point of becoming like this. He was like a completely different person.
"Home? Kakashi, don't make me laugh. Those are just empty slogans shouted by successive Hokage for political needs, methods specifically designed to trick ignorant fools into throwing their lives away. If it truly were a family, then why would there be so much betrayal and darkness? Is this how Konoha treats its family?" Sasuke sneered with biting irony.
Looking at this student who was consumed by hatred for Konoha, Kakashi was momentarily speechless, unable even to offer a rebuttal.
Not only him, but everyone else instinctively turned their heads, not daring to meet the gaze of those crimson Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
Unlike the original timeline where only a few knew the "black materials" of the village, Allen had essentially exposed almost all of Konoha's dark history. Now, any resident of Konoha was well-acquainted with the unethical deeds committed by the upper management. Even the good-tempered First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, had been unable to stop himself from cursing upon learning the truth, while the Second Hokage had lowered his head in shame.
"Naruto, are you sure you're really not coming back?"
Minato Namikaze, who had remained silent, finally asked.
"Yes! I've thought it through. I won't go back to Konoha with you, nor will I leave with Sasuke. To me, this place is my home, and my comrades in the Resistance are my family," Naruto answered decisively.
But just as he prepared to stand up and leave, a sudden, powerful throb surged from the depths of his heart, as if some force were calling out to him.
Beside him, Sasuke wore an identical expression.
The two friends locked eyes and immediately realized this was no hallucination, but a sensation that was undeniably real. Before they could even react to what was happening, a terrifying aura drifted down from the north.
This time, it wasn't just Sasuke and Naruto; every shinobi present who possessed Chakra felt a powerful summons.
"Damn! It couldn't be... has the Ten-Tails been resurrected?" Minato stood up abruptly from his chair, his eyes flashing with disbelief.
…
Meanwhile, on the main battlefield far away in the Land of Iron, whether it was Madara or Hashirama, everyone ceased their endless slaughter. They looked up at the gargantuan monster slowly crawling out from beneath the earth, letting out a deafening roar.
"ROOOOAARRR!"
The Ten-Tails had finally been resurrected!
Staring at the titan before him, Kabuto could no longer restrain his laughter. "Hahaha! Is this the legendary Ten-Tails? It's too powerful! Now, it is mine!"
"Indeed! It belongs to you now."
Allen jumped down from the head of the Ten-Tails and made a "please" gesture.
"NOOOO!!! Stop him! We absolutely cannot let that man get the Ten-Tails!"
Black Zetsu let out a desperate scream.
In the next second...
Obito, Madara, Hashirama, and Tobirama set aside their battle and rushed toward Kabuto's position in unison.
The Second Hokage, master of the Flying Raijin Technique, reached the proximity in a matter of seconds. Just as he was about to launch his Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags, another figure appeared behind him, swinging a fist with savage force.
BOOM!
With a thunderous explosion, half of Tobirama's body was blown apart once more, and he was sent flying back a dozen meters. Hashirama and Madara were also intercepted by Karin and Neji, respectively.
As for Obito, he was essentially an undercover agent, so he immediately began "acting" his part without a second thought.
"You bastard! Why are you doing this?" Madara questioned, furious.
"No particular reason, it just so happens the Gedo Statue was in Kabuto's hands. Besides... compared to you lot whose brains aren't exactly normal, I think it might not be a bad thing for a rational person like Kabuto to obtain the Ten-Tails," Allen explained with a mocking, half-smile that was enough to make anyone's blood boil.
Unsurprisingly, Madara was enraged. He controlled his Susanoo to swing a blade, attempting to cleave Neji in two.
But at the moment it was about to hit, the Chakra threads from Neji's pressure points erupted, forcibly dismembering and tearing apart the Susanoo's arm.
This unbelievable sight stunned not only Madara but Hashirama and Tobirama as well.
That was the Perfect Susanoo of the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan! Even the "God of Shinobi," Hashirama, would not find it easy to break.
Yet now? A teenage boy from the Hyuga clan had torn an arm off of it with ease! Those Chakra threads, nearly invisible to the naked eye, possessed a tenacity that far exceeded anyone's imagination.