Cleanly and Decisively Slay

Naraku stood aloft in the air, coldly watching the Root ninja below.

The Yellow Spring Swamp he had originally released to keep Naraku at close range was now utterly useless.

Naraku extended his left hand, two fingers pressed together, pointing at the two Root ninja.

"Alright, I'm done playing with you. School's about to let out, and I still have to pick up my little sister. What a waste of my time!"

"Hado Number Four—White Lightning!"

A dazzling bolt of lightning burst from Naraku's fingers, shooting toward the Root ninja like a massive thunder dragon.

After his promotion to Jonin, Naraku's Kido had grown terrifyingly powerful.

"Ah..."

A scream rang out from the center of the lightning. Then a figure flashed out and fled swiftly into the forest.

It was the Root ninja leader!

"Tch, throwing his own teammate out to block my attack while he runs away? Cold-blooded enough, I'll give him that."

Naraku deeply despised such ruthless behavior—treating comrades as disposable tools.

With a flick of his foot, Naraku gave chase to the fleeing Root ninja.

"Faster, faster! If I can just make it to the village, Hyuga Naraku won't dare kill me in the open. I have to report everything about him to Lord Danzo. The grudge is already set—this man cannot be left alive!"

The Root ninja leader sprinted through the trees toward Konoha. The path from the back mountain to the village, which had always seemed so short, now stretched endlessly long.

In his desperate flight, he bitterly regretted not training his speed more.

"How naive. What makes you think you can escape?"

Hearing Naraku's voice, the Root ninja stopped dead. Naraku had somehow appeared before him, leaning casually against a tree trunk, blocking his path.

"Damn it... I can't get away? How is he this fast?"

"Since that's the case, I'll have to fight!" The Root ninja stared in despair at Naraku blocking his way.

"Though I find it pretty despicable how you used your teammate as a tool, at least when facing death, you chose to fight like a ninja instead of begging for mercy. That preserves a shred of a ninja's honor. So I'll let you die a glorious death as a ninja."

Naraku somewhat respected the Root ninja's final choice. But in the end, their positions were different. Since they were already enemies, Naraku wouldn't show mercy.

Naraku swung his blade at the Root ninja. Having learned from before, the Root ninja didn't block the attack but dodged backward instead.

But...

"Pfft..."

A blade pierced through his chest from behind, running him clean through.

"How? The genjutsu should have been dispelled..." the Root ninja murmured.

"Useless. That method of yours for breaking genjutsu? As for why, I won't tell you. Guess it yourself on the road to the Yellow Springs."

Naraku whispered in the Root ninja's ear, then twisted the blade, shattering his heart. The Root ninja coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed, his eyes wide with unwillingness.

Naraku picked up the corpse and returned to the small slope, tossing all four bodies together.

"You made the first move on me. Can't blame me for your deaths. Well then, dust to dust, ashes to ashes. Let me send you off one last time."

"Hado Number Fifty-Four—Waste Flame!"

A disc-shaped flame emerged from Naraku's fingertip and landed on the four Root ninja corpses. The moment it touched them, it blazed fiercely, burning them to nothing in no time. Only a patch of scorched earth remained—not even ashes.

Kill them, burn the ashes—full-service disposal.

"Ah, it's almost dark. What a waste of time you lot cost me. Little Hinata's still waiting for me to pick her up from school. She must be getting impatient."

Naraku looked up at the sky. The sunset's last glow was fading. School had probably already let out.

At the ninja academy gate, Naraku finally arrived, having rushed all the way.

A few scattered parents were still picking up their children.

"Ah... at least I'm not too late. Hm? Where's Hinata?"

Naraku stood at the gate, craning his neck to search for Hinata.

"Oh, over there! Little Hinata, big brother's here to pick you up!"

Naraku waved and called out to Hinata, who was sitting under the eaves.

Hinata, who had been quietly waiting, heard Naraku's call and ran over happily.

"Big brother, you're late!" Her little face scrunched up, looking a bit upset.

"Ah, sorry, sorry. Big brother got caught up training and lost track of time. It's all my fault. Hey, what does Hinata want to eat? Big brother will take you out for something good." Seeing his little sister unhappy, Naraku broke out in a cold sweat and apologized profusely.

"Hmph, I'm not really upset, you know. Big brother works so hard training—how could I be so childish as to blame you?" Seeing the apology on Naraku's face, Hinata suddenly smiled.

"Oh, Hinata, you're getting more and more mature!" Naraku patted her little head with relief.

Then his gaze fell on Naruto, sitting alone on a swing in the schoolyard.

"Naruto, what are you still sitting there for? Come on, I'll treat you to some ramen. Then I'll walk you home."

Originally sitting alone on the swing, feeling down as he watched his classmates being picked up by their parents, Naruto looked up at the sound of the voice.

"Ah, Narak-nii, you're back!"

Seeing Narak, Naruto instantly perked up like he'd been injected with adrenaline, jumping off the swing and sprinting toward him.

"Narak-nii, you're finally back! Seriously, you were gone for a whole month—I missed you so much..."

Naruto burst forward and hugged Narak, complaining to him.

"Haha, alright Naruto. A month gone, and you've grown taller too—looks like you've been eating properly on time!"

Narak knew Naruto's appetite. The living allowance the village gave him each month wasn't nearly enough to cover his meals, so before every trip, Narak would find some excuse to give Naruto extra spending money so he wouldn't go hungry.

At first, Naruto refused to take it no matter what, until Narak said if he didn't accept it, he shouldn't call him "nii" anymore, and Narak would pretend not to know him from then on. Only then did Naruto reluctantly take it.

With Narak's care, Naruto's life finally improved. He no longer went hungry every few days like in the original story.

"Mm-hmm, Narak-nii, how many days will you stay this time? You're not leaving again in a day or two, are you?"

Naruto asked Narak, while little Hinata beside him also looked up at Narak, clearly wanting to know too.

"Don't worry. This time I'll be here at least ten days or half a month—I'll have time to spend with you."

Narak did the math: the Jonin exam was in ten days, and after that he'd have a few days off. This time, he could definitely stay around half a month.

"Yeah, awesome!" Naruto jumped for joy on the spot, and little Hinata's face broke into a smile.

"Come on, I'll take you both to Ichiraku Ramen."

"Osu, let's go!"