Tobirama turned and looked at Naruto with chilling calm.
"So you are this generation's Nine-Tailed Jinchūriki," he said.
"Return to Konoha, and I can guarantee you'll be the next generation's Hokage."
The words hit the crowd like a stone. Shock and disbelief spread through everyone present — no one expected Senju Tobirama to say something so outrageous.
"Teacher… you…" the Sandaime began, but Tobirama cut him off with a cold glare. The Third Hokage fell back, silent and chastened; he knew his former teacher had already taken a poor view of him.
Tobirama's expression was flat. He thought the Sandaime had been foolish.
Couldn't he see what was at stake? This boy before him had reached a level others only dreamed of at that age — and he already controlled some of the Nine-Tails' power. That kind of talent was extraordinary.
"With Naruto here," Tobirama thought, "Konoha could remain unassailable for decades. The office of Hokage is less important than keeping our village safe. If Naruto stays in Konoha and takes the mantle, he will act in Konoha's interest — he could deter other villages."
Naruto met Tobirama's gaze. The man was harder to read than the First in a way — not because of strength, but because of his mind.
"Do you really think that's possible?" Naruto said, voice low and cold.
"You don't even know everything about me. Even if you did — would the past be changed by it?"
"Naruto, don't be foolish. Listen to the Nidaime — you can still become Hokage!" Jiraiya rushed forward, earnest.
To him, becoming Hokage was preferable to becoming a rogue ninja. But he could not know the whole of Naruto's reasoning.
Naruto glanced at Jiraiya.
"You know Konoha's rot as well as anyone. It's already started. Without destruction, there can be no rebirth."
Jiraiya's step faltered. He had seen Konoha's flaws and had long ago chosen to wander the world rather than face its intrigues. The old wounds throbbed again.
Tobirama seemed to understand Naruto's choice. Without another word he formed seals.
Orochimaru started — he had tried to control the situation, and now he feared he no longer could. Senju Tobirama's voice came back cold and sharp:
"Trying to manipulate me with a ninjutsu I created, junior? Don't be arrogant."
With that, Tobirama vanished inside the barrier.
For Orochimaru, the realization was bleak: even if he could restore the First's consciousness, Tobirama was another matter entirely. If there was trouble with the Second, let Naruto deal with it — and it would be a useful test of the boy's true strength.
Tobirama reappeared outside the barrier, arriving by a Hiraishin mark he had left in Konoha. Sasuke watched Naruto with guarded concern; after all, Tobirama had been the Sandaime's teacher.
All around, the Sand and Otogakure forces were losing their initiative. Konoha's foundations were simply deeper than any other village's. Naruto felt it — he could see the tide turn.
"Neji, get the branch family members to fall back," Naruto ordered.
"Understood." Neji bowed and moved off — there was nothing more he could do here.
Naruto's voice sharpened. "If you want to stop me, then come try."
He tapped into Kurama's chakra, using the Nine-Tails' perception to single out those whose hearts were filled with malice. Why spare people who wished you harm? Why not end it now?
"Lightning Release: Thousand Needles!"
Blades of lightning erupted outward, scattering in all directions. Ordinary villagers were not prepared for such a storm; some were pierced through the chest and died instantly. Even strong ninjas — those below elite Chūnin level — couldn't withstand the barrage. The attacks were too numerous, too precise.
Tobirama's eyes were unreadable as he used Hiraishin to snatch a few innocents away from the blast. Some who remained managed to flee in panic. A handful were spared by Naruto; others were pulled to safety by Konoha shinobi.
"Brat! You're courting death!" Tobirama's voice held a flash of anger.
(T.N: The forbidden phrase has been uttered. Bingo card complete! 😂)
Watching the carnage, Jiraiya stepped in front of Naruto. He could not, in conscience, watch civilians die by the boy's hands.
Naruto closed his eyes for a heartbeat, then opened them. A dark ring of shadow crawled across his irises — the sign of Kurama's chakra surfacing. The air tightened around him as something ancient and terrible stirred within the boy's gaze.
A powerful aura surged from Naruto, pressing down on the Konoha shinobi present.
Hyūga Hiashi watched the boy who now stood like a demon god, then glanced at his own daughter.
He had long heard of Naruto's bond with Hinata, but he never interfered, preferring to let things unfold naturally. Yet now, no matter who emerged victorious — Naruto or Konoha — the Hyūga Clan would suffer heavy losses.
His old comrades stared at Naruto in disbelief. Was this truly still human?
"Sage Mode?!" Jiraiya's voice cracked with shock.
Orochimaru, on the other hand, was delighted. Naruto had once said he too might be able to grasp this power — and now he saw proof of its might.
Tobirama's expression hardened. With a flick of his hand, dozens of kunai whistled through the air. Naruto only looked at them with disdain.
Even at full strength, Tobirama was no longer someone he feared. But in this Edo Tensei state, the Second Hokage did hold certain advantages — an immortal body, and chakra without limit.
In an instant, Tobirama appeared at Naruto's side, high-pressure water columns surging upward, sharp enough to cleave steel.
"Senpō: Rasengan!"
Naruto's palm whirled with a sphere of natural energy–infused chakra. In Sage Mode, every technique he used carried power far beyond its normal limits. The incoming water pillars were smashed apart as though they were nothing.
But Tobirama was relentless. He reappeared again in Naruto's blind spot. For a moment, Naruto's vision went black. His heart jolted — a Genjutsu?
He flared his immense spiritual energy, shattering the illusion, and his sight returned. Tobirama was already in front of him, kunai raised toward his throat. Still, Naruto knew that even if the blade struck, Tobirama could not pierce his body strengthened by Sage chakra and the Nine-Tails' power.
Even so… that brief lapse had been real.
"Kokuangyo no Jutsu… Bringer-of-Darkness," Naruto muttered to himself.
So this was Tobirama's Genjutsu. He had heard it was developed to counter the Uchiha's Sharingan, plunging opponents into endless blackness.
No wonder it could affect him, even as a Jinchūriki.
Tobirama, too, was taken aback. He had expected the darkness to bind Naruto longer, especially with the Nine-Tails inside him complicating his focus. But to break free in such a short moment… it only proved the boy's monstrous willpower.
The Bringer-of-Darkness was no ordinary Genjutsu. It was a forbidden art.
...
TN:
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