In an instant, the Rasenshuriken came crashing down.
There was no suspense, nor any glimmer of hope.
It happened before Jiraiya and the others could even believe their eyes.
Boom—
A world-shaking explosion erupted among Sarutobi Akiyama and the others, like a dazzling sphere of light. The force of the wind within it intertwined and raged, slicing through their bodies with no chance of escape.
At the same time, the violent shockwaves surged outward in every direction.
Wherever they passed, houses trembled and the ground split apart.
Everyone in Konoha turned to look.
Shikamaru, who was elsewhere in the village, saw what had happened and tensed at once. "What's going on? What happened over there?!"
Several figures stood beside him. They were none other than Sakura and the other members of the Konoha 12.
They had come especially to catch up with Naruto after hearing he had returned.
But they hadn't even seen Naruto yet, and a terrifying explosion had already rocked Konoha!
A sense of unease stirred in Sakura's heart. "We should go over there and take a look first!"
The others nodded grimly and then vanished, heading for the explosion.
The rest of Konoha's people rushed toward it as well.
Meanwhile, Jiraiya and the others at the scene could only stop and raise their arms, struggling to fend off the shockwaves.
A moment later, the suffocating explosion gradually subsided.
[Wind Release: Rasenshuriken killed Sarutobi Akiyama, Okada Gencho..., Villain Points +169] [Villain Points: 344]
"Absolutely wonderful!" Naruto looked at the panel and couldn't help beaming.
All it took was grabbing a bowl of ramen to earn so many Villain Points.
Who wouldn't be thrilled by a deal like that?
And he'd even sent all these people on to the Western Pure Land for free. He was practically a living Buddha...
Before Naruto could collect himself,
whoosh—
Jiraiya flashed to Naruto's side, arriving a step ahead of everyone else. His eyes widened as he stared at the devastated ground, where not even the bodies of those people had been left behind.
His face turned deathly pale. He seized Naruto by the shoulders and roared at the top of his lungs, "Naruto, do you have any idea what you've done?! Naruto!"
And yet,
Naruto still wore a faint smile. His eyes gleamed. "Pervy Sage, they insulted me and brought back painful memories. It's not that unreasonable to let them try a Rasenshuriken, is it?!"
"You... you..." Jiraiya trembled like a leaf in the wind, struck dumb with shock.
After all, Naruto was the Child of Prophecy he had gradually come to believe in!
And now he had done something so utterly outrageous!
Tsunade and the others had arrived at Naruto's side by then, too.
The people with her were all pillars of Konoha, elite jonin among the village's best.
Among them were Kakashi and Might Guy.
But now, their eyes all contracted sharply as they stared in disbelief at the carnage before them and Naruto's calm expression.
On the way, Tsunade had already given them a general description of Naruto's appearance.
So they could accept the fact that he looked completely different.
They could also understand how he had mastered a large-scale ninjutsu with such terrifying power.
But for him to slaughter dozens of Konoha's people as soon as he returned was truly horrifying!
Tsunade despised people who attacked others with words, but she could not accept a massacre this utterly inhumane!
This was one of the most terrifying events in Konoha's entire history!
More importantly, most of the dead were civilians!
At the thought, anger surged through Tsunade.
She shoved Jiraiya aside in a fury, then grabbed Naruto by the collar and rebuked him harshly.
"Naruto, what kind of crooked path have you been training on these past three years? How did you become so savage? Didn't you swear you'd become Hokage?! Why would you do something so inhumane?!"
As she spoke, Tsunade's heart twisted with anguish.
She had always seen Naruto as Nawaki's reincarnation. That was why she had resolutely returned to take up the post of Hokage!
But now Naruto had killed so many people right in front of everyone. How could she possibly protect him?
Even though Naruto was a Jinchuriki and wouldn't be executed, he would still be shackled and imprisoned in endless darkness for the rest of his life!
"Granny Tsunade..." Naruto's lips curled up. He pointed at the remains on the ground and gave her a teasing smile. "I told you, they insulted me, so I killed them!"
Before Tsunade could respond,
Kakashi, the jonin instructor of Team 7, could no longer hold back. He stepped forward at once, his voice urgent. "Naruto, stop talking nonsense! Lady Tsunade, there must be some misunderstanding!"
He strode up to them, trying to separate the two.
Naruto glanced up, a hint of surprise in his eyes.
Kakashi was actually stepping in to defend him?!
But in the next instant, Naruto understood.
After all, Kakashi had arrived late to the battle at the Valley of the End three years ago and failed to stop his students from killing each other.
Now he was the only one left from Team Minato.
Kakashi must not have wanted to see Team Minato's tragedy repeat itself, which was why he had immediately stood up for him...
At that thought, Naruto gave a slight nod.
Kakashi was a good guy. If the chance ever came, he'd pluck Obito's eye out and give it to him...
Obito: I...
"Tsunade, let's take him to the Hokage Building first and decide what to do afterward," Jiraiya said, his expression dejected.
Tsunade forced down her anger. To prevent the situation from escalating, she nodded as well. "All right."
She was about to lead Naruto toward the Hokage Building.
Kakashi and the other elite jonin surrounded them on all sides, guarding against any further trouble.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned.
The civilians who hadn't watched from up close and had been lucky enough to escape the blast now surged toward them like a tide.
Then they all shouted accusations, their faces furious and spittle flying.
"Lord Hokage, the Demon Fox has gone mad! Hurry and execute him!"
"Exactly! He slaughtered so many of our fellow villagers. There's no way he can escape death!"
"If you don't put him to death on the spot right now, we'll go to the Land of Fire Daimyo Palace and impeach you!"
For a moment, the crowd was in an uproar, impossible to control.
At the same time, more and more shinobi came rushing from the distance.
Tsunade and the others' expressions grew grim.
The worst-case scenario had come to pass. The situation was completely out of control...
Yet, in stark contrast to their expressions,
Naruto's eyes gleamed with excitement, and he grinned.
Another wave of juicy experience piñatas!
Just as Tsunade was about to have Anbu forcibly disperse the civilians, the three old men in positions of great influence finally showed up.
At that moment, in the distance,
clop, clop—
Shimura Danzō trudged through the crowd, leaning on his cane like an old ox nearing the end of its days. The two other advisers followed close behind as he shuffled over to the group.
At the same time, the shrill sound of air being torn open suddenly rang out all around them.
In the next instant,
whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
Hundreds of Root shinobi suddenly appeared, surrounding the entire scene and leaving not a single gap!
That's right. When Danzō heard at his base that Naruto had killed Konoha's civilians, he had been so excited he'd nearly gone mad.
At last, no one could stop him from taking control of a Jinchuriki who had acted like this!
So Root had come out in full force!
They were determined to seize the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Naruto!
"Tsunade, the Jinchuriki has already gone out of control. Hand him over to me."
So many experience piñatas... I'm going to have a blast!
Before you continue