The World's Reaction

Naruto sat alone by the small bed in his apartment, clutching his head as memories returned by his Shadow Clone flashed through his mind—the world-destroying Great Rasenshuriken, the terrified expressions of Konoha's ninja, the Raikage's charred body...

I... caused way too much of a commotion, didn't I...?

The Shadow Clone's memories felt like firsthand experience, allowing him to clearly feel the almost arrogant confidence it had possessed when casting that jutsu.

Am I... really such a chuuni?

The thought made his ears burn. Those exaggerated lines, those declarations brimming with oppressive force—they were downright explosively embarrassing in retrospect. Especially that one.

"Either obediently gnaw on the rotten fruit of peace and live on... or let me teach you what real war is!"

How did I even say something like that?!

Naruto rolled around on the bed and buried his face in the blanket. But he quickly forced himself to calm down and began sorting through the logic behind his Shadow Clone's actions.

As for the organization's name—Ashes.

Why had it chosen that name? Through their shared memories, he could sense what the Shadow Clone had been thinking at the time.

Simple, direct, powerful.

Like the Akatsuki Organization, a one-word name was easy to remember and full of intimidation. "Ashes" meant burning the flames of war until nothing remained but ash. The word represented both destruction and an implied ending.

It does sound cool... but isn't it a little too pretentious?

He remembered that the Shadow Clone had considered several other options. Heaven's Punishment had sounded too lofty, as though they were proclaiming themselves gods.

No Blame had been too literary and not straightforward enough.

Fallen Army had been too specific, aimed only at military forces.

The Cage of Paradox meant viewing war as a paradox and locking it away in a cage forever... but that one had been rejected outright, because even the Shadow Clone found it awkward to say.

In the end, it chose "Ashes" as a tribute to the Akatsuki Organization. A one-word name truly had more impact.

As for their public objective—"ending war through threats."

That reason sounded righteous, but in truth... in the original timeline, the Third Great Ninja War had already ended. Other than the Fourth Great Ninja War, there would be no more wars between major nations...

It was merely a pretext.

The real purpose was to use this opportunity to secretly recruit ninja whom a "righteous" identity could not recruit—people who might be eccentric or hold extreme ideals, but all possessed formidable strength.

Their future enemy... was the Otsutsuki.

The Five Great Nations, fighting separately, could never stand against those monsters from outer space. There had to be an organization that transcended the boundaries of ninja villages, a force capable of uniting all "unconventional combat power."

And Ashes was the first step of that plan.

Naruto took a deep breath and sat up from the bed. Konoha outside the window had already returned to calm. The villagers had no idea that the "Masked Man" who had nearly destroyed their village was currently sitting in this small apartment in the form of a three-year-old child.

The methods might have been a little extreme... but this path had to be followed.

All of this was to accumulate enough power before the true apocalypse arrived...

Though this clash had miraculously caused no casualties, it sent shockwaves through the Ninja World on the scale of a nuclear bomb.

The evidence stood before everyone's eyes—the enormous crater outside Konoha Village, almost as wide as the village itself.

Just as Naruto had demanded, the names Ashes and "Menma" quickly spread throughout the Ninja World. It could even be said that Hidden Cloud's propaganda had gone somewhat overboard. Through diplomatic channels, black-market bounties, underground intelligence networks, and other means, they loudly exaggerated Menma's terrifying nature.

The Raikage, Hidden Cloud's public face and strongest combatant, had been gravely wounded to the brink of death.

Hidden Cloud had always been known for its attitude of "if you don't submit, fight," yet with the Raikage near death, it strictly prohibited any action that might provoke Menma. Even the most radical pro-war faction fell silent after seeing the massive crater outside Konoha.

On Konoha's side, the Third Hokage spent a long time recovering after the battle before barely regaining his strength. But as the village's Hokage, he had to stabilize the situation as quickly as possible.

He first selected elites from the Anbu and formed a specialized reconnaissance team responsible for gathering all intelligence regarding "Menma." However, the Third Hokage specifically warned them not to investigate too deeply. The moment they discovered anything unusual, they were to immediately cease pursuit and never take risks.

Afterward, he urgently summoned Jiraiya and Tsunade, who were traveling abroad, hoping to reassure the people with the return of the Legendary Three Ninja.

At the same time, Konoha mobilized every ninja in the village skilled in Earth Release and began filling the horrifying crater outside the village. It was a massive undertaking, but it had to be completed as soon as possible—not only to restore the terrain, but also to erase that terrifying symbol that constantly reminded people that destruction was within arm's reach.

Then things got interesting. Over in Stone Village, Tsuchikage Ōnoki publicly condemned Hidden Cloud, accusing them of the foolishness of trying to steal a chicken only to lose the rice used to bait it. Yet afterward, a high-priced bounty quietly appeared on the black market, offering a huge sum for any information on Menma and Ashes.

That old man was gloating openly, yet secretly wanted to make contact with the Ashes Organization that had terrified the entire Ninja World?

Meanwhile, Mist Village, still secretly controlled by Obito, also reacted.

Obito was deeply wary of this powerful figure who had suddenly appeared. Since when had someone like this emerged in the Ninja World? Worried that this variable would interfere with the Infinite Tsukuyomi Plan, he immediately ordered Black Zetsu to gather all possible intelligence on Ashes.

The two conspirators hidden behind masks felt the unease of their plans slipping beyond their control.

Meanwhile, in Rain Village, Nagato, the leader of the Akatsuki Organization who had yet to begin acting, learned of this major event that had shaken the Ninja World through his intelligence network. What caught his attention even more was Menma's publicly declared philosophy—ending war through fear.

That philosophy resonated subtly with Nagato. Both sought to achieve peace through extreme measures, but their methods were completely different. Menma had chosen to become the public enemy of the entire Ninja World, using absolute military deterrence to suppress war.

Nagato's plan was even more radical—he intended to collect the tailed beasts and create weapons capable of destroying nations with a single strike, then distribute those weapons to every country for free.

He would let the nations slaughter one another after obtaining such destructive power, allowing them to realize the horror of war through devastating casualties and thus fear war itself.

But after careful consideration, Nagato decided to attempt contact with the Ashes Organization. Facing this "colleague," who likewise wished to achieve peace through extreme means, he wanted to test the possibility of cooperation.

Of course, if their ideals proved incompatible, he possessed the Rinnegan and had more than enough confidence that he would never lose.

It was not without benefits. An eerie calm descended upon the Ninja World. After seeing the massive crater outside Konoha Village, every major ninja village fell into panic. They feared that one day Menma might suddenly appear above their own village and casually toss down a "Great Rasenshuriken."

Thus, every nation tacitly ordered an end to all diplomatic conflicts. Even the small-scale border frictions that had lasted for years came to an abrupt halt.

Then something even stranger happened. No matter how the Five Great Nations investigated or how much they offered in bounties, Menma vanished as if he had evaporated from the face of the earth. There was no trace of him ever again. The Ashes Organization was even more utterly silent, as though it had never existed.

After all, the terrifying being who had sent the entire Ninja World into fear was now merely a three-year-old child—who would ever believe something like that?