37: Chapter 37 The Third Hokage's End, Naruto's "Sorrow"The purple light barrier of the Four Purple Flames Array twisted amidst violent energy fluctuations, eventually dissipating into countless specks of light.Everything on the rooftop was now exposed to everyone's view.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's body could no longer support his burning life force and slowly fell backward.
His wrinkled face showed no pain, only a weary peace of having completed his mission.
He glanced one last time at the devastated village below, and his will to protect it, as his life faded, transformed into pure, ultimate energy.
Orochimaru let out a bloodcurdling scream like a wild beast.
He looked at his two arms, which hung down like withered branches, covered by an ominous purple incantation, and could no longer gather any chakra.He went into a frenzy.
The study of immortality requires extremely precise techniques; losing both hands is tantamount to severing his path to eternity.
[bite!]
[Analysis complete.]
[The ultimate emotional feast, "The Tragic End of the Guardians," has been included.]
[Glory Points +25000!]
[The ultimate emotional feast, "The Predator's Mad Resentment," has been included.]
[Shadow Points +30,000!]
Naruto stood in that dark barrier that isolated everything, the numbers on the system panel jumping wildly, but he didn't react to them at all.
His senses had already detected another, even larger torrent of emotions gathering over the entire village.
Hiruzen Sarutobi is dead.
This news spread instantly throughout Konoha through the ANBU's messengers, through word of mouth among the ninjas, and through the Hokage's hat that fell from the roof and would never move again.
The clamor of battle eerily paused for a moment.
Immediately afterwards, an indescribable, immense grief erupted from the hearts of every Konoha villager and every ninja.
The sorrow was so pure, so immense, that it coalesced into an invisible, heavy cloud, heavy enough to crush the sky, that enveloped the entire village.
[Ding!An extremely large amount of sadness emotional field has been detected!]
[Ding!An extremely large amount of [despair] emotional field has been detected!]
[Glory Points harvesting efficiency temporarily increased by 300%!]
The time has come.
Naruto dispelled the [Jujutsu: Tent] that had been enveloping the group.
"Naruto, you." Sakura Haruno had just recovered from the strange barrier when she saw Naruto turn into an orange blur and rush towards the podium.
His speed was so fast that he drew a straight line across the chaotic battlefield, knocking over all the Sand Ninja and Sound Ninja who stood in his way.The violent air currents emanating from his body sent them sprawling.
He rushed up the broken wall, and with a few leaps, landed on the ravaged rooftop.
He saw it.
I saw the old man lying in a pool of blood, his body already cold.
The one who always handed him living expenses with a smile, the one who tolerated all his pranks, the only one who treated him, this "demon fox," with gentleness—that was the Hokage.
Naruto's body trembled violently.
He moved forward step by step with difficulty, then his knees buckled and he knelt heavily beside Hiruzen Sarutobi's corpse.
He reached out, wanting to touch that peaceful face, but his hand remained suspended in mid-air, unable to fall.
"ah..."
A low, hoarse growl, suppressed to the extreme, squeezed out of his throat.
That wasn't a performance.
At least, not entirely.
He mobilized all the negative emotions within him, forcibly blending the most primal hatred and loneliness originating from the Nine-Tails with the few tender moments he remembered of Hiruzen Sarutobi.
pain.
Extreme pain exploded in his chest.
Two streams of scalding liquid slid down his cheeks.
This was the first time he had shed tears since he came into this world.For an old man who had died, and for a perfect script.
[Ding!You have received 10,000 units of ultimate [Sadness] from the villagers of Konoha!]
[Ding!You have received 5000 units of ultimate [sympathy] from a Konoha ninja!]
[Ding!You have received 3000 "Admiration" from the Dark Side!]
[Ding!You have received 4200 [Grief] from Kakashi Hatake!]
[Ding!You have received 1800 "Moved" tokens from Hiashi Hyuga!]
The number of Glory Points has increased at an unprecedented rate.
Below in the plaza, countless Konoha villagers watched the boy kneeling beside the Hokage's corpse, weeping like a child, and their hearts were pierced with pain.
They recalled the boy's amazing performance in the qualifiers and finals, and his extraordinary composure and strength.
But now, this powerful young man has been so completely broken down because of the death of the Third Hokage.
That sadness was so real, so infectious.
At this moment, Naruto Uzumaki was no longer a demon fox, no longer a monster.
He was the Third Hokage's most beloved child and a member of Konoha Village.
Naruto slowly, very slowly, stood up.
His face was still wet with tears, but all the sorrow had faded from his blue eyes, replaced by a flame of revenge that could burn everything to ashes.
He turned around, looked in the direction Orochimaru had led his remaining troops away, and with all his might, swore an oath to the entire Hidden Leaf Village.
"I, Naruto Uzumaki, hereby swear!"
"We will never let the sacrifice of the Third Hokage go to waste!"
"A blood debt must be repaid in blood!"
His voice, amplified by a subconscious amplification technique applied by a member of the ANBU, was clearly transmitted throughout the entire battlefield.
That resolute determination, that unwavering will, ignited a flame in the hearts of all the Konoha ninjas at that moment.
The Konoha Crush plan ultimately failed after Sunagakure and Otogakure paid a heavy price.However, Konoha Village also suffered heavy losses.
However, a new image has quietly emerged from these ruins.
Naruto Uzumaki, as a guardian and avenger, gained unprecedented trust and affection from the entire village.
Three days later.
Inside Naruto's small apartment, the [Jujutsu: Tent] isolated him from everything outside.
He sat cross-legged on the bed and opened the system panel.
Glory Points: 148,500
Shadow Points: 126300
An unprecedented bumper harvest.
He did not hesitate at all.
"System, exchange for [Wood Release: Primary Cell Activation]."
[Confirmed consumption of 100,000 Glory Points?This procedure is a high-risk modification that will reorganize the host's body at the cellular level, with an extremely high probability of causing an rejection reaction, leading to bodily collapse.]
"confirm."
A vast and pure life energy surged out from the system space, transforming into countless invisible green light spots that flowed into Naruto's body.
Severe pain.
An indescribable, excruciating pain emanated from deep within every cell of my body.
His body was being forcibly dismantled and then reassembled.The domineering and incomparable life force belonging to Hashirama Senju was undergoing a primal and savage fusion with his Uzumaki clan physique and the Nine-Tails' chakra.
Naruto gritted his teeth, curled up into a ball, and his clothes were instantly soaked with cold sweat.
But he didn't make a sound.
He was simply enduring it silently, and using that pain to analyze the changes inside his body.
He could "see" that the faint trace of the cursed seal Orochimaru had left in his body was being rapidly devoured, analyzed, and assimilated by this powerful life energy.
He could also "see" that the last trace of death rules belonging to the "Corpse Demon Sealing" was in a strange clash and annihilation with this life energy.
Life and death, creation and destruction.
The mystery of the "Abyss" is unfolding within him in the most direct way.
After an unknown amount of time, the pain gradually subsided.
An unprecedented feeling, full of vitality, filled his entire body.
He opened his palm, a thought forming in his mind.
A tiny, emerald-green sprout slowly emerged from the palm of his hand.
It was a success.
Konoha Hospital.
Hyuga Neji stood alone by the window, looking down at the village busily being rebuilt.His pure white eyes were filled with a deathly stillness.
That final battle shattered all his pride.
The death of the Third Hokage made him have even deeper doubts about the "fate" he had always believed in.
An orange figure appeared silently behind him.
"The death of your father and the death of the Third Hokage are essentially the same."
Naruto's voice was very calm.
"They all made their own choices.They faced death willingly to protect what they believed was important.This was not a pre-written script, but a victory of will."
"Hiashi Hyuga has reported the truth about your father's death to the Hokage's office and requested the removal of the 'Caged Bird Seal'."
Neji's body trembled violently.
He slowly turned around and looked at the calm young man in front of him.
[Ding!You have received 9000 Ultimate [Awakening] from Hyuga Neji!]
[Ding!You have received 7500 [Trust] from Hyuga Neji!]
He didn't speak, but simply bowed deeply to Naruto.
At this moment, the alliance was completely solidified.
At the Third Hokage's funeral, cold rain was falling from the sky.
The entire village of Konoha was dressed in black mourning clothes, standing silently, and a deep sadness filled the air.
Naruto stood in the crowd, playing the role of a grieving junior.
His senses, however, were quietly scanning the entire scene.
He saw the tall man with white hair, wearing a red coat.Jiraiya.
A complex source of emotions, filled with both pride and sorrow.
Immediately afterwards, his senses bypassed the crowd and focused on a more distant place.
There stood a blonde woman.
She didn't approach, but just looked at the memorial from afar.Her beautiful brown eyes were filled with a pain that could drown a person, a fear of blood, and a sense of bewilderment at not knowing where to go.
[System notification: High-purity complex emotion entity detected, codenamed "Slug".Value assessment: Extremely high.]
Naruto looked at that figure who seemed particularly vulnerable in the rain.
A new "emotional feast" has been delivered to our doorstep.
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