The Pervy Sage…
Kakashi-sensei...
Grandpa Sage...
And Iruka-sensei…
…
"Isn't this just perfect? My parents were also killed by you Konoha ninjas, right before my eyes."
Pain thrust the chakra black rods into Hinata and Iruka's vital points. The Konoha ninjas charging from afar stopped in their tracks, staring blankly at the scene unfolding before them, their hearts heavy with sorrow.
"It is precisely because of love that hatred arises, and humanity comes to understand pain that cuts to the bone."
Naruto watched the blood flow from both of their bodies.
'Because I like Naruto. I like him the most.'
'Na-Naruto-kun, th-that...'
…
'Seeing you clumsily striving all the time, I guess I just started thinking of you like a son.'
'Yo! Naruto, when you get back from the mission, sensei will treat you to ramen!'
…
Thud.
With a violent thump of his heart, his consciousness plunged into darkness.
"......"
It was like the sound of water droplets falling from a faucet in the house where he lived alone. Naruto Uzumaki realized he could no longer see...
"....."
A droplet fell into the basin, making no sound.
Naruto Uzumaki realized he could no longer hear...
…
"BOOM – – – –!"
A powerful gust of wind erupted from the center of Naruto Uzumaki, sending both the person charging toward him and those watching from afar flying backward!
Mature ninjas like Tsunade, Edo Tensei Hashirama, Edo Tensei Tobirama, and Edo Tensei Minato had long anchored their chakra to the ground, holding themselves steady as if they were as solid as rock.
"Naruto?!!"
The young Obito Uchiha stared in shock at the center of the battlefield, at the dark red mass, its foul, corrupted chakra reaching straight to the heavens!!
"This is bad! Minato-sensei!!"
Young Obito sensed impending disaster. He didn't know this world's Naruto, but he knew how much the Naruto from the mission scroll world cared about that Chūnin teacher, Iruka. It was clear from their conversations—every time they talked, it was either about Sasuke or Iruka-sensei.
Iruka Umino had, through subtle influence, taken the place of Minato-sensei.
"It's the Nine-Tails' power," Hashirama Senju frowned.
Tobirama: "Hmm, the chakra is filled with hatred and malevolence. It must be connected to Naruto's current state of mind."
By now, few in Konoha still didn't know that Naruto was the Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails.
"Naruto... he's finally been pushed over the edge..."
Shikamaru asked the three Hokage, "Aren't you going to intervene?!"
"Wait... a little longer," Minato said, his gaze fixed on the crimson pillar of chakra piercing the sky. "Wait a little longer."
"Tch!"
A blood-curdling wind swept through the air, as if a rain of blood could fall at any moment.
"Is it anger that's causing the Nine-Tails' power to resonate with Naruto?" Pain observed the chakra, now turning into thick, viscous black slime. "Or has it reached the point of despair?"
Under the influence of the dense black slime, Pain's black rod was easily corroded to nothingness.
"Let me see just how deep your hatred runs!"
The moment Pain spoke, the towering chakra pillar suddenly doubled in size, resembling a massive cannon aimed at the sky!
Boom—!
Seconds later, a rain of black slime began to fall from the heavens! Areas touched by the slime seemed to be corroded by some unknown force! Even Hashirama Senju's Wood Release was pitted and scarred by the rain!
Konoha's ninjas were filled with conflicted emotions, with their first priority being to find cover! If that rain hit them directly, it wouldn't be a laughing matter!
Minato Namikaze watched Naruto Uzumaki on the battlefield. The chakra surrounding him constantly shifted, mirroring his helpless rage and hatred—vast and with nowhere to vent...
"GAAARRRRRRRRGH!!!!"
A terrifying beastly roar erupted from Naruto Uzumaki's throat.
No one could tell if he was the Nine-Tails, Naruto, or neither—just some monstrous fusion of their collective hatred for the entire world that now stood before them!
A darkness so profound it threatened to strip the world of all light.
Even the Hokage felt their hearts skip a beat at this sight!!
Not merely because of Naruto's power, but because they didn't know if this was truly how things were meant to unfold.
Had the original world been altered by their presence? Could Naruto still defeat Pain while also finding a way to revive everyone?!
The heavens and earth shifted in tumult!
The pitch-black monster possessed six tails! Its speed left even Pain unable to react!
Each attack struck with the primal instinct of a beast! Chaotic and unpredictable, Pain could only shift from offense to defense.
Yet even so, he still took a heavy blow every seven or eight strikes!
"Naruto... he's gone mad."
The young Obito Uchiha felt a chill run down his spine. He couldn't tell if it stemmed from Naruto's current power, from Naruto becoming this way, or from some other emotion entirely.
In short, this Naruto was absolutely not Naruto, yet he wasn't the Nine-Tails either!
If one had to find a word to describe this Naruto Uzumaki…
He was a calamity born from the deepest abyss of chaos! Unstoppable!!
Naruto's core pulsed like a nucleus, directing the viscous, pitch-black chakra.
The 'fox's' body itself was an extension of that chakra—six tails or any other limb could erupt with massive claws to strike Pain!
This form of attack resembled neither human nor beast.
It was precisely this utterly unprecedented sensation that sent chills down the spine.
Sakura knelt on the ground, her heart filled with despair.
"Six tails..."
The Naruto who had once manifested four tails was now completely unconscious.
But now, with six tails unleashed, no one could control him anymore.
"Hashirama-sama!"
"I know!! Senjutsu: Laughing Buddha Jutsu!!"
The giant hands concealed around the battlefield reinforced its fortifications once more, shielding the surrounding Konoha ninja from collateral damage...
Creak... Creak...
"What's that sound?"
"Bones! Look! A beast's skeleton is growing over Naruto Uzumaki's body!!"
Hashirama Senju: "He's awakening toward the Nine-Tails."
"Fourth, are you truly certain?!" Even the usually composed Tobirama Senju began questioning Minato Namikaze, seeking reassurance for this junior.
"....." The reincarnated Minato Namikaze remained silent.
He was waiting.....
For the chakra he had left behind sixteen years ago!
"You hate me, don't you?" Pain said. "But my pain surpasses yours!!"
The two fought their way from Konohagakure to another location!
The battle could almost be described as darkening the heavens and obscuring the earth.
Pain's gun fired Water Release attacks at Naruto Uzumaki in his fox form, then instantly transformed the area into an ocean.
In a parallel world, someone might have quipped, "That voice sounds just like our Second Hokage-sama, and that Water Release is truly his Water Release."
But now, no one had the heart for jokes. Pain and Naruto had vanished from sight. Only ninjas with exceptional speed or those possessing a dōjutsu like Obito Uchiha could keep up and witness their battle!
"Even the terrain has changed!!"
"Wuuuuh..."
"This is the worst possible outcome."
"There's no way... Even Iruka... Wait! Iruka and Hinata are still alive! Medical-nin! Medical-nin! Hurry!!"
However, this news could not reach the mind of Naruto, now lost in chaos.
At this moment, Naruto was consumed by hatred, loathing, agony, and confusion!
Then, the necklace Tsunade had once given him began to glow with an unusual light...
Hashirama: "That's my Hokage necklace!!" He had lost it to Tsunade in a wager long ago.
The pitch-black, fox-possessed Naruto was bound by luminous green chakra. Mud-like chakra was forced out of his body by the pressure of Wood Release chakra.
"Lord First! What is that?!" a Konoha ninja asked.
Hashirama: "It's a Fūinjutsu made with my chakra. It's absolutely effective against ordinary powerful enemies, but Naruto's current state..."
Just as he feared, the next second, a despair-stricken Naruto Uzumaki grabbed the pendant around his neck and crushed it!
Obito: "That was a gift from Tsunade-sama! If Naruto still had his senses, he would never destroy that necklace."
"No, he crushed it of his own accord." Minato Namikaze's expression grew grave. He had a feeling...
At this moment, Naruto had renounced his humanity.
["You're here, kid."]
"Nine-Tails."