Experience Pain, Third Hokage (Combined Chapter)

Naruto looked at the three people kneeling on one knee and nodded in satisfaction.

Outwardly, he appeared calm and indifferent, but inside, he was overjoyed.

Although that old bastard Danzo was rotten to the core, his eye for picking people was fucking sharp.

Looking across all of Konoha, finding three tools this capable, this enduring, and this obedient was truly one of a kind!

If that old bastard Third Hokage had even half of Danzo's eye for choosing expendable agents, Konoha would not have fallen to this state.

He chose Minato, who died young.

He chose Orochimaru, who went dark and flipped the table outright.

The difference was obvious.

Naruto was ruthless enough to mock even his own father, but it was also the truth. His father had been far too kind, but this was the ninja world!

At that moment, the three slowly removed their masks.

The leader revealed the distinctive sunglasses of the Aburame Clan. He was Torune Aburame.

He raised his head, his voice hoarse as sandpaper. "We were blind before, following Danzo. We watched with our own eyes as Fū was used as a human shield and stabbed through the heart. He did not even blink."

"I only have one question." His fists clenched until they turned white. "If we follow you, will we become a second Root?"

Naruto smiled.

Sunlight streamed through the shattered window onto his face, illuminating one half while leaving the other in shadow.

"You are wrong."

"Root will never exist again!"

"It will be Heaven."

"The Heaven Organization that dares to make the sun and moon usher in a new age."

He stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over the three. "You can leave now. Take off your Root uniforms, return to your clans, and live the lives you want. I will not chase you, kill you, or even hold a grudge."

"Or stay and follow me."

"I will not send you to die, make you human shields, or deny you even the right to have a name."

"I will give you weapons, give you goals, and give you a future worth risking your lives for."

The moment he finished speaking, dense footsteps echoed from the end of the corridor.

More than twenty Root members dressed in black uniforms rushed in, every kunai in their hands aimed at Naruto.

But when they saw Danzo's severed corpse on the ground, Fū's cold body, and their three strongest comrades kneeling before Naruto, every one of them froze.

A deathly silence fell.

Some tightened their grips on their kunai, some trembled all over, and some looked at their companions with confusion and fear in their eyes.

The god they had served all their lives was dead.

The faith they had fought for all their lives had shattered.

Naruto said nothing. He merely watched them quietly, waiting for their choice.

Those who knelt too quickly would betray just as quickly.

If there was no hesitation, no struggle, no doubt about the past or confusion about the future, then such people were either fools or spies.

For dogs like that, Naruto had only one answer: death.

Ten seconds.

Twenty seconds.

Thirty seconds.

...Ten minutes!

Those brief ten minutes were a struggle unlike anything they had experienced in their entire lives.

The struggle ended...

The Root member at the very front slowly lowered his kunai and knelt on one knee.

Then came the second.

The third.

In the end, more than twenty people had all knelt on the ground.

Not one of them chose to leave.

The corner of Naruto's mouth curled into an imperceptible smile.

Good. These were the people he wanted.

He walked to Danzo's corpse, crouched down, and cleanly dug out his right eye with his fingers.

Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan.

"System, recycle it."

[Ding... The host has killed Danzo Shimura and wiped out half of Root's members. The requirements for darkening have been met. Obtained 12,300 Darkness Value!]

[Darkness Value balance: 22,300 points!]

[Recycled Mangekyō Sharingan. Obtained 1,000 Darkness Value!]

[Darkness Value balance: 23,300 points!]

Naruto smacked his lips and cursed inwardly.

Fucking black-hearted.

Kotoamatsukami sold for three thousand in the system store, yet recycling it only gave him one thousand.

Even capitalists would have to kneel before the system and call it their patriarch.

"Forget it, it is useless to keep it anyway. Annihilating Cheda is ten thousand times more useful than Kotoamatsukami." Naruto shook his head.

Just then.

A cold, slick malicious intent licked across the back of his neck like a snake's tongue.

Naruto's gaze sharpened. Kagura Mind's Eye instantly opened to its fullest, while Sage Mode's sensory abilities were pushed to their limits!

The chakra flow throughout all of Konoha appeared clearly in his mind.

At the Chunin Ninja Exams arena, that persistent, shameless snake—Orochimaru!

Even from so far away, he was still spying on him. Not bad.

Naruto casually waved his hand, and a black robe embroidered with flame patterns appeared out of thin air and draped over him. He pulled down the hood, concealing his face.

"Torune."

"Your subordinate is here."

"Take everyone and immediately empty out the Root base. Weapons, intelligence, supplies, funds—leave nothing behind. Transfer everything to the Land of Waves."

"Find Zabuza Momochi and Haku. Tell them the boss has changed."

"Yes!"

Naruto paused, then spoke in a deep, powerful voice that spread through the entire corridor.

"I know every one of your pasts."

"Since childhood, you have had your names taken away, your families taken away, and your emotions taken away. You were taught that the sole meaning of life was carrying out missions and dying for Root."

"You have seen too many comrades die like trash, without even a gravestone."

"You thought that was your fate."

"But I am telling you, it is not."

"Follow me, and I will end all of this."

"I will unify the Ninja World."

"I will shatter the walls around every village and let the will of mankind illuminate every corner."

"From this day onward, no child will ever grow up in darkness like you did."

"No ninja who sells their life will die in vain for some so-called village."

"Your lives belong to you."

"Your glory will be earned with your own hands."

All the Root members suddenly raised their heads. Behind Naruto was a light they had never seen before.

They had lived for twenty or thirty years, and for the first time, someone had told them they were not tools.

For the first time, someone had given them a true ideal.

More powerful than any ninjutsu was always the human heart.

More unshakable than any force was always faith.

"We shall obey your command, my lord!"

Their voices shook the corridor, carrying the resolve of those who had burned their bridges.

Naruto nodded.

At his feet, the Flying Thunder God mark quietly lit up.

The next second.

The Chunin Ninja Exams arena.

It was hell—corpses everywhere, blood everywhere.

The allied forces of the Sound Ninja and Sand Ninja were frantically slaughtering Konoha's ninja and civilians.

And at the very center of the battlefield.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had already reached the brink of death.

His chakra had long since been exhausted, and his aged face was covered in wrinkles and sweat.

His hands came together.

"Orochimaru, though I may die today, I am still the Third Hokage. Dead Demon Consuming Seal!"

A cold, sinister wind rose from nowhere, and the sky darkened.

A ferocious Death God in a white kimono slowly emerged from the void.

It held a scythe in one hand, while its other hand was already about to seize the Third Hokage's soul.

Orochimaru stood opposite him, laughing with utter madness.

"Teacher Sarutobi! You finally decided to use this technique?"

"What a pity, it is too late!"

"You are old! Your soul is too weak! You cannot pull me away at all!"

Just then, a black figure rushed out of the shadows like a ghost.

The short blade in his hand stabbed straight toward Orochimaru's heart from behind!

"Who is it?!"

Without even turning around, Orochimaru reached back and grabbed him.

He precisely seized the intruder by the throat. When he saw that golden hair and blue eyes, his smile became even brighter.

"Oh? Is this not our Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Naruto-kun?"

He held Naruto by the throat and lifted him into the air before turning toward the Third Hokage.

"Teacher Sarutobi, look what I caught?"

"Immediately release the Dead Demon Consuming Seal."

"Otherwise, I will crush his throat."

"I will let Konoha's final hope die before your eyes."

The Third Hokage's body trembled sharply. He looked at Naruto, whose neck was being squeezed and whose face had turned red, then at the Death God's hand drawing ever closer.

One second.

Two seconds.

He slowly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, only cold resolve remained in them.

"Minato, I am sorry."

"Everything is for Konoha."

The moment he spoke.

Without the slightest hesitation, he activated the last of his chakra.

The Death God's hand suddenly shot forward!

In the shadows, Black-Robed Naruto stood quietly. At that moment, his heart went completely cold.

So that is how it really is. How laughable! Then... you cannot blame me for what comes next!

Just moments ago, he had even been prepared: as long as the Third Hokage showed even a trace of hesitation, as long as he revealed the slightest reluctance, he would immediately activate Annihilating Cheda and sever the karma between the Death God and the Third Hokage.

Even if the price was being unable to use the Mangekyō Sharingan for a month, even if it exposed his trump card, he would have accepted it.

After all, this was the old man who had once given him a bowl of ramen.

After all, this was his father's teacher.

But now... every illusion had shattered, shattered completely.

"Hiruzen Sarutobi! You truly are cut from the same cloth as Danzo! Your so-called devotion to Konoha is nothing more than devotion to your own Hokage position, nothing more than protecting your own eternal reputation!"

"Naruto can be sacrificed, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki can be sacrificed, and anyone who threatens your status can be sacrificed."

"Even the Hokage successor you chose yourself... can be sacrificed! How ironic!"

"In that case, let me show you what it feels like to lose what you treasure most!"

"Experience pain, Hiruzen Sarutobi."

Beneath the black robe, a crimson six-pointed Mangekyō Sharingan suddenly lit up.

Flying Thunder God Second Stage!

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Two flashes of golden light erupted simultaneously.

Everyone merely felt their vision blur.

The next second.

Asuma, who had been fiercely fighting the Sound Ninja Four, and Konohamaru, who had been crying while holding Iruka in the stands, vanished from where they stood at the same time.

Then.

Like two dead dogs, they were viciously hurled toward Orochimaru, who was trying to break free from the Death God, landing right beneath the Death God's scythe.

Time.

Seemed to freeze...

The resolve on the Third's face instantly froze.

He looked at his son and grandson, who had suddenly appeared in the middle of the battlefield; at Asuma's bewildered face; at Konohamaru, crying his lungs out in terror.

His mind went completely blank!

"NO—!!!"

A heart-rending scream rang through the entire arena.

He desperately tried to rush over.

But the Death God's hand had already seized his soul in an iron grip.

He could not move. Not even a little.

Once the Dead Demon Consuming Seal had been activated, it could never be withdrawn. The Death God would reap every soul before it.

Regardless of friend or foe, young or old.

"Asuma! Konohamaru! Run!!"

He screamed with every ounce of strength he had, coughing up blood.

"Someone save them! Someone save my son! My grandson!!"

He turned to look at the Jonin around him.

Kakashi was tied up, Might Guy was being held back, and Kurenai had fallen into a genjutsu.

Everyone capable of fighting had an opponent of their own.

Not one person could spare a hand. Not one person could save them.

Utter despair swallowed him whole like an icy sea.

He could abandon Naruto without hesitation, because Naruto was the Nine-Tails, a tool, a threat.

But Asuma was his son. Konohamaru was his only grandson, the most precious people in the world to him, the ones he would protect even at the cost of his life.

"Black-Robed Naruto! I'll kill you!!"

The Third's eyes nearly split with rage as he cursed madly. "You monster! If you've got the guts, come at me! Let them go!!"

Black-Robed Naruto slowly stepped out of the shadows, his voice terrifyingly calm.

"Come at you?"

"When you abandoned the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki just now, why didn't you say that?"

"He was someone else's son too."

"He was also someone another person would protect with their life."

"You could sacrifice him for your Konoha, so why can't you sacrifice your own family?"

"Hiruzen Sarutobi, is that fair?"

"I have one more thing to say to you! A family should be together, whole and complete!"

The Third's entire body shook violently. He spat out a mouthful of blood, opened his mouth, yet could not say a single word.

Orochimaru stared at the dramatic scene before him, stunned at first.

Then—

He burst into even crazier laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!"

He released the Naruto clone in his hand. With a bang, the figure turned into a wisp of white smoke and vanished.

Both the Third and Orochimaru were stunned by this. "Hm? A clone?"

But when Orochimaru looked at the Third, whose soul had been seized by the Death God and who had completely collapsed, delight immediately flooded his heart once more!

His tongue licked his lips. "This is getting more and more interesting."

The Death God's scythe slowly rose, its cold blade reflecting the Third's despairing face.

The entire battlefield fell silent, every gaze focused here.

In an instant... the scythe fell!