A week had passed since the Chunin Exams.
That was more than enough time for the news to spread across the entire ninja world.
And the shockwaves coming out of Konoha were nothing short of earth-shattering.
Shimura Danzo, a Konoha traitor, had joined forces with Orochimaru to launch the Konoha Collapse Plan. The Kazekage, Rasa, led Sunagakure's forces to invade Konoha, while the Fourth Raikage, A, personally entered the battlefield, attempting to join forces and carve Konoha apart.
That alone was already unbelievable.
But that wasn't the end of it.
Konoha had anticipated everything.
Not only had the conspiracy been crushed in one decisive move, but a monster of a genius had emerged—Uzumaki Naruto.
By his own strength, he swept aside the Kazekage, the Raikage, and dozens of elite jonin from two great villages, capturing every single one of them alive.
Not one escaped.
The news sounded like myth.
The entire ninja world erupted.
Even the Four Great Ninja Villages were shaken—let alone the smaller ones.
This was huge.
One wrong move, and it would trigger the Fourth Great Ninja War.
The Third Great Ninja War had begun simply because the Third Kazekage disappeared.
Now?
Not only had a Kazekage fallen, even a Raikage was being held captive by Konoha.
The pressure this created was several times worse.
Everyone was waiting.
Waiting for Sunagakure's response.
Waiting for Cloud Village's response.
Would they mobilize their armies and launch an all-out assault on Konoha?
Or swallow the humiliation of having their Kage captured alive?
For a time, the ninja world fell eerily quiet.
Even wandering rogue ninjas hid away in their camps, afraid to move until the situation became clear.
"If the ninja world goes to war, the Land of Rain will become a battlefield again," Konan said worriedly."Nagato… what should we do?"
"Wait," Nagato replied with a single word.
His thoughts weren't on war.
A name echoed endlessly in his mind.
Uzumaki Naruto.
Facing two Kage-level opponents and dozens of elite jonin—and winning.
That level of power was terrifying.
Could I do that?
"Yes. Of course."
Nagato clenched his fist.
"The Rinnegan is the Eye of God. In front of it, Uzumaki Naruto is nothing."
Still…
That name carved itself deep into his heart.
Fear, once planted, never vanished so easily.
"Uzumaki Naruto… Nine-Tails Jinchuriki… Minato-sensei's son…"
Uchiha Obito murmured, his expression complicated as he practiced ninjutsu again and again in an open field.
The pressure was mounting.
Kira of the Red Sun Society.
Now Uzumaki Naruto.
And the Six Paths of Pain.
There were far more monsters in the ninja world than he had expected.
Obito no longer dared underestimate anyone.
A monster could appear from anywhere.
"Obito's getting stronger again… he's being pushed," Black Zetsu observed quietly.
Even he was shaken.
Thousands of years of planning suddenly felt unreliable.
The ninja world had become unfamiliar.
"No… I need more corpses," Black Zetsu muttered."I need stronger reincarnations. The final plan needs more pieces."
He sank into the ground and vanished.
"Is Uzumaki Naruto really as terrifying as you say?"
"Suppressed a tailed beast with a single strike?"
"A and Rasa together, plus Samui, Karui, and Sunagakure's jonin—and he didn't even take a step back?"
"You're not lying?"
In Cloud Village, high-ranking officials interrogated the jonin who had returned from Konoha.
"I swear it's all true!" the jonin said, his eyes still filled with lingering fear.
After repeated verification, the questioning finally stopped.
The hall fell silent.
The truth was even more absurd than the rumors.
Unbelievable.
If not for the credibility of the witness, they would have thought him insane.
"What do we do now?" a jonin finally asked, breaking the silence.
"What else? Gather the army! Invade the Land of Fire! Rescue Lord Raikage!"
Another slammed the table.
Cloud ninjas were aggressive by nature.
"Shut up! If it were that simple, we'd have done it already!"
"Our Kage was captured alive! If we don't wash this humiliation away with blood, we'll never raise our heads again!"
"And after that? Bury the entire village?"
"Even Lord Raikage was defeated. Are you saying you're stronger than him?"
The argument exploded.
Voices rose. Tempers flared.
But deep down, none of them truly believed war was an option.
Cloud Village had been gutted.
Their infiltrating force—elite to the last man—had been wiped out in one breath.
Terrifying.
Finally, a calm voice spoke.
"Send envoys," Killer Bee said solemnly."We negotiate."
The room went silent.
Reluctantly, they nodded.
Sunagakure was even worse off.
Chiyo's face was deeply lined with exhaustion.
They had nearly emptied the village of combat power.
War wasn't an option.
Negotiation was their only path.
Then Konoha announced its next move.
The Fifth Hokage would soon take office.
Uzumaki Naruto.
Twelve years old.
The youngest Hokage in history.
The ninja world erupted again.
Cloud Village sent envoys.
Sunagakure sent envoys.
Routes, numbers, and arrival times were publicly announced.
"This isn't war—it's negotiation?"
"Don't be stupid. They're stalling while mobilizing."
"Didn't the Chunin Exam start peacefully too?"
"Is the Hokage succession ceremony going to explode?"
"Why can't we just live in peace?"
Fear spread once more.
At that moment, Red Sun TV aired its latest program:
"The Ever-Changing Exam."
The ninja world went insane.
"Turn on Red Sun TV!"
"This is the Chunin Exam that caused all of this?!"
"I want to see Naruto fight!"
"How did Konoha wipe out everyone?"
"Kage-level battles—this is unreal!"
Across the world, people rushed to their screens.
"Uzumaki Naruto… let me see you clearly," Nagato muttered, activating the TV with narrowed eyes.
Obito stopped training and stared as well.
The broadcast began.
Scenes flashed rapidly.
The Chunin Exam unfolded.
Konoha's genin appeared one by one.
And then—
Rock Lee.
In tight green spandex.
Standing out like a beacon.
"…This kid's a freak."
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