Be the Main God from Naruto - Chapter 38
Indeed.
There was no Kakashi Hatake.
At such a pivotal moment of change within the Hidden Leaf, he was at the cemetery, cleaning the grave of Sakumo Hatake.
The windswept fiercely, scattering leaves in its wake.
In the distance, the sounds of explosions were incessant.
Yet here, it was eerily quiet.
“Father… if it were you, you would help the Hokage, wouldn’t you?” Kakashi’s voice came through his mask.
He seemed to be talking to a gravestone.
A mocking smile formed at the corner of his mouth as if he were mocking himself or perhaps something else: “But, after all, I am not you.”
He would not hesitate to fight if an external enemy attacked, even if it meant sacrificing himself on the battlefield.
But now?
It was merely a civil war within the Hidden Leaf.
Whether it was the Sannin or the direct descendants of the Hidden Leaf, they were all true natives of the village.
Whom should he support?
Since the Third Hokage paid Kakashi’s salary, he should help the Hokage’s faction.
But for some reason, he couldn’t muster any will to fight, nor did he intend to take action.
Jiraiya’s speech on the main street had also reached his ears.
What Kakashi wanted was the same as what those ordinary civilians who lacked any significant strength desired.
“Sakumo Hatake of the Hidden Leaf…”
“A renowned shinobi who killed countless enemies, who abandoned a mission to save his comrades, could not bear the idle talk of others, and ultimately took his own life…”
Kakashi’s voice was tinged with sadness.
“Naruto Uzumaki faced even harsher circumstances from a young age.”
“Even he could overcome them, my father… are you less than a child?”
The past is the past. The truths of those times are unclear.
However, this unresolved issue prevented Kakashi from finding a reason to move forward.
“It seems… it’s over?”
He noticed that the sounds of explosions…
Suddenly ceased.
…
The Hokage’s faction lost.
And it was a devastating defeat, utterly powerless to retaliate!
The chuunin and jonin were caught off guard by a group of young ninjas behind the Sannin using a variety of bizarre ninjutsu, making one mistake after another until they were completely drained of chakra and physical strength.
The only impressive performances came from an elite Jonin and a genin who had just graduated a year ago.
Might Guy and Rock Lee!
The rest of their comrades had lost their will to fight, but these two, with chakra burning around them like tangible flames, made a fearsome display.
“Ohhhh!!! This is youth, Lee!” Might Guy was enveloped in a radiant glow, standing starkly from those around him.
Lee’s chakra, which evaporated the sweat and tears from his body, exclaimed: “Yes, Teacher!!”
The two, emotionally overwhelmed and crying together, appeared utterly chaotic, yet the ninjas surrounding them dared not underestimate them.
Suigetsu Hozuki, half his head, turned to water due to an injury, slowly regenerating, trembled as he spoke: “Are these guys monsters? I almost died just now!”
He couldn’t even tell who had attacked him.
His body couldn’t keep up, his eyes couldn’t keep up, and not even his thoughts could keep up!
Kabuto Yakushi spat out two teeth and pressed his palm healing technique on his broken jaw, mumbling, “I’m okay. How about you, Kimimaro?”
Not far away, Kimimaro and Jugo, both showing the second stage of their cursed seals, supported each other back-to-back.
“I have six broken ribs and minor internal injuries, but I can continue to fight.”
As for the others like Tayuya, Kidomaru, Jirobo, Sakon and Ukon, Aoi Rokusho, and others, these weaker fighters were strewn about, some completely incapacitated, others merely unconscious.
Suigetsu finally calmed down and snorted disdainfully: “Trash remains trash. It’s a shame Orochimaru-sama used precious materials from other worlds to enhance them, yet they couldn’t even block a single strike! If only I had a proper weapon, like the Executioner’s Blade…”
Orochimaru had changed a lot recently, and even the unruly Suigetsu had finally submitted under his scientific conditioning.
This battle was his proof of allegiance.
“Enough! Everyone stop!”
The Third Hokage’s aged voice suddenly rang out.
Yet no one heeded his command.
The ninjas from the Sound Village, who only followed Orochimaru and Tsunade’s orders, and those Leaf ninjas willing to listen, even if they wanted to stop, were too drained.
To resist and were forced to counterattack.
But these words still had their significance, as Orochimaru, pressing the Third Hokage, suddenly held back, giving him a chance to breathe.
Taking a deep breath, Hiruzen Sarutobi’s gaze fell on Tsunade and Jiraiya like an enraged old lion: “You traitors, why aren’t you helping?”
Tsunade, arms crossed, declared proudly: “We are just doing what’s right. To deal with you, Orochimaru alone is enough.”
After becoming a reincarnated ninja, Orochimaru’s focus in combat had shifted almost entirely to technological ninja tools, biological enhancements, and scientific ninja techniques.
Now, relying only on a 15% increase in combat effectiveness from team contracts, Orochimaru could keep the Third Hokage breathless without using a single trump card.
How could he lose with the tide of the battle in his favour?
It was impossible to lose!
“Master Sarutobi, I just want to ask one thing before we fight.”
Jiraiya, clearly lacking in emotional intelligence, didn’t catch the lead his older sister was giving.
His eyes, filled with sadness, stared directly at Hiruzen Sarutobi: “You’re the Hokage! Can’t you even take care of a child?”
He spoke ambiguously, but the Third Hokage understood.
Initially holding the moral high ground, his presence weakened: “I had my reasons.”
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt bitter.
People have close and distant relationships, and Naruto’s connection to him was, after all, indirect, unlike with Danzo, Koharu, and Homura, who were his comrades-in-arms.
Sometimes, he had to make choices.
“Reasons?”
Jiraiya finally erupted, straightforwardly thinking that black was black and white was white, considering anyone in between as unreliable fence-sitters: “What did Naruto do to deserve this from the Leaf? Or was it Minato Namikaze, the legendary Yellow Flash, the Fourth Hokage, Naruto’s father, who did something to betray the Leaf, necessitating this father’s debts to be repaid by his son?”
Hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi’s face alternated between shades of pale and flush.
After a long silence, he opened his mouth but couldn’t speak.
Finally, his lips moved weakly as he said, “For the sake of the Leaf…”
“Heh.”
Orochimaru’s cold laughter interrupted the Third’s feeble argument, “All for the sake of the village. The old folks’ noble words make me sick.”
Why was Naruto’s childhood so miserable?
Some believed it was Danzo’s doing, but as the Hokage, if Hiruzen did not permit it, who would dare bully the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? Did they think that provoking Naruto to the point of seal-breaking would not lead to death?
To show grace when it is easy is one thing, but to provide aid in dire times is what people remember as true benevolence.
That had been Hiruzen’s philosophy all these years.
He was playing with fire. If not for Naruto being influenced by Ashura’s inherently good chakra from a young age, the Leaf might have already met its end amidst laughter and joy.
“Ah… Jiraiya, you fool…”
Tsunade sighed, her gaze intensifying: “Let’s do this together! Quick battle, quick decision!”
Moments later, everything settled.
This day, as the wind rose in the Land of Fire, the banners of the Hidden Leaf were changed, and power transitioned.
Another chapter before 12:30.
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