The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, felt unbearably heavy at heart.
That slash Naruto had just delivered — to Hiruzen's eyes — must have taken a considerable toll.That, of course, had been Hiruzen's goal: to eat away at Naruto's chakra.
But losing more than a dozen Anbu at once also filled him with sorrow.
At the same time, Naruto's decisiveness in killing — his near-cold indifference — chilled him to the bone.
Hiruzen didn't pretend to understand why Naruto could be so detached.Perhaps it came from always parroting that whole "will of fire" line; over time, the rhetoric had brainwashed people, freezing their thoughts.
Moreover, Hiruzen's calculations were doomed to be wrong.
Because slashes like the one just now didn't consume chakra anywhere near one-thousandth of Naruto's total chakra reserve.And that's without counting the Nine-Tails' chakra.
Even if the Nine-Tails' chakra was included, if Naruto swung Breath of Wind ten thousand times, his hands would get sore — not his chakra exhausted.
Before Hiruzen could issue another order, Naruto chose to strike proactively.
Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Endless shadow clones burst into existence.Dozens of "Narutos" stood atop the roof.
Unlike scenes from the original story, every Naruto clone wore a cold expression. Their stances varied, but each radiated the aura of a true powerhouse.
Flying Thunder God!
Dozens of Narutos activated Flying Thunder God at once!
Every Naruto vanished in an instant. Hiruzen tightened his guard.
The next second, screams started pouring into Hiruzen's ears.
Scenes flashed around him.
Batch after batch of Narutos appeared among the Anbu in the center.Golden chains, emitting a bright light like golden dragons, coiled and snared Anbu one after another.
Experienced Anbu could dodge the first or second chain, but a third would always come from an unexpected direction and bind them.Naruto clones scattered everywhere, each releasing dozens of massive chains.
In Hiruzen Sarutobi's line of sight, countless golden chains wove through the air, gradually forming a massive web that glittered like spun gold!
His proud Anbu were trapped on that web like flies ensnared in silk.High-rank Jonin-level Anbu, experts in their own right, suddenly seemed small and weak…
The top secret technique of the Uzumaki clan, Adamantine Sealing Chains, had been turned by Naruto into a wide-area crowd control move.
Within two and a half minutes, more than ninety percent of the dozen-plus Anbu had been bound by Adamantine Sealing Chains!
What made Adamantine Sealing Chains terrifying was not merely the binding. Those caught couldn't mobilize their chakra at all — they were utterly powerless to free themselves. That was also why the jutsu was so effective against tailed beasts.
Watching that sky full of Adamantine Sealing Chains, Hiruzen fell utterly silent; his body bent forward, as if he had aged years in an instant.
Although the nearby residents had already been evacuated, many Konoha citizens stared up at the enormous golden "web" and wore worried expressions. Panic spread; no one knew what would happen next.
All the chains continued to clink and tighten slowly, like gears being wound. To those trapped Anbu, the sound was like the reaping blade of death.
With every inch those chains tightened, their sense of suffocation deepened.
Most terrifying of all was knowing you were about to die yet lacking the strength to even twitch a finger.
Enma, beside Hiruzen, punched and kicked, repelling two gigantic chains. When he landed, his face was grave.
"Hiruzen, you've gone and stirred up something awful. What do we do now? If I join you, we could still take that kid down!"
Seeing so many Anbu in mortal peril, Hiruzen's thoughts raced.
With Naruto's performance, to subdue him would surely cost Konoha grievously.If the other Four Great Nations learned this, Konoha's position would become precarious.
In the end, Hiruzen could only shout at Naruto, "Naruto! What do you want?! Stop for now—let's talk this through!"
At this point he realized that appealing to Naruto's emotions would get them nowhere.So he had to bargain — try to reduce Konoha's losses.
To be forced into this by a twelve-year-old — Hiruzen had never imagined such a day.
Naruto hesitated for a long moment and then stopped tightening the chains. Many of the bound Anbu were already near death.
He approached to within a short distance of Hiruzen, still in Sage Mode.Even after unleashing such a tremendous technique, not a trace of fatigue showed on his face.
Hiruzen felt increasingly cornered. If he insisted on a war of attrition, the Anbu would be exhausted long before Naruto's chakra ran out.
Suppressing the turmoil in his chest, Hiruzen asked with pleading sincerity, "Naruto, what Grandfather did before was wrong. He shouldn't have forced you into that position. Grandfather apologizes, and we will compensate you. Is that acceptable?"
Seeing Hiruzen like that, Naruto snorted inwardly.
"Same old tactics. You act when you think you can win; when you see you'll suffer heavy losses, you back down."
"Truly the heroic shinobi."
Naruto's words brought many bitter memories to Hiruzen's mind. For the sake of a ceasefire with the Hidden Cloud Village, even though Raikage had kidnapped Hinata first, Hiruzen had offered Hiashi Hyuga as a scapegoat. To avoid weakening Konoha's combat strength, he delayed sending reinforcements to their ally, the Land of Whirlpools, which eventually led to the collapse of that entire nation!
If war broke out, everything could be lost. If they didn't fight, sacrificing a few would preserve Konoha's overall strength and allow it to consolidate its position as the top shinobi village. That had been Hiruzen's rule in recent years.
Being ridiculed by a boy for these actions only deepened Hiruzen's shame.
If this had been the First or Second Hokage, such concessions would never have been made.
"Fine. I'll stop — but on three conditions."
"One: tell me where Root is. I will uproot that rotten organization!"
"Two: arrest everyone who treated me badly. Those people who have cursed me for twelve years — give them twelve years in prison!"
"Three: stop spying on me. I want my freedom."
Hiruzen's gaze flickered as he heard each increasingly unacceptable demand. This night felt endless…
He was baffled that Naruto knew so much. Not only of Root's existence, but from Naruto's tone it seemed he even knew Root was behind many crimes. He knew everything clearly.
With such talent and temperament, Konoha could have had an incredibly reliable Jinchuriki guardian. But now, that same person had become Konoha's greatest threat.
That gulf of power and consequence left Hiruzen unsettled.
After a long time, he finally spoke slowly.