"The Leaf Village is right ahead!"
"Naruto… what exactly are you planning? This is going to cause a huge mess."
Konoha was now in plain sight.
Jiraiya no longer felt the thrill he had earlier. Instead, anxiety began creeping into his heart.
He knew the current atmosphere in Konoha was already extremely tense. Once the village realized that the Akatsuki organization had appeared—and in such overwhelming numbers—the reaction would be explosive.
This was going to be big trouble.
Naruto simply smiled.
"The bigger the chaos, the better."
"If the entire village mobilizes, the scene will be even more spectacular."
He looked up at the gates of Konoha.
His expression was unusually complicated.
In his own world, as Naruto grew stronger and rose in status, the villagers' attitudes toward him slowly changed. Eventually they even began to worship him.
It felt good to be admired.
But the memories from childhood—the insults, the cold stares, the isolation—were still vivid in his mind.
Even though things had improved, the resentment buried deep inside him had never truly disappeared.
This Konoha belonged to a parallel world, but Naruto knew that the same discrimination must have existed here.
Letting off a little steam here wasn't wrong.
"Wait a moment."
"Give them enough time to prepare."
Naruto placed his hands behind his back and stood calmly in front of Konoha's gates.
ANBU had already spotted their group long ago.
The message had been sent.
The gate guards were already trembling, staring at them from afar but not daring to approach.
"Konoha…"
Among the group, everyone except Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Sasuke, and Itachi looked at the village with complicated emotions.
"Did you confirm it? Are they really Akatsuki members?"
"Yeah. I saw Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame. One's from Kirigakure, the other used to be from Konoha."
"What about the others? Intelligence said there were about ten members total, and several died. But there are twelve here!"
"That plant-looking guy is Zetsu. And the woman with the paper flower—Konan, the Angel of Akatsuki."
"And…"
"And what? Why did you stop talking?"
On the wall above Konoha's gate, the Byakugan scout suddenly trembled.
It was as if he had seen something so absurd his brain had stopped working.
After a long pause, he swallowed.
Then slowly turned around with an expression that looked half like crying and half like laughing.
"…Is Orochimaru… one of the Akatsuki members?"
He asked hesitantly.
"Well… Orochimaru once joined Akatsuki before defecting," someone replied uncertainly.
"So technically… he was a member."
"…Then is Jiraiya-sama… also an Akatsuki member?"
"What nonsense are you saying?!"
"How could Jiraiya-sama be Akatsuki?!"
"If that were true, would Tsunade-sama be Akatsuki too?!"
"But… Jiraiya-sama is really wearing an Akatsuki cloak. I saw it with my own eyes."
The Byakugan ninja stammered.
For a moment, an absurd thought crossed his mind.
If two of the Legendary Sannin were Akatsuki members…
Then what about the third?
Was Tsunade secretly part of Akatsuki too?
"Jiraiya-sama in an Akatsuki cloak? Impossible."
Several figures suddenly landed beside them.
It was Kakashi.
He rolled his eyes at the ridiculous idea.
But when he looked down at the group outside the gate—
His expression froze.
Jiraiya was indeed there.
And Sasuke's familiar face made Kakashi's heart sink.
But the one that shocked him most was the young man standing at the front.
Uzumaki Naruto.
"My god… what kind of situation is this?"
"Sasuke joining Akatsuki is one thing…"
"But Naruto too?!"
"Wasn't Naruto supposed to be training in the village?"
"But look closely—that really is Naruto!"
"Maybe it's a Transformation Technique."
"But could someone transform into Jiraiya too?"
"That presence… that aura… it's definitely him."
More and more Konoha shinobi gathered at the gate.
And when they clearly saw the faces of the people outside—
Everyone felt their scalps go numb.
"Alright."
"The moment is perfect."
Naruto smiled wildly.
He waved his hand.
"Let's go."
The group walked forward openly and arrogantly toward Konoha.
The red-cloud cloaks swayed in the wind.
Orochimaru.
Zetsu.
Obito.
Kisame.
They all released their killing intent.
It surged like a raging ocean.
Sasuke was influenced by the atmosphere too.
A cold smile appeared on his face as his chakra flared.
Itachi remained quiet, simply following behind.
Suigetsu, Karin, and Jugo followed Sasuke's lead.
Suigetsu looked especially excited—his face flushed with adrenaline.
To him, this was the most thrilling moment of his life.
Konan remained calm.
Nagato smiled faintly as his chakra rose like a storm.
Even Jiraiya, though extremely uncomfortable, had no choice but to follow.
There were only a dozen of them—
But their momentum felt like an army of thousands.
The Konoha shinobi gathered at the gate all changed expressions.
The crushing pressure coming from that group made breathing difficult.
Some people even stepped back unconsciously.
"STOP RIGHT THERE!"
A firm voice cut through the tension.
Tsunade appeared at the front of the crowd.
She stared coldly at Naruto's group.
But Naruto didn't stop.
His group continued advancing.
The overwhelming pressure intensified with every step.
Even Tsunade felt as if a mountain was pressing down on her.
She squinted at the boy who looked exactly like Naruto.
She was certain of one thing—
This person was not Naruto.
The aura surrounding him was far too terrifying.
Domineering.
Confident.
Absolute.
It reminded her of Uchiha Madara from her childhood.
No—
Even more terrifying.
"Who are you?"
Tsunade demanded.
She had already noticed something.
The Akatsuki members were clearly following the lead of this boy.
At Jiraiya's desperate eye signals, Tsunade understood.
Her attention focused entirely on Naruto.
"Me?"
Naruto finally stopped.
Everyone wanted the same answer.
Kakashi.
Guy.
All the shinobi present.
Because he looked exactly like Naruto.
"Hey!"
"Who are you?!"
"Why are you pretending to be me?!"
"Drop the Transformation Technique right now!"
The real Uzumaki Naruto had finally arrived.
Seeing someone identical to himself made him furious.
"Step back."
Sasuke appeared instantly using Body Flicker and blocked him.
"Sasuke! You're back?!"
"That's great!"
Naruto's excitement exploded immediately.
But Sasuke frowned.
"Idiot. Read the situation."
"And I'm an Akatsuki member now."
"I'm not from Konoha anymore."
Naruto froze.
"Step back, Naruto."
Tsunade ordered.
Naruto reluctantly obeyed.
Naruto (the visitor) finally spoke again.
"Do you all want to know who I am?"
He looked around at the gathered shinobi.
His eyes shone strangely.
Everyone held their breath.
"I…"
"Son of the previous Nine-Tails Jinchūriki Uzumaki Kushina."
"Son of the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato."
"Fifth Hokage of Konoha."
"Uzumaki Naruto."
His voice spread like a hurricane through the village.
Even the evacuating civilians heard it.
The information in that single sentence was explosive.
Silence fell.
Uzumaki Naruto stood frozen.
"Son of the Fourth Hokage…?"
"Uzumaki Kushina…?"
His mind buzzed.
He looked toward Kakashi.
Toward Jiraiya.
Everyone's expressions told him something terrifying.
Aside from the "Fifth Hokage" part—
Everything else was true.
Naruto sneered.
"So he didn't even know his own background."
"The son of a hero."
"The child who saved Konoha by sealing the Nine-Tails."
"And yet the village hid his identity and let him grow up being insulted and ignored."
"How ridiculous."
Uzumaki Naruto stared blankly.
Those words pierced straight into his heart.
"Silence!"
Advisor Mitokado Homura shouted angrily.
"You villain! Claiming to be Hokage—"
"Did anyone ask for your opinion?"
Naruto interrupted casually.
"Nagato."
"Slap him."
"Yes, leader."
Nagato raised his hand.
"Universal Pull."
Homura was dragged through the air instantly.
Nagato grabbed his neck—
SLAP! SLAP!
Two loud smacks echoed.
"STOP!"
Tsunade rushed forward.
"Shinra Tensei!"
The repulsive force knocked her back.
Jiraiya caught her.
"Tsunade, calm down."
"I warned you in my message."
"Just watch."
Naruto walked toward the younger Naruto.
"Can't accept your background?"
"You're the son of heroes."
"You saved the village."
"But the villagers insulted you, ignored you, treated you coldly."
"You're angry, right?"
His voice rang clearly across the battlefield.
Uzumaki Naruto's eyes trembled.
Those words were exactly what he had buried in his heart.
"And Hatake Kakashi."
"The Fourth Hokage's student."
"The person closest to you."
"He never showed up until you graduated from the academy."
"Did he ever ask about you before that?"
"And that pervy sage."
"He was your father's teacher."
"He knew you were an orphan."
"But he wandered the world for years without checking on you."
Naruto listed them calmly.
Naruto's gaze followed.
These two people were the ones he trusted the most.
But when he was alone as a child—
They weren't there.
Kakashi and Jiraiya looked awkward.
Their past negligence had been exposed.
Finally Naruto asked:
"So you want to know what I did?"
Uzumaki Naruto nodded instinctively.
"I didn't rely on anyone."
"I trained myself."
"I grew stronger."
"If others ignored me, I ignored them back."
"I became a Chunin at seven."
"A Jonin at twelve."
"And that same year…"
"I became the Fifth Hokage."
He looked directly into Naruto's eyes.
"Once I became strong enough…"
"The entire village had no choice but to acknowledge me."
"They looked up to me."
"They worshiped me."
"They treated me like a god."
Naruto smiled confidently.
"I'm strong enough."
"That's why I became Hokage."
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