The King's Shackles and the Hokage's Decision

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt his mind roar, the world spinning as his vision went dark.

He instinctively reached out, trying to brace himself against the desk in front of him.

"Boom—!!!"

A deafening crash!

The massive desk that had accompanied him for decades, crafted from premium Land of Fire hardwood and sturdy enough to serve as cover, collapsed beneath the palm strike he had delivered in shock and horror!

"Crack... crash..."

Wood chips flew everywhere, and documents scattered across the floor.

The entire Hokage's Office was a complete mess.

Hearing the commotion, the ANBU outside instantly burst through the door and anxiously asked, "Third Hokage, what happened?!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at his trembling hand, then at the pile of broken wood on the floor. His mind went completely blank.

After a long while, he finally waved a hand and ordered the ANBU in a hoarse voice, "It's nothing. Everyone, get out! No one is allowed near this place or allowed to ask about anything that happened here today!"

After the ANBU withdrew, he slowly turned around and looked at the equally dumbfounded Kakashi, as well as the ANBU "En," who had remained silent from beginning to end but was clearly suffering from a tremendous shock. An unprecedented light erupted in his eyes—a complex emotion mixed with fear, astonishment, and extreme excitement!

"Kakashi!"

"Here!"

"Immediately classify all information concerning Naruto Uzumaki as the village's highest-level S-rank secret! From today onward, aside from you, me, and En here, a fourth person must never learn that he possesses the Eight Gates and the Byakugan! Any violator will be treated as a traitor to the village!"

The Third Hokage's voice was decisive and beyond question!

Kakashi's expression sharpened, and he nodded heavily. "Yes!"

He understood the gravity of the situation. Once that kind of power was exposed, Naruto would either be seized by every faction through any means necessary, or eliminated as a threat surpassing the Nine-Tails.

After issuing the S-rank secrecy order, the Third Hokage added, "Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura were there too, correct? Bring those two children to me first thing tomorrow morning. I'll speak with them personally. En!"

"Here!"

ANBU En dropped to one knee.

"Return at once and relieve Tobi. Have him come see me as well! I need to confirm whether all intelligence around the training ground has been completely sealed off."

"Yes!"

En's figure vanished in an instant.

Only the Third Hokage and Kakashi remained in the office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi walked to the window and looked at the Third Training Ground in the distance, now ruined beyond recognition. He was silent for a long time before slowly speaking, his voice carrying a trace of confusion. "Kakashi, I still don't understand... Since he possessed the power to crush you, why go out of his way to destroy the bells? He could have passed the test alone."

Kakashi's dead-fish eyes were unusually bright at that moment.

Remembering Naruto's arrogant yet responsible declaration, he shook his head with a bitter smile.

"Third Hokage, I didn't understand at first either. But now I do."

Kakashi's tone carried an unprecedented solemnity. "Although he completely destroyed the format of the bell test, at the moment he crushed those bells, I saw something even more important than 'teamwork.'"

He paused, as if organizing his thoughts. "He had the absolute strength to pass the test alone, but he chose to bring the other two with him. He even destroyed the bells rather than allow a single teammate to be eliminated. That isn't teamwork. That is... that is the resolve of a team leader."

"He wasn't cooperating with his teammates. He was protecting them. With his strength, he was fully qualified to do so."

"The resolve of a leader..." Hiruzen Sarutobi murmured. A trace of reminiscence flashed through his clouded eyes. "That protective nature... it really is like Minato."

His aged heart was pounding wildly, like a war drum!

It was over... it was over... Hidden Leaf's sky was about to change!

What Minato's backup plan? What Nine-Tails Demon Fox? All bullshit!

Naruto Uzumaki was no creature meant to remain trapped in a pond!

He was a true dragon, one that was about to break free from every shackle and soar through the nine heavens...!

Meanwhile.

As the culprit who had turned the Hokage's Office upside down, Naruto Uzumaki was currently humming a tune as he strolled leisurely down Hidden Leaf's shopping street.

Being high-profile was the nature of a king.

Rather than wait passively, it was better to flex his muscles first and make everyone harboring ill intentions weigh their options.

"Those two brats from Team 7 have finally been trained up properly."

Naruto rubbed his chin in satisfaction. The revolutionary cause had begun to show results. It was time to check on the progress of his other side quests.

"System, open my harem... ahem, affection panel."

[Ding! Affection panel expanded—]

[Hinata Hyuga: 85 (utterly devoted, she will marry no one but you)]

[Sakura Haruno: 45 (admiring and infatuated, initially tamed)]

[Tenten: 40 (her heart has begun to stir, rumor bonus)]

[Ding! The host's display of divine might at the Third Training Ground today, crushing elite jōnin Kakashi Hatake, has spread among some genin and Chūnin. After hearing of it indirectly, Tenten's admiration for the host has increased by 10 points.]

"Oh? The gossip reached me too, huh."

Naruto grinned.

Just then—

"Ugh!"

A sudden wave of weakness surged through his limbs and bones. Naruto's vision went dark, and he nearly crashed face-first onto the ground.

He hurriedly grabbed the wall beside him. It felt as though his body had been emptied in an instant, the seemingly endless strength within him receding like the tide.

Immediately afterward, a scorching pain rose from the meridians throughout his body, as though countless red-hot steel needles were moving through his blood vessels.

"Strange... It suddenly feels like my body's been drained dry. The sense of power from the Sage Body is fading rapidly..." Naruto's heart skipped a beat.

[Ding! An abnormality has been detected in the host's physical data. The Sage Body's overloaded operation has ended, and the host has entered the "Blood-Reflux State."]

[System announcement: A list of current ability usage restrictions has been generated—]

[1. Sage Body maximum burst: Maximum duration is 30 minutes. After exceeding that limit, the host will enter a 12-hour "Blood-Reflux period," during which physical stamina and chakra recovery speed will drop to the level of an ordinary genin.]

[2. Eight Gates (Sage Body Enhanced Version): The side effect has been converted from "physical damage" to "delayed meridian burning." After opening three gates simultaneously, a six-hour cooldown is required. During that time, the meridians will experience persistent burning pain, while ninjutsu accuracy and chakra control will be greatly reduced. Forcibly opening the gates again will cause permanent meridian damage. Note: The side effects of opening four gates or more cannot be fully converted even by the Sage Body, resulting in immediate irreversible damage.]

[3. Pure Byakugan: Chakra consumption is extremely high. Given the host's current total chakra reserves, the maximum continuous usage time is 10 minutes. Note: While using the Byakugan, the Eight Gates cannot be maintained simultaneously. The two systems compete for chakra and are therefore mutually exclusive. Both could be used in this battle only because the battle was extremely brief and had not yet reached the incompatibility threshold.]

[4. Rasengan: Each use consumes a massive amount of chakra. It can be used no more than three times consecutively within a short period.]

The string of system notifications instantly made Naruto understand his current condition.

So that was it. It wasn't free of cost—he was simply paying later.

"So that overwhelming power from earlier had a time limit and side effects..." Naruto leaned against the wall and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air. Rather than looking dejected, a knowing smile curved across his face. "That makes sense. If there really were no limits at all, that would be far too boring."

Just as he was processing this information, the system issued another warning.

[Ding! Additional explanation: The S-rank ninjutsu "Rasengan" was a one-time special event reward. The trigger condition was: for the first time, causing someone with S-rank strength or higher to suffer a complete psychological collapse through non-combat means. Such rewards cannot be triggered repeatedly under the same conditions.]

[Warning! Warning!]

[The strategy mission "Weapon Girl · Tenten" has been detected as overdue and unaccepted. The mission is about to enter decay mode. In decay mode, the target's affection will automatically decrease by 5 points every 72 hours until the mission is accepted or affection reaches zero. Accept immediately?]

"Damn, that's a thing too?"

Naruto broke out in a cold sweat. He had nearly left the Tenten route unattended until it completely fell apart.

Without hesitation, he silently said in his heart.

"Accept immediately!"

[Mission accepted: Pursue "Weapon Girl" Tenten]

[First-stage objective: Establish effective initial communication with Tenten and receive a weapon gift from her.]

[Mission reward: Rewards vary according to completion.]

After handling everything, Naruto shook his slightly weak legs and straightened back up.

Although he had entered a weakened period, his eyes only became brighter.

Limits created challenges.

Challenges made conquest enjoyable.

His gaze swept toward the street corner, where that familiar sign was still hanging—[Yamanaka Flower Shop].

"Perfect. I'll go see my little darling Hinata, and while I'm at it... meet that blonde little delinquent girl."

Pursuing one girl was pursuing a girl. Pursuing a group was still pursuing girls.

I, Naruto Uzumaki, believe in spreading the love evenly and treating everyone fairly!

With that thought, a mischievous smile appeared on Naruto's lips. Ignoring his physical exhaustion, he stepped forward and headed straight for the alley leading to the flower shop.