(Bonus Chapter)
"How did you promise us back then, Hiruzen?" Minato Namikaze's voice echoed across the battlefield.
"You promised that you would take good care of Naruto, that he would live as the son of a hero. If not for today—if you hadn't tried to seize Naruto and awakened my soul—I would never have known that this was how you 'protected' him!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression changed drastically. Panic crept into his eyes.
"Minato, it's not like that—listen to my explanation!"
He was afraid. Terrified that Minato would reveal everything in front of everyone present.
If those truths came out, his prestige would collapse completely. The image of the benevolent, greatest Hokage he had cultivated for decades would shatter in an instant.
He feared the villagers would begin asking questions.
Where had the Uzumaki Clan's inheritance gone?
Minato's family once owned the most prosperous commercial district in Konoha, yet Naruto received only three thousand ryō a month.
Was that reasonable?
It wasn't. Not at all.
"Enough, Hiruzen," Minato said coldly. "You want to say this was all to protect the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki, so you hid Naruto's identity as a hero's son?"
"Fine. But then tell me—why did you allow him to be called a demon fox? Why did you let the entire village shun him, despise him, isolate him, while you stood above it all, buying goodwill?"
"A bowl of ramen costs one or two hundred ryō. You gave him three thousand a month. Who were you trying to starve to death?!"
"And where is the inheritance Kushina and I left behind? Did you swallow it all?!"
Minato Namikaze was furious.
At that moment, he looked almost unrecognizable—rage and pain burning in his eyes. He could not believe that the Third Hokage he had once admired and trusted had done such things after his death.
If Kurama hadn't shown him Naruto's memories, if the Nine-Tails' chakra hadn't sustained this fragment of his soul, he would never have known the truth.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's face turned deathly pale. His body swayed.
He had never expected Minato to say all of this—let alone in front of so many people.
His already hunched back bent even further, like a candle flickering in the wind, as though it might be extinguished at any moment.
The ANBU watched him silently. Seeing him like this, an uneasy feeling spread through their hearts—followed by disappointment.
Shiranui Genma spat out the senbon in his mouth, his expression dark with anger. At this moment, Hiruzen no longer had the strength to pursue anything else.
He stood there, dazed.
He knew that after today, his reputation would be ruined completely. The Sarutobi Clan would never again be able to hold its head high.
Kakashi remained silent.
He knew all of this.
Yet under pressure—perhaps still trapped by the trauma of his father's death—he had never questioned orders. He had carried out missions mechanically, never once visiting Naruto.
If guilt was to be assigned, he bore his share of it.
But Minato did not accuse him.
That mercy caused a faint warmth to stir in Kakashi's long-frozen heart.
Just as Hiruzen was sinking into despair, Danzo Shimura spoke sharply:
"Hiruzen! This man is spreading dangerous lies, and he has slaughtered my Root operatives. We cannot let this stand!"
Those words jolted Hiruzen awake.
Yes—so long as Uzumaki Naruto was captured, so long as this battle was won, everything could still be silenced.
His eyes hardened.
He intended to have Danzo place the Tongue Curse Seal on everyone present.
A chill ran down the spines of both ANBU and Root ninja alike.
From a distance, Uchiha Ran watched quietly, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
Fight, he thought. The harder you fight, the better.
A mechanical voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
"Ding! System mission issued: Rescue Uzumaki Naruto."
"Reward: Determined by completion and narrative impact."
"Failure: Erasure of the host."
Ran frowned slightly but rose to his feet all the same.
Nearby, Uchiha Itachi helped Yamato up, while Uchiha Shisui continued observing the battlefield.
"Ran," Shisui asked quietly, "who do you think will win?"
On one side stood Uzumaki Naruto, possessed by Minato Namikaze, alongside Uchiha Fugaku.
On the other stood Hiruzen Sarutobi—the so-called strongest Hokage—and Danzo Shimura, the darkness of Konoha.
Ran rolled his eyes.
"If the old man weren't holding back, Hiruzen and Danzo together wouldn't last long against him."
"But then again, if Fugaku didn't hide his strength, he wouldn't be Fugaku. He's always been too stubborn."
With that, Ran stretched his shoulders and stepped forward.
Shisui noticed immediately. "Ran, what are you doing?"
Ran smiled faintly.
"Even if he hides his strength, Uchiha Fugaku is still my father. I can't just watch him get taken down."
"And besides—you see it too. If Hiruzen and Danzo win, no one here will have a good ending. Not you. Not me. Not anyone."
With those words, Ran leapt down and walked calmly toward the battlefield.
Hiruzen Sarutobi began forming hand seals:
Ram → Horse → Snake → Dragon → Rat → Ox → Tiger.
He drew in a deep breath, his chest expanding.
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
A massive dragon-shaped torrent of flames roared toward Naruto.
He had no choice.
Even if the Nine-Tails was lost, Minato Namikaze could not be allowed to escape.
If Minato and Naruto died—and everyone present was silenced—then he would still be the Third Hokage.
The strongest Hokage.
The hero of the shinobi world.
Minato's pupils constricted.
He could evade—but what about Genma and Raidō?
At that instant, a figure appeared, hands moving so fast they left afterimages.
Dragon → Snake → Ram.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
Kakashi Hatake emerged.
A massive earthen wall engraved with hounds erupted from the ground, barely blocking the Fire Dragon Flame Bullet.
Danzo immediately followed up.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!"
Wind and fire merged.
The compound technique doubled in power and range in an instant.
Kakashi's eyes widened. Was he really going to be forced to use that technique?
Before he could decide—
Another presence arrived.
Ran's hands formed seals:
Snake → Ram → Monkey → Boar → Horse → Tiger.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Uchiha Fugaku's eyes flashed.
Without hesitation, he formed the same seals.
Two Great Fireballs collided and fused, transforming into a colossal inferno that slammed head-on into the combined Fire Dragon and Wind Release—
The battlefield was engulfed in roaring flames, the clash frozen in a terrifying stalemate.
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