Naruto had originally wanted to drag things out a little longer and wear the old Third Hokage down, but he hadn't expected the old man to be so resolute, going straight for the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
Although it couldn't threaten Naruto's life, he still didn't want to experience it firsthand.
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
Danzo led the Root members straight to the Uchiha Clan compound.
The two sides immediately faced off.
"Danzo, what are you doing here in the middle of the night?"
The Great Elder of the Uchiha Clan stood at the very front.
"Hmph. Don't play dumb. The Sharingan in the Nine-Tails' eyes says it all."
Danzo snorted coldly. He had never cared to explain himself. As far as he was concerned, whether they were Uchiha or not didn't matter.
"We didn't do it."
The Great Elder denied it with righteous indignation.
Besides, he really hadn't done it.
Back with Naruto.
Seeing that the Third Hokage had already begun forming Hand Seals,
Naruto stopped wasting time.
The Nine-Tails' body began to change.
It rapidly shrank, eventually transforming into the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
When the Third Hokage saw the golden child standing before him,
his fingers stopped forming Hand Seals.
"Naruto, you're not dead?"
Shock filled the Third Hokage's eyes.
"Sorry, Grandpa Third. Two Uchiha did this. One of them has a Mangekyō Sharingan."
Naruto explained. None of this had been part of his original plan.
But when it happened, he hadn't thought about stopping it. Instead, he'd wanted to replace the Hokage.
The Third Hokage had treated him fairly well, but he still couldn't compare to Tsunade.
"I see..."
As an old politician, the Third Hokage wasn't a fool. He'd realized that this Uzumaki Naruto wasn't as simple as he seemed.
But by then, he no longer had time to say anything.
His chakra had already been depleted, and he had summoned the Death God's phantom.
This jutsu took the caster's soul as its price. Once it was performed, the caster was doomed to die.
The Death God reaped the Third Hokage's soul and swallowed it.
When the smoke cleared, Naruto stood there, gleaming with golden light.
The barrier came down, and Anbu surrounded Naruto at once.
The two elders came forward from behind.
They looked sorrowfully at the Third Hokage on the ground,
then warily at Uzumaki Naruto, still standing there.
At that moment, Naruto's presence put as much pressure on them as the Nine-Tails had.
"Uzumaki Naruto, what happened?"
Elder Koharu demanded sternly.
"Grandpa Third sealed the Nine-Tails and badly damaged its soul. That let me take control of some of its chakra. This is the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode."
Naruto wore a sorrowful expression.
Whether they believed his explanation didn't matter.
The Nine-Tails was Konoha's strategic asset. Belief or not, they couldn't afford to lose it.
Especially with Naruto's strength now.
"Your story isn't credible. I'm afraid we'll have to ask you to stay in prison for a while."
Mitokado Homura narrowed his eyes, clearly unconvinced.
The people Naruto had under his control began to stir.
They wanted to support Naruto as the Fifth Hokage.
At the same time, Naruto wondered whether he should get rid of these two old men as well.
There had been no such thing as elders before the Third Hokage. They had been established by him to control Konoha.
But Tsunade wouldn't need them. As for becoming Hokage himself, Naruto had never considered it. It was all effort and no reward.
"Uzumaki Naruto, what are you planning?" The two elders were old hands. The moment Naruto narrowed his eyes, they sensed his killing intent.
And they weren't fools. The pressure Naruto gave off just by standing there was more than ordinary shinobi could bear.
"Grandpa Third left an order: Tsunade is to succeed him as the Fifth Hokage."
In the end, Naruto let out a sigh of relief.
Given Konoha's current situation, if he really wiped these people out, the village would descend into chaos in an instant.
The two elders exchanged glances and silently shook their heads.
They had both clearly felt Naruto's killing intent just now.
At the same time, they realized something: the Jinchūriki was out of control.
Though they said nothing to each other, they reached an unspoken understanding.
Naruto withdrew the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
The Anbu also withdrew, and many of them sighed in disappointment.
If Naruto had attacked just now, half of them would have chosen to support him.
Kakashi and the others came over.
"Elders, what should we do now?"
"First..."
Just as the two elders were about to give an order,
a rumbling battle broke out elsewhere, drawing everyone's attention.
"What's going on?"
"Reporting to the elders, Elder Danzo has clashed with the Uchiha Clan."
An Anbu member hurriedly explained.
Everyone frowned.
No one was a fool. They'd all clearly seen the Three-Tomoe in the Nine-Tails' eyes that night.
"I was kidnapped by two members of the Uchiha Clan. One of them was called Shui Uchiha."
Everyone looked at Naruto as he explained.
"Damn the Uchiha Clan!"
Everyone couldn't help cursing when they heard that.
Because of the Uchiha Clan, the Third Hokage had died, and Konoha had been left weakened.
A flash of killing intent passed through the two elders' eyes.
Then they suddenly turned to Naruto.
"Kakashi, lead the Anbu and go help Elder Danzo."
The two elders had originally wanted to take Naruto along too, but the mention of the Sharingan made them wary.
Kakashi didn't object. In fact, he was also seething with anger.
He led a group of jōnin toward the Uchiha Clan compound.
"Uzumaki Naruto, go home for now."
The elders had plenty of other thoughts, but for now, that was all they could do.
"Please make sure Lady Tsunade returns to the village as soon as possible."
As Naruto was leaving, he couldn't help reminding them.
The two elders weren't fools. They understood what Naruto meant.
They also ordered that the news be kept under wraps.
Then they urgently sent word to Jiraiya.
Naruto returned to his home.
"They brought this on themselves."
Feeling the battle raging near the Uchiha Clan compound,
Naruto snorted coldly.
Trying to use him was asking for death.
Even if the Uchiha Clan had two pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan now, they still couldn't defeat Konoha.
And Danzo had undoubtedly prepared countless contingencies to deal with the Uchiha Clan.
Naruto returned to his home.
More people were assigned to guard him.
Naruto didn't care in the slightest.
They were all his people.
Just then, a jōnin came to see Naruto.
"Your Highness, why not become Hokage yourself?"
"Fool. I'm too young for that. Also, tell the others to collect any Three-Tomoe Sharingan or Mangekyō Sharingan they find."
Naruto snorted.
"Yes, Your Highness. Leave it to me."
The man nodded at once.
In truth, Naruto didn't need to tell them. They already knew what he liked.
Naruto slept peacefully.
The next day, the atmosphere in the village became unusually strange.
The villagers felt as if they were in a dream.
The truth about the Nine-Tails was suppressed. Naruto and the Third Hokage had fought inside a barrier, and ordinary villagers had only heard roars and felt the terrifying pressure.
The Hokage building's public explanation was that the Uchiha Clan had rebelled.
As for Naruto and the Nine-Tails, all information about them was completely suppressed.
Jiraiya also returned to the village.
He had been summoned back using the Reverse Summoning Technique.
In Naruto's room, just after he'd finished eating, a shinobi came in.
"How did it go?"
"Ten Uchiha were killed, and twenty were captured."
"Among them were the Uchiha Clan's Great Elder, Fugaku Uchiha, and Shui Uchiha. They were killed. The others are being held under guard."
Naruto frowned as he listened to the report.
"Fuyue Uchiha really died?"
Naruto was a little doubtful. Could it have been a fake death?
The others might not know about the Sharingan's forbidden techniques, but this guy should have.
Before you continue