Naruto: The Last Harbinger of Storm
NTLHOS BOOK 2: Chapter 36: The New Field.
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🖋️ Author's Note:
Hey everyone!
Sorry for the late post. AI image generation is still not working, but I didn't want to delay the chapter any further. I'll add the visuals once I regain access to my image account.
This is a whopping 10,000-word chapter, setting the stage for the epic battle between Hiruzen and Negate. Who will emerge victorious? That's for you to find out. ⚔️🔥
‼️ Spoiler Alert- skip ahead if you want to avoid any hints:
Remember Hiruzen's cryptic line:
"Even if I die, there will be one person who will protect Konoha — my equal."
Who is this mysterious person? That doesn't confirm whether Hiruzen lives or dies…
Also, Naruto's exile may be coming to an end sooner than expected. How soon? I'll keep that part a surprise. 😏
Once again, thanks for your patience, and let me know in the comments:
Would you prefer one massive 7k–10k chapter per week or two shorter chapters instead?
Please Like and Comment.
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"I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times."— Bruce Lee
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Previously on NTLHOS-2:
"You've come for my power, I see it in your eyes!/But you're messing with B, to your surprise!/Gonna get stung by this lyrical bee!/Just try and take a Tailed Beast from me!"
Kisame let out a low, guttural laugh, unwrapping Samehada, which quivered with excitement.
Itachi remained silent. His black eyes morphed, the three tomoe of the Sharingan spinning into view, their crimson gaze promising a battle of illusions and prophecies. The confrontation was set. The hunters had found their prey.
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Now:
The air in the office of the Terumi Clan Head was still and heavy. Sunlight streamed through the large window, illuminating the prosperous, vibrant streets of Uzushiogakure below, a city that have chaged over the past few years.
"WHAT? What did you say?" the aurban haired lady asked, her voice dangerously quiet, a stark contrast to the paleness of her face.
Kneeling before her was Isori Terumi, an elite Jōnin and the commander of the ill-fated expedition. Her head was bowed, her posture one of perfect submission, yet a faint tremor ran through her shoulders.
"It is true, my lady," Isori said, her voice strained. "What we designed as a slow, methodical encroachment and an easy acquisition of resources… it has become an irreversible mess. I tried. I swear I tried my best."
She took a shaky breath and continued her report. "Initially, our strategy was successful as we had decided. Over the past two years, we used mercenaries to agitate and push the borders, securing nearly one-third of the Jiro Isles'. Our mining and lumber operations began without issue. But then… a monk appeared."
Mei's hands, resting on the granite of her desk, clenched.
"I didn't put much stock in it at first," Isori continued. "We operated through proxies; our hands were clean. But this monk met with the mayor we control. The man is a greedy coward, the very thing we have long used to our advantage, but his cowardice makes him cold footed. The thought of a monk from the mainland bringing unwanted attention gave him cold feet. One of our mercenary crews, eager to renew their contract, took it upon themselves to eliminate the problem."
Isori's head dipped lower. "Their leader returned to our camp alone, his body brutally mutilated, his spirit broken. His entire crew was slaughtered in the forest. He claimed the monk was responsible and he was at the minimum S rank. At that point, our options were limited. The tribes were preparing for all-out war. We decided on a pre-emptive strike, to take half the forest by force and end it."
She paused, the memory clearly agonizing. "We attacked at night. They were caught unprepared, and yet they mustered a token force that fought with the ferocity of cornered beasts. We were gaining ground, pushing them back… and then I felt it. A massive aura erupted from the very core of the forest. I couldn't sense his energy at first, not directly. But I recognized the method. It felt… akin to the spiritual arts we practice at our own shrines, yet infinitely older, more primal. I knew it was some form of divine presence."
"And from it," Isori's voice dropped to a whisper, "a barrier manifested. A barrier of such scale and power… perhaps only the Uzumakis could have conceived it. It was inferior to the great barrier of Uzushiogakure, of course, but it dwarfed the defenses of any other hidden village. My first thought was that a remnant of the Uzumaki clan had taken refuge there, maintaining a forgotten shrine and activating a failsafe. I approached it to scan the seal-work."
Her voice trembled now, the professional shinobi lost to the terrified witness. "My lady… I touched it. And I felt his wrath. I felt the utter, crushing disappointment. I felt the floodgates of his power being held back by the thinnest of threads. It was him. He was there. And he was restraining every last ounce of his being to keep from swatting us down like insects, simply because he is bound by the terms of his exile. I felt him."
Mei had gone deathly pale. She turned away from Isori, staring out at the city 'he' had built. Her city now. The move she had made, this aggressive expansion, was to strengthen her clan, to secure Uzushio's future with resources and wealth. It was to ensure that the weakness and political rot that allowed the Bloody Mist to fester could never, ever take root here. It was a decision born out of the need that her clan will never face what it faced once.
And now, a ghost from her more recent past had returned to haunt her.
She knew of the restraint Isori spoke of. He was being held back by the divine conditions of his exile. It had been almost three years. Two and odd years of his followers twisting his dream. She was one among them and she knew it.
Her mind spun. What or when, he comes back?
Even now, after all this, Mei knew her loyalty to Naruto Uzumaki was absolute. He had found them, the survivors of the purge, hiding in the cesspits of the Land of Water. He had pulled them from the quicksand that was slowly, inexorably swallowing them whole. When he first found them, they were neck-deep in mud, waiting for a slow, ignoble death.
He had given them hope. The seal he'd provided all those years ago had allowed them to briefly overthrow Yagura, a victory that, while short-lived, kindled a flame that sustained them for years more of bitter fighting. And when that flame was all but extinguished, when they had lost everything, he had come back for them. He had given them a home. A future. And he had given them what they craved above all else: Justice.
He had claimed the Mist for a short, it shattered the venomous, blood-soaked system Yagura had built. Mei, who had been his right hand during that campaign, knew him better than almost anyone. Naruto Uzumaki was a fair and just man. Yes, he was a master of underhanded tactics, a grand strategist who had wrapped the entire Elemental Nations in his plans, subverting, circumventing, and eliminating adversaries when necessary. But there was always a code to his machinations. Justice was the steel spine of his pragmatism.
And what they had done in the Jiro Isles—preying on an ancient, peaceful people for profit—was not justice in his eyes. It was crossing a line. It was the very sickness he had fought to cure. And for that violation, she knew they would all have to pay.
Her thoughts took another dark tangent. Was his return truly a good thing anymore? For the world, yes. For them?
"My lady," Isori's voice cut through her spiraling thoughts. "There is one year and two months remaining on his primary contracts with the daimyos. I do not know the criteria of his conteact deitiy, nor what conditions must be met for his return. But the daimyo contract ends soon…"
Isori didn't need to finish the sentence. Mei understood completely, only a year remaining to complete four years; how time flies and things change.
Mei sighed. "I have a shinobi council meeting now," she said. "Something bad has happened, and with this headache, it's only going to get worse. Today has been nothing but one piece of bad news after another." She stood and walked out.
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The chamber was not the opulent Royal Court. This was military council room buried deep within the administrative heart of Uzushiogakure. Here, the gilded veneer of the city was stripped away, revealing the hard, pragmatic machinery that kept it running. The air was thick with tension, a palpable force emanating from the assembly of clan heads, provincial governors, and the highest echelons of the military. At the head of the imposing obsidian table sat the Acting Regent Head: Lady Tsunade Uzumaki nee Senju.
"How can this be?!"
The roar came from Torifu Akimichi, his burly frame barely contained by his formal robes. He slammed a fist the size of a small boulder onto the council desk, the impact echoing like a thunderclap. The stone, reinforced with seals, trembled but held. "Us? Our Jinchūriki? Despite every report we've received stating that the Akatsuki are hunting them down, they managed to kidnap both of them right under our very fucking noses! This is nothing short of incompetence at the highest level!"
Tsunade, who had been sitting with her eyes closed, her steepled fingers resting beneath her chin, did not flinch. "I myself am very shocked with this turn of events, Lord Akimichi," she stated, her voice calm but carrying an undercurrent of cold fury. She was, in fact, furious. The initial plan, the one she had approved, was to send Lord Suifu to deal with the recalcitrant daimyo. The last-minute change, pushed through the council by a coalition she was growing to despise, had reeked of political manoeuvring. Now, it reeked of catastrophe.
"There is no point in being shocked, Lord Akimichi," a silken, dangerous voice cut through the room. Manjutsu Hozuki rose to his feet. Once a warrior famed for his ability to wield all seven legendary blades of the Mist, he was now the rapidly expanding head of the Hozuki clan, a clan that in the private opinion of Kiriya Yamanaka, was multiplying like cockroaches. "This merely shows the heightened level of incompetence that has festered in Uzushiogakure. And who made it so?" he said looking at tsunade.
As if on cue, the moment he finished speaking, the other members of the self-styled 'Water Alliance' stood in solidarity, their glares fixed on Tsunade. It was a coordinated political strike.
Mei Terumi, seated beside Manjutsu, felt a spike of unease. A cold knot tightened in her stomach. The general council was unaware of the specific circumstances of the Jinchūriki's disappearance; they assumed an abduction from within Uzushio's sphere of influence. But Mei knew better. Her spies had already confirmed the devastating truth: Fū and Utakata had vanished during the mission to the Land of bear, the very mission the Water Alliance had championed. She had pushed for it, arguing it was a perfect, low-risk opportunity for the Jinchūriki to demonstrate Uzushio's might. Now, she knew Tsunade was about to detonate that truth in the middle of this chamber. Provoking the Senju further would be suicidally counterproductive.
She subtly gestured with her hand, a small, sharp motion, signalling for Manjutsu to sit down.
He caught the gesture, a flicker of confusion in his eyes. This was a golden opportunity to take Tsunade down a peg, to chip away at the absolute authority granted to her by the Emperor's decree. They held nothing personal against the Senju princess— her rule was, for the most part, fair and effective. But diminishing her political capital would grant their own clans more leeway, more power to entrench themselves in this new era. The Water Alliance had sworn a silent, bloody oath after their liberation: never again would their passivity or lack of participation allow them to face the horrors of the Bloody Mist. They would be proactive. They would be powerful. They would never be victims again.
Still, he trusted Mei's political acumen. He couldn't just abruptly sit, but he let the venom in his voice recede, his tirade slowly losing its momentum.
Tsunade had borne the insults with her eyes closed, her arms crossed, a picture of forced patience. But as Manjutsu's voice tapered off, she'd had enough. Her hand shot out, not with the full force of her monstrous strength, but with enough focused power to make her point.
CRACK!
The solid, seal-reinforced obsidian desk split clean in two, the pieces crashing to the floor with a deafening finality. The entire hall fell silent, the shockwave of the act silencing every whispered comment and resentful glare.
Tsunade's eyes snapped open, blazing with golden-brown fire. "Do you know where these two Jinchūriki went missing?" she demanded, her voice cutting through the silence like shards of glass. "They were on the assignment. An assignment whose operational details were known only to the clan heads and select members of your own factions." Her gaze swept across the Water Alliance, sharp and accusatory. "I don't want to point fingers regarding who was in favor of that motion and who was against it. I am not here to throw blame. We have lost our Jinchūrikis. The seals we place on all high-value shinobi, the ones designed to track their whereabouts, have gone silent. This means the Akatsuki have a seal user of considerable skill, someone between Mastery and Grand Mastery, capable of detecting and disabling our most advanced tracking Fūinjutsu."
She let that sink in before continuing, her tone growing grim and analytical. "Bring forward the culprits who joined this conspiracy organized by the Akatsuki," she ordered. From the moment Tsunade received news of the abduction, she had launched a full investigation. With the Mind Eye of Kaguya, few could lie, and although she could not easily implicate the clan heads themselves, their trusted followers were fair game. She followed every lead to the final conspirator. None of the clan heads had been involved, instead, a handful of their retainers had been swayed by promises of favours and had leaked information to the Akatsuki. Once the evidence was laid bare, Tsunade had each one executed, no one protested. Then she continued.
"We do not have our Jinchūriki. From our intelligence reports, neither does Iwa, as both of their Jinchūriki have been taken. The Three-Tails has been captured, according to a report Jiraiya shared with us. We all know of the attack on Suna. And our spies confirm Kumogakure's Two-Tails has also gone missing. This leaves only two: the Eight-Tails and the Nine-Tails."
"This raises several possibilities," she said, pacing before the broken desk. "The first, and least likely, is that Konoha is working with the Akatsuki. Despite all their faults, they would not dare to so drastically upset the global balance of power at such an unpredictable juncture. But I keep the possibility open."
"The second possibility is that Kumo is working with Akatsuki."
A council member interjected, "But Lady Tsunade, didn't you say they lost the Two-Tails?"
"Yes, they did," Tsunade confirmed. "But they could have faked the loss to deflect suspicion, to buy time. If Kumo secretly possessed all seven captured beasts, plus their own fully-realized Eight-Tails, they could create a new generation of Jinchūriki. With Killer B's knowledge, they could train them to full mastery. An army of eight Tailed Beasts is a force few could stand against. Even my sensei… I do not know how he would fare against such a force without the Nine-Tails. They could bully the other nations into submission. But they would have likely made their move already. Their own economic and political instability makes such a grand plan unlikely for now. That is why I have reduced the possibility."
"This leaves the most probable, and most dangerous, conclusion: The Akatsuki has grown powerful enough to make its presence known on the world stage. Our intelligence points their base of operations to the Land of Rain. We don't know the status of Hanzō of the Salamander, whether he is alive or dead. And I assure you," she said, her voice hardening at the memory, "many mock the Sannin for earning our title by losing to that man. But I tell you this, I have seen few people more frightening. He was in his prime when we fought him. He may have aged since then for sure… or he may not have. It has become a fashion these days for every old coot who should be in their grave to take enhancements to retain their youth and longevity."
Several shinobi in the room visibly raised their eyebrows. Isn't the secret to your own timeless beauty an enhancement unto itself? The unspoken question hung in the air.
Tsunade's eye twitched. Her expression, in a single, terrifying look, conveyed a very clear message: One comment on my appearance and I will smash you all to smithereens. The thought evaporated from every mind in the room.
"That," she continued smoothly, "is why we are not launching an outright, blind assault on Amegakure. However, we will be mobilizing our forces. We will begin a massive, systematic manhunt for any and all Akatsuki members."
She gestured to an aide, who began distributing folders to everyone at the table. "Konoha's involvement is further reduced by recent events. In their pursuit of the Akatsuki, a Konoha team including the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, Konohamaru Sarutobi, successfully killed the bomber, Deidara. More recently, we've received news that another Akatsuki duo, Kakuzu and Hidan, were intercepted while trying to collect the bounty on Asuma Sarutobi and Asuma was retrieved alive. That team consisted of Konohamaru Sarutobi, Sakura Haruno, Shikamaru Nara, the Hyūga heiress Hinata, and Kakashi Hatake. It is not yet fully confirmed, but the immortal Kakuzu, the man who fought my grandfather, was reportedly killed by Konohamaru Sarutobi with a new Jutsu, a modification of the Rasengan."
A low murmur of outrage filled the room. Despite any political differences, their exiled Emperor was a beloved, almost mythical figure. The injustice of Jiraiya teaching the Rasengan, the signature Jutsu of the Emperor's own father, to a Sarutobi, still stung. Though Naruto had decoded and mastered it through his own genius, the insult lingered. To hear it was now being modified by another boiled their blood. Of course, they had absolute faith that whatever this child had created was a pale imitation of what their Emperor could do, with or without the Nine-Tails, but the principle of the matter was galling.
Tsunade let them simmer for a moment before pressing on. "You will all find a file on Konohamaru Sarutobi on your desks. He is rising to be a significant threat. Not because of any hostile action towards us, but because his prowess is growing at a drastic rate. He has been trained by my former colleague Jiraiya, my sensei Hiruzen Sarutobi, and his maternal grandfather Alaruya Surugi. He is a Toad Summoner. He possesses a massive chakra supply which has grown exponentially under their tutelage. And his skill in Fūinjutsu, taught by both Jiraiya and the Surugi clan, is at a Mastery level even by Uzushio's standards."
"Furthermore, like my sensei, he has been trained to wield all five basic elements to an exceptional level, with reports indicating Grand Mastery in three of them. It is also confirmed that he can control the Nine-Tails' power up to the sixth tail, which already places him above almost all S-rank shinobi. He is a solid mid-to-high tier S-rank threat."
"His variant of the Rasengan is a particular concern. He has developed three elemental versions. The Wind Style: Rasenshuriken, an S-rank Jutsu we are all aware of. He also has an Inferno Release: Rasengan, another S-rank technique, and an Earth Style: Earth-Crusher Rasengan, which is said to pulverize anything it touches. To compound this, he is a dual summoner. He has access not only to the Toads of Mount Myōboku but also the Apes of the Aramatsu Forest, which makes him dangerously versatile. I would not be surprised if he soon ventures into Sage Arts. Jiraiya is a known Toad Sage, and it is a lesser-known fact that my sensei is also a Sage, contracted to the Apes. I have never heard of a dual summoner, even during the Shinobi Great Wars, the Toads, Slugs, and Snakes only allied due to the three of us. The Apes only joined the Deadlock Alliance because of our loyalty to Sensei. The potential of a shinobi who can call upon two Sage clans is… unknown."
"By our threat assessment, Konohamaru Sarutobi is a high S-rank shinobi. The speed at which he is rising is alarming. If he ever manages to fully control the Nine-Tails, he will easily become an SS-rank threat. For comparison, the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki is a low SS-rank threat. The current global landscape contains only a handful of true SS-ranks. My sensei, Hiruzen Sarutobi, is an upper-tier SS-rank. Nobunaga is mid-to-high. Hanzō, based on outdated information, is mid-tier. My husband, when he was last in the Bingo Books, was also a mid-to-high SS-rank. The current Raikage and the Tsuchikage are low-tier SS-ranks, powerful, but not in that same legendary stratum. At his current rate of growth, Konohamaru, will soon reach that level."
Tsunade paused, letting the weight of the global situation settle upon them. Then, her voice became hard as diamond.
"Now, to the matter at hand. Within the Uzumaki clan, our Jinchūriki are considered family. Their abduction will tantamount as kidnapping of a clan member. Therefore, I am not putting a motion to this council to debate retaliation. This is a declaration. The Royal line of Uzumaki, by the act of war committed by the Akatsuki and, by extension, the Land of Rain, hereby declares the Akatsuki an enemy of the empire. Any and all individuals or groups associated with them, directly or indirectly, will also be considered an enemy of the Uzumaki clan. The moment we confirm Amegakure is their headquarters, they will be punished, with or without Hanzō's involvement. People forget, we have Lord Suifu. We have an SS-rank shinobi of our own. We can turn their nation to dust if we must."
The declaration hung in the air, absolute and irrevocable. It was Mei Terumi who rose first, her expression cleared of all political cunning, replaced by a grim resolve.
"If I may, Lady Tsunade," she said, receiving a uncertain nod. "We have all had our differences. We have fought for power, for influence, for differing ideologies on how this village should be run. I do not deny this. But we built this village together. We have all sworn our allegiance to the Uzumaki clan and to Uzushiogakure. Today, it is not the Terumi clan, nor the Hozuki clan, that has been attacked. It is Uzushiogakure. Every single individual in this city will be equally outraged by this act. The Terumi clan pledges its full and unconditional support for this retaliation."
She took a deep breath, her gaze sweeping over the council. "My… Water Alliance… pushed for the motion that sent Fū and Utakata on that mission. And as Lady Tsunade's investigation has revealed, officials were bribed, not with money, for this golden city has made us all wealthy, but with promises of power and influence. I am ashamed to say some of them were people I once considered dear to me. I feel no sadness for their execution. I condemn them. For all our differences, we have all sweat and bled for this village, this mother Uzushiogakure that gave us sanctuary and a new dimension of life when the world cast us out. I am not proud of many things that have happened. I know I am equally responsible. I am not cleaning my hands of this act, nor am I saying my political manoeuvring will cease. It has become a need, a system that has developed unto itself. But on this, there is no debate. The Terumi clan stands behind the Uzumaki."
Immediately after Mei sat, old Torifu Akimichi heaved his massive frame to his feet. "While I disagree with Lady Terumi on many things, on this, I agree completely. The village stands above all. Konoha made the mistake of placing its internal politics above its own interest. Vultures like Danzō Shimura festered in those crevices. When Lord Second passed, Hiruzen was made Hokage. He did many despicable things, as we all do. We are shinobi, not saints, despite our spiritual ways. But Danzō… he used even war to advance his own agenda. You could trust him to protect Konoha, in his own convoluted way, but you could never trust his motives in a time of crisis. I hope none of us become a Danzō here, using this time of need to advance our own power."
One by one, they stood. Kiriya Yamanaka and her faction. The governors. Even Shisui Uchiha. "I echo Lord Akimichi's words," Shisui said, his voice calm but firm. "Whatever mistakes we have made, whatever politics we have played that may have besmirched our Emperor's memory, let us never allow Uzushiogakure to fall to the point where we create Danzōs among ourselves, taking advantage of our own crisis."
Tsunade nodded. "From the latest intelligence," she announced, "the Raikage has sent an emissary, calling for a six Kage Summit." She corrected herself. "An All Kage Summit. Knowing that the Lord of Uzushio is young and cannot attend, he has summoned me as the Regent of the Uzumaki clan. The summit was to be held in two months, but the Daimyos, for their own reasons, have stalled any attendance by the Kage. The summit will now take place in six months. It will be the first Kage Summit since Uzushiogakure was officially recognized as one of the major six villages."
A council member at the end of the table chuckled grimly. "Not one of the major villages, my lady. The major village among villages."
A few scattered chuckles rippled through the room, breaking the tension.
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The rain fell in endlessly, weeping sheets against the reinforced windows of Amegakure's tallest, needle-like spire. Inside, the air was cold, sterile, and still, a stark contrast to the eternal storm outside. Nagato stood before the vast window, his silhouette a dark scar against the grey vista of his village, a village built on sorrow, irrigated by tears, and controlled with the unblinking vigilance of a god. The city was a perfect reflection of his own soul: perpetually grey, meticulously ordered, and ruled by a pain that masqueraded as divinity.
"So, Madara, we have captured all seven," Nagato stated, dispassionate monotone that seemed to be absorbed by the room's oppressive silence. The rippling purple patterns of the Rinnegan in his eyes held no light, only depth. Beside him, Konan stood, ever his loyal shadow, her presence as quiet, constant, and melancholic as the rain itself. In the chamber, four figures were present. The fourth, a grotesque being of bifurcated black and white, emerged from the cold steel floor as if it were the floor once.
"What is Uzushiogakure's response to this?" Nagato asked.
Zetsu's two halves spoke in a discordant chorus, a sound that always set Konan's teeth on edge. "I do not know the full details," the black half rasped, its voice like grinding stones. "Even I cannot venture into the palace of the Uzumaki clan. Me venturing into Uzushiogakure is itself a danger. The entire nation is a fortress of seals. While I can enter their lands by my own means, I can neither capture nor abduct anyone. The moment I fully materialize, the ambient seals will get hold of my presence, and it will alert their barrier Corps of my intrusion. They are… sensitive."
The white half continued, its tone deceptively lighter, almost cheerful. "But the palace… I cannot even go there, even half-materialized! The density of the protective Fūinjutsu is on a whole other level. It's beyond even me. But! From the people I have on my payroll, the ones whose greed outweighs their fear, I have learned this: the Uzumaki have declared an all-out manhunt on the Akatsuki. Anywhere a red cloud is seen will be considered an enemy of the empire. They will be killed on sight, and they will not show any mercy. They are quite serious about it!"
"What next, Madara?" Nagato asked, finally turning from the window to face the masked man who wore the name of a legend.
Tobi, his single Sharingan burning. "The plan proceeds. I already send Itachi and Kisame to the Land of Lightning. The Raikage has summoned a Kage Summit, the Eight-Tails has been hidden away on an obscure island in their archipelago. We have received the exact location from an old acquaintance… Orochimaru, of all people."
Konan's paper-like wings rustled slightly, the only sign of her surprise. "Orochimaru? That snake does nothing without a price. His motivations are entirely self-serving."
"And we have paid his price," Tobi explained nonchalantly, as if discussing a routine transaction. "It seems the island is a place he once had a slight scientific interest in, some unique specimens studied and where he followed the previous container of eight tails." Tobi paused, letting the implication hang in the air. "And one other thing."
"What favor?" asked Nagato, his voice flat.
"Orochimaru wants to know 'his' whereabouts."
Nagato's impassive facade remained, a perfect mask of indifference, but a subtle shift occurred in the room's atmosphere. It was a pressure drop, the kind that precedes a devastating storm. "Whose whereabouts?"
"Naruto Uzumaki."
Nagato fell silent. The name echoed in the chamber, holding a weight far greater than any of the others. For even he, the man who called himself a god, the wielder of the Sage of Six Paths' own eyes, the self-proclaimed arbiter of the world's pain, knew that if there was one man in the entirety of the Elemental Nations he was truly wary of, it was Naruto Uzumaki.
It was not merely due to the might the man wielded, though that was considerable. Nagato had convinced everyone around him, including the ever-faithful Konan and Madara, that he was an invincible deity, a force beyond mortal comprehension. But internally, in the quiet, honest moments of his solitude, he harboured no such delusions. He knew that the battle against Hanzō, even an aged Hanzō weakened by years of paranoia and seclusion, had pushed him. He had won, but it was a victory measured in inches, paid for with Yahiko's dream and his own humanity. If he had faced the Salamander in his prime, the prime that had single-handedly fought the three nascent Sannin and earned their legendary title through their defeat, the outcome would have been terrifyingly uncertain. He was more powerful now, yes, his mastery of the Six Paths more refined. But the memory of that struggle, the taste of his own mortality, remained.
And Naruto Uzumaki was powerful. Madara's briefings on the Uzushio's conflict were extensive and chilling. Naruto had defeated a fully realized Jinchūriki in Yagura, a feat few could even contemplate, and then immediately fought the monster, Nobunaga Yukesen, to a standstill, forcing him to retreat. That was power on a scale that demanded respect. And of course, there was Hiruzen Sarutobi, the old 'professor' in Konoha, another giant of the old world whose power, even in his dotage, was undeniable. Yet he was not afraid of these figures.
No, what Nagato truly, deeply unsettled about Naruto Uzumaki was not his brawn, but his brain.
The world had its few intelligent people. The Nara of Konoha were the prime example, their strategic genius so profound it bordered on precognition. They could weave strategies and logic that could ensnare any opponent. But intelligence had its limits. It was a force multiplier, not a force unto itself. However brilliant a Nara might be, when faced with the raw, apocalyptic power of a Biju, they would inevitably die. An entire clan of them, with all their centuries of accumulated strategy, could not halt the Nine-Tails' rampage on Konoha. The force was too overwhelming; their plans were simply washed away by a tide of its chakra. That is why might ultimately mattered. That is why none of them ever became Hokage.
But when a brain that could rival or even surpass any Nara, a mind capable of grand strategy on a global scale was housed within a body that could not be intimidated by power because it possessed overwhelming, world-breaking power of its own… that was the most dangerous combination imaginable. That was a true god, or the closest thing to it this world could produce.
Years ago, when the name Akatsuki was not even a whisper among the nations, when it was just a shadow forming, Nagato had begun hearing reports. A small boy from Konoha, a child of eight or so, had sabotaged Yagura and mist village from within by creating a seal of all things, a complex Fūinjutsu array that could subdue Yagura. He had infiltrated the Land of Mist, a nation notoriously impossible to penetrate, risen through the ranks of its bloody rebellion, and when discovered through the incompetence of others, had escaped their grasp. When Nagato heard the name, Naruto Uzumaki, he knew the child was the son of infamous Red-Devil, Kushina Uzumaki, he began to follow the boy's journey with a keen, almost obsessive interest.
He had, despite never having met her, once greatly admired Kushina. During his darker days, powerless years under Hanzō's tyranny, while biding his time and seething with impotent rage, he had heard stories of the Third Shinobi World War. He heard how Kushina had single-handedly drenched the world in the blood of its nobility to avenge the fall of Uzushio, to exact revenge for the scattered, hunted remnants like his own parents. She had not discriminated between Konoha and its enemies.
Years later, when Nagato investigated the Konoha regiment responsible for his parents' murder, intending to exact his own bloody vengeance, he found that Kushina had already done it. Unaware of his survival, she had somehow discovered that an Uzumaki family had been murdered by Konoha shinobi during a border skirmish. She had personally hunted down the entire regiment. If the rumors were to be believed, their families were killed first, and the shinobi were made to watch, just to feel a fraction of the pain the Uzumaki had felt for generations.
So when the name Uzumaki emerged from Konoha again, a generation later, he immediately tasked Konan with gathering all available information on the boy. One look at the child's file, and he knew. There was a faint resemblance to the Fourth Hokage, the Yellow Flash, but Nagato had idealized Kushina for so long, he knew her face intimately, from the few faded photographs he had managed to find. The boy had her defiant eyes, her cheekbones, her fire.
And from there, the boy had worked what Nagato could only describe as magic. Nagato, despite possessing the Rinnegan and the noble Uzumaki bloodline, had been forced into the shadows, gathering power in secret, terrified of being discovered before he was ready. But this boy, this Naruto, had been in the gutter and in the limelight simultaneously. He had crawled his way up from the despised commoner, to the very pinnacle of the world's most powerful village. It was a feat Nagato, in his most honest moments, grudgingly admired. He knew this boy would become a great man. For a time, he even saw a possibility, a flicker of hope that perhaps this boy could change the world in a way he couldn't. He saw the way Naruto questioned the very foundations of Konoha, the bedrock of the current shinobi world, and saw a kindred spirit.
Nagato was a voracious student of history. Before he reached his, final conclusion that the world needed to know pain to understand peace, he had desperately searched for other answers. He had ransacked libraries across the continent, not just for Jutsu to defeat Hanzō his revenge for Yahiko, but for philosophy, for a path to true, lasting peace. He studied the fall of his ancestors. He learned that peace achieved through tolerance and goodwill was a fragile, fleeting thing. If peace could be maintained by benevolence alone, the Uzumaki clan would have been the eternal paragon of the world. But their peace only lasted as long as their overwhelming power could deter others. Once a coalition strong enough to challenge them was formed, their peace, their tolerance, their entire civilization was ground into the dust of history. Power was the only true guarantor of peace.
And for years, it seemed Naruto Uzumaki had learned that lesson perfectly. Nagato watched, shocked, as the boy clawed his way up to a point where he became a direct rival to Hiruzen Sarutobi's own power base within Konoha, allying with the marginalized Uchiha and others. Nagato knew the old Hokage would eventually fight back. And as he always believed, however intelligent one is, might is might. Hiruzen had found the perfect justification, a daimyo's decree and with a flex of his immense political and physical might, he had banished the boy.
It was then that Nagato had decided he would extend an invitation to the Akatsuki. He would find this exiled genius. Perhaps even bring this fellow Uzumaki into his confidence, show him the true face behind the paths of Pain, and together, they could bring true peace to the world. But despite an intensive, worldwide search, just like Konoha, they could not find him. The boy had vanished from the face of the earth. Oh, his fingerprints were everywhere, new businesses propping up as if from nowhere, trade routes shifting, the economic landscape of the world subtly altering but the source remained an enigma.
And then, he had surfaced. Not as a wandering rogue, but as the leader of something Nagato thought was impossible. He had ventured into the ruins of Uzushio himself in his youth. Even with his Rinnegan, he had gazed upon Lord Ashina's final, great barrier and known that attempting to breach it would be disastrous. It was a monstrous, living seal, as if it funneled energy from the very core of the planet, forged from the collective sacrifice of an entire generation of warriors. Madara himself had called it peerless in the Fūinjutsu arts. Bizarrely, it seemed to be protecting ruined shrines and forgotten, slumbering deities rather than its people. Nagato, a man who believed he could become a god, not that one sat above judging the world, had found it perplexing. Yet, when he heard that Naruto Uzumaki, this boy who had been a street urchin only years before, had opened that very seal, he simply couldn't believe it.
Then came the empire. In a move that defied all political and historical precedent, Naruto had taken the entire Hoboku, a backwater region still mired in the squabbling, clan-war era, and in a few short years, had converted it into a fortress of global power. He had built blooming, modern cities, fostered unprecedented trade, and integrated the native clans without displacing or destroying them. Nagato had fully expected a Fourth Shinobi World War to erupt over this aggressive expansion, but it never came. Naruto Uzumaki had woven a web of economic dependency so masterfully, so intricately, that every daimyo, every merchant lord, was tied to his success. To wage war on Uzushio was to commit economic suicide. He had redrawn the map of the world not with a sword, but with a ledger. He had brought in the forgotten, the exiled like the Chinoike, thought to be extinct like the Kaguya, or even the Hatake and forged a new superpower from the dust.
Why didn't I think of such a thing? The thought was a bitter poison that Nagato often tasted in his solitude. With his Rinnegan and the might of eleven S-rank shinobi, he could have transformed the Land of Rain into an impregnable, prosperous fortress. He had the power, the infrastructure, the human resources. But Naruto, with a fraction of those resources, had done what Nagato could have, but didn't. His vision had been too narrow, focused only on the accumulation of military might through the Biju. Naruto had seen a bigger picture.
The standoff with Nobunaga Yukishin had only solidified Nagato's terror. He loathed Nobinaga, the monster responsible for the near-extinction of his clan. Yet, Madara had insisted on supporting him from the shadows, a ploy to let their enemies destroy each other. And what a colossal idiocy that had been. It was that conflict that had revealed Uzushio's terrifying military might. The Grand Marshal Suifu, a ghost from his mother's bedtime stories, had emerged from the past to push back even Nobinaga. The world had seen that Uzushio was not just an economic power; it was a sleeping giant, ready to awaken.
And then came the act that Nagato could never, ever comprehend. The ultimate betrayal of the philosophy of power. After winning, after holding the Elemental Nations by the balls, after demonstrating his absolute superiority, Naruto Uzumaki had attended a daimyo summit. He had wiped out the Land of Water's infrastructure, executed its Kage and its Daimyo, an act not even Hashirama Senju had dared and he had done it all within the bounds of their own laws. He held all the cards. All the power. And he went and bent his knee. For peace? Nagato had long believed that power was the only guarantor of peace. Naruto had proven him right again and again, and then, at the pinnacle of his success, at the moment of his absolute triumph, he had done what their ancestors did. He had appeased others. He had accepted exile.
Nagato had felt a profound, soul-crushing disappointment. Later, when he learned the full truth through Zetsu's spies that the exile was not an act of appeasement but a pre-planned sacrifice to save his people from Nobinaga, a brilliant, cold-blooded gambit to use his inevitable punishment to gain massive concessions like the entire Uchiha clan, their assets, and more from Konoha the disappointment turned back into bone-chilling fear. This was not a fool. This was the most dangerous kind of man. One with the brain beyond any Nara, the power of a Biju, and the heart of a chess grandmaster playing with nations as his pieces.
And now, Orochimaru, one of the most degusting minds, wanted to find him.
Nagato had recently learned to use his Rinnegan to perceive the subtle seismic patterns of the 'other realm,' the world of divine energies and spirits. He knew of the celestial contract that bound Naruto's exile, and he knew its conditions were entirely separate from the four-year political contract with the daimyos. Naruto Uzumaki would eventually return, and if he returned before Nagato had complete, perfect control of the Ten-Tails, he would face the most formidable enemy imaginable.
"Nagato." Madara's voice, a deep baritone from behind the mask, brought him crashing out of his deep, spiraling musings. "Your thoughts wander. The task is at hand. You have to go to Konoha and bring me the Nine-Tails. Itachi and Kisame have left for the Land of Lightning." Just then, Zetsu phased through the floor again, its two halves seeming to grin. "A message from the field. A successful capture. They have the Eight-Tails."
"Hiruzen Sarutobi will be in Konoha," Zetsu's white half chirped. "It would be foolishness to face him in battle. Even for a god."
Nagato bristled, his jaw tightening almost imperceptibly.
"Hiruzen is also known as the God of Shinobi, after all," Zetsu's black half added slyly, its voice dripping with false reverence.
The jab hit its mark, a precision strike against Nagato's ego. To be compared to a mortal, however powerful, was an insult.
But it was Madara who delivered the final, calculated stroke, the one designed to shatter his restraint. He scoffed, a dry, rasping sound that echoed with arrogance. "If someone can be called a God of Shinobi, it is only Senju Hashirama. After him, it is a mockery of the title to call someone as weak as Hiruzen a 'god'." The insult was a masterwork of manipulation, a subtle but sharp jab that implied even Nagato, with his legendary eyes, was nothing compared to the First Hokage.
Konan saw the trap with perfect clarity. She saw the glint in Madara's single eye, the sly, waiting satisfaction in Zetsu's posture. They were intentionally orchestrating this, poking and prodding at the one vulnerability she knew Nagato possessed: his monumental ego, his need to be seen not just as powerful, but as supreme.
"We can bait the Jinchūriki out, Nagato," Konan said, her voice laced with caution, a desperate attempt to steer him back to logic. "Lure him outside the village walls. It is the safer, more logical path. We can then capture him with minimal risk."
"He will not go out of Konoha," Madara countered smoothly, his voice leaving no room for argument. "A new order has been passed by their council. For his own protection, the Nine-Tails is to be kept in an undisclosed area deep within the village. Even Zetsu has not found it yet. There is no bait to be used."
It was a lie, or at least a convenient half-truth designed to close off all other options, and they all knew it. But it was the final push Nagato needed. The challenge had been laid. The implication was clear: You are not strong enough to invade the heart of the world's strongest village and face its 'god'.
Nagato turned slowly from the window, the rain-streaked city reflected in his impassive eyes.
"I will go to Konoha," he declared, his voice echoing with the finality. "And I will take him myself."
He looked past them, his gaze fixed on a future only he could see, a world united in shared understanding. "We have to set an example by the destruction of one of the great villages. Or else, it will only be Naruto Uzumaki that the Elemental Nations fears. They have to also fear Pain. For only with pain… will they truly know peace."
Konan's heart sank, a cold, heavy stone in her chest. He had fallen for it completely despite knowing it was bait.
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The scent of damp earth and parchment hung heavy in the air, a familiar comfort in Hiruzens' study. Konohamaru, leaner and more scarred than the boy Hiruzens remembered, stood before him, the very picture of a newly forged shinobi.
"How is your Sage training coming, Konohamaru?" Hiruzens' voice, aged and resonanted.
Konohamaru straightened, a faint tremor of pride. "I am done with the Sage arts of the Toads. I am a perfect Sage. I will soon depart to learn the ways of the Monkey Clan."
Hiruzens' brow furrowed. "Have you heard from the Toads, Konohamaru? Where is Jiraiya?"
A shadow crossed Konohamaru's face. He shook his head. "From what I have gathered, that 'he' has opened a shrine in the Crimson Isles and given it to the Grand Sage of the Toads, Lord Gamamaru. By their own weird tradition and laws, one arch-sage to the other, the Toads have taken primacy over that shrine. And Jiraiya, in the past year, has been mastering the Sage arts from there. Even before I attempted to be a Sage, Jiraiya had mastered the perfect combat Sage art. But Jiraiya is no longer happy with just learning the Shinobi and martial aspect of the Sage arts. He is getting deep into the spiritual aspect of the Sage art."
"Jiraiya is getting wiser by the years," Hiruzens mused, a faint smile playing on his lips.
Konohamaru scoffed,. "What do you mean? What else can you do after you accomplish the pinnacle of Sage arts by being a perfect Sage?"
Hiruzens shook his head, a sigh escaping him. "No, child. What you call a perfect Sage art is not the pinnacle of the Sage art. You have not seen what pinnacle looks like. You have become a proficient combat user of the Sage arts. I have seen the power of what true sage can do. I have seen what monstrous feats Lord Hashirama could achieve by a clap of his head. Where you meditate to reach the Sage mode, where I meditate to reach the Sage mode, that man needs to just clap and the entirety of nature floats within him. While I have not seen the legendary Thousand Hands Jutsu that had taken the monster the likes of Madara Uchiha and the Nine-Tails at the same time, I have seen a Valley of the end. For very few now have seen what the Valley of the End once looked like. It was a very hilly area. Now it is full of craters. By my estimation, at least twenty to thirty mountains have been upheaved and reduced to dust by that one final Jutsu that touched the land. And that is what you call a true power of the Sage mode."
Konohamaru's eyes widened, a spark of awe kindling within them. "Can I learn it from the Sage?"
Hiruzens' gaze was distant, thoughtful. "Maybe if the Grand Sage of the Toads' teaches you. Even Jiraiya's own instructor, Lord Fukasaku, cannot teach you to reach that level. Monkey King Enma, my partner as well as the sage of the apes, is not an arch-sage. There is no current arch-sage for the apes. There used to be one who has departed from this realm permanently. But 'he' is an arch-sage, he was said in quotation. Yes, he is indeed an arch-sage. But he has, to my knowledge, never focused on the martial aspect of the Sage. To my knowledge, he does not own a summoning contract. But I fear it was design."
"What do you mean it is by design?" Konohamaru pressed.
"I mean 'design,' because there was another being who never had a summoning contract: Senju Hashirama. It's far more difficult to learn Sage Mode without a contract—after all, the essence of a summon inherently draws natural chakra into you, which is why you manifest its physical traits. Lord Hashirama never had that advantage. Yes, he could absorb nature chakra like no other—after all, an Uzumaki is also an arch-sage with immense power, but he couldn't wield it in combat. The moment he tried to materialize spiritual chakra into his hand, it would just vanish. Once you transfer energy from the natural realm to the physical realm and then try to call it back, it obeys neither ninjutsu nor the usual laws of chakra. He could emanate its power, but he could not manipulate it; the moment it left his body or he attempted to reshape it, it simply evaporated.
Otherwise, every sage in the shrines would be a combat sage, after all, they too can manipulate natural chakra. They've learned to connect to the other realm without a summons to channel it into this one. It's a profound skill. But know this: deep in my bones and instincts tell me that he has mastered Sage Mode just like Lord Hashirama. For he is a Sage, an arch-sage. He understands the science of Sage Mode better than anyone, despite having no summons. What he lacked until now was time. Imagine immersing your consciousness in the atmosphere, searching for the confluence of natural chakra without any toad oil or the spiritual fruits of the Ape Land to sync your body. He must, through trial and error, pierce his own sensory limitations—to sense nature energy where none was perceived, then draw it in. It's like teaching a blind man to see; he must retrain muscles he never knew existed. Being a sage makes it slightly easier—Lord Hashirama himself proved that—but it remains far more arduous than any other sage's training.
I believe it was by design that he never sought a summoning contract. Tsunade would have been glad to offer her summons, and there are many other clans he could approach whose summons would never refuse him, after all, an arch-sage is among the greatest beings a summon could serve. Yet he must have declined countless offers. By doing this way he will not have the taint and limitation of the summons, when he eventually learn combat sage mode.
On another note Jiraiya… Jiraiya has kept me apprised of day-to-day events across the Elemental Nations, and thus far he's shown no sign of betrayal. But I sense, in his letters, a growing detachment. He no longer craves a return to the shinobi world or its material pursuits; he seeks answers. I once felt that ecstasy myself, though everyone hails me as a student of the Second Hokage, my formal titles credit me to both the First and Second. It was the First Hokage who taught me the fundamentals; the Second taught me shinobi arts, who granted me grand mastery over water, which I adapted to other elements. Yet I can never match his feats in water alone. He was what many term as great grand master when it comes to water.
Lord Hashirama guided me through a spiritual awakening. With a gentle poke to my forehead, he opened my mind to another realm temporarily, a realm so wondrous that, for a fleeting moment, I decided to quit the shinobi life and become a monk, to seek completion in that realm. I was only ten or eleven then, and Lord Hashirama had just returned, wounded from his fierce battle with Madara. In his final days, he showed me that world. I resolved to abandon my duties, until Lord Tobirama's slap of reality reminded me that if I did, my family would perish. So I stayed, and slowly the material world reclaimed me. His brief gift had stripped away all physical compulsion; in that contentment, I had glimpsed what lay beyond, though temporarily.
And I believe the current arch-sage, Naruto Uzumaki, has granted Jiraiya a similar experience in the Crimson Isles, depriving us of one of the most capable shinobi in the nations. I have no doubt of Jiraiya's loyalty to Konoha, he will not betray us. Yet his fervor wanes as he delves deeper into that other realm. Is it illusion, or reality? I cannot say. But I sense a shift in the Elemental Nations. Recently, seven of the nine Uzumaki Jinchūriki have been kidnapped. The Akatsuki is a genuine threat and from my sources, their leader has Rinnegan and is a SS rank."
"I can face him, now I am a sage," Konohamaru declared.
Hiruzen let out a dry, mirthless laugh. "Child, attaining Sage Mode doesn't automatically place you among SS-rank shinobi. Being a sage can help you, but it's no guarantee of reaching that tier. If it were, only Nobunaga and I would qualify as SS-rank as we both are combact sages. Yet neither Hanzo nor Uzumaki Naruto is a combat sage, and still they are extraordinarily powerful.
"Lord Tobirama never achieved Sage Mode, despite holding the panther summoning contract. I would call him a sage of a different order, perhaps a 'Sage of Water,' though no proper term exists. He has pushed his consciousness into water itself, becoming one with it. I've witnessed feats of his that would make even a Hōzuki clan member look on in envy. While the Hōzuki modify their own biology, Lord Tobirama understands and commands water at its very essence. He hasn't learned the orthodox Sage arts like Lord Hashirama or the shrine sages or like Jiraiya and I but he has, in his own way, defined and mastered nature's energy through water. That, I suspect, is his unique path.
"Then there's the Fourth Hokage, Naruto's father. Though he bonded with the toads and was sage, he was never known as an S-rank shinobi or let alone SSS because he mastered Sage Mode. His greatness lay instead in space–time ninjutsu and a mind that operates beyond ordinary limits."
"He was a one-trick pony, one-jutsu," Konohamaru interjected dismissively.
Hiruzen fixed him with a stern gaze. "While I respect a man who masters five elements, after all, I have devoted my own efforts there, I would fear the one who knows a single element more deeply than most masters know all five. If I were you, I would fear Lord Tobirama more than me any day of the week, not because he is a low SSS-rank shinobi, but because of the insight he possesses. Of course, someone who has poured their soul into every element and mastered them entirely is undeniably dangerous. But as the old saying goes, 'I do not fear the thousand kicks you have delivered once, I fear the one kick you have delivered a thousand times.'"
"Fouth Hokage isn't a one-trick pony. He's an undisputed master of three elements and a genius at creating new jutsu. Your own Rasengan variations trace back to his original design. His knowledge of fūinjutsu lets him seal a Bijū anywhere, even within special dimensions or another person's body. He's the go-to shinobi for any sealing need. And no, his only techniques aren't teleporting himself or teleporting objects to barriers, he has countless other asanas, too. I won't argue every detail now; I'll give you his file to study when you have time.
"But Minato nor Naruto's power doesn't come from being a sage. Take Might Guy: it's his Eight Inner Gates that make him formidable. I could open seven gates in my prime and doing so briefly would elevate me to SSS-rank status, but my body could not sustain it. If Guy ever sacrifices himself and opens the Eighth Gate, he, too, would briefly match a SSS-rank shinobi. Yet that is not a sage."
And so the discussion continued between grandson and grandfather until the sun had set, at which point Konohamaru reverse-summoned himself to the Land of Apes, unaware that the Rinnegan was already on their doorstep.
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Stay tuned for the next exciting chapter of NTLHOS- Book 2!
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Chapter 36: The New Field. IS OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!! 9k LONG
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NTLHOS Book 2: Chapter 53: Master.
NTLHOS BOOK 2: Chapter 54: Creation and Destruction
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