"Huh?"
"Did I just hear the Yondaime?"
"But... isn't he dead?"
Senju Hashirama blinked in confusion before turning to the Hokage.
"He sounded quite young. How did he die before you?"
The words that the Hokage was about to say caught in his throat.
Snort!
Senju Tobirama crossed his arms, shooting a cold, expressionless glance at the Hokage.
"Monkey, are you going deaf in your old age?"
"Brother is asking you a question. Answer properly."
Hashirama quickly waved his hands. "Don't be like that, Tobirama. Maybe he's just surprised to see us."
Whoosh!
"Am I late?"
A sudden gust of wind announced the arrival of Namikaze Minato, who appeared outside the Four Purple Flame Formation, holding Kushina in his arms.
Orochimaru's pupils contracted sharply.
"That's not the Edo Tensei appearance..."
"Resurrected?!"
What is going on?
Senju Tobirama frowned, his sharp eyes narrowing. "Flying Thunder God... It seems you've mastered it better than its creator."
"Minato?!"
"Kushina?!"
Upon hearing the familiar voices, the Hokage turned around, and his eyes widened at the sight of Minato and Kushina.
Even though he had mentally prepared himself, he couldn't help but be shocked.
But when he saw the look in Kushina's eyes—resentful and piercing—the Hokage panicked. His mind went blank. For the first time in a long while, he had no idea how to react.
"Huh?"
Senju Hashirama tilted his head, his expression puzzled.
"You look so young... Are you really the Yondaime?"
"Yes, Lord First, I already died once."
Minato answered with a gentle smile.
"Ah?"
"How did you die?"
"I perished sealing the Nine-Tails."
"Huh?!"
Senju Hashirama's face was filled with disbelief. "Kurama... the Nine-Tails? Sealing him... kills people?!"
Gah—
Everyone present fell into stunned silence.
"Brother!" Senju Tobirama growled, frowning.
Only then did Hashirama realize how his words could be misunderstood.
"Ah, sorry, sorry! Hahaha~"
Kushina sighed, massaging her temples. "Sister Tsunade must have picked up her habits from you."
"Sister Tsunade? Oh! You're from Mito's clan, aren't you?"
Hashirama finally noticed Kushina's bright red hair.
"Speaking of Tsunade... yeah, she learned a lot from me... Hahaha~"
The image of little Tsunade counting money, raising her tiny arms, and waving a stack of ryo flashed through his mind.
"Orochimaru, your underlings are becoming an annoyance."
At that moment, a new figure emerged.
Naruto.
It was as if he had been standing there all along.
Senju Tobirama, a master of forbidden techniques, immediately turned sideways, wary.
Without waiting for Orochimaru to react, Naruto raised his hand and clenched his fist.
Boom! Boom!
Suddenly, countless tree roots burst from the ground, ripping through the battlefield.
"AHHH!"
Screams filled the air as the roots struck with precision, impaling every single Oto-nin—except for Kabuto.
In an instant, the Konoha spectators in the stands screamed in horror.
The bodies of the Oto-nin shriveled at a terrifying speed, vanishing completely.
Naruto had siphoned their chakra and returned it to the trees of Konoha.
Whoosh!
The leaves and branches swayed, though there was no wind.
No one understood what had happened.
All they knew was that the boy on the rooftop had exterminated an entire force of invading shinobi with a single gesture.
Naruto, however, only heard the joyful whispers of the trees, thanking him.
What unsettled everyone even more was how the blood on the ground was rapidly sinking into the soil, vanishing as if being consumed.
It was a sight that shattered their understanding of reality.
"Mokuton... Wood Release!"
Someone shouted in disbelief.
Only then did the crowd register what had happened.
"It's Wood Release!"
"Did the First Hokage step in?!"
"Idiot!"
"It's that fox demon!"
"How the hell does he have this kind of power?!"
"Shh! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"
On the rooftop, where several Kage-level shinobi stood, the murmurs were impossible to ignore.
Naruto stared at the Hokage, expressionless.
Kushina's hair flared wildly, sensing his chakra.
Minato still had a gentle smile, but in the Hokage's eyes, that smile was as sharp as ice.
"Not going to invite us in?" Minato asked, glancing at Orochimaru.
Orochimaru forced a grin. "The Four Purple Flame Formation won't stop you, will it?"
He turned to signal the Sound Four to dispel the barrier—
Only to freeze in shock.
Naruto simply raised his hand, his fingers turning to wood, and made a casual stroke.
The supposedly impenetrable Four Purple Flame Formation split apart like thin paper.
The Sound Four stared, speechless.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in Konoha, chaos erupted.
Naruto's Sage Mode clones, Mori and Ziran, rampaged through the village, eradicating the remaining invaders.
Hashirama's eyes widened when he saw the Sage Art: Wood Release—True Several Thousand Hands manifesting.
His jaw dropped.
Especially when he saw the colossal Susanoo covering the wooden construct.
"Madara... he's still alive?!"
"No... that Susanoo... it's like Madara's, but the aura is different!"
Tobirama clenched his fists. "Even compared to Madara's... this one is stronger!"
His gaze snapped to the Naruto clone atop the wooden titan.
"Mangekyō Sharingan...! No, dammit—it's the Eternal Mangekyō! Just like Madara's!"
"The son of the Yondaime... born a demon!"
He instinctively raised his fingers to weave a hand seal, chakra surging—
And then he stopped.
Tobirama sighed.
This Edo Tensei body... was only a fraction of his full strength.
Fighting back?
Not worth the effort.
At the same time, the shinobi of Konoha erupted in celebration.
"Uzumaki Naruto!"
"Uzumaki Naruto!!!"
With one person taking the lead, soon, more ninjas joined in.
Whether they were from renowned clans, wandering shinobi, or smaller villages, they all shouted Naruto's name.
Seeing this, Naruto's Sage Mode clone smirked slightly and raised his hand.
A bright red flag unfurled behind him...
The shinobi of Sunagakure were left stunned, watching as the vast crowd of ninjas around them erupted in cheers. Their eyes shone with admiration and reverence for Naruto.
Even the so-called heroes and Kage seemed insignificant in comparison.
The crimson light was like the rising sun, illuminating a new path.
Many Iwagakure shinobi unconsciously lowered their weapons, exchanging them for the sickle and hammer symbols of a different kind of struggle.
Gaara gazed upward, his heart shaken to its core.
He saw a small group of Konoha's villagers rushing out, tears in their eyes. At this moment, there was no distinction between ninja, civilian, or even former bandits. They had all become one.
"I see now... Uzumaki Naruto... You truly are different."
"No one has ever cared for people the way you do."
"You're the first."
Kankuro's eyes widened, at a complete loss for words. He could only keep shouting, "Incredible! This is incredible!"
Temari placed a hand on Gaara's shoulder, her gaze fixed on the figure standing atop the colossal Buddha.
With the arrival of Naruto's two Wood Release clones—crafted from White Zetsu's essence—the battle ended in less than two and a half minutes.
Enough blood had been spilled; there was no need for further meaningless sacrifices.
Haku helped the battered and bloodied Zabuza out of the ruins. As they looked up at Naruto's back, their eyes stung with unshed tears.
"Zabuza-san..."
"There's sand in my eyes."
"This is incredible... All the planning and effort were worth it."
"The ninja world will change because of that man... Zabuza-san, from now on, let's not hide from each other anymore, okay?"
Zabuza remained silent, while Haku leaned gently on his shoulder.
Nearby, Sasuke rolled his eyes, cursing internally that he had arrived too late to slaughter more of Danzo's Root operatives.
That bastard Danzo sure knew how to run.
Looking up at the figure commanding the battlefield, Sasuke shook his head and smirked. "Tch, for a thirteen-year-old, you're almost catching up to me."
Despite his words, he no longer concealed the admiration in his gaze.
In that moment, the image of Itachi in his mind blurred, overlapping with Naruto's figure.
"Sasuke!" x2
Sasuke turned, only to see two figures that felt eerily familiar…
The battle had ended.
All that remained was the confrontation on the rooftop and inside the Four Purple Flame Formation.
No—
The moment Naruto and his mother, Kushina, entered the barrier, it was over.
Konoha's so-called elders, the "F4," and Orochimaru had lost any chance to turn the tide.
As for the remaining three...
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu had already been captured.
And Danzo Shimura, ever the schemer, had shown his usual cunning.
The moment he heard the commotion outside, he ordered his men to intervene while he himself activated Izanagi.
Predictably, a Root operative—one newly recruited and still struggling with his emerging Wood Release—attempted to plead with him. But Danzo wasted no time.
He rewrote reality, resurrected himself, and fled.
Unfortunately for him, despite navigating countless secret tunnels and mechanisms...
Waiting for him at the final and most concealed exit was Naruto's Natural Energy Sage Mode clone.
Silence fell across the battlefield.
Those who knew Naruto and those who didn't were all stunned beyond words.
After witnessing power beyond their comprehension, that name and that bright red flag were forever burned into their minds.
Apart from the deafening cheers, there was only a vast sea of eliminated enemies, standing frozen in disbelief.
On the rooftop, the eerie silence lingered.
Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama listened to the chants of Naruto's name, their expressions complex.
The same villagers who had once been mere spectators… were now fervently celebrating the one they had once shunned.
The villagers who had been sitting in the spectator seats, along with those Konoha citizens who had been selected, were now frozen in fear, cold sweat dripping down their faces.
"The fox demon... is he going to destroy the village again?"
"The Third Hokage! Hurry up and stop the fox demon!"
However, before panic could fully take hold, Kushina suddenly turned her head. Her voice, sharp and unwavering, echoed across the entire village. Ino and her father had already activated the Mind Transmission Technique, ensuring that every villager heard her words clearly.
"Ninjas and villagers of Konoha," she began, her tone heavy with emotion. "We saved you."
The crowd fell silent.
"Yes, it's the so-called 'fox demon,' along with his mother—the previous Jinchūriki—and his father, the Fourth Hokage, the very hero who gave his life to protect Konoha twelve years ago."
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
"And alongside us," Kushina continued, her voice unwavering, "countless revolutionaries risked their lives to save you."
She paused for a moment before delivering her final challenge, her gaze fierce.
"I want to see if any of you have the decency to say the words 'thank you.'"
Silence.
Then, she raised her voice, her anger barely restrained. "More than that, I want to hear your apology—to my son!"
Boom—
It was as if her words had ignited an explosion inside the villagers' minds.
"Fox demon?" someone whispered, as if still trying to grasp the truth.
"The previous Jinchūriki...?"
"How dare she talk like that?!" Another voice snapped.
"Why should we thank you?!"
"Did we ask you to save us?!"
"The Third Hokage could have protected us!"
"Apologize? To the fox demon's family?! They're evil, just like we always knew!"
"Third Hokage-sama! Capture them all! Don't let the fox demon's family run wild!"
"Hokage-sama, do something!"
The pressure of the moment fell upon the Third Hokage.
The old man remained silent.
Meanwhile, Naruto stood still, his face unreadable.
And off to the side, the Hokage sighed internally.
'Come on, come on!' he thought dryly. 'I'll even hand you a kunai myself if you think you can handle this.'