The pirate company surged forward in a mighty column.
Among them, several members of Akatsuki followed along with sour looks. It wasn't only because they'd been defeated—it was the pirates' attitude. These people clearly didn't put them in their eyes at all. They were prisoners of war, yet were being given nearly complete freedom.
"Hmph." Kakuzu snorted, voice low. "Kisame, cut the nonsense. Even if I told you to run now—would you dare?"
Kisame's mouth twitched. "I wouldn't."
They had already tasted how terrifying Naruto was. They'd fled so far, and he had still caught up in a blink. Even if they tried to bolt now, they'd be dragged back within a few hundred meters.
"Nagato…" Sasori glanced over, skeptical. "Are you really 'Zero'? Sure, you know everything about Akatsuki—but if you're truly the one behind the Tendo Pain, why would you help Uzumaki Naruto?!"
At Sasori's words, the others looked over as well, suspicion plain on their faces.
This guy showed up out of nowhere claiming to be the 'Zero' who commanded Tendo Pain and rattled off secrets only they should know. But it was hard to believe that the cold, distant Tendo Pain would bend the knee to someone else.
Nagato smiled and laid out the world-government system Naruto had described. After turning it over for some time, he'd only grown more convinced: the framework could work. It was a grand design that could truly create peace.
The one indispensable element was overwhelming power—enough to flatten the Five Great Nations.
After Nagato finished, the others looked half-convinced at best. Kakuzu muttered, "Sounds decent, but reaching that point isn't done by big talk. You're making enemies of the entire shinobi world."
The Five Great Nations were the strong pillars of the shinobi world. On ordinary days none of them would bow to another, and that pride had sparked multiple shinobi wars. Now some 'world government' suddenly pops up—there's no way those haughty powers would just agree.
"That's exactly why Uzumaki Naruto came to us!" Nagato said, excited. "With Akatsuki's combat power plus Uzumaki Naruto's strength, defeating the Five Great Nations isn't impossible."
"Interesting…" Kisame replied lazily, then turned to Itachi. "Itachi-san, what do you think?"
Itachi had been speaking softly with Shisui; at that, he glanced over, expression complex. "If he can truly defeat the Five Great Nations, then he would be the second Rikudō Sennin (Sage of Six Paths). Peace may indeed be within reach."
Kisame's heart gave a jolt. He hadn't expected such a lofty evaluation from Itachi.
But that wasn't the future he wanted. What he sought was Tsuki no Me Keikaku (Eye of the Moon Plan) of Uchiha Madara. In the world of the Moon's Eye, there would be no more lies…
"Amusing." Sasori guided the Third Kazekage human puppet forward, voice rich with interest. "To pit two organizations against the Five Great Nations—what an arrogant fellow. If he's killed, I won't mind making him into a human puppet. Now that would be the ultimate art…"
"Quit yapping!" Hidan snapped, face full of irritation. "Kakuzu, Sasori, Kisame, Itachi—you bastards, why didn't a single one of you come save me earlier?"
He pointed to the purplish bruises on his body, gritting his teeth. "I almost got beaten to death, okay?"
When the pirates were swarming him, it was the first time he'd ever hated his own immortality. From the opening bell to the end, he'd been punted around like a ball. Immortal or not, he'd nearly been pounded into paste.
Silence fell over Akatsuki.
"…"
"Uzumaki Naruto is actually—Menma!!!"
Konoha—Hokage's Office.
Jiraiya stood before Hiruzen's desk, eyes blood-red. "That brat destroyed all of Mount Myōboku. So many toads… they were my friends…"
Thinking of what had just happened, Jiraiya almost broke. He had just returned to Mount Myōboku with Gamabunta when Bunta's body suddenly lifted into the air, as if he had become the core of a miniature planet. A brutal gravitational pull tore Mount Myōboku apart; earth and stone ripped free and rose skyward, forming a colossal meteor above the sacred mountain. The pull kept expanding, dragging many toads up with it.
Even though, thanks to his rescue, Gamabunta finally spat out that black sphere, the Kuchiyose (Summoning) realm of Mount Myōboku was still devastated. At least seventy to eighty percent of the toads died.
The more he thought about it, the more it hurt; Jiraiya nearly stormed out to fight Naruto to the death.
But in the office, no one had the bandwidth for his grief. Eyes widened all around as elite shinobi blurted out in disbelief:
"Uzumaki Naruto? Which Uzumaki Naruto?"
"Don't tell me—the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki (Tailed Beast Host)?"
"That fox-brat?"
"Jiraiya-sama, are you sure you didn't mix things up? That Uzumaki Naruto is only a few years old this year!"
"Yeah—hasn't he been in Konoha the whole time?"
The usually solemn Hokage's office boiled over like a kicked anthill, voices crashing on top of one another. You couldn't blame them. The revealed identity was too absurd.
On one side: an S-class missing-nin with world-ending power and an army of monsters at his beck and call.
On the other: the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki, despised by many in Konoha, a kid with no strength to tie a chicken.
There shouldn't have been any connection whatsoever.
"Silence!" Hiruzen cut through the clamor, teeth clenched. "Jiraiya—you said Uzumaki Naruto is Menma!?"
Jiraiya came back to himself and nodded with difficulty. "Yes. Tsunade told me with her dying breath. I confirmed it. And he admitted it himself. There's no mistake."
"Impossible…" Hiruzen's pupils dilated. "How could he be that strong?"
Hiruzen trusted his disciple; he didn't doubt the report. But it was too outrageous. Even a prodigy like Itachi, at Naruto's age, had only just graduated as a fresh genin.
"I don't know!" Jiraiya shook his head, then looked at Hiruzen with bared grief and anger. "Sensei, you're the Hokage—and you knew Naruto's parentage. You didn't notice anything at all?!"
(End of Chapter)
[Get +20 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 500 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]