Hokage Building.
The once calm Hokage Office felt as if the air had frozen solid in an instant.
The door was violently kicked open, and an Anbu Ninja responsible for surveillance turned into a nearly blurred afterimage, rushing in at full speed.
Bang!
He knelt heavily on one knee, the floor emitting a dull groan.
“Hokage-sama! Emergency!”
The Anbu Ninja’s voice was completely distorted by extreme physical exertion and panic, reporting urgently like a machine gun to the old man sitting behind the desk.
In the main seat, Hiruzen Sarutobi was furrowing his brows, smoking his pipe.
Upon hearing that the Uchiha Konoha Military Police Force was openly using violent enforcement on the streets, even beating dozens of Konoha civilians and forcibly arresting them, his hand holding the pipe merely paused slightly.
At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi had no heart to care about these political frictions between clans.
Because the Anbu’s subsequent description struck him like a thunderbolt, smashing heavily onto his crown.
“Uchiha Akahiro is closing in on Uzumaki Naruto step by step!”
“The target’s mental state is experiencing violent fluctuations, and dark red, tangible Chakra has already begun to overflow from his body!”
“That is… the Nine-Tailed’s Chakra!”
Nine-Tailed!
Hearing these two words, the shrewd Hiruzen Sarutobi’s expression changed drastically, and he stood up abruptly from his chair.
The “Nine-Tails Incident” of that year was a nightmare that Konoha had been unable to heal to this day, and Minato Namikaze’s sacrifice had completely severed the Village’s high-end combat power.
Based on the Anbu’s description of the intense malice on Naruto, Hiruzen instantly judged that Uzumaki Naruto was already on the verge of losing control of the Nine-Tailed Chakra.
And at this very moment, Uchiha Akahiro, who possessed the Sharingan and unfathomable strength, was walking towards him.
The combination of the two instantly pieced together the most terrifying picture in Hiruzen Sarutobi’s mind.
Today’s Konoha was riddled with holes and could no longer withstand the turmoil of a second “Nine-Tails Night”.
Boom!
Without any hesitation, not even having time to issue any subsequent orders.
Hiruzen Sarutobi’s figure instantly turned into a thick cloud of white smoke, directly disappearing from the Hokage Office.
Meanwhile, on the lively yet bloody streets.
The atmosphere outside was tense, with the Anbu’s Ninja blades already faintly unsheathed, but Uzumaki Naruto, who was at the eye of the storm, was completely unaware of the standoff before him.
Under the constant temptation and erosion of the Nine-Tailed’s tyrannical Chakra, his mind had fallen into extreme chaos and pain.
Dark memories, like a colorful yet cold and bone-chilling lantern, flashed crazily in the little boy’s mind.
Every villager passing by had cold eyes filled with disgust and exclusion.
“Look, that demon fox brat…”
“Stay away from him, it’s bad luck.”
Everyone treated him like a plague god, keeping their distance.
Once, young Naruto finally managed to make friends with a child of the same age in Konoha Park who was willing to play with him in the sandbox.
But before he could even smile, the other child’s parents rushed over with terrified expressions and snatched the child away.
Before leaving, they dropped a cold, bone-chilling remark.
“Don’t play with that demon fox!”
Loneliness, despair, and the resentment of being abandoned by the whole world surged into his heart like a tide.
Naruto hugged the expired milk in his arms tightly, his fingernails sinking deep into the cardboard box, making a creaking sound of despair.
His heart was being devoured by darkness bit by bit.
However, just as that dark red Chakra was about to completely break through his line of defense, a different image suddenly appeared in the depths of Naruto’s mind.
It was the false image of Hiruzen Sarutobi kindly handing him living expenses and pocket money during the Chunin Exams or holidays.
And in the Ninja Academy, the accepting gaze of the new teacher, Iruka Umino, which, although somewhat tired, was not filled with disgust and coldness for the first time.
These insignificant, charitable bits of warmth became the only straw he could grasp while drowning at this moment.
The classic self-hypnosis exploded crazily in his heart.
“It is not that one becomes Hokage to be recognized, but that one must be recognized to become Hokage!”
That quote, which had been instilled in him countless times by Hiruzen Sarutobi, struck his mental barrier like a heavy hammer.
“I want to become Hokage!”
“I am the man who will surpass all previous Hokage, how can I surrender to a fox here!”
Naruto bit his lip hard, even biting it until it bled.
Relying on this distorted and powerful obsession with the will of fire, his heart, which had been eroded by darkness, was forcibly anchored to a twisted line of ideals.
In the dim sealing space.
Uzumaki Naruto’s mental body suddenly opened its eyes, and his eyes instantly regained clarity.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and snarled fiercely at the giant beast deep behind the iron bars.
“You stinky fox! I will absolutely not use your power!”
Seeing this scene, the huge Nine-Tailed in the shadow of the iron bars stiffened.
In those huge scarlet vertical pupils, the original tyranny and playfulness instantly solidified, replaced by extreme disdain and disgust.
It never expected that the tiny bit of darkness it had managed to stir up would be instantly extinguished by that incredibly hypocritical “will of fire” brainwashing package from Konoha’s higher-ups.
This brat was actually willing to forgive those who had hurt him.
“Tch, boring brat.”
The Nine-Tailed spat out a mocking remark coldly.
Subsequently, it waved its huge tail impatiently, and the dark red Chakra that had originally permeated out retreated like a tide.
The huge body coiled back into the dark stagnant water, closed those huge vertical pupils, and the sealing space fell into dead silence again.
Outside.
The Nine-Tailed malice on Naruto’s body surface that made the surrounding Anbu’s skin sting suddenly dissipated.
He felt as if he had been dehydrated, panting heavily, his eyes full of exhaustion after the forced self-brainwashing.
Just at the moment when the Nine-Tailed Chakra subsided and the solidified killing intent in the air suddenly loosened—
Swoosh!
A figure, aged yet carrying powerful Chakra, cut through the sky and landed heavily beside Uzumaki Naruto.
The dust settled.
The person who arrived was wearing the iconic Hokage cloak; it was the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had arrived panting.
The first second after landing, this old fox who had experienced countless storms showed acting skills worthy of an award-winning actor.
He didn’t even bother to warn Uchiha Akahiro opposite him with his eyes, but instead took the lead, firmly supporting the swaying Naruto.
“Naruto! Are you okay? Is there anywhere you feel uncomfortable?”
Hiruzen Sarutobi was full of kindness, his eyes filled with anxiety and concern.
The anxious look made it seem as if the child in front of him was his most beloved grandson.
His large hand gently patted Naruto’s back, performing the persona of the “only loving father in Konoha” to the fullest.
“Grandpa Third Hokage… I’m fine.”
The shaken Naruto looked at the concerned old man in front of him, and the distorted sense of belonging and security in his heart was satisfied once again.
He had absolutely no idea that it was the old man in front of him who had allowed the Village’s public opinion bullying and surveillance of him.
The shaken Naruto, the Hokage with an actor’s soul, the Anbu captain Shandiao who was fully prepared with his hand on his Ninja blade, and the man standing opposite with his arms crossed.
Uchiha Akahiro stood in the sunlight.
A playful and extremely mocking sneer curled at the corner of his mouth, and he was looking down at this political show of fatherly love and filial piety with the eyes of someone watching a play.