"Looks like that stupid tanuki really can't cut it… Maybe I should give him a little more motivation~"
Inside the seal, Kurama watched Gaara clutch his head and scream in the arena through Naruto's eyes, his tone full of schadenfreude.
"Don't act rashly," Isobu said carefully, lifting his head slightly. "Orochimaru and his subordinates have already trapped the Third Hokage inside the Four Violet Flames Formation. If Shukaku really comes out, things will become impossible to control."
"Don't forget," Isobu continued, "Naruto doesn't plan to use what that toad gave him. Gaara is still needed as a test subject. Everyone's waiting to see whether that forbidden technique actually works."
"Tch~ I'm just talking," Kurama snorted. "Besides, what could a one-tailed idiot do even if he got out?"
His gaze shifted to Son Gokū and Chōmei.
"And you two? Why so quiet?"
The two exchanged a look and answered in unison, "We agree with Isobu."
"Hmph! A bunch of annoying idiots."
Kurama cursed under his breath, then looked toward Kushina, who stood not far away, a hint of confusion in his eyes.
"Hey—your family's about to be reunited. Why don't you look happy at all?"
"I'm worried about Naruto," Kushina said softly, lifting her head. "Kurama… when I look into Naruto's eyes, I don't see anyone reflected there. He acknowledges Minato and me as his parents, but his desire to revive us feels more like an attempt to sever his remaining emotional ties."
The four tailed beasts were visibly startled.
After a pause, Kurama leaned closer and asked gravely,
"…You looked into his heart?"
On the left-side stands, Kakashi and Might Guy were fighting Sound ninja who had already discarded their disguises. To their surprise, Sakura, unaffected by genjutsu, was actively protecting civilians—her fists wrapped in hardened stone using Earth Release.
"Kakashi! That Gaara—he's—!"
Guy kicked a Sound ninja away and stood back-to-back with Kakashi.
"Yeah… there's no doubt about it," Kakashi said, deflecting a kunai. "That abnormal chakra just now—"
His gaze shifted toward the right-side stands, and his brow immediately furrowed.
Naruto and Shikamaru were both slumped forward, apparently unconscious. Behind them, the ANBU who had been forming hand seals earlier stood calmly in the aisle, effortlessly cutting down every Sound ninja who rushed over.
"So it wasn't his genjutsu…"
"Kakashi! Sasuke went after Gaara!" Guy shouted.
Kakashi looked down to see Sasuke vault over the arena wall, then wordlessly continue charging toward the Sound ninja in the stands.
"Hey! Aren't you worried?!" Guy demanded.
Guy sent four Sound ninja flying with a fierce spinning kick, then suddenly his expression changed.
"Look—inside the barrier!"
Kakashi followed his gaze. His pupils shrank.
"…Orochimaru!"
Below the arena, Baki, who had just ordered Gaara escorted away, wore an extremely grim expression. The moment the Fourth Kazekage had revealed himself as Orochimaru, Baki knew something was terribly wrong. But the battle had already begun—Sand's elite forces had invaded Konoha, and there was no turning back now.
On the rooftop of the main stand, inside the Four Violet Flames Formation, the Third Hokage and Orochimaru faced each other, terrifying pressure radiating from both.
"Hehehe~ Sensei, you can still leave now, you know," Orochimaru rasped mockingly. "I know this barrier can't truly hold you."
"Leave?"
The Third Hokage tore off his ceremonial robes, revealing his armor beneath.
"So this was your purpose for using the barrier? Or rather—yours and his?"
At the same time, on the right-side stands—
"Damn it! We finally avoided trouble—so why did that stupid ANBU drag us back into it?!"
Shikamaru complained under his breath while dodging incoming kunai. The two who had supposedly fainted were now clearly fighting.
Naruto smiled faintly.
"If you want to avoid trouble, then you need to leave this place."
"Leave?" Shikamaru frowned.
BOOM!
The ANBU with the floral-pattern mask smashed a Sound ninja into the wall behind them, then followed up with a kick to the chest. The wall instantly burst open with a massive hole.
Shikamaru's mouth twitched. He felt that ANBU's gaze lock onto him.
Did he hear what I just said…?
"Come with me."
"Huh?"
Before Shikamaru could react, Naruto grabbed his wrist and leapt through the hole. This scene was witnessed clearly by Kakashi and Asuma, who were still fighting nearby.
The ANBU glanced at the hole, then leapt directly into Asuma's combat zone.
A few minutes later, the ANBU approached Asuma and reported calmly:
"Asuma-sensei, Uzumaki Naruto said he took your subordinate to support Uchiha Sasuke."
"What?!"
Asuma's expression changed drastically.
He had already sensed something abnormal about Gaara's chakra earlier. Now Naruto—whose status was especially sensitive—had gone after him as well. If something happened, Shikamaru would be in grave danger.
A Few Minutes Earlier
Forest outside Konoha's southeastern wall
"It's Kankurō. The puppet's bandages weren't even released. No signs of struggle—killed instantly."
Shikamaru crouched beside a corpse dressed in black, with purple facial markings. Naruto stood silently nearby, as if waiting for something.
After a moment of thought, Shikamaru stood up and walked toward Naruto.
"…Who are you waiting for?"
The moment the words left his mouth—
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The sound of rapid movement echoed through the forest. Five Sound ninja dropped from the trees.
Shikamaru's eyes sharpened. He immediately formed hand seals, his shadow beginning to stretch—
Then he froze.
A massive black sealing array had already spread beneath the Sound ninja's feet.
"What is this?!"
"Damn it—we fell into that brat's trap!"
Before they could react—
Naruto flicked his arm. Several kunai flew out, curving unnaturally around a tree trunk.
Clang! Clang!
A Sound ninja fell from above, dead before hitting the ground.
The remaining Sound ninja stared in disbelief.
Shikamaru was equally stunned. He opened his mouth as if to speak, hesitated, then closed it again.
As a friend, he understood—
from this moment on, he couldn't ask anything, and whatever he saw, he had to pretend he hadn't.
He watched silently as Naruto sealed Kankurō's corpse and puppets into a scroll, then created a group of shadow clones.
"We should go," Naruto said with a smile, placing a hand on Shikamaru's shoulder.
Shikamaru glanced at the hand, then forced a smile.
"…Can you knock me out?"
"..."
A few minutes later, Asuma arrived at the scene. After examining the pool of blood on the ground, he followed a trail of footprints heading west toward Konoha. Not long after, Kakashi arrived as well.
Konoha Village
Black smoke filled the air. Explosions echoed at regular intervals.
Naruto appeared soundlessly in the shadows outside a large building—the Forbidden Technique Vault.
After observing the ANBU guards at the entrance, he put on an animal mask and transformed into an ANBU. He drew two kunai, attaching a smoke bomb to the ring of one.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
A dense barrage of kunai rained down on the guards.
"Watch out!"
"Stay alert!"
The ANBU guards drew their swords instantly—but a burst of crimson smoke engulfed everything.
When the smoke cleared, the entrance doors stood wide open. The guards lay dead in pools of blood.
Naruto moved underground, clearing all resistance before pushing open a heavy steel door.
Inside was a space nearly two hundred square meters in size, shelves neatly packed with scrolls of every kind. He created over a hundred shadow clones, left behind a wrist guard, and vanished using Flying Thunder God.
In the next instant, Naruto appeared inside another brightly lit underground chamber—far larger than the vault, filled with complex instruments, eerily similar to the cultivation labs in the Land of Snow.
This was Danzō's secret laboratory.
Naruto ignored the equipment and walked straight to a wall, placing his palm against it.
"Open."
Black sealing formulas surged outward. The wall shimmered with dense fūinjutsu markings, then parted to reveal a hidden entrance.
Inside, on the left, stood tall glass cabinets filled with delicate jars—each containing a pair of crimson Sharingan, labels affixed beneath them.
Naruto created another hundred shadow clones, then moved to the right.
There, metal drawers lined the wall, each with its own label.
Naruto stopped at two adjacent drawers and pulled them open.
Two peaceful, familiar faces lay inside.
On the rooftop outside the Four Violet Flames Formation, three ANBU crouched and watched.
"That guy who came up earlier… did he leave?"
Inside the barrier, another "ANBU" appeared out of thin air and stepped onto the tiles.
Alert: Reality distortion detected.
Remaining uses: 2
Special mental entity Idu critically low on energy.
Seek source host immediately.
Idu's genjutsu spread across the battlefield.
Naruto shook his head slightly.
"Needs energy after just one use…"
He leapt into the trees. Moments later, he saw the Third Hokage forming hand seals, three shadow clones appearing beside him. Across from them stood Orochimaru—and the Edo Tensei forms of Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju.
"He's forming the hand seals for the Reaper Death Seal!"
"Orochimaru's done for. I checked his memories—he only planned to stall until Danzō's signal arrived, then retreat."
"But Anko and Kimimaro still carry his curse marks. Can the Reaper Death Seal really kill him?"
"Look—he's already grabbed the two former Hokage!"
Kushina shook her head bitterly.
After today, Konoha will never be the same.
The Third Hokage charged again. After several exchanges, he smashed Orochimaru's Kusanagi Sword away.
Naruto leapt forward and caught the sword mid-air. At the same instant, an identical Kusanagi flew from his hand and clattered onto the rooftop.
"Orochimaru," the Third Hokage said grimly,
"I will take both your soul and mine into the Reaper's stomach."
"You old fool! Don't dream!" Orochimaru roared.
The Third Hokage seized Orochimaru's shoulders. The two struggled, locked in place. Orochimaru was drenched in sweat—he realized the Kusanagi Sword was no longer responding to his summons.
Naruto observed silently. He noticed hesitation flicker in the Third Hokage's eyes—and glanced at Enma, lying nearby.
Enma could have restrained Orochimaru, but he knew the danger of the Reaper Death Seal. Anyone who interfered risked having their soul dragged away as well.
Naruto smiled faintly.
Then—
Enma suddenly roared in terror:
"Hiruzen! If you don't kill him now, the village will be destroyed! Do you understand?!"
The Third Hokage's final hesitation vanished.
"I understand perfectly!"
"Orochimaru—your ambition ends here!"
"I won't accept this! I'm the one who will uncover the truth of this world—I—!"
Both bodies collapsed.
Orochimaru's eyes were wide open, his face rapidly turning purple-black, frozen in resentment.
The Third Hokage closed his eyes peacefully, a faint smile on his lips.
Enma sighed in grief, then vanished in smoke.
Naruto sealed Orochimaru's corpse into a scroll, then glanced at the three ANBU still watching from outside the nonexistent "barrier."
Smiling, he created four shadow clones and quietly relocated the unconscious Sound Four.
As in the original timeline, he allowed the ANBU to witness the Four Violet Flames Formation dissipate—watching helplessly as the Sound Four "escorted" Orochimaru's body away.
Eastern Forest
"Wind Release: Air Bullet!"
A massive sphere of compressed chakra blasted from Shukaku's mouth, carving a trench over ten meters wide through the forest.
"Hahaha! I finally killed that annoying bug! Now I'll go settle things with that stinking fox!"
Shukaku turned toward Konoha and began lumbering forward.
Moments later, Sasuke emerged from the ground behind it.
"So this is Gaara's true form…"
After killing Kankurō, Sasuke had deliberately driven Gaara and Temari to this location, as Naruto requested. But once cornered, Gaara's mind had collapsed completely.
Laughing hysterically, calling out to his "mother," ranting about existence and being seen.
Sasuke had wanted to behead him several times—but Naruto demanded Gaara be captured alive.
Then Gaara had transformed.
This monster was on an entirely different level.
Ninjutsu barely worked. Lightning and Storm Release stripped only a little sand—like scratching an itch.
Genjutsu worked… briefly.
But Sasuke noticed something else—his ocular power could easily stir the monster's chakra.
"If my eyes evolved into the Mangekyō like that man's…"
Sasuke emerged fully, summoning a chakra armor in his hand.
He was going to use his trump card.
Just then, Naruto—disguised as ANBU—appeared beside him.
"What is that thing?" Sasuke asked.
"It's not a monster," Naruto replied.
"You heard its other name back in the Land of Waves."
Naruto flung a kunai toward Shukaku's path.
"Be ready. Kakashi and Asuma are coming."
"…The Land of Waves? A tailed beast!"
Understanding dawned on Sasuke's face.
At the same time, Naruto appeared behind Shukaku and spoke with Kurama's voice:
"Hey, stupid tanuki."
Shukaku's eyes bulged as it spun around.
"…Stinking fox?"
Naruto stood atop a treetop, mask gleaming.
"Don't recognize this chakra?" Naruto raised his hand, red chakra flickering like flames. "You used to be sealed by—"
Shukaku suddenly grinned and punched its belly.
"Air Bullet!"
After the blast, another trench scarred the forest.
Shukaku laughed uproariously.
"Hahaha! I killed him! I killed the stinking fox!"
"You think that kiddie-level ninjutsu could kill me?"
A kunai landed behind Shukaku. Naruto reappeared unharmed.
"One-tailed idiot," he mocked. "Look up. Your jutsu can't even kill that Uchiha brat."
Enraged, Shukaku saw Sasuke flying overhead and began condensing chakra—
A Tailed Beast Ball, the size of its head.
"What is that?!"
Sasuke's Sharingan nearly bulged from his sockets.
"Die!!"
The Tailed Beast Ball fired straight toward Naruto's position.
Sasuke froze.
"That direction is—?!"
Back at the arena, people gathered around the Third Hokage's body.
Jiraiya and Danzō stood out among them.
Danzō was shocked—Orochimaru killing the Third Hokage hadn't been part of the deal.
Jiraiya looked grief-stricken, though his will was partially controlled by Naruto's consciousness in the Mirror World.
Suddenly, everyone turned toward the same direction.
"Activate the barrier!" Danzō roared.
At the forest's edge, Kakashi and Asuma stopped short as a Tailed Beast Ball tore past them—
And slammed into Konoha's wall.
BOOM!!!
A blinding flash. A catastrophic explosion.
Kakashi and Asuma dove to the ground. When the shockwave passed, they rushed toward the impact site—
Then Kakashi suddenly clutched his left eye.
"Something wrong?" Asuma asked.
"It's nothing," Kakashi replied through clenched teeth.
Asuma stared at him in disbelief.
"…Mangekyō Sharingan."
"What?" Kakashi froze.
Before he could respond—
Thunder roared.
Both turned to see a colossal, lightning-wreathed giant emerging from dark storm clouds, drawing a bow—
And firing a devastating arrow of light at Shukaku.
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