72

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Chapter 72 ~ The 4th Great Ninja War Is Brewing

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"Naruto was running towards the village. It didn't take him too long to enter the village. He stood on the destroyed wall of the village and looked at the devastated village in front of him.

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There was no house that remained unscathed. Rubble lay scattered everywhere, forming a chaotic landscape. Amidst the destruction, five large craters punctuated the heart of the village. These craters were no mere indentations; they stretched easily half a kilometer in diameter, their edges overlapping, creating a scene of profound devastation.

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"Pain really did a number on the village…" Naruto muttered to himself.

"They really went all out... without me... it's quite the spectacle to fight in the heart of the village," he mused, a fleeting sense of exhilaration crossing his mind.

Hinata and Pain didn't hold back when destroying the village; each had their reasons.

Hinata was giving it her all because Tsunade hadn't spoken to her politely. Yet, it's hard to expect politeness when she herself was a criminal. But that didn't matter to Hinata; her pride didn't allow her to lower herself to anyone other than him.

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As for Pain, let's just say he was exacting his revenge for what Konoha did to his village in the past.

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Thousands of people died when he unleashed his Shinra Tensei. Poor souls didn't even know what had hit them... This time, they won't get the chance of revival," Naruto thought to himself.

He gazed ahead at the Hokage mountain. There, a shelter had been established to house the remaining villagers and shinobi. Tsunade was consoling them, assuring them that the ordeal had come to an end. "Hehe, poor souls," Naruto whispered softly.

With his keen eyes, he could assess the situation there without the need to physically approach.

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"Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi are all safe and sound," Naruto remarked as he stood atop the ruined wall.

Naruto activated his Kagura's Mind's Eye and extended his senses throughout the entire shelter. "Ah... there it is," he whispered to himself, flicking his finger. In an instant, a scroll materialized, landing gracefully on the ground within the shelter.

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After providing reassurance to the civilians and ninjas, Tsunade settled into a chair in a separate room. The room housed various individuals, including Shikamaru, Ino, Sakura, Sai, and other prominent figures.

Sai was engrossed in reading a scroll that detailed the extent of the casualties resulting from the assault. "Half of our shinobi have perished. Additionally, the initial attack claimed the lives of at least 45,000 civilians. Currently, we have only half of our ninja force remaining and 25,000 surviving civilians," Sai reported, his tone grave.

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"So, our strength has been reduced to two-thirds," Shikamaru commented, his voice reflecting the analytical assessment of the data.

The toll was staggering. Numerous high-level shinobi had fallen, including Kakashi, Jiraiya, and many other jonin-ranked ninjas.

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His father lay in the hospital within the shelter, while his close friend Choji fought for his life against severe injuries. Asuma Sarutobi, his sensei, had met his end. The village, once thriving, now lay in ruins.

Furthermore, he was left in the dark about the whereabouts of his friend Naruto. Though their conversations had been sparse, Shikamaru held Naruto in high regard, considering him a genuine friend. Yet, even Naruto was now missing.

Shikamaru's life had taken a grim turn. As he ruminated on his absent friend, a sense of heaviness enveloped his thoughts.

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As he dwelled on thoughts of his friend, the scroll held by Sai suddenly vanished, and in its place... Naruto materialized right before him, causing Sai to jump in startlement.

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"I see you're getting rusty, Sai," Naruto jested at his teammate.

"That was unexpected…" Sai responded with his characteristic smile, his honesty apparent.

Naruto tilted his head, casting his gaze over all of them. A pall of gloom and despair seemed to envelop their spirits, their emotions evident to him.

He shifted his attention to Tsunade. Amongst the occupants of the room, she appeared to bear the heaviest burden of brokenness.

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She gazed at him, the weight of a difficult truth pressing upon her. She desired to convey the news of Jiraiya's demise, yet courage faltered within her. Yet, summoning her resolve, she forced her mouth to open.

"Naruto… I am sorry," her voice carried a somber tone.

"Sorry for what…" Naruto's genuine surprise was evident. He couldn't fathom the reason behind her apology.

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Observing Naruto's reaction, Tsunade took a deep breath, her voice lowered as she continued, "Jiraiya is dead… and Kakashi has also passed away…" She struggled to maintain eye contact with Naruto, her avoidance apparent.

A heavy silence settled upon the room. No one uttered a word. The truth was known to all. Naruto had embarked on training with Jiraiya, and Kakashi had been his team sensei. The weight of their absence hung in the air, stifling any attempts at speech.

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"Naruto was momentarily stunned. 'Jiraiya is dead,' he thought. He knew he didn't have a deep attachment to the man, but his heart felt a slight pang. After all, he had spent some time with the man, and now he was gone. What was he supposed to feel? There was nothing he could do; this was Jiraiya's choice.

As for Kakashi, he felt a twinge of sadness for the man. Although there wasn't a strong attachment between them, Kakashi hadn't taught him anything. He was biased, but..."

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Naruto gazed at the horizon, his head held high. 'I see,' he spoke in a low voice.

Life is unpredictable. The strong win and the weak lose. This was the rule of the world. And this rule proved itself once again—Pain was strong, so he killed them, and they were weak, so they died.

Tsunade didn't say anything more; she knew it was difficult for Naruto to accept their deaths. Unfortunately, she was mistaken about this.

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Naruto lowered his head and looked at her. 'I have good and bad news... which one do you want to hear first?' he asked. He knew the woman in front of him was in a state of depression, but she had chosen the duty of being Hokage, so she had to bear the responsibility.

"I see... I sent you on the mission... is it related to this?" she asked him.

He nodded.

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"Fine, tell me the good news first... I want to hear something positive in this bad situation," she said to him..

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Naruto looked at her. 'Wouldn't that make you sad when you hear the bad news... women are unpredictable,' Naruto thought and shrugged. 'It's her choice.'

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"The two Akatsuki members, Kisame and Itachi, are dead. We encountered them on the way and took them down," he informed them.

All the members in the room were shocked, but they didn't interrupt the conversation with the Hokage.

"That's good news. These people are after the bijus, so it's a positive that some of them are dead. Now, tell me the bad news," she said to him, her mood slightly brightening. She wondered what the bad news could be, hoping it wouldn't overshadow the good news.

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"The bad news is that... you sent us on the mission where our ninjas were going missing. Is that correct?" he inquired of her.

"Yes... What's the bad news?" Tsunade responded, her curiosity piqued.

"There were 456 Jonin-level ninjas that were killed," he stated, dropping the bombshell.

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"What?" she exclaimed. "How can there be so many high-level ninjas gathered in one place?" she asked him.

The members in the room were taken aback. How could there be so many ninjas of this caliber? Their village had barely a hundred Jonin-level ninjas, and that was the case for all hidden villages combined.

What shocked them even more was that Naruto and his team managed to kill them. This force could easily annihilate their entire village. The casual manner in which they had been dispatched left them in disbelief. They stared at Naruto as if he were a monster.

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As he mentioned that they had killed the high-level ninjas, something clicked in Sakura's mind. Naruto was alone, "Where is Sasuke, Naruto?" she asked abruptly in the middle of the meeting.

"Did he die, or has something bad happened to him?" she wondered silently to herself.

Upon hearing her question, Tsunade also turned her gaze toward Naruto.

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"He's fine... You don't have to worry about him," he assured them.

They all heaved sighs of relief. Tsunade's shoulders slumped down. "456 Jonin-level ninjas... thank God they took care of them," she thought, feeling a sense of relief as one problem was resolved.

Seeing her slightly relaxed posture, Naruto dropped another bomb.

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"We're getting off-topic... I haven't finished conveying the information," he interjected, capturing everyone's attention.

"What... Is there something else?" Tsunade inquired.

"Hehe... Do you think that's all? Those were just clones... And guess what, how many of them..." Naruto's voice took on an eerie quality as he left the sentence hanging,

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"Things cannot be that bad… right," she asked.

"Right... No, you're wrong... There are 90,000 to 100,000 jonin-level clones ready to strike," he dropped another bombshell.

Gasps filled the room, the magnitude of the numbers causing their hearts to momentarily skip beats. Even if the clones weren't of jonin caliber and were mere genin-level strength, the sheer volume was overwhelming.

The realization dawned that resistance would be futile, regardless of their own strength or the combined might of all the hidden villages. The scale of this force was beyond anything they could imagine.

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"We are doomed," one of the ninjas spoke, a tone of despair gripping their words. The enormity of the situation had sunk in, leaving them feeling utterly powerless.

"Are you absolutely certain about this?" Tsunade queried, a glimmer of hope that this might not be entirely accurate.

But Naruto's affirmation extinguished that hope. He had witnessed the reality with his own eyes; he could even see them from where they stood. The grim truth was undeniable.

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"Yes, this is 100% certain, and they'll be in motion soon," Naruto stated, shattering any remaining glimmers of hope.

"The Fourth Great Ninja War is brewing," he declared, the gravity of his words hanging heavily in the room.

"How do you know all of this?" Shikamaru asked, voicing the question that many were thinking. Despite his trust in Naruto, this revelation was hard to comprehend.

Naruto's gaze settled on Shikamaru, aware that all eyes were fixed on him. "I have seen it with my own eyes," he asserted firmly, leaving no room for doubt or debate.

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A heavy silence settled upon the room, the weight of Naruto's revelation causing a collective heartache. Thoughts raced through their minds, each grappling with the chilling truth.

"Is there no way... Are we going to die?" whispered through the minds of some, the fear of impending doom gripping them.

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"Can't you handle them? After all, you managed to defeat 456 of them," Ino's voice broke the silence, a glimmer of hope in her question. Eyes turned towards Naruto, a desperate hope that he would confirm their desire to have a savior.

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Logic, clouded by their fear, took a backseat; all they wished for was an escape, for someone else to shoulder the burden of this disaster. This was the manifestation of fear, the fear of death that gripped their minds.

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Tsunade glanced at Ino with an expression that seemed to say, "Are you serious, girl?"

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Naruto met Ino's gaze and offered an evil grin at her, then proceeded, "Yes, I can deal with them... but..."

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Ino's expression shifted, a sense of relief washing over her.

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"But... what?" Shikamaru inquired, his mind already formulating a prediction about what Naruto's next words might entail. The room remained tense, awaiting Naruto's continuation.

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Naruto's smile persisted as he continued, "But the ones behind them are more powerful than the First Hokage..."

Another bombshell dropped, leaving the room in stunned silence. The legends of the First Hokage, the god of shinobi, echoed in their minds. It was difficult to fathom someone being that powerful in the current era.

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Unbeknownst to them, Nagato, with his pure Uzumaki geans and Rinnegan, had already exceeded the prowess of Hashirama and Madara. Yet, Naruto chose not to reveal that there were not just one, but four of these individuals.

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"Now you understand the situation," Naruto stated, his gaze shifting to the individuals in the room. The weight of reality had eroded their resolve, leaving them bereft of fighting spirit.

His eyes then settled on Tsunade. Amidst her despair, regret, and shattered heart, she appeared to be in turmoil. Her gaze met Naruto's, holding a glimmer of hope that he might offer a solution.

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"Do you possess any solution to this predicament? If what you've stated is accurate, then we're in dire straits," Tsunade spoke candidly, her choice of words reflecting her deep concern, regardless of their informal nature.

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"Yes," Naruto replied simply, his words carrying a weight of assurance that seemed to alleviate their anxieties. They refrained from probing further into the specifics of his plan, content for the moment that he had a solution.

"But first, let's fix the village," he said, his gaze drifting toward the village as seen through the small window behind Tsunade.

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Puzzled expressions filled the room, their confusion evident.

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Naruto's thoughts silently assessed their reactions, realizing that these individuals might not truly comprehend the depth of true power. His eyes settled on them, observing the ignorance that colored their expressions.

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"I have to become more powerful, learn all the practical jutsus that are possible to master. Things are getting interesting... hehe... this war is going to be the 'battle between gods'... Hinata, my darling, just wait for a moment. Once I deal with this mess, we are going to become strong, powerful enough to shatter the world," Naruto whispered to himself.

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He looked at Shikamaru and smiled. "Do you want revenge, my friend? If you do, don't hesitate to ask your friend," Naruto said to his friend. In reality, it was a genjutsu, and only Shikamaru could hear his voice.

"Yes... I want to kill that man," Shikamaru replied to him.

"Be ready. We'll go after I deal with the village," Naruto said, then looked away.

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Slightly startled and bewildered, Shikamaru blinked, his attention directed towards Naruto's back. The sight of Naruto's response caused him to raise an internal question, 'What was that?' His gaze met Naruto's, and in response, Naruto tilted his head and winked at him.

'Genjutsu...' Shikamaru realized, his understanding dawning. He glanced around the room, his surprise mounting as he comprehended that no one else had detected anything unusual.

A smile formed on Shikamaru's lips. The path ahead was clear: he would avenge his fallen sensei by eliminating the one responsible.

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Naruto's mind was set on mastering the shadow-related jutsu. In his view, the Nara clan had merely scratched the surface of this intricate branch of techniques. He saw the potential for these skills to become unstoppable, and he knew that to achieve this, he needed Shikamaru's expertise.

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AN~ Things are getting heated, and the training arc is coming soon.

Comment the jutsus that you want to him learn…

And give me power stones…