"Lightning Style: Sanda Screen Liudou!"
Before Naruto could say another word, one of the Cloud Shinobi, angered beyond reason, flashed through a sequence of hand seals. Twin arcs of lightning crackled to life in his palms, surging with power.
With a roar, he thrust his hands forward. Lightning erupted from his fingers, forking through the air like a storm unleashed, illuminating the entire front of the guesthouse. The crowd watching from a distance shielded their eyes as the street was bathed in raw electrical fury.
But Naruto didn't flinch.
His dark figure darted through the arcs of lightning, his form flickering in and out of view like a phantom in the storm. The bolts struck him—but instead of burning or shocking, they simply dissipated upon impact, swallowed by the strange black armor that clung to him like a second skin.
In a flash, he was in front of the Cloud Shinobi.
A metallic fist met the ninja's face with a heavy crunch.
Boom!
The shinobi exploded—vanishing in a puff of smoke.
A clone.
"Tch. A substitution?" Naruto muttered, glancing to the side.
The real Cloud Shinobi was crouched on a rooftop, grinning smugly. "Hmph! You fool! Do you think a mere thief like you understands the might of the Cloud's Lightning Style?"
His smirk faded the next instant.
Because Naruto was already there.
"Wha—?!"
The shinobi barely had time to react before a fist collided with his cheek. His body twisted unnaturally as he was sent flying, crashing into the ground like a ragdoll. Dust and chunks of concrete burst outward as his form rolled and skidded along the stone street.
"Damn you, you bastard!" another Cloud ninja howled.
Several of his comrades rushed forward at once.
"Lightning Style: Double Shockwave!"
"Lightning Style: Thousand Needle Rain!"
"Lightning Style: Serpent Technique!"
Thunder clapped and the street was swallowed in a blinding storm of lightning techniques. Bolts flew in all directions, cutting the air with a deafening hum, while bursts of energy scorched the surroundings.
But even in that chaos, Naruto was untouchable.
He darted among them like a ghost, his movements unpredictable and fluid. Each time a jutsu neared him, he twisted his body, dodging with effortless grace. When the lightning did hit, it was absorbed harmlessly by his armor—transformed into raw power that only strengthened him further.
One by one, the Cloud Shinobi fell.
Some were taken down with a single punch. Others tried to retreat, only to be struck from behind by Naruto's sudden and precise counters. His power wasn't just in raw strength—it was in his complete dominance of the battlefield.
Only one shinobi remained.
The man stumbled back, horror in his eyes. His hands trembled as he tried to summon more chakra.
"Stay back! Don't come any closer!" he shouted, desperation turning to madness.
He gathered every ounce of chakra he had, pouring it into his final attack. The lightning around his arms grew denser, more unstable, glowing white-hot as it threatened to burn him from the inside.
With a scream, he fired twin lightning blasts directly at Naruto's chest.
The air exploded.
Crackles of blue light swirled and coiled around Naruto's body as the lightning struck—but again, they simply vanished into the surface of his armor. Not even a scratch.
Naruto looked down at the defeated shinobi with a trace of pity.
"Pathetic."
He grabbed the man by the neck and lifted him off the ground.
"You all say you want war. You scream about peace, but your actions say otherwise. Fine then. You want war?"
He tightened his grip.
"Then I'll give you war!"
With a roar, Naruto hurled the shinobi into the air.
Boom!
The man crashed into the earth with bone-shattering force, bouncing once before going limp.
Just then, Sarutobi Hiruzen arrived.
The Third Hokage landed among the ruins of the battle, his face tight with fury. Behind him, the Konoha shinobi fanned out defensively, flanking both him and the smoldering guesthouse.
"You!" Hiruzen shouted. "Who are you? Why would you attack the Cloud delegation and sabotage the peace talks? What are your intentions?"
Naruto stood amidst the fallen Cloud shinobi, one foot still planted on a defeated enemy, his figure like a demon born of fire and smoke.
"Sabotage the peace talks?" he said, laughing. "You really don't get it, do you?"
He raised his hand.
"I think it's time we all took a look at the truth."
A bright light flashed.
From his arm, a small projector flared to life, casting a massive image into the sky above. The crowd gasped in awe as the scene played out before them in crystal clarity. Even those in the far corners of Konoha could see.
The recording began.
A quiet night. The Hyuga compound loomed in the background.
Then, two cloaked figures emerged from the shadows.
"Lord Danzo," a masked ninja whispered, "Cloud shinobi are heading toward the Hyuga compound. Their intent is obvious. Should we intervene?"
Danzo's reply was chilling.
"No. Let them do as they please."
"But Lord Danzo—"
"This is necessary. Hiruzen won't act unless he's forced to. Let the Hyuga family suffer. It will give us leverage."
The Root ninja hesitated. "If this turns into an incident..."
"Then we'll be ready. Send warnings to the border. Prepare for war if we must. Just observe. Record everything. This... this is just the beginning."
As the recording zoomed in on Danzo's face—his single exposed eye, cold and calculating—the crowd erupted into angry whispers.
"Danzo? He knew?"
"He let the Hyuga family suffer?"
"Unforgivable..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's face was ashen.
His hands trembled slightly, but he said nothing.
Hyuga Hiashi stood among the spectators, his eyes like ice.
So this was the truth. The proof. The conspiracy behind the so-called peace talks. They had been nothing more than pawns in a political game—and Danzo had watched, uncaring, as the Hyuga clan was pushed toward sacrifice.
Danzo himself, hidden among the crowd with a few loyal Root operatives, narrowed his eye.
"It's just a genjutsu," he said coolly. "An illusion meant to deceive the masses."
But even he knew—this was no genjutsu.
This was real.
And the people of Konoha were waking up.
Naruto deactivated the projection.
"You pretend to be righteous," he said, looking straight at Sarutobi. "But you let them come into our village and nearly take a child from her bed. You call this peace? You allowed your friend," he sneered at Danzo, "to do whatever he pleased in the shadows."
"I've had enough of your hypocrisy."
"Who are you, really?" Sarutobi demanded again. "What is your name?"
Naruto looked at him, his eyes glowing with power and fury.
"I'm the one who saved the Hyuga child. The one who refused to sit and watch while the innocent paid the price for your politics."
"I'm the one who will burn Konoha to the ground if it means saving it from itself."
With that, Naruto leapt into the air and vanished into the rooftops.
Konoha's shinobi didn't follow. Not because they couldn't—but because none of them knew what to believe anymore.
They had seen the truth.
And for the first time in decades, the Will of Fire flickered
-------------------------–-------------------------
Extra chapters available in patreon
patreon.com