"What good would all these Shadow Clones do? Their chakra had already been divided!"
Mitokado Homura thought that going on a mission with an Acting Hokage's Shadow Clone was nothing short of a death sentence.
"Shut up!"
Naruto slapped him.
"Who said you could talk to the Hokage like that?"
"Don't you think there are too few people in Konoha going on missions? Then you can all get out there and do your missions!"
Naruto took all the Konoha elders who'd been mouthing off and dragged them around on missions.
That was the most terrifying part.
Even after creating hundreds of Shadow Clones,
Naruto's chakra still seemed inexhaustible.
Strange.
Could Shadow Clones draw chakra directly from the original body?
Wasn't each clone only given a portion of the chakra when the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique was first used?
Hyuga Hiashi was especially puzzled.
If Naruto had this much chakra, then forget about becoming Hokage—even if he openly declared himself the God of Shinobi the next day, no one would dare oppose him.
Yet wherever they were,
the people accompanying Naruto on missions were all seriously drained of chakra, while Naruto still looked perfectly fine.
It was all thanks to Katsuyu Sage Mode from Shikkotsu Forest.
His clones had been in this powerful state from the moment they were created, and they were still converting nature energy into Senjutsu Chakra.
The truly terrifying part was that each Shadow Clone had also been given a little Nine-Tails Chakra.
Even if they eventually ran out of Senjutsu Chakra to convert and use,
they could simply activate Nine-Tails Chakra Mode again!
Taking each of them on ten missions was easy!
"Naruto's chakra network either doesn't exist, or his body is in some special state. Either way, ninjutsu that would normally damage the chakra network has no effect on him!"
Hyuga Hiashi had kept his Byakugan active the entire time.
He'd realized that Naruto's body was incredibly abnormal. Forget how quickly he healed—even when his chakra network was shattered, it didn't matter. It healed in an instant.
Hashirama Cells, Wood Style, Uzumaki chakra, Nine-Tails Chakra.
The Double Sage Mode combining Mount Myoboku and Shikkotsu Forest.
Together, these conditions made Naruto's Multiple Shadow Clones far more resilient than anyone else's.
Today had taught Konoha's old guard one thing.
The Hokage recommended by both Tsunade and Danzo was terrifyingly powerful—an absolute force to be reckoned with, even at only thirteen years old!
"Ow, Homura, don't ask me to do this again. My old bones nearly fell apart!"
"Naruto sent me to ambush more than ten rogue ninja from enemy villages!"
Utatane Koharu grumbled, rubbing her aching lower back.
If Naruto kept working her like a hawk trainer worked a hawk, she'd soon be joining Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"I admit I was wrong. When it comes to strength, this child is unquestionably worthy of being Hokage."
Mitokado Homura looked at the helpless expressions of the clan leaders.
They all looked like they wanted to speak, but couldn't.
"Everyone, remember to come back tomorrow and take more missions! We still have some chakra left!"
Naruto's Shadow Clones reached out one by one, getting along amicably with the Hokage Advisors, assistants, and Konoha clan leaders.
Not a single person dared utter a word of protest.
A day and a night had passed since Naruto's original body left Konoha.
To personally set in motion an event worthy of going down in the history of the Ninja World,
Naruto had to undo the Dead Demon Consuming Seal before he could act!
Uzu Hidden Village.
A desolate wasteland of ruins.
Only Naruto and the Nine-Tails were there.
"Naruto, what exactly are you planning?"
The Nine-Tails wanted to know what Naruto would do with the complete power of its good side alone.
What did he intend to do to this world?
"Declare war on the Ninja World with the strongest power!"
"My plan is simple, right?"
Naruto's words were perhaps the craziest plan the Nine-Tails had heard in all these years.
Madara Uchiha had been ruthless enough to try to bring every Ninja Village to heel. Naruto, however, intended to launch the Fourth Ninja World War outright.
Konoha would never allow it!
"The stronger someone is, the more wary the world becomes of them. Countless people will oppose you."
The Nine-Tails had seen too many people with grand ambitions.
Even though it had hated quite a few of them,
every last one had ended up alone.
"You're right. They weren't strong enough, and they definitely weren't invincible."
"Madara Uchiha was a perfect example. Hashirama Senju was still around in his era, so his path was doomed from the start."
"I'm different. In this era, I'll be a force far beyond anyone else. The day I declare war on the entire Ninja World, the whole world will tremble!"
Naruto took the mask.
With his extraordinary talent, he immediately understood how to undo the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
"Dead Demon Consuming Seal: Release!"
The Death God appeared and had no choice but to return Hiruzen Sarutobi and Minato Namikaze, who had been sealed away,
along with half of the Nine-Tails' evil chakra and Orochimaru's arms.
Before the evil half of the Nine-Tails could even think, chains shot out of Naruto's body and seized it on the spot.
Naruto crushed the mask used to undo the Dead Demon Consuming Seal in his hand.
"I'm the only one who needs to know how this is done."
Inside Naruto's Sealing Space, the evil and good halves of the Nine-Tails came face-to-face.
Their eyes met. When the evil half saw the good half, all skin and bones after having so much chakra taken from him,
he immediately mocked him. "Looks like that human brat has got you under control. That's a disgrace to the strongest Tailed Beast!"
"You'd better remember what you just said."
The good half envied how his other half was still young and fearless.
"Quiet!"
Naruto cracked his knuckles and appeared before them.
"I'll say this once. I'm becoming a Perfect Jinchuriki today, so you two had better fuse right now!"
As soon as Naruto appeared, the evil half of the Nine-Tails scoffed.
"No one can order me around, foolish human."
"Don't think that just because you released me, you can do whatever you want. Tailed Beasts will never serve humans!"
The evil half of the Nine-Tails looked down at Naruto, reminding the good half of how arrogantly he'd acted before getting beaten up.
"Little fox, you're getting a bit cocky!"
Naruto slammed the evil half of the Nine-Tails with a quintuple Rashomon, leaving him dazed and disoriented.
Then came a Sage Art: Super Large Ball Rasengan!
It left the evil half of the Nine-Tails unable to tell which way was up.
Ten minutes later.
Naruto took a large mass of chakra from the evil half of the Nine-Tails.
"Enough. Fuse already. Don't waste my time."
This time, there was no protest.
As the good and evil halves of the Nine-Tails became one, their former listless state vanished at once.
The Nine-Tails was restored to its peak!
"The real Kurama. Congratulations on coming back!"
Naruto held out his hand, making a fist.
The fully restored Nine-Tails lowered his head.
He asked the question that had always troubled him deep down.
"Naruto, what are Tailed Beasts to you? Vicious beasts, sources of power, or tools?"
The Nine-Tails already knew the answer in his heart. It was what the Sage of Six Paths had told all the Tailed Beasts when he divided them into nine.
"Why don't you ask what I am to you? A Demon Fox, a Jinchuriki, or Konoha's tool?"
The darkness within Naruto grew without limit.
At last, it connected with the Nine-Tails.
Naruto's fist met the Nine-Tails' claw.
One day, someone would accept the Tailed Beasts.
What if that someone wasn't human?
The Nine-Tails' chakra surged into Naruto's body.
"Kurama, let's go!"
Naruto's eyes turned into Demon Eyes, and another cloak appeared over his Chakra Cloak.
Distinct black markings divided Naruto's form into Kurama Mode.
The Perfect Jinchuriki had arrived!
"So, what do we do first?"
The Nine-Tails asked eagerly.
"Go hunting for Akatsuki in Amegakure!"
Naruto had been preparing for this day for a long time.