Have you ever seen a fist as big as a cooking pot?
Have you?
Then have you ever seen dark clouds hanging over a city?
Millions of paper cranes flying from the sky—that's what dark clouds over a city look like!
A single little paper crane wouldn't attract any attention.
Even if it's made with explosive tags.
A few dozen of them? No big deal—a ninja could just throw a few kunai or even smash them down with rocks.
What about a few hundred?
That would require several ninjas working together to handle them.
A few thousand?
Tens of thousands?
Hundreds of thousands, or even millions?
That would form a black cloud!
Blotting out the sky and the sun!
No need for alarms. No one needs to be warned because everyone's already noticed.
Danzo and the Third Hokage, along with the Jōnin, walked out of the meeting room and stared blankly at the sight before them.
"Damn it!"
After a long silence, someone shouted these words.
Like a signal, everyone sprang into action without needing orders.
"Fire Style…"
"Water Style…"
"Lightning Style…"
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
"Elders and children, evacuate now!"
"All ninjas, mobilize—everyone, get ready for battle!"
"Give it your all—no one holds back! Don't keep anything in reserve!"
A chorus of frantic shouts echoed through the village.
At this moment, everyone was in a frenzy.
Even without anyone directing them, without orders, they were giving it their all. Each person was doing everything they could.
They tried every method they could think of, but their eyes were still filled with despair.
Because their enemy was millions of explosive tags!
The Third Hokage didn't move.
He stood there, staring in a daze.
Explosive tags!
Again with the explosive tags!
All the recent disasters had something to do with explosive tags.
Danzo and he had barely escaped from being blown to pieces by explosive tags, and soon they'd become a laughingstock in the ninja world.
The reason the Uchiha were able to leave Konoha safely was because of the threat of explosive tags.
On the battlefield, the Uchiha's use of explosive tags had played a crucial role.
It was said that when they fought against Kumogakure, they just kept bombing their way through with explosive tags.
The Konoha ninja army had also been hit by a wave of explosive tag attacks.
And now, those explosive tags were coming straight for the village.
The Third Hokage didn't have time to wonder where the Uchiha had gotten so many explosive tags.
At this moment, in his world, everything was silent.
He watched with wide eyes as the Konoha ninjas screamed, moved, attacked, and evacuated…
The paper cranes fell from the sky!
Under his gaze, the paper cranes descended on Konoha.
*Boom, boom, boom!!!*
The entire village was engulfed in explosions.
Countless people screamed, begged for mercy, prayed, pleaded for help…
This was the end of the world!
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood there, dazed.
Was this still his Konoha?
It… was, right?
...
No one knew how long had passed, but the explosions eventually stopped.
The Konoha ninjas, with blank expressions, stared at the ruins of their village as if their souls had left their bodies.
The entire village of Konoha had been engulfed by millions of explosive tags.
Konan had surrounded the whole village this time, carrying out an indiscriminate bombardment.
Whether it was effective or not, she didn't care.
The only goal was to bomb it!
Millions of explosive tags—no big deal!
If it worked, great—a nice surprise.
If it didn't, at least it served as a warning.
Either way, Konan didn't feel she'd lost anything.
If it weren't for the massive chakra consumption from using her paper clones, Konan would've kept going. She would've enjoyed toying with the Konoha ninjas until they broke.
"Lord Hokage!"
Shikaku Nara, suppressing the turmoil in his heart, came before the stunned Third Hokage and said, "Please, you must stay calm. Konoha needs you to lead us."
The Third Hokage, still dazed, muttered, "The barrier… why wasn't the barrier activated?"
The barrier wouldn't have stopped all the explosive tags, but it would've blocked some.
It shouldn't have been this devastating!
"Because of me, of course!"
A voice, full of amusement, rang out: "I killed the person responsible for the barrier, so it was shut down. Aren't I amazing?"
"Uchiha Itsuki!"
Shikaku's face twisted in rage, and he glared at Itsuki through gritted teeth.
"What's with the shouting? I'm not deaf."
Itsuki waved his hand dismissively and said, "Hey, Monkey, how do you like it? Isn't my gift awesome?"
"Uchiha Itsuki!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen glared at Itsuki, speaking each word with chilling clarity, "Konoha will never rest until you are dead."
The surrounding ninjas stared at Itsuki with eyes full of hatred.
Even though they couldn't yet confirm the exact number of casualties, they were certain many had died. And the damage to the buildings was immense.
"Never rest?"
Itsuki repeated the words, looking around at the hateful gazes, and suddenly burst into laughter.
"Are you angry?"
"Do you hate me?"
"Do you want to tear me apart?"
Itsuki looked at the increasing number of Konoha ninjas gathering around him, laughing louder.
Suddenly, he formed a hand seal and activated the Flying Thunder God Technique.
*Whoosh!*
A person appeared beside him.
Seeing this person, the ninjas around Itsuki froze in shock, their steps faltering.
Uzumaki Naruto!
Naruto, not even ten years old!
But!
Growing up in the ninja world had made him mature beyond his years.
Naruto glanced around and finally fixed his gaze on Itsuki.
His eyes were filled with anger and hatred.
To young Naruto, Konoha was his home.
Even though his life in this home hadn't been great, that didn't stop him from loving it.
"Uchiha Itsuki, what are you trying to do?"
The Third Hokage screamed, his voice shrill and sharp.
The Nine-Tails!
Konoha was already in ruins—nothing must happen to the Nine-Tails now.
Otherwise, Konoha would truly be finished.
Itsuki ignored him. He looked around, smiled, and said, "The Uchiha clan has a long and proud history. Within our clan, there have been many exceptional individuals. We're recognized as the strongest clan in the ninja world."
"Also!"
"Uchiha clan and Senju clan were the core of Konoha's creation. You could say that without Uchiha, there would be no Konoha today."
"Since Konoha was founded decades ago, the Uchiha have fought countless battles for it, making endless sacrifices and earning countless victories."
"Uchiha have sacrificed more for Konoha than any other clan!"
"Am I wrong?"
"Does anyone disagree with me?"
Itsuki looked around.
No one spoke.
In front of so many people, they couldn't lie.
They had their pride to think of!
Danzo and the Third Hokage wanted to say something, but Itsuki shut them up with one sentence.
"Don't give me any nonsense. I just want to know—did I say anything wrong?"
"Answer me—yes or no!"
They said nothing.
Itsuki looked down at little Naruto, meeting his angry eyes, and smiled.
"Your best friend, Uchiha Sasuke, is a member of Uchiha clan. He used to be Konoha ninja."
The butterfly effect was in motion, but it only slightly altered the course of the ninja world.
In places beyond the butterfly's reach, the original storyline remained intact.
For example, the friendship between Sasuke and Naruto.
These two had only been indirectly influenced by Itsuki, with no major changes.
So they still became best friends!
They went to the ninja academy together, helped each other, and competed with one another.
Not long ago, after hearing that the Uchiha clan had betrayed the village and that Uchiha Sasuke had left, Naruto swore he would bring Sasuke back.
He was the inheritor of the Will of Fire!
How could someone like Sasuke become a rogue ninja?!
Naruto would never accept that!
(End of Chapter)
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