Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 7 Blood Night

He saw a sea.

The sudden burst of light made Fugaku squint uncomfortably. His entire body tensed, and his kaleidoscope powers, rarely used for years, were pushed to their limit. This was because this scene was definitely not an illusion he had conjured. An endless sea, a cloudless sky—this was a world where the horizon was indistinguishable, a world he couldn't break through despite his best efforts.

Fugaku cautiously looked around and quickly realized that he wasn't alone. Not far behind him, someone was hovering cross-legged on the water. Despite the great changes that time had brought, Fugaku still recognized a familiar face from the cat-like beard, the golden spiky hair, and the resemblance to both Kushina and Minato.

The figure slowly opened its eyes, its golden pupils gentle and compassionate, brimming with life. Even the resolute Uchiha clan leader was irresistibly drawn in; it was life's yearning for light. However, when he actually took a step, the sea mercilessly swallowed him. It was a world completely different from the surface, a vibrant red tinged with blue. Here, he couldn't breathe, couldn't even struggle, and could only watch helplessly as he slowly plummeted. In this blood-red world, only a single point of black remained unmoved—the shadow of the person on the surface. The clan leader stared intently at that shadow, his intuition telling him that the source of everything lay there, but no matter how he tried, he couldn't shake this world in the slightest. In a daze, he saw that the shadow had also opened its eyes, but those were eyes completely different from the white figure.

Those terrifying eyes, once cold and fierce, were no longer golden. He saw a pair of eyes adorned with six-pointed star patterns, resembling the appearance of a kaleidoscope.

The Uchiha clan chief jolted backward, finally snapping out of the suffocating illusion. His eyes were filled with terror, startling Mikoto, who rushed to support him. His wife's silent comfort calmed Fugaku, and he regained his composure, but the look in his eyes as he gazed at Naruto had changed. Even the Mangekyou Sharingan couldn't break through Naruto's mental defenses; he had been defeated without even seeing the Nine-Tails. The outcome was already decided.

"Naruto-kun, what do you want?"

He no longer treated Naruto like a child. Killing the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was too costly; a coup was the top priority. Given the right circumstances, he wouldn't mind using other means to keep Naruto's Mangekyou Sharingan a secret.

Naruto looked earnest and slammed his head on the table without hesitation, saying, "I beg you to leave the Uchiha's hope at the Naka River Shrine when that day comes. I promise to let them live, regardless of success or failure."

It wasn't a threat, but a request. Fugaku suspected he'd misheard, but he didn't have time to confirm, because he heard some noise coming from his young son's room, and Sasuke's soft voice still carried a hint of sleepiness.

"Naruto?"

Naruto obviously heard it too. He watched as the child's expression changed from mature to innocent, and before leaving, he even said a warm goodbye to Mikoto.

This is simply incomprehensible, unbelievable; even ten dreams wouldn't be as bizarre as this.

The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki actually boasted that he could protect the Uchiha clan? Fugaku knew all too well what the Konoha leadership was thinking. The Uchiha were born Konoha's people, and they would die Konoha's ghosts. They either endured being slowly tortured, or they overthrew the table and staged a coup; they didn't even have the option of leaving Konoha. And the path that Naruto Uzumaki offered was clearly a way out if the coup failed.

Should we trust him?

A Jinchuriki under seven years old shouldn't seem to possess that kind of ability, but... he was indeed very concerned about the two figures he saw in the mental space. They were almost two extremes, and the most terrifying one even had what appeared to be a Mangekyou Sharingan! Was this an illusion created by Naruto, or...?

“Darling,” Mikoto, who had been silent all along, suddenly said, “I think Naruto-kun is trustworthy.”

That's the future of the Uchiha clan! He couldn't convince himself to believe in a random Jinchuriki; what if it was a trap set by the higher-ups?

"Thanks to Naruto, Sasuke has been able to cheer up during this time. You guys have pushed him too hard."

...This wasn't his intention. It's just that it looks like Konoha is about to make a move.

"Anyway, there's no harm in trusting him, is there? Only the Uchiha can enter the underground of the Uchiha shrine."

Yes, if Naruto really has a way out, then opening the secret room door is the bare minimum. Regardless of Itachi's final choice, he probably wouldn't be able to harm a group of children. Of course, the best outcome is that this escape route never needs to be used.

The Ninja Academy always starts early. This time, Naruto was too well-behaved and never caused trouble, so he enrolled at the normal age. As expected, he was assigned to the same class as Sasuke, along with many familiar friends. The best news was that Iruka was their homeroom teacher, so he wouldn't have to experience the different treatment he received from the previous teachers.

Of course, there were downsides. For example, after working all night making scrolls, Naruto was so sleepy during the day that he could barely keep his eyes open, but he still had to stand as punishment with his eyes closed. This annoying little rascal in academic classes shone brightly in physical combat class. He threw shuriken quite skillfully and could even fight Sasuke to a standstill. The two of them were the undisputed first and second in the class; no other kid could match them.

Life at the Ninja Academy was easy, but the Uchiha clan and Konoha's higher-ups were making increasingly frequent moves. Naruto worked overtime to complete his preparations but couldn't feel happy at all, frequently using the Flying Thunder God Technique to travel to the Naka River. Kurama was honored to witness the entire process of activating the theoretical three-stage Flying Thunder God Technique, and while shocked, he muttered to himself that Naruto was indeed a monster.

The development concept of Flying Thunder God is actually quite simple. The first stage is shooting at a fixed target, the second stage is shooting at a moving target, and the third stage is blind shooting with perfect accuracy. Theoretically, a person can teleport to any location within their perception range, but without marker guidance, the landing point is difficult to pinpoint, and if one is not careful, they will not know where they went.

But Naruto succeeded. Even though the distance was just the ground, it was still a success.

"All set up." Naruto casually sat on the millennia-old stone tablet bearing the legacy of the Uchiha clan. If the timing weren't so unfortunate, he would have definitely smashed it to pieces by now. Speaking of which, since the surprise attack a few years ago, fewer White Zetsu have been sent to Konoha, not to mention Black Zetsu. That bastard hasn't even shown its face yet; truly worthy of being a relic of an ancient era that has survived for a thousand years. Who knows if it has sliced ​​itself into pieces? Capturing a complete Black Zetsu definitely requires a long-term plan.

"Do you think that guy will believe you?" Kurama disliked every Uchiha equally, and was particularly unenthusiastic when it came to saving people.

"Not believing is just a little more troublesome." Naruto dusted himself off and boldly left his Flying Thunder God mark on the wall of the Uchiha secret chamber. No matter what Fugaku chose, what he had to do wouldn't change; the only difference was how much chakra it would consume.

Kurama didn't understand human internal struggles; he only knew that coups involved bloodshed, but how much bloodshed? He probably had no concept of that. So, when that day came, Kurama finally realized what Naruto meant by sacrifice.

Tonight is a full moon, but its light is cold and pale, unable to reflect any vibrant colors.

The Uchiha children were probably naturally reserved; despite filling the almost completely sealed room, they made very little noise. Naruto appeared without warning, and the traps activated just as suddenly, binding the group of children together with wire mesh. Without wasting words with the kids, he instantly activated the Flying Thunder God Technique, making quite a commotion upon landing, almost breaking Shisui's bed.

"?? Naruto?" Even though Shisui had been honed to have extremely fast reflexes, he was still dumbfounded when faced with a group of kittens.

"...Is that Brother Zhishui?" One of the kittens poked its head out, its cat eyes wide with disbelief.

"Shisui, settle them in." Naruto was dressed unusually in all black today, his voice slightly breathless and revealing a hint of exhaustion. Shisui's heart sank. He already guessed what had happened, but he just couldn't believe it.

"What's going on?" Tobirama's arrival interrupted the question he was about to ask; he couldn't possibly have missed such a commotion.

Naruto grabbed Tobirama and, for the first time, spoke in an almost commanding tone: "Take me back to Konoha, preferably to the Uchiha clan's territory."

At this point, it was impossible to explain in detail what had happened. The moment Tobirama saw the Uchiha boy, his temples began to throb; even though he was supposed to be dead, he felt his blood pressure spike. The Uchiha clan grounds, of course, bore the Second Hokage's mark, even after they had moved. The moment he landed, Tobirama knew his heart could finally die; he sensed the bubbles symbolizing life constantly bursting and disappearing. Even with his eyes closed, he knew exactly what had happened in the clan grounds.

How could they have exterminated the entire clan? Why was the order for extermination given? What if it was a planned coup? Capturing and imprisoning the leader would have served as both a deterrent and a form of appeasement. Using such a low-level method as extermination—did the higher-ups think they were no match for the Uchiha?

"Uncle Tobirama, could you please go to the police force and collect as many remains as possible... the kind that don't require Sharingan. There's a troublesome guy over there; don't confront him directly for now." Naruto gave Tobirama a sealing scroll, then created several clones of himself, disappearing into the night along with his main body.

Tobirama's emotions were in turmoil; he only needed a few words to guess Naruto's true intentions. But an argument couldn't happen in this race against time. He gripped the scroll tightly and vanished into the night in an instant.

Today, Sasuke was accompanied by a clone of Naruto, so he had no idea what new idea his good friend had come up with, which was why he was back so late. Naruto didn't use his eyes to see; he could sense when Sasuke crossed the excessively quiet street, how excitedly he pushed open the door, and how he was trembling and collapsing in fear at the sight before him. But there was nothing he could do, because the thick spatial scroll before him still needed him to fill the last gap. The spatial array was the scroll's skeleton, the remains and names of the dead were its flesh and blood, and within the light, floating scroll lay the lives of an entire clan.

"The police force is also an Uchiha." Tobirama was quick; he even dispelled the genjutsu maintaining the Edo Tensei when he returned. Clearly, he also used Shadow Clones to increase efficiency. "That Uchiha's ability is very special, and it seems he's after the Sharingan. There were quite a few corpses with their eyes gouged out along the way."

"Yeah, I'm almost done here too." Naruto didn't even look up, continuing to cast sealing techniques, his shadow clones appearing and disappearing repeatedly.

Naruto was prepared to break Kurama's seal for this day.

The two waited in silence for the last shadow clone to return and report. Soon, some of the shadow clones that had dispersed returned but didn't set off again, meaning their assigned areas were complete. Once all the shadow clones were back in place, Naruto released them all in one go, nearly fainting on the spot. Tobirama instinctively reached out to support him, but then remembered he'd been tricked into working here, and began to consider whether cleaning up his own mess or educating a junior was more difficult.

"I'm entrusting these to you." Naruto shook his head, trying to stay awake, and solemnly handed the two scrolls to Tobirama. "Tomorrow, I will recall the current head of the Uchiha clan, as well as your brother."

Tobirama's expression was quite complicated. Even now, he still couldn't figure out what the child was planning to do. He didn't like being manipulated, but he couldn't bring himself to hate Naruto. Was he finally going to release his older brother?

"Shouldn't you tell us the real reason you summoned us tomorrow?"

"of course."

Staying up late is painful, but having ten of you staying up late together and still having to get up on time is doubly painful. The poor little alarm clock almost died of old age; Naruto was just too exhausted to keep slamming it down.

Sasuke, Sasuke… think about Sasuke now! Naruto, how can you, the culprit, still be sleeping!

Naruto struggled to climb out of the doghouse, and it took him several seconds to control his legs, which were itching to run to the hospital. He should be at school now, not going to see a doctor for no reason. But once at school, that nagging discomfort wouldn't go away. He kept staring at the empty seat, his mind wandering, and despite being called on by Iruka-sensei several times, he still wouldn't change his ways.

"Naruto, what's wrong with you today?" Iruka cornered Naruto after class. The news of the Uchiha clan hadn't spread yet, but as Sasuke's teacher, the only survivor, Iruka naturally knew the truth. It was already remarkable that he could remain calm and attend class. But noticing Naruto's unusual behavior, he felt a little uneasy. He'd only been away from Naruto for a day, and he was already like this; what would happen if he knew about the Uchiha clan…

Naruto scratched the back of his head and smiled habitually. "Sorry, Sensei, I noticed Sasuke isn't here today, which is a bit strange. He always tells me everything, he's never broken a promise. I'm planning to go to his house to find him!"

Iruka immediately stopped Naruto, who was about to launch himself, and said urgently, "Sasuke isn't home!" That area is probably under lockdown, and Naruto is always causing trouble; he might have sneaked in. What if he sees something he shouldn't? He might get seriously injured.

"Does teacher know where Sasuke is?" Naruto looked at Iruka expectantly. "Take me to him!"

It shouldn't be the visiting period yet, and even if it were, it would be under Sasuke's guardianship... Well, I'll probably become half of Sasuke's guardianship.

Iruka succumbed to those clear, bright blue eyes and granted the reasonable request.