Mutual Destruction

ps: My application to be signed was the first attempt... it failed. I'm in a bad mood, so I'll only post one chapter today.

.

A bandaged hand appeared in Naruto's line of sight as he lay there.

"Pervy Sage..."

Jiraiya had several dark, wet spots on his hair. He smiled faintly, "Naruto, you did well."

Naruto smiled, grabbed Jiraiya's hand, and stood up.

"Sasuke, Hinata, please wait a moment." Naruto turned and called out to the two behind him, then walked with Jiraiya toward the area of the barrier they had previously set up. It had now become a ruin, shrouded in smoke.

The Third Hokage, Tsunade, and Kakashi were already there, with twelve Anbu standing by, ready to act.

As for the two old toads, seeing that the matter was settled, they returned to Mount Myōboku.

"Such terrifying vitality..." Naruto exclaimed in amazement, looking at the indistinct, writhing humanoid figure at the center of the ruins.

This humanoid figure was covered in burns and tears... its face was also largely destroyed, and the entire person was unconscious.

But it still had a spark of life; Orochimaru wasn't dead yet.

"It's a good thing he's not dead," Tsunade snorted, while the Third Hokage's expression was complex.

Jiraiya gazed silently at the struggling humanoid figure on the scorched earth before him... After a moment, he said to Naruto, "Naruto, about that... how is it?"

Naruto understood what Jiraiya was referring to. He nodded, "Although it might not be accurate, I did vaguely... sense a malicious presence lurking underground nearby."

"It must be that one from 'Akatsuki'... 'Zetsu'."

Jiraiya nodded gently.

Just then—

Rustle, rustle...

Hearing the sound, several people turned their heads sharply. It was the First Hokage, who had been reanimated using Impure World Reincarnation and sealed by the Fuinjutsu Squad! He had been crushed into dust by Naruto's powerful attack earlier, but was now gradually reforming!

Rustle, the Impure World Reincarnation reshaped the First Hokage's head.

"What!?" The Third Hokage and the others were alarmed, instinctively assuming combat stances.

"No, no, no! Don't attack..."

The Ninja God of that era quickly waved his hands, signaling for these juniors not to attack. Seeing them hesitantly lower their guards, he smiled, "Hiruzen, little ones, the Impure World Reincarnation jutsu... it doesn't disappear even if the caster dies..."

He scratched his head, glanced at the half-dead Orochimaru on the ground, and sighed, "But fortunately, the kunai with the seal in my head has lost its effect, so I can regain some sanity. So, please don't attack anymore."

"..." Naruto and the others exchanged glances. The Impure World Reincarnation jutsu had been sealed away not long after the Second Hokage developed it. Therefore, even the Third Hokage, known as the Professor of Ninjutsu, only had a general understanding of it and had never personally used it.

But clearly, the First Hokage, as the Second Hokage's elder brother, understood the intricacies of this jutsu.

"The dead ultimately do not belong to this mortal world," the First Hokage said slowly.

The Third Hokage was moved, his expression complex: "First Hokage... there's a question that Hiruzen has never been able to understand." He looked at the man before him, the one who had ended the warring period and personally established Konoha Village.

He was even hailed as a living god among ninja!

"Why did you suddenly pass away back then? With your physical vitality, you should have lived longer than me. Everyone at the time thought you would even achieve immortality!"

Tsunade couldn't help but be moved. She remembered how heartbroken she was when her grandfather, Hashirama, passed away... Later, after she grew up, she had investigated her grandfather's cause of death, but to no avail.

As for Kakashi, he didn't feel much. His generation had grown up in the shadow of the Third Hokage. While they respected the legendary, god-like First Hokage, their reverence was ultimately shallow.

"Hahahaha!..." Upon hearing this, the First Hokage threw his head back and laughed heartily. He said with a carefree air, "There's no such thing as immortality! Hiruzen, you're exaggerating too much... As for the cause of my death..." He stopped smiling and said slowly, "It was not long after I killed Madara... Well, it wasn't much different from what I had sensed before."

At this point, the Ninja God glanced slightly at Naruto, and at Hinata, who was nervously standing nearby, unsure of what to do in this situation... and Sasuke, who was frowning in silence beside them.

"Do you also have this feeling? The premonition that if one dies, the other must perish together?" the First Hokage asked Naruto. The moment he first saw this young man, he had felt that... he was the same type of person as himself.

Naruto was startled, fell silent for a moment, and said softly, "Ah, something like that..." He naturally thought of the strange thing within him... something he hadn't even noticed until his "Future Self" appeared.

At the same time, he could feel that there was something similar within Sasuke.

A kind of destiny? Saving the world? Perhaps.

The fox within him was also silent.

The Third Hokage, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Kakashi on the scene were all bewildered. As for the Anbu, they each adhered to their duties, ensuring that anything they shouldn't hear went in one ear and out the other, without retaining a single detail.

"First Hokage..." The Third Hokage wanted to say something more, but was interrupted by the First Hokage.

The First Hokage said, "Don't say anything more. I am merely a dead man. Haven't the matters of Konoha been handed over to you juniors?" He paused, then continued, "Are there still members of the Yamanaka Clan in the village? Find one, use the Yamanaka Secret Technique to control the person who resurrected me, and release this Impure World Reincarnation..."

"Grandpa..." Tsunade couldn't help but call out.

"Little Tsunade..." The First Hokage smiled slightly. At this moment, he was just a kind and amiable elder. He said, "Take good care of this village for Grandpa."

Tsunade, with tears in her eyes, nodded, "Yes."

The Third Hokage remained silent, then ordered, "Take Orochimaru back and notify Inoichi."

"Yes!" The twelve Anbu nodded and moved towards Orochimaru on the scorched earth to handle him.

"Please release me from this jutsu as soon as possible. I..." The First Hokage looked toward Konoha Village in the distance, with a hint of longing in his voice, "want to see the scenery there one last time."

Swish, he disappeared.

The next day.

Team 7 was training by a small river.

The scrolls had been gathered long ago, but since the exam had a five-day limit, there was nothing to do even if they arrived early. The three of them decided to do some training in the wilderness. As the saying goes, "The skilled are bold." After witnessing Naruto's true power when he went all out, even Hinata felt that "an exam between mere Genin doesn't require much worry."

Naruto had told Hinata about what had happened to him. What he had done yesterday couldn't be explained by common sense... It was precisely because of this difficulty in explaining that he was able to grow so quickly.

"Then... Naruto-kun, are you..." Hinata felt a little down. Was Naruto paying special attention to her because of the memories he had obtained? She felt a little... unwilling, but the question was ultimately difficult to ask. Hinata mumbled and sighed softly, unable to voice it.

"Hm? What?" Naruto had no idea about the complex thoughts of a girl like her. After Hinata shook her head and said, "Nothing," he scratched his face, puzzled for a moment.

"So, you see..." Naruto, shirtless after diving for fish, looked up at the distant blue sky and white clouds. "It's precisely for this reason that I've made such great progress in a very short time... But correspondingly, at this point, apart from the slight improvements gained with age... it's become very difficult for me to increase my strength any further."

"Having more chakra doesn't change much. As for combat techniques... the Rasengan and Kurama's power are enough."

"How can I... break through my own limits?"

"Finally, I thought of my father's famous ninjutsu, the Flying Thunder God Technique." He smiled, idly spinning a kunai on his finger. The kunai had a black mark of a foxfire on it.

"But Sasuke... you know, you're just like me."

"The height I've reached now is also the height you will definitely reach... it's just that you haven't fully unlocked it yet." Naruto turned to look at Sasuke, who was sitting quietly by the fire roasting fish, and said earnestly, "The potential in those eyes of yours is still dormant!"

Hinata looked at Naruto, who was sincere and serious, and then at Sasuke beside her, whose expression was silent and complicated.

Finally, Sasuke spoke, his tone carrying a hint of confusion. He asked, "Why? Naruto, what exactly are you worried about?"

"It seems like you're deliberately considering something?"

"I'm not stupid."

"I've noticed that every time you display powerful strength in front of me."

"You always try to comfort me?"

Sasuke's brow furrowed, and he asked repeatedly, "I've already said, I'm not that fragile, and you didn't become strong purely because of memories as you imagine. I see all of this."

"But why?"

"Did I... 'in the past' do something in your memories?"

"Naruto, can you tell me..." Sasuke asked seriously, "What did Orochimaru do in the Chunin Exams 'originally'? What exactly happened to 'that me'?"