Chapter 589: The Thing That Counters Space-Time Ninjutsu the Most
'The coolest?' Seriously?
The Konoha villagers who had been getting ready to laugh at Naruto were all stunned.
The Will of Bullying was a targeted skill, yet Naruto had somehow pulled off an untargetable move, completely confusing them.
There was once an old joke.
Someone went on a relationship talk show and said he had fallen in love with a woman, but her family wouldn't accept him.
The host asked exactly who was against the relationship, hoping to help solve the problem.
After asking for quite a while, he finally found out...
It was her husband who objected.
Naruto's situation was strangely similar.
They had expected Naruto to either explode in anger or be heartbroken after hearing the news.
Even if they shoved their heads into a toilet, they never would have imagined that Naruto would suddenly become excited and shout that Shiromo was the coolest.
The moment that happened, everyone watching from outside, who had been hoping the Engraved Tsukuyomi would change Naruto and make Heaven's Will loosen the rules surrounding Konoha's Will of Bullying, immediately felt their hopes fading.
This was too ridiculous.
Could Naruto really forgive something like this instantly?
However, another group, after learning from Shiromo that in the original future Naruto would even call Obito—the man responsible for his parents' deaths and the one who had recently killed Neji—"the coolest," suddenly found it much easier to accept.
Compared to that, what Shiromo had done in the Engraved Tsukuyomi world wasn't nearly as outrageous.
As Naruto's friend, he had merely... supported Naruto's mother, Kushina.
He hadn't killed anyone.
Looking at it that way, this level of bullying really wasn't enough for Naruto.
---
At the Hyuga Clan.
Inside Hinata's bedroom.
After seeing this scene, Hanabi enthusiastically explained to Hinata how Naruto would forgive his enemy, Obito, in the future.
"People like Uzumaki Naruto make good friends when things are going well, and good enemies when things aren't. But Onee-sama, we absolutely mustn't learn from him."
As the younger sister, Hanabi was lecturing her older sister instead.
After all, Hanabi had studied abroad. She had seen much more of the world.
Under Shiromo's guidance, Hanabi understood far more truths than Naruto did.
Like now.
Trying to make Naruto understand that 'kindness without judging right from wrong only becomes an accomplice to evil' was practically impossible.
It seemed the dosage would have to be increased.
Fortunately, the Engraved Tsukuyomi was extremely flexible.
The key plot points had been designed by Kushina beforehand.
But besides those scripted events, there was also a core objective.
If every key plot point Kushina had prepared was exhausted and the core objective still wasn't reached, the system would switch from semi-automatic mode into fully automatic mode.
At that point, it would become a combination of Engraved Tsukuyomi and Izanami.
"Onee-sama, I honestly think that even if someone stole Naruto himself, he'd still forgive them. So you really need to be careful. It's best if you stop paying attention to him."
Hanabi sincerely tried to persuade her.
In the original story, Hanabi had actually disliked Naruto at first, just like she did now. She believed her sister had become weak because of him.
Raised by the Hyuga Clan, Hanabi originally believed the same thing Neji did—that destiny was predetermined, and no matter how hard the weak struggled, they could never defeat the strong.
So, in her eyes back then, Naruto was a dead last, the Nine-Tails' demon fox, talentless, and without status.
Naturally, she disliked him.
It wasn't until the Chunin Exams.
Hanabi had believed the incredibly gifted Neji was someone Naruto could never defeat.
Yet Naruto won.
Only then did Hanabi gradually begin changing her views about Naruto and about destiny.
Of course, that was what happened in the original story.
Reality had taken a different path.
Because Shiromo had already told Hanabi that Naruto defeating Neji did not prove that 'destiny can be changed' or that 'a dead last can surpass a genius through hard work.'
Quite the opposite.
Naruto defeating Neji proved that destiny could not be changed, and that no matter how hard a dead last worked, they still couldn't surpass a genius.
It was simply that destiny was on Naruto's side.
Neji was the true dead last whom fate had abandoned.
Nothing in the world was more tragic than that.
Mistaking someone else for the dead last while believing yourself to be the genius, only to lose and conclude that destiny could easily be changed through hard work...
Then, in the end, discovering that your opponent was Asura's reincarnation, the Child of Prophecy chosen by destiny itself, and the jinchūriki of the strongest Tailed Beast.
And when he was on the verge of death, the Sage of Six Paths personally appeared to grant him a power-up.
Meanwhile, you were just a Hyuga branch family member with the Byakugan, whose greatest skill was performing two sets of Gentle Fist forms.
What right did you have to compare yourself with Naruto?
When you died, did Ōtsutsuki Hamura come visit you in a dream and revive you?
That...
Was the difference.
The current Hanabi also recognized Naruto's strengths.
In fact, she saw even more of them than the original Hanabi ever had.
But thanks to Shiromo's teachings, she also clearly saw Naruto's flaws.
She was no longer fooled by Naruto's passionate speeches.
She looked past the surface and saw the essence beneath.
---
Inside the Engraved Tsukuyomi.
The villagers finally recovered from their shock.
The group exchanged glances before coming to a silent agreement.
"Naruto, do you really mean that?"
"Yeah."
"Amazing."
They sincerely gave Naruto a thumbs-up in admiration.
"In that case, we've got an idea for you. Since you support the relationship between Hokage-sama and Shiromo so much, then as family, you should definitely help bring them together.
"So..."
The group leaned close and whispered something into Naruto's ear.
"What? You want me to ruin my dad's reputation? Wait... does my dad even still have a reputation? Didn't Mom say that every time he goes out to buy a pack of cigarettes, he runs into nine people who—"
Naruto stopped halfway through the sentence as he suddenly realized something and quickly covered his mouth.
His mother, Kushina, was the Hokage.
She had exclusive intelligence sources, so it made sense that she knew everything so clearly.
Ordinary people definitely wouldn't know...
At least, they probably hadn't known until he accidentally blurted it out.
"So... is this a mission?"
Trying to change the subject, Naruto suddenly remembered something and asked them.
He recalled that when Obito had entered the Engraved Tsukuyomi world, he had received three missions.
He had been told he could only leave the beginner village after completing all three.
But after Naruto arrived, all he got was a completely bare system panel where he could check his status.
Nothing else.
So after hearing their suggestion, Naruto's first thought was, 'Could this be one of my main story missions?'
"A mission? Ah, right. It's a mission."
The villagers assumed Naruto had become obsessed with being a ninja and would only do things if they were presented as missions or official orders.
So they simply nodded.
"Alright! I accept this mission!"
"Let's go! Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
For some inexplicable reason, Naruto's fighting spirit suddenly ignited.
He formed hand seals and created a huge number of Shadow Clones, which scattered in every direction to begin carrying out the "mission."
Just then, the real Naruto remembered something.
He took out the Flying Thunder God kunai his father had given him before he left home that morning.
Minato had said that if Naruto wasn't back by dinner, he'd come find him.
But now...
Whether he came home for dinner wasn't the issue anymore.
His dad might come looking for him because of something else.
His mother, Kushina, might also come after him because news of her secret relationship had leaked.
This Flying Thunder God kunai couldn't stay with him.
Naruto remembered the insane battles between Kakashi-sensei and Obito in the real world.
"The thing that counters space-time ninjutsu the most... is a septic tank. Sorry, Dad. Looks like I'm smarter than you."
Naruto walked over to Konoha's sewage pit and threw the Flying Thunder God kunai into it.
(End of this chapter)