Chinya now gave Hiruzen Sarutobi only two choices: talk with him, or break off negotiations entirely.
The truth was, Chinya had no other choice either. If he didn't take a firm stance, there would be no way to protect Naruto.
Naruto had joined Root Division. Although as the Fated Child, he would surely remain the savior of the Shinobi World, what came afterward was unpredictable.
After all, the crisis facing the Shinobi World wasn't limited to Kaguya Otsutsuki on the moon.
Naruto's role as the Fated Child was tied solely to the fates of Indra, Asura, and Kaguya Otsutsuki.
All of Chinya's confidence came from his knowledge of how events would roughly unfold in the future.
Originally, after changing Kushina Uzumaki's fate, Chinya had wanted to simply watch from afar, gradually grow stronger, wait for future powerful enemies to emerge, and then fight them.
But the more he thought like that, the less capable he became of actually doing it.
Each time, he found himself unable to remain a mere bystander—he always ended up stepping in.
Because humans possess emotion. Even if one constantly tells oneself to merely observe everything passively, once connections are formed, it becomes impossible to remain so rational and detached.
Another reason was the Witness Points system—if you participated and changed the course of history, you got far more points than just observing.
If Chinya wished to gain enough Witness Points to grow stronger, he must actively participate and change the original trajectory.
Take the Nine-Tails' Rampage as an example. Witnessing such a Grand Event granted a base reward of 20,000 Witness Points.
However, changing the fates of Minato Namikaze and Uzumaki Miyuki earned him an extra 50,000 Witness Points, while altering the life path of the key figure, Naruto Uzumaki, added another 50,000.
That meant the total bonus was five times the base reward.
In other words, the System itself encouraged Chinya to interfere and reshape the future.
Yet after altering the future, if Chinya wanted to guide things back toward the originally expected trajectory, it would require tremendous effort.
Just like now—his only option was to forcefully pressure Hiruzen Sarutobi if he wanted to stop Naruto from being taken into Root Division.
Because Uzumaki Miyuki's case was still fresh in everyone's mind. Hiruzen was certainly worried that Naruto might choose to defect like his mother had in the future.
Previously, what Chinya told Uzumaki Miyuki—that after she defected, Konoha would have to value Naruto highly—meant Sarutobi would definitely suppress rumors surrounding the Cursed Child, hide Naruto's true identity, and although Naruto would still face discrimination and exclusion, it would be much better overall. His development within Konoha would also be ensured.
In reality, what Chinya said was both truthful and misleading at the same time.
Indeed, Konoha needed to place importance on Naruto and control those rumors—but without his interference, exactly the current situation would occur: Naruto would be taken into Root Division and trained by Danzo to become an emotionless war tool.
Chinya had previously thought that Hiruzen might take into account Naruto's connection to Minato, the Fourth Hokage, and choose not to hand him over to Root.
Hiruzen did hesitate, but only briefly.
Therefore, Chinya had no choice but to intervene decisively to prevent Naruto from joining Root.
If Hiruzen refused, Chinya intended to wipe out Root entirely, eliminating any possibility of handing Naruto over to Danzo.
However, Danzo couldn't die yet—it was because he remained tied to the future Uchiha Clan, particularly to Sasuke, who, though not the Child of Prophecy, was undeniably the Fated Child.
Right now, Hiruzen looked at Chinya with obvious frustration.
Chinya's current demeanor was gradually overlapping with his memory of Madara Uchiha.
When Konoha was first founded and Hashirama Senju became the First Hokage, Hiruzen was six years old.
Before that, he had personally witnessed Madara Uchiha's overwhelming power on the battlefield.
Later, during the final battle between Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju at the Valley of the End, although Hiruzen hadn't seen it himself, the aftermath left an unforgettable mark on him even now.
The entire landscape of the Valley of the End had been utterly changed.
The fight between Madara and Hashirama surpassed even the battles of the Tailed Beasts.
And now, a single casual strike from Chinya had collapsed half the Hokage Tower. His Mangekyo Sharingan and Sage Mode from Ryuchi Cave clearly demonstrated Chinya's immense strength, along with a personality disturbingly similar to Madara's—ruthless, fanatical, merciless…
Right now, Hiruzen truly dared not act recklessly. Konoha was in a weakened state, and if he failed to stop Chinya, the village would be in real danger.
Hiruzen spoke solemnly, "Then, how do you want to negotiate?"
Chinya stepped over Danzo, who lay on the ground like a pile of garbage, sat down on a chair, and said, "Naruto will absolutely never be handed over to someone like Danzo—that's my bottom line. If you insist on handing him over, Danzo must die here and now."
Lifting his head slightly, Chinya cast a scornful smile at the standing Hiruzen and said, "I guess you're unwilling to let Danzo die, right? Despite all those crimes bad enough to warrant execution, you've always protected him."
Hiruzen sat down on the chair opposite Chinya, gazing deeply at him and said, "Naruto will absolutely never be given to you either. With the way you're acting now, there's no way I can trust you!"
Chinya sneered, "Don't act like you ever trusted me before. From the moment I returned to Konoha, you've never trusted me. You watched silently as I was bullied by the Uchiha and other fools in the village, didn't you?
"If it weren't for me slowly gaining your trust by sharing the techniques of Thunder Breathing, I'd probably have died alone in some forgotten corner, never remembered by anyone."
Hiruzen stared into Chinya's eyes, his pupils slightly contracting.
Could it be that Chinya had been thinking about earning his trust since back then?
How old was Chinya at that time?
Wasn't he still under ten—only nine?
Even at under ten, was his mind already so deeply calculating?
Hiruzen paused for a long moment before asking, "So… have you resented Konoha all along?"
Chinya suddenly threw his head back and burst into uncontrollable laughter, clutching his forehead, only stopping after a long while. "The Third Hokage," Chinya said, "tell me, how could I not hate Konoha? Tell me one reason why I shouldn't hate it? Didn't you label my parents as rogue ninjas, force them to leave Konoha, and even deploy Anbu hunters to hunt them down?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi fixed Chinya with a steady gaze and said, "Back then I was pressured by the Uchiha Clan. I had no choice but to make that decision. But don't forget, Konoha also protected you all these years!"
Chinya smiled and responded, "That's exactly why you're still sitting here alive, speaking to me. As I already mentioned earlier, my title Crimson-Eyed Asura alone has already said enough. The kindness Konoha once showed me — I repaid it all long ago.
Don't bring up Konoha's so-called protection anymore. Konoha only gave me a place to sleep. Everything else I've ever gained, I earned it all with my own strength. What do you have to do with any of this anyway?"
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