Kushina was panicking after stepping out of the coffin, but Naruto did nothing. He simply stood in his place, looking at his mother with a remarkably gentle smile. Tears glistened at the corners of his eyes, but he refused to let that pain and emotion overflow.
"Naruto! Run away from here!" Kushina screamed with all her might. "This is a trap!"
Naruto's smile didn't falter in the slightest. "I know, Mom," he said in an incredibly calm voice. "Trust me. Everything is going to be all right."
Just then, a rustling sound came from the darkness and Naruto wipes away his tears.
Orochimaru stepped out from the shadow of a tree, wearing that same venomous smile on his face. Right beside him, Danzo Shimura emerged. In the very next moment, black shadows began to materialize throughout the forest. A thousand 'Root' ninjas surrounded Naruto from all sides in the blink of an eye.
"Black Zetsu was right," Danzo said, planting his cane into the ground. "Your sensory abilities are off the charts. You sensed Kushina's presence all the way from inside the village."
Orochimaru chuckled, a strange amusement in his voice. "Little Naruto has been hunting Zetsu's clones like a madman for the past eight months. So Zetsu is well aware of it now. Poor Black Zetsu... he thinks he knows everything in this world, but for the last eight months, he has been begging me for information. It was truly amusing to watch." Orochimaru fixed his pale, yellow eyes on Naruto. "Well, little Naruto-kun... why have you been hunting those clones?"
Naruto replied with effortless ease, "If you join my side, Orochimaru, maybe I'll tell you."
"Shut up, you demon!" Danzo growled, interrupting them. "The time for words is over. This time, you will become what you are supposed to be."
Danzo gave a slight nod to his Root ninjas.
Suddenly, dozens of Root assassins formed a tight circle around Naruto and Kushina. Moving in perfect sync, they unrolled a massive Fuinjutsu Sealing Array. The moment the scroll opened, black letters crawled out like insects, spreading rapidly across the scorched earth. In a split second, those letters bound Naruto's feet and began climbing up his body. Naruto was completely immobilized.
Naruto casually watched the black letters crawling over his skin. "And what... am I supposed to be?"
"A true weapon of destruction," Danzo declared ruthlessly. "That is the sole reason for your existence. This foolish talk of creation, evolution, change, and craftsmanship—none of that is for you."
Danzo let out a dark, mocking laugh. "Soon... tonight, all those bastard Uchihas will be slaughtered just like the people of that cursed clan deserve. And then, you will be right where you belong—in my grasp."
Naruto looked at the Fuinjutsu letters tightening around him, but not a single wrinkle of worry crossed his face.
"You do realize, Danzo," Naruto said in a highly practical tone, "that even with such a massive army, erasing the founding clan of Konoha is a far-fetched dream? They weren't the Senju's greatest rivals for no reason."
"Naruto-kun," Orochimaru interjected smoothly, "they have help."
A cunning glint flashed in Naruto's blue eyes. He looked straight at Danzo. "Is that 'help'... trustworthy? Or will that Uchiha end up helping his clan against you?"
Hearing this, Danzo was visibly shaken for a fraction of a second. The masked Uchiha (whom he suspected to be Madara) and Black Zetsu—were they truly reliable? Could they turn on him at the very last moment? A seed of doubt regarding his own master plan had been planted in Danzo's mind.
But in the next instant, Danzo brushed the doubt away. 'No,' he reasoned internally. 'I have sent over 2500 elite Root ninjas to surround the Uchiha compound. Even if that masked man betrays me, my sheer numbers are more than enough to crush the Uchiha.' There was no need to worry.
Seeing this exchange, Orochimaru burst into a fit of loud laughter. "You truly are amazing, Naruto-kun! Trapped like a rat, no allies nearby, unable to even move a muscle... and yet, you are still fighting."
Naruto smiled faintly. "Habits inherited from my parents are now in my blood. I can't help it; it's just my nature."
Danzo tried to shake off his lingering doubts and began removing the cotton bandages wrapped around his right eye. "Even if he joins hands with those evil Uchihas, it makes no difference. You will be the weapon that destroys them all."
"Don't worry," Naruto said calmly. "It won't come to that. They will all fall."
Danzo's fingers stopped on the bandages. "What?"
"Danzo!!" Naruto's voice suddenly turned grave. "You need to understand that when you gather such a massive force, you cannot completely hide the traces, no matter how skilled you are. You hid this from Konoha's eyes because you know how this village functions. But Iwa and Kumo? They sniffed out your little scuffle a long time ago."
Danzo resumed unwrapping the bandages, his face brimming with sheer overconfidence. "I don't care. I can crush all those villages with your power."
"Are you absolutely sure?" Naruto mocked lightly. "Well, you are living in quite a delusion." Naruto then shifted his gaze. "And what about you, Orochimaru?"
"Ku ku ku..." Orochimaru stood his ground. "Naruto-kun, I am merely an observer here. I cannot help you."
"Then do what you can," Naruto said. "Release my mother from the Edo Tensei and quietly step aside."
Orochimaru shook his head. "I cannot do that either, Naruto. I gave my word to Danzo, and Danzo promised me something in return. I cannot break this deal. You should understand this, Naruto. You are a smart boy."
"Yes, I understand," Naruto took a deep breath. "Greed is a very powerful drive. Many people drown in this river, never to recover. You should understand that too, Orochimaru."
"True, Naruto-kun," Orochimaru agreed. "But people still do not stop fighting for what they desire."
"Yes," Naruto said, speaking like a seasoned philosopher. "Despite knowing it is wrong, they still do it. Ignoring all logic and reason, just for an outcome which may... or may not happen."
Danzo pulled away the final bandage from his right eye.
Suddenly, something clicked in Danzo's mind. Something felt incredibly off. From start to finish, this boy had not lost his composure. Not even once. Zetsu had reported that the boy's sensory abilities were absolute, meaning he knew he was standing in the jaws of death. Then, Danzo suddenly remembered a highly classified intelligence report... the conversation between Tsunade and this very boy.
"Then I lock away that emotion for a time..."
Danzo's eye widened. The boy wasn't terrified because he had simply stopped allowing himself to feel fear.
"Brilliant..." Danzo couldn't stop himself from praising the boy out loud. "You are a genius, Naruto. You are truly worthy of the title 'Shinobi'. That fool Hiruzen should have handed you over to me when you were an infant; your mind wouldn't have been corrupted by these useless ideals. But no matter... it is not too late. From now on... you are mine."
Danzo fully opened his right eye.
In the absolute darkness of the night, Shisui Uchiha's legendary Mangekyou Sharingan glowed with a terrifying crimson light. 'Kotoamatsukami' was now ready to hijack Naruto's mind.
The Uchiha District,
The dead silence of the night lay over the southern sector of Konoha like a shroud.
The Uchiha compound, which once served as the headquarters of the village's most powerful police force, was completely silent tonight. There were no guards. No movement. Danzo Shimura's Root commander, codenamed 'Kin', adjusted his white porcelain fox-cat mask. Behind him, an army of 2000 elite assassins hid in the shadows, while 500 others had entirely cordoned off the compound from the outside. Not even a bird could fly out.
Kin raised his hand and signaled with two fingers. 'Begin. Leave no survivors. Secure the eyes.'
Black shadows vaulted over the high Uchiha walls and infiltrated the grounds. Kin himself slipped through the window of a large house. He saw two Uchiha ninjas fast asleep in their beds. Drawing his kunai, Kin slit both their throats in a single, fluid motion. Fountains of blood erupted, staining the white bedsheets crimson. Showing zero emotion, Kin gouged out their closed eyes (Sharingan) with his fingers and dropped them into a sealing jar.
Screams began to erupt from every house in the compound. Rivers of blood flowed through the streets. The Root ninjas were butchering the Uchiha like cattle. Children, the elderly, women... no one was spared.
Kin stood in the middle of a blood-soaked street. He felt a surge of pride for his master, Danzo. 'It is done. The Uchiha clan is history. We won.' he thought.
But then... the temperature of the air suddenly plummeted.
The sharp metallic stench of blood filling Kin's nostrils abruptly vanished. The horrific screams echoing through the compound went dead silent in an instant.
CRACK!
A fissure appeared in the air right in front of Kin, exactly like a shattering mirror.
In the very next microsecond, reality completely shattered into pieces. The jar Kin was holding—the one filled with Uchiha eyes—dropped from his hands, but the moment it hit the ground, it turned into smoke and disappeared.
Kin blinked in absolute panic. Where did the blood go? Where were the corpses?
When the haze completely cleared, Kin's blood ran cold. He wasn't inside a house, nor was he standing on a blood-soaked street. He was lying face-first on the dirt in the compound's main training courtyard. His entire body was tightly bound by thick, chakra-suppressing ropes. Countless black Fuinjutsu tags were plastered across his chest, arms, and legs, perfectly sealing every single chakra point in his body.
Kin snapped his neck around to look. All 2000 of his Root ninjas were lying helplessly on the ground around him in the exact same state. They were all bound. The 500 ninjas stationed outside had also been dragged in and tied up similarly.
Without a single drop of blood being spilled. Without a single scream being raised.
For the past two hours, they had been trapped inside a terrifying, unfathomable Genjutsu, swinging their swords at empty air, while the Uchihas leisurely sealed them away. Danzo's pride, his invincible black-ops army... was now squirming like insects at the feet of the Uchiha.
"How is this possible..." a desperate whisper escaped Kin's lips.
Tekka Uchiha and Inabi Uchiha, who were leading this entire operation, stood near the captives with triumphant smiles. They hadn't even unsheathed their swords. They hadn't needed to kill a single ninja. Naruto's Fuinjutsu and his red chakra security net were so flawless that the Root ninjas never even realized when they marched straight into the abyss.
"Gather everyone in one place!" Tekka ordered, a victorious thrill in his voice. "We will be leaving here soon!"
But being a seasoned Uchiha veteran, Tekka kept his senses on high alert. And that vigilance was exactly what saved his life.
Suddenly, a strange spatial distortion warped the air. Tekka's hair stood on end. He instantly leaped backward.
BOOM!
The exact spot where Tekka had been standing a second ago was obliterated by a massive explosion. Dust and debris shot into the air, leaving a deep crater in the earth.
Then, from amidst the smoke, a heavy, cold, and mocking voice echoed out.
"Even after putting down your weapons... the Uchiha are still quite good. After hearing so much disheartening news, it is good to see the Uchiha clan hasn't fallen completely to ruin."
The dust settled.
A masked man stood there. He wore a long black cloak that fluttered gently in the wind. On his face was an orange mask bearing a swirling whirlpool pattern, with only a single eye hole visible.
Obito Uchiha had arrived on the battlefield.
Obito fully expected the bloodthirsty Uchihas to unleash a storm of kunai, swords, and ninjutsu upon him the moment he appeared. He was fully prepared to use his Kamui to shatter their hopes.
But nothing of the sort happened.
Tekka, Inabi, and the dozens of other Uchiha ninjas did not attack him. Instead, they immediately fell back. They lowered their weapons and created a large, safe distance between themselves and the masked man.
Behind his mask, Obito felt slightly disturbed and confused. 'Why aren't they attacking? Do they know who I am? What are they waiting for?'
Just then, Inabi Uchiha's loud voice rang out from the back of the crowd.
"Clan Leader!! The traitor has arrived!"
Heavy footsteps echoed from the darkness. Fugaku Uchiha stepped out of the shadows, and standing right beside him was 'Hawk'—Shisui Uchiha. Shisui was also wearing a mask over his face, one that only revealed his left eye.
(The Flashback)
Right before the epic war tonight, Naruto, Fugaku, Shisui, and Itachi had gathered in a secret basement beneath the Uchiha compound.
Under the dim, yellow glow of a candle, Naruto's face carried a gravity that would make any veteran military general sweat. He was laying out the blueprint for a highly complex strategy.
"There is a slight change of plans," Naruto had said, his blue eyes fixed on Itachi's newly awakened Mangekyou Sharingan. "Since Itachi has awakened the Mangekyou, we will position our pieces differently. Itachi will not stay in the Uchiha compound."
"What?" Fugaku was stunned. "But Itachi is our greatest asset. If Root attacks—"
"Root's attack will drown in an illusion," Naruto said calmly. "Itachi will be with me. He is my surprise gift for Orochimaru. In his pursuit of immortality, Orochimaru has fractured his soul into pieces. His soul is incredibly fragile. Itachi's 'Tsukuyomi' will be a fate worse than death for him. But in the Uchiha compound... you will have to deal with the masked man."
Naruto drew a red cross on the map. "That masked man calls himself Madara Uchiha. But he is not Madara. He is far more dangerous than Orochimaru or Danzo. His ability—to warp space and time—makes him practically invincible."
Shisui furrowed his brows. "If he is that dangerous, how do we defeat him?"
"You don't have to defeat him, Shisui," Naruto smiled slightly. It was a chilling smile. "You just have to scare him. His greatest strength is also his greatest weakness. To use his ability (Kamui) offensively, he must materialize in the physical world. And psychologically... he is a coward. He strikes from the shadows because he is terrified of losing his own life."
Naruto looked at Fugaku and Shisui. "The two of you will break him psychologically. But there is one absolute rule—you must never let him realize that we know his true identity. You will only refer to him as 'traitor'."
"Why?" Fugaku asked.
"Because Obito needs to believe that he is still hidden from the world. We must feed his illusion that he still has the upper hand and remains the mastermind behind the curtain. If he realizes that all his secrets are laid bare, a desperate man is capable of anything. A cornered enemy is highly dangerous. But if he believes this trap was set solely for Danzo, he won't take the risk. He will run. And his retreat will be our victory."
(Flashback Ends)
Confronting the Traitor
Fugaku glared at the masked man (Obito) with his burning red eyes. Without turning his back, he issued a stern command to his clansmen.
"Fall back! Everyone, prepare for the 'Farewell Rally' immediately. We need to leave this place. We do not want Naruto to have to wait for us."
Hearing that name, a strange glint appeared in the masked man's single visible eye.
"Naruto has to wait?" Obito let out a sarcastic chuckle. His voice dripped with deep mockery. "I thought I was wrong, but the Uchiha have truly fallen this low. The greatest clan in Konoha... has now become the lackey of a 7-year-old child?"
Obito shook his head as if pitying them. "That boy has no chance of surviving tonight. His fate is already sealed. Danzo will end him."
"Fate..." Fugaku's voice boomed like rolling thunder, "...is an excuse for the weak, traitor!"
Hearing the word "traitor," a slight shiver ran through Obito's body, but he quickly concealed it.
Following Fugaku's orders, all the other Uchiha ninjas immediately evacuated the area. Now, only three people remained in the massive, blood-stained courtyard: Fugaku, 'Hawk' (Shisui), and Obito.
A heavy, lethal silence descended upon the air. Fugaku and Hawk refused to move a single inch from their spots. They simply stood there, glaring at the "traitor."
It was then that Obito's gaze shifted to 'Hawk' standing beside Fugaku. He noticed that Hawk was wearing a mask that only revealed his left eye.
Seeing this, Obito was mildly surprised, and then he found it highly amusing.
"Aren't you copying my style a bit too much?" Obito mocked, pointing at Hawk. "A mask, and only one eye visible... very impressive!"
Both Fugaku and Hawk remained entirely silent. There was no emotion in their eyes, only the dead silence of the grave. They offered no response to his taunt.
"Damn it," Obito shrugged his shoulders, "looks like everyone in this clan has lost their sense of humor. I thought I could get away without getting my hands dirty... but I suppose I need to try a little."
Sky Fortress in air
While the dance of death played out in the Uchiha compound, miles above the earth, hidden amidst the clouds inside Naruto's 'Sky Fortress', the civilian Uchihas—the children, the elderly, and the women—were perfectly safe. Here, Naruto's pure, warm, and life-giving red chakra flowed through the walls, wrapping them in an absolute sense of security.
Mikoto Uchiha sat on the floor in one of the fortress's grand halls. In her arms was her younger son, Sasuke. Sasuke's face was a mix of worry, anger, and fear. He was furious at his own weakness, angry that he couldn't stand on the battlefield alongside his father and older brother.
Just then, two red-haired women from the Uzumaki clan—Kaori and little Karin—approached Mikoto through the crowd.
Kaori knelt gently beside Mikoto. "I heard... you are Lord Naruto's godmother?"
Hearing those words, tears instantly welled up in Mikoto's eyes. She couldn't hold back her sobs. "Only in name..." Mikoto choked out. "I never did anything for that child... when he needed me the most, I stayed silent. And today... today, that boy is risking everything for us. He is doing everything for our sake."
Kaori placed a sympathetic hand on Mikoto's shoulder. She understood that pain perfectly. "I understand, Lady Mikoto. He saved our lives as well. We were living a hellish existence in the Village Hidden in the Grass, and he brought us to paradise. We can never repay him for what he has done."
But just then, little Karin, whose eyes held boundless devotion and absolute faith in Naruto, stepped forward angrily.
"Why are you two talking like that?" Karin said, clenching her small fists, a strange fire in her voice. "You are crying as if Naruto-sama isn't coming back! He is super strong! He will crush all those bad people and return to us. And when he comes back, we will all serve him and make it up to him!"
Seeing Karin's fiery spirit, the despair inside Sasuke suddenly ignited into a spark of resolve. He stood up from his mother's lap, his small dark eyes shining with newfound confidence.
"Yeah!" Sasuke declared loudly. "Karin is right! Naruto is super strong! Itachi-nii is with him! My father is there! Together, they will defeat all those bad guys. They are unstoppable!"
Hearing Sasuke's voice, the faces of the other Uchiha children sitting in the hall lit up. They all began to shout in unison.
"Yeah! Naruto-sama is the strongest!"
"They can never lose!"
Shinno, standing in the corner of the hall—now Naruto's most fiercely loyal follower—stepped forward. He wore a solemn yet deeply reassuring smile.
"Absolutely," Shinno's deep voice echoed through thegrand hall. "Lord Naruto is the one who will change this rotting world for the better. He will not accept defeat at any cost. The word 'defeat' does not even exist in his dictionary."
Suddenly, the heavy, tense, and suffocating atmosphere of the hall was flooded with a strange light and overwhelming hope. The fear that had been gnawing at the women and children of the Uchiha clan vanished like smoke in the wind.
"Yes!!" an elderly Uchiha said, wiping his tears. "We are fools for even doubting him. When they return... we will give them a grand welcome!"
Piercing through the darkness and silence, cheers of joy and hope erupted within the sky fortress. They had wiped away their tears. They were no longer waiting for death; they were waiting for their leader's triumphant return.
Back at the Uchiha Compound...
"Well, if you are so eager to die..." Obito's voice turned ice-cold.
In the next instant, Obito vanished from his spot. His speed was terrifying. He materialized directly in front of Fugaku, a sharp kunai in his hand, aiming straight to pierce Fugaku's throat.
But before Obito's kunai could reach Fugaku, 'Hawk' (Shisui) sprang into action.
Shunshin! (Body Flicker!)
Obito's eye widened. 'So fast?!'
Hawk's speed was beyond human comprehension. In less time than it takes to blink, he was directly behind Obito, his ninjato ready to slice Obito's back wide open.
Obito smirked and activated his 'Kamui'.
Swish!
Hawk's sword phased right through Obito's body as if slicing through a ghost. Obito spun around, swinging his leg to kick Hawk.
But the very moment Obito materialized his body into a 'solid' state to land the attack...
Fugaku was already there.
"Katon: Goukakyu no Jutsu! (Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!)"
Mere inches from Obito's face, Fugaku unleashed a massive sphere of roaring flames. The intense heat was so terrifying it began melting the earth below.
Obito was forced to abort his attack instantly and phase back into his intangible state to avoid incineration. The flames passed harmlessly through his body. But the moment the fire cleared, Obito saw that Hawk had thrown dozens of 'Explosive Tags' into the air, surrounding the exact spot Obito was standing.
Ching! Ching! Ching!
The tags began to ignite. Obito instantly realized they weren't just trying to kill him; they were aggressively cornering him.
Swirl!
Obito's body twisted like a whirlpool and sucked itself into the Kamui dimension. The explosions went off, but Obito had already vanished from the epicenter.
A moment later, he reappeared at a safe distance.
'Their teamwork is incredibly troublesome,' Obito thought to himself. "You two play a very good game. But I want to see how you survive this!"
The Mangekyou Sharingan in Obito's right eye spun furiously. A massive spatial distortion warped the air above them. From the Kamui dimension, a giant metal pillar plummeted out. The entire structure was plastered with thousands of explosive tags.
Obito dropped it directly on top of Fugaku and Hawk.
BOOOOOOOM!!!
A deafening explosion rocked the compound. Giant pillars of fire reached toward the sky. The shockwave was so violent it blew the roofs off the surrounding houses.
"Game over," Obito thought with a smirk.
But then...
The smoke slowly began to clear... and the sight that greeted Obito froze the blood in his veins. There were no corpses. Fugaku and Hawk were standing perfectly unharmed. Surrounding them, acting as an impenetrable shield, was a terrifying, colossal Dark Red Skeleton—the Susanoo!
"There is nowhere left to run, traitor," Fugaku declared. The Susanoo's massive red fist tore through the earth, throwing a devastating punch straight at Obito.
Obito immediately used his 'Kamui'. The Susanoo's heavy fist phased harmlessly through his body.
'I just need one second to solidify and retreat into the Kamui dimension,' Obito calculated rapidly.
But the exact second the Susanoo's fist passed through his body and Obito pulled himself back into the physical world...
Shunshin!
A sharp whistling sound pierced the air to Obito's left. 'Hawk' was already airborne. His sword slashed directly toward Obito's neck.
Acting on pure survival instinct, Obito raised one hand to block Hawk's sword strike in the blink of an eye.
Clang!
And in that same fraction of a second, without wasting a breath, Obito used his other hand to throw a kunai point-blank at Hawk's face.
With lightning-fast reflexes, Hawk jerked his head to the side, saving his life. The kunai missed his flesh, but its razor-sharp edge sliced cleanly through Hawk's ordinary mask.
With a sharp crack, Hawk's mask split in two and fell to the ground. Through the dissipating smoke, Hawk's true face was finally revealed.
Obito's feet rooted to the spot. A chilling shudder violently ran down his spine. The man before him... his right eye was closed and scarred, but his left eye was wide open, and within it, the four-point windmill design of the Mangekyou Sharingan glowed ominously in the dark.
"Shi... Shisui Uchiha?!" The words escaped Obito's lips in sheer desperation. "How are you still alive? Danzo said that..."
Shisui twirled his sword and came to stand right beside Fugaku's Susanoo. A calm, murderous smile graced his face. "Danzo believes a lot of things. And apparently, so do you."
Obito's mind raced at lightning speed.
Shisui is alive. Fugaku has the Mangekyou. Danzo's Root army is captive...
That means... Danzo was played! That seven-year-old boy... this entire thing was his setup!
Obito instantly realized the colossal magnitude of the danger he was in. Two Mangekyou users... and one of them possessed 'Kotoamatsukami'! If Shisui unleashed that ability, Obito wouldn't even have his own free will left.
This trap was meant for Danzo, not him. 'I have absolutely no need to take this risk,' Obito concluded.
The Kamui whirlpool rapidly began to spin in Obito's eye.
"Your strategy was brilliant," Obito said as he stepped back, his voice completely stripped of its previous arrogance, leaving only the bitter taste of defeat. "Danzo dug his own grave and fell into it. You win... for tonight."
A whirlpool distorted the air, and Obito Uchiha—the greatest threat to the shinobi world—retreated into the Kamui dimension to save his own life.
The dust finally settled. The battlefield fell completely silent.
Fugaku deactivated his Susanoo and looked at Shisui. "Naruto was absolutely right," Fugaku said, taking a deep breath. "He is nothing but a coward."
Shisui sheathed his sword. "Our work here is done, Clan Leader."
Shisui's words still hung in the air when the sound of rapid footsteps approached from behind. Several Uchiha ninjas emerged from the darkness. Enveloping their bodies was Naruto's mysterious, deep red chakra.
One of the Uchihas stepped forward and bowed respectfully to Fugaku.
"Clan Leader!" the Uchiha reported, his voice filled with elation. "All of those white monsters (White Zetsu)... the ones hiding underground and in the trees spying on us, they have all been captured as well. Just as Lord Naruto instructed, we have perfectly sealed every single one of them."
Hearing this, a smile spread across Shisui's face. Obito was now completely blind to the outside world.
Finally, a deep, proud, and profoundly relieved smile graced Fugaku's stern face. He looked around the compound, where their enemies lay bound in ropes and his own people stood entirely unharmed.
'Is this real, or just a dream?' Fugaku thought to himself. 'With a single move... one masterstroke, we brought all our enemies to their knees without spilling a single drop of blood. Tomorrow morning, when this village wakes up, we Uchihas will walk out of here with our heads held high.'
Fugaku looked up at the blood-red moon, which was no longer a witness to their destruction, but the herald of their absolute liberation.
'Naruto... you are truly magnificent.'