Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 8 What is a Ninja?

"Why? Why! Brother!" Sasuke tried to suppress the trembling in his legs and ran desperately outside, but no matter how hard he ran, he couldn't escape the bright red background.

Blood…blood everywhere…his grandmother, his uncle, his great-uncle…everyone he knew and didn’t know was lying on the ground, including his parents…

Was it... that my brother did it?

"Run away, run away again, just live like this, barely scraping by. And then one day come before me with eyes just like mine."

Why? Why is this happening?

"Sasuke..."

A distant voice invaded his dream. Sasuke looked up blankly, and in a daze, he seemed to see a golden blur. Golden? Naruto?! No! Don't come any closer! Brother… Itachi will kill him! That idiot, don't do anything stupid at a time like this!

"Sasuke!"

"Don't come any closer!"

Sasuke abruptly broke free from the dream, his inability to respond causing him to let out an almost shrill cry. He gasped for breath, only to see an unfamiliar ceiling and a golden head peering out from behind it.

"Sasuke, you're finally awake! I just realized you seemed to be having a nightmare, so..."

It really is Naruto. There's no danger, only his homeroom teacher standing beside him with a worried face. Is it a dream? No… His shoulder hurts so much, though it's nothing compared to the pain in his heart, but it's a reminder that none of this is a dream, right?

Overnight, he lost everything.

Naruto's words were interrupted by Sasuke's tight embrace, his eyes also filled with sorrow. This time, he could truly empathize with Sasuke, using his extraordinary sensory abilities. Naruto lowered his eyes, concealing his complex grief, and gently patted Sasuke's back until the latter fell asleep again due to weakness.

"Naruto, I'll have to ask you to look after Sasuke from now on." Seeing the two children interact, Iruka suddenly felt his past prejudices softening. If Naruto really was the demon fox who destroyed everything, how could he let a child who had just suffered a major blow sleep peacefully in his arms? Besides, Naruto had a cheerful and sunny personality; apart from not liking to listen to lectures, he had no other flaws. Why would he inflict his past hatred on an innocent child? He… just like himself, was a child who had lost both parents.

"I will." Naruto, preoccupied with his own thoughts, was so focused on maintaining his facade that he didn't notice Iruka's subtle change. "Can I come often? Before Sasuke is discharged from the hospital."

Iruka sighed and rubbed his forehead. After all, the Third Hokage had already shown leniency by letting him in this time, and the sole survivor would naturally be under close surveillance by the Hokage's direct subordinates, the Anbu.

"I'm sorry, Naruto."

"……I see."

After leaving the hospital, Naruto went home as fast as he could. He almost lost control of his expression as soon as he closed the door, but that only happened for the moment he lowered his head.

Cheer up, Naruto, there's an important meeting tonight.

"Kurama, do you still believe me?" Naruto lay on his back in the mental space, looking completely helpless. Above him was Kurama's jaw.

"...You're heartbroken, yet you still try to connect with that brat. You're completely selfless." Kurama gave Naruto a dangerous look, then shoved back to him, scooping Naruto out of the water as he did so, and flicked him away.

"Don't push yourself too hard. I've said it before, a person's essence will not change."

"I believe you. I won't say it a third time!"

The semi-open-air dining hall was immediately sealed off and multiple layers of security were set up outside to prevent anyone from peeping into the secret. Just as Naruto appeared, he clearly sensed that another layer of barrier had been activated, directly severing his connection to the Flying Thunder God coordinates in the outside world. Now, we have to say, he truly lives up to his reputation as the Second Hokage.

Naruto was slightly surprised to see the two White Zetsu. He glanced at Tobirama, who turned his gaze to the silent Shisui. Understanding dawned on him; without asking any questions, he immediately pulled out the Impure World Reincarnation scroll and began the summoning. When Fugaku and Mikoto returned to this world intact, a simple coffin was also summoned. But the person who emerged from the coffin was no ordinary person; he was enough to make the dead present gasp in astonishment.

"What's going on? Tobirama, you're here too." The First Hokage, having regained consciousness, greeted his younger brother naturally, but immediately noticed something amiss. "...Your body..."

Tobirama was still using genjutsu, appearing no different from a living person, but he was indeed a dead man, and his brother could not hide it at all. Seeing that the God of Shinobi was about to erupt, Tobirama immediately interrupted him.

"Brother, it's been a long time. It's now Konoha year 58. You and I have been resurrected by Edo Tensei for some reason."

"Impure World Reincarnation?" Hashirama looked at his hands and said with a hint of helplessness, "That's why you should have listened to me back then..."

"Shut up, brother. This isn't the time to talk about this." Tobirama showed no mercy to Hashirama, prompting the God of Shinobi to perform a mushroom-planting act on the spot.

"Shisui? You're still alive?" Another voice, recognizing an old acquaintance, came from the current Uchiha clan leader... no, he should be considered the former.

Shisui composed himself slightly before bowing to Fugaku and saying, "Yes, clan leader. I lost an eye in an attack by Danzo, so I had no choice but to entrust my other eye to Itachi as a sign of my loyalty. But... Naruto saved me."

Yes. Naruto saved him and gave him back his eyes, allowing him to almost regain his strength—a debt of gratitude he could never repay in his lifetime. That's why he was able to stand here, barely managing to wait for Naruto to give him a reason for watching the Uchiha clan be massacred.

"And your eyes?"

"He cured him."

Fugaku was utterly shocked. He couldn't get his eye back from Danzo no matter what he did, and yet this injury could be healed? Then... could it even cure the flaws in his Kaleidoscope Sharingan?

"Clan leader?" Hashirama turned his head in confusion, confirming the clan crests of the group several times. "Which generation of Uchiha clan leader are you?"

“The current one,” Naruto suddenly interrupted their conversation, “at least he was yesterday.”

The shock of these words was drastically different for the two sides. Fugaku was astonished that this child, whom he had never expected to be so efficient, had managed to resurrect him and Mikoto using the Impure World Reincarnation technique in the blink of an eye. The First Hokage, however, was shocked that the Uchiha clan head had died just yesterday! There were even reports of Uchiha clan members having their eyes stolen! And this child, who looked six or seven years old, was actually the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Although he didn't understand why the Nine-Tails had weakened, it was undeniably the Nine-Tails! There seemed to be only two living people present; there were others nearby, but they were generally quite young. Could it be…?

"What happened in Konoha?" The First Hokage went from relaxed to serious in an instant, but everyone felt immense pressure, except for Naruto, whom he was questioning.

"Last night, the Konoha leadership discovered that the Uchiha clan had plotted a coup, so they ordered Itachi Uchiha to massacre the entire clan."

Now, the cramped space was truly suffocating, and even the outer barrier seemed to be cracking and groaning. Tobirama spoke up at the right moment: "Anija, there are children all around here."

"Tobirama, this wasn't your idea, was it?" Hashirama turned around stiffly.

"Am I really that heartless?!" Tobirama felt this accusation was utterly unreasonable. "During my reign, the Uchiha clan did stage a coup, but at that time I only detained the main culprit!"

"Ah, I'm relieved it's not you." The First Hokage looked like he was about to break through the barrier and rush out at any moment. His anger was so genuine that it stunned the current Uchiha clan leader.

So, it turns out that the First and Second Hokage didn't actually want to kill the Uchiha clan that much? But... the current higher-ups have deviated from their original intentions.

"Naruto-kun, have you seen Sasuke? Is he alright?" Under such intense pressure, Mikoto was the first to bring up another topic, eager to know about her young son.

"...Sasuke was slightly injured, but he's fine." That's a lie; he was under the influence of Tsukuyomi. If Naruto hadn't risked exposure to break it, the consequences would have been unimaginable. "He'll be discharged from the hospital soon."

The heavy pressure subsided, and Mikoto, seemingly oblivious to everything, continued to press, "What about Itachi? Have you seen him?"

"No, he has already left Konoha."

Mikoto's eyes welled up with tears, and even though she was in her impure state, she was about to shed tears. But she was not standing here as a mother, but as the clan leader's wife, and she could not expose her most vulnerable side.

"Please have a seat." Naruto said, seeing that everyone's emotions had stabilized. He then got to the main topic of the evening. "I promise that I will not impose any restrictions on you. If you want to undo the summoning later, I will teach you how."

"I just want you to listen to me."

Tobirama pulled his older brother to sit down, and Mikoto pushed Fugaku to sit opposite the two Hokage. Shisui, however, did not sit down. He silently moved behind the clan head and his wife, his bloodlust undisguised.

"Speak, I've been curious for a long time." Tobirama was probably the calmest of them all, even more composed than the anxious Naruto.

"First, I'd like to ask you a question." Naruto displayed the same spirit he had when facing a daimyo or other dignitaries; he would have been much more relaxed facing the Five Kage.

Why do wars happen?

The five exchanged glances, and Tobirama, the most reliable of them all, spoke up: "There are many reasons, such as unequal distribution of benefits, hatred, political needs, and so on. It's a general concept."

"It seems vague, but the ultimate goal is still the same: profit." Naruto's expression was cold, as if he were talking about something he utterly loathed. "In the First Shinobi World War, because the Land of Fire and Konoha possessed the resources that first established the ninja village system, the other four nations wanted nothing more than to join forces and devour us. The Second Shinobi World War was a continuation of the First. The Third Shinobi World War was even more so because everyone knew about Konoha's decline. How many generations of lives did we sacrifice to win these wars, but what did we gain in the end?"

“Ninjas were defined by the daimyo and nobles as tools of war. They poured resources into us, only to make us bleed and sacrifice for their interests.” Naruto tossed aside a map and pointed to a corner of it, saying, “The Land of Water wanted to take over a stable land, so it invaded the Land of Whirlpools, claiming that the Uzumaki clan’s sealing techniques were too powerful. They ultimately failed. The Land of Whirlpools is still there, but the Uzumaki clan simply disappeared.”

"The Land of Lightning wanted the Land of Fire's fertile land, and the Land of Earth wanted the Land of Lightning's special mineral veins. The three parties fought three major wars. In the end, the Land of Fire signed a high-priced grain sales agreement with the Land of Lightning, and the Land of Lightning handed over a mineral vein to a contractor from the Land of Earth."

"There are many more examples like this. Even when we were fighting to the death, the exchange of benefits never stopped."

These minor details weren't part of the ninja's intelligence network. They were more interested in which ninja village had produced a genius, which village had invented a powerful ninjutsu, how much war reparations should be paid, and how many soldiers the opposing side had retained. In reality, however, a quick glance at past newspapers would easily reveal the exchanges of interests between nations. It's just that ninjas ultimately viewed the world from a different perspective.

"I know the village will become a weapon of the nation, so dispersing the tailed beasts ensures that the ninja villages won't directly attack each other's headquarters." The First Hokage was surprisingly the first among everyone to realize this, and although he was reluctant, he understood that there was no true peace in the world. That brief peace was built on his life, yet he still irresponsibly went on his way.

Naruto sneered and said, "Why should we be defined by them?"

All the ninjas present were stunned.

“Look at the lives of the people in each country. The Land of Fire can only be said to be barely getting by, and the Land of Water… that’s not a place for humans to live. The Land of Wind says it’s limited by the desert and can’t escape its barrenness. They know the sandstorms are bad, yet they still cut down trees. Aren’t they just heading towards desertification? I didn’t look closely at the Land of Rock. Tobirama, Shisui, what do you two think?”

Tobirama paused for a moment, then said, "The gap between the rich and the poor is obvious. People can starve to death in remote places, while a town just a dozen miles away is a bustling town."

"Has the world they've led become a better place?" Naruto posed this probing question. It's not that there aren't good people among the nobility, but they've long been corrupted by extravagance and self-interest, their overall bias is truly disgusting. Naruto will never forget the betrayal by the Daimyo and the village elders; leaving those spineless scum around will only cause trouble.

He had seen the power that the people's desires could unleash, so he wanted to... trust the people once more.

"Naruto," Hashirama spoke again, this time without question in his eyes, even his tone was lighter, "You're right, ninjas shouldn't be defined as tools of war. But the system of noble fiefdoms has a long history, what do you plan to do?"

“Unite all forces that can be united,” Naruto said firmly. “The ninjas have been isolated from the people for too long. We should take the initiative and show them that ninjutsu can make life easier. We are just like them; we are all human, exploited under the aristocratic system. The food they work so hard to grow is embezzled by heavy taxes, and our mission fees are also subject to taxes. Since they take the money but don't work, they can't blame others for coveting them, can they?”

"I want to liberate the whole world."

PS.1. When the First Hokage first discovered his brother was dead, he thought he had been kidnapped. Later, he discovered that both the living and the dead were connected to Konoha, and there was a group of children around, so he thought Konoha had been destroyed.

2. It included some information about the future. The future is cruel.