"Death or follow?"
Uchiha Shisui let out a bitter laugh.
He had wanted to keep Naruto out of the mess surrounding Konoha and the Uchiha clan, but the blond Jinchūriki had thrown himself right into the fire.
What strength do I even have left?
He tried moving his body, but the searing pain nearly made him black out again. Forget fighting—just breathing was exhausting.
"Well… if there's a next life, maybe I'll consider being your subordinate then."
With a self-deprecating smile, Shisui leaned back into the grass, accepting his fate.
But Naruto's lips curved into an amused smirk.
"I accept your request!"
A flash of gold—
"Adamantine Sealing Chains!"
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
Four golden chains exploded from Naruto's back, streaking across the air like golden dragons.
"Shit—!!"
The root ninja in the fox mask barely had time to react.
"This is Adamantine Sealing Chains! Danger! Uzumaki Naruto's intel is outdated—he has a bloodline limit!"
He quickly drew a kunai and slashed at the incoming chain—
CLANG!
The chain smashed through the weapon like it was paper. The ninja was sent flying, crashing against a tree with a sickening thud.
"Urgh—!!"
Before he could move, three more chains whipped through the air like spears.
THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!
All three struck his chest, pinning him against the tree.
Blood dripped onto the leaves below. His mask cracked, revealing wide, terrified eyes.
The other two root ninjas barely had time to process what just happened.
"—D-Danger—"
Their hands flew into blindingly fast seals.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Two enormous water dragons surged into existence, coiling in the air before roaring toward Naruto.
But Naruto simply raised a single hand toward the sky.
"Scorch Style: Yandi!"
A searing heatwave erupted from his palm.
The air shimmered as an inferno burst forth.
24°C… 30°C… 50°C… 100°C…
In mere seconds, the battlefield turned into a furnace.
The water dragons?
Gone.
They evaporated before even reaching him.
The two remaining root ninja paled.
"This flame… it's the same one that struck Root Headquarters!"
"But that's impossible! Scorch Style is a Kekkei Genkai from Sunagakure!"
They looked at each other.
"We can't win. Retreat!"
Without hesitation, they spun around to flee.
"Too late."
Naruto's voice was cold.
The golden chains shot forward.
THUNK! THUNK!
Each chain found its target, piercing through their hearts.
Their bodies twitched before collapsing onto the scorched earth.
They weren't dead just yet—
Their fingers twitched. Their lips parted, trying to speak.
"U-Uzumaki… Naruto…"
Their vision blurred. Blood soaked their uniforms.
"He's… too… dangerous…"
Their last thoughts before the darkness took them.
Naruto walked over to one of the corpses and knelt down. Without hesitation, he extended two fingers and plunged them into the dead man's eye socket.
Squish.
A moment later, he pulled out a pair of bloody Sharingan.
Shisui sat frozen.
He was blind, but his chakra senses painted a horrifyingly vivid picture.
Three root ninja? Instant kill.
Two more? Dead in under thirty seconds.
"Gulp."
His throat was dry.
Nima…
What… what just happened?!
Shisui had felt Naruto's chakra explode like a supernova.
That wasn't just the Adamantine Sealing Chains. That wasn't just Scorch Style.
That was a monster.
His monster.
He had given up, resigned himself to death.
But now, as he "watched" Naruto collect Sharingan from corpses like picking fruit—
He realized something terrifying.
He wasn't following some naive, hopeful boy.
He had just sworn allegiance to the most dangerous man in Konoha.
Maybe even the world.