Deep within the Forest of Death.
Homelander flipped through a scroll he had just acquired using his Hokage privilege — a sealed jutsu scroll typically reserved for the Hokage's eyes only.
Thanks to the residual memories of his body's previous identity, Senju Homelander, he could easily understand and learn the forbidden techniques recorded in the scroll.
His reason for obtaining it?
A test — to determine whether his body contained Hashirama's cells.
After all, his healing ability was nothing short of monstrous — possibly on par with Hashirama himself. Yet he couldn't use Wood Style, which left the matter unresolved.
Naturally, this scroll didn't contain Wood Style techniques.
But even just the first page — the Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu — was enough for his experiment.
The presence of Hashirama cells typically allowed a person to produce enormous chakra reserves. Not only could they sustain hundreds of shadow clones, but even high-level forbidden jutsu became trivial.
So, Homelander decided to try it:
Use shadow clones to estimate his chakra capacity.
By the time he hit clone number 279, his chakra was nearly drained.
For context — in the original story, even young Naruto could summon a thousand clones without breaking a sweat. Sure, he wasn't on that level, but over 200 was already far beyond what an ordinary shinobi could manage.
"According to this scroll, most people can only form four or five shadow clones. The Second Hokage could make nearly four hundred. The First Hokage? Virtually unlimited."
"Looks like I'm just… regular Senju stock. No Hashirama cells."
He muttered to himself, slightly disappointed.
Flipping further through the scroll, he saw many jutsu he recognized from the original timeline — now considered obsolete or niche.
Because of their extreme chakra costs, most of these techniques were sealed by the Third Hokage, deemed too dangerous for general use. Using them in battle risked instant unconsciousness.
Naturally, Reanimation Jutsu and Eight Gates weren't included.
No wonder the Third had casually handed this scroll to Naruto in the original.
"Trash. What a worthless scroll."
Annoyed, Homelander flung the scroll into the air—and unleashed his heat vision, vaporizing it midair.
But what he didn't expect—
Was that his 279 shadow clones, acting with perfect synchronization, all mimicked his action at once.
In perfect unison, they all fired heat vision.
Zzzzzzt! ZZZZZZTZZZ!!
Hundreds of heat beams converged on a single point — the airborne scroll.
And in an instant—
BOOM!!!
A cataclysmic explosion erupted.
It was like someone had dropped a nuclear bomb in the heart of the Forest of Death.
A towering mushroom cloud rose from the blast, and the resulting shockwave obliterated every clone and launched Homelander himself into the sky, his body hurtling through the air like a missile—
until he crashed into the Third Hokage's stone face on the Hokage Monument.
CRACK—!!!
He embedded deep into the rock.
It almost killed him.
"Pffft—!"
He vomited up blood, severely injured.
Fortunately, he managed to react mid-air, using flight to reduce the impact. Otherwise, he might not have survived at all.
Half the Forest of Death was incinerated.
Birds, beasts, and anything living were roasted alive.
Thankfully, no one normally dared venture this deep into the cursed forest.
Otherwise, the casualties would've been unimaginable.
Still—
The people of Konoha were shocked.
They had been quietly working on village reconstruction.
Until this explosion changed everything.
Within minutes, a crowd had gathered below the Hokage Monument to investigate.
Unfortunately for Homelander, the blast had shredded his clothes.
Though seriously injured, his body remained unharmed — pristine and sculpted.
He pulled himself from the crater left in the stone face of the Third Hokage, glowing and naked, hands on hips, towering over the village below.
Someone from the crowd saluted and greeted him with a cheerful "Good morning!"
Even in this state, Homelander took pride in the power of his explosion.
"Very impressive."
He said, completely unaware that the entire village had just seen him in full exposure.
Luckily, from the crowd's point of view, he was so high up — just a tiny pink dot against the sky.
The lingering dust and smoke from the explosion further obscured the view.
By the time the Hyūga clan activated their Byakugan to get a clearer look, Shisui had already appeared behind Homelander, covering him with a cloak and pulling him into the crater.
"Lord Fourth?! What happened up there?!"
Shisui was completely bewildered.
As the fastest user of Body Flicker, he had arrived first — only to find Homelander standing stark naked, proudly surveying the village like a shining demigod.
Awkward and flustered, Shisui could barely speak.
But, having gone through something similar himself, he could guess what had happened.
Back when he was a child, he had once attempted a Fireball Jutsu that turned out too powerful.
A sudden shift in wind direction had almost incinerated him.
If Fugaku hadn't tossed him a spare cloak, he wouldn't have lived it down.
Now, Homelander was borrowing his cloak —emergency embarrassment averted.
Still, Homelander remained ecstatic.
The explosion he had just triggered was more powerful than a hundred Soldier Boys self-destructing at once.
"Trust me, Shisui. From now on, Konoha will dominate the shinobi world — I guarantee it."
"And when that happens, the Uchiha will be the greatest clan in the village!"
He spoke with growing passion, utterly unfazed as more Anbu arrived to investigate the explosion.
His eyes burned with childlike excitement, fixated on Shisui.
And in that moment—
Shisui was deeply moved.
Tears welled in his eyes, and he had to look upward to stop them from falling.
No Hokage — not even the village council — had ever truly acknowledged the Uchiha.
No one had ever offered them a chance at redemption.
Everyone believed the myth that Uchiha = bloodthirsty and cruel, thanks to Madara.
But the truth?
The Uchiha were the most emotionally sensitive clan in the village.
The Sharingan didn't awaken from ambition or greed.
It was born from grief.
From the pain of losing someone they loved.
Every Uchiha unlocked their power when they were consumed by sorrow —
all for the purpose of protecting those who still lived.
And yet the Second Hokage…
had labeled them as emotion-driven, unstable monsters — denying them a place in the village for over a hundred years.
"Thank you for your trust… Lord Fourth."
Shisui finally said, bowing low, tears streaking down his cheeks.
"Lord Fourth," someone called out, rushing forward.
"The Third Hokage requests your presence at the council. It concerns post-disaster land redistribution among the clans."