Konoha.
Amidst the ruins, Konoha had begun to rebuild, but a stifling atmosphere still lingered over the village.
The destruction caused by the Akatsuki's Rinnegan wielder, Nagato, was no longer seen as a major issue; at most, villagers grumbled that their Hokage didn't keep his word, failed to uphold promises, and thus allowed the resurrected enemy to go on a rampage. But even that was secondary.
What truly weighed on everyone was the sudden appearance of powerful Otsutsuki enemies, who completely overpowered their Hokage. Afterward, when their Hokage returned, his appearance had changed drastically.
The Seventh Hokage of Konoha, the Child of Destiny of the ninja world—Uzumaki Naruto—was now a terrifying figure: dark red skin, a ghastly, demonic face, and a mouth full of fangs.
Countless Konoha villagers were secretly shocked and deeply unsettled.
He looked like nothing less than a demon. Some unpleasant rumors—or perhaps just inner fears—were beginning to grow.
Inside the Hokage's Office.
"You brat! What is going on here? How long has it been, and the village still isn't rebuilt?!"
Even with all her teeth gone and her steps unsteady, the stubborn old Koharu Utatane was still berating Naruto, who sat at the Hokage's desk.
"Naruto, you're the Hokage of Konoha. The village is huge, and this disaster was all caused by your carelessness. Do you think rebuilding Konoha is that easy?"
Homura Mitokado, beside her, shook his head and sighed:
"Naruto, over the years, Konoha's finances have all gone into development and construction. No one expected Konoha to be destroyed. Now you want to rebuild, but where are the resources coming from? Especially now, when the Land of Earth has cut off its vital clay supplies…"
"Useless!"
Naruto, who had always been pushed around by these two old geezers, suddenly flew into a rage. He slammed the desk and glared at them.
"Naruto, you—!"
Naruto's outburst, combined with his demonic appearance, scared Koharu and Homura, leaving them staring at him in shock.
It was as if they were thinking, Is this the young Hokage who used to let us scold him at will?
"Naruto, how can you treat us elders like this?!"
After recovering from their shock, Koharu and Homura's faces turned angry. They had lived through the reigns of the Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Hokages, and never before had a Hokage dared to speak to them this way.
"We've served under four generations of Hokage, and now you, the Seventh, dare to act so brazenly!"
Koharu's eyes blazed with anger. She might be old, but her obsession with power only grew deeper with age.
"Old fools!"
Naruto's appearance had changed, but more importantly, his mind was now clouded with negative emotions. He was short-tempered and irritable; the darkness in his heart had eclipsed his former sunshine.
"Shut up! You two old geezers, don't make me kill you!"
With his face twisted in rage, Naruto struggled to keep his anger in check, baring his fangs like a demon ready to bite.
At that moment, the office doors swung open, and the former Sixth Hokage, Kakashi Hatake, walked in. Seeing the scene, he quickly stepped forward to explain.
"Elders, please don't provoke Naruto. Right now, he's easily agitated. During his battle with the Otsutsuki, he accidentally ate a Chakra Fruit, and its negative energy overwhelmed him. He's extremely irritable and quick to anger!"
Hearing Kakashi's explanation, Koharu and Homura were not moved by sympathy; instead, greed and shock flickered in their eyes.
"Kakashi, does that excuse his behavior? What we should be considering now is whether Uzumaki Naruto is still fit to be Hokage!"
"That's right. A Hokage corrupted by negative emotions is no longer qualified. Maybe you should return to the position, Kakashi."
The two elders, echoing each other, were practically inciting a coup, just short of saying Naruto was unfit to lead.
Naruto's indulgence over the years had made these old, corrupt officials forget the importance of power.
Finally, with a helpless sigh, Kakashi managed to usher the two elders out of the office.
"Naruto!"
Once only Kakashi and Naruto remained, Kakashi tried to comfort him, but Naruto's anger flared up again.
He smashed the desk with his fist and roared:
"I saved the ninja world! I saved Konoha! And those two old geezers say I'm not qualified? Who is? Could either of them defeat the Otsutsuki?!"
Consumed by negative emotions, Naruto's obsession with the Hokage seat grew even more intense. He would never allow anyone to challenge his position.
"Naruto, calm down! You need to calm down!"
Kakashi's gentle persuasion clashed sharply with Naruto's fury.
Especially after returning to Konoha and facing all those strange looks from the villagers, Naruto couldn't keep his anger in check.
"Kakashi-sensei! You're telling me to calm down! How can I? Look at all I've done for Konoha, all the blood I've shed for the ninja world, and now you want me to calm down?!"
Naruto's furious shouts echoed through the Hokage office, while Kakashi could only sigh helplessly and do his best to soothe him.
Because at this point, Naruto did have the power to destroy Konoha.
Meanwhile, the two elders who had just left the office were meeting secretly in a dimly lit room.
"The Chakra Fruit—the secret to Otsutsuki Kaguya's immortality. Just one bite and we could be young again!"
Koharu's raspy, angry voice echoed in the darkness.
"Homura! One bite and we'd return to our younger days. We could serve the village for decades more, but that reckless Hokage ruined everything!"
"We finally got our hands on the Chakra Fruit, but he didn't save any of it! Whether for research or something else, it would have been a great asset to Konoha. But he didn't! That reckless monster!"
Blinded by the prospect of immortality, Koharu felt no fear, even when facing the strongest ninja in the world.
Or perhaps, after years of Naruto's leniency, they believed he would never truly harm the village.
"That's right. The Chakra Fruit is a treasure of the ninja world, not Uzumaki Naruto's personal property. Yet he ate it all himself!"
Homura's face was twisted with anger. Both elders' eyes gleamed with greed and resentment.
They coveted immortality and hated Naruto for denying them the chance.
"Uzumaki Naruto is no longer fit to be Hokage."
"Kakashi should take over again. Naruto's transformation due to the Chakra Fruit means he should be locked up—no, sealed and studied. We can't let this evil corrupt us."
"That's right. With Konoha's research power, we'll surely uncover the secrets of that Chakra Fruit inside Naruto. We must stop our Hokage from being corrupted and save the village from disaster!"
Koharu and Homura—advisors who had survived since the time of the Third Hokage—were now driven mad by the lure of immortality, their eyes filled only with fanaticism and endless greed.
Kakashi, though wise, had never realized how much ambition could be born from the mere rumor of eternal life.
As Kakashi quietly soothed Naruto, who now hid in his office, unwilling to face the village...
Rumors began to spread through the rebuilding Konoha.
"Did you hear? The Seventh Hokage is a disaster. He could have protected the village, but he was too obsessed with the Chakra Fruit!"
"No way! Lord Hokage would never do that! I don't believe it."
"What's a Chakra Fruit, anyway?"
"Well, you don't know? My cousin's aunt's uncle's son fought in the Fourth War—he saw the battle to seal Otsutsuki Kaguya himself. The Chakra Fruit is the source of Kaguya's power, and also the source of disaster. Our Hokage…"
"No way! Are you saying Lord Hokage ignored the village for the Chakra Fruit?!"
Across every corner of Konoha, rumors spread like wildfire, their origins unclear.
Within half a day, the entire village knew about the Chakra Fruit. They also learned that, in the previous battle, their Hokage had seized the Chakra Fruit but succumbed to temptation, greedily consuming it and becoming the demon he now appeared to be.
The Chakra Fruit became synonymous with disaster, and Naruto's demonic appearance seemed to confirm the tale.
There was no legend of immortality—only a story of disaster.
"I heard that Kaguya, who once tried to destroy the ninja world, ate the Chakra Fruit. Now our Seventh Hokage has eaten one—what if he tries to destroy the world too?!"
In the darkness, villagers huddled in temporary tents, whispering rumors that only grew wilder.
By now, countless villagers were gripped by fear, terrified that their Hokage would fall into darkness.
Naruto, still in the Hokage office, knew nothing of these rumors. Kakashi, busy calming him, was equally unaware.
After all, Konoha was still in ruins, with heavy casualties. The rumors, spread from within by Koharu and Homura and fueled by the chaos, never reached the Hokage's office.
As the rumors fermented, the entire ninja world was shaken.
The battle in Konoha had swept across the ninja world like a hurricane.
The Otsutsuki clan had descended, and even Kaguya, once sealed in the Fourth War, had broken free.
Most shocking was the Land of Earth, whose Fourth Tsuchikage, Kurotsuchi, had openly defected to Kaguya's side, leaving the entire ninja world in turmoil.
...
Land of Lightning, Kumogakure.
The village, devastated by the rampage of Momoshiki and Kinshiki, was greatly weakened.
In the Raikage's office, the recently returned Fifth Raikage, Darui, held his aching head.
"What's going on? Our village took such heavy losses, so why aren't we paying out compensation? Now the villagers are protesting, and there's even talk of civil strife."
All Kumogakure's problems were now coming to a head, especially financial ones.
Darui's advisors looked bitter.
"Raikage-sama, it's not that we don't want to give compensation—but in the last battle, our treasury was destroyed."
"We're one of the Five Great Villages, aren't there any reserves?"
"I'm sorry, Raikage-sama, but there isn't anything left!"
"How can that be?!" Darui was stunned and glared at his subordinates.
They looked helpless, one of them finally sighing and telling the truth.
"Raikage-sama, it's not our fault. Ever since the Fourth War ended, all the ninja world's resources have flowed to Konoha—especially after the Seventh Hokage took office.
Almost every mission and every job went to Konoha. Kumogakure has been living off its savings, with no other options. There's even more…"
The subordinate revealed Kumogakure's struggles. Who dared object to Konoha, home of the world's savior?
So, beneath the appearance of peace, the ninja world had been warped, its hidden dangers quietly spreading.
But these dangers hadn't disappeared—they'd only been suppressed by Naruto's overwhelming power.
Hidden dangers only grow, and never vanish.
Kumogakure simply had the worst luck this time, stepping on a landmine and triggering a crisis.
After taking in all the information, Darui slumped onto the couch, muttering absentmindedly:
"So the village is just an empty shell now. After the attacks from Momoshiki and Kinshiki, we not only lost the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki but almost all our elite forces are gone.
This is the weakest Kumogakure has ever been…"
The other advisors could only sigh bitterly.
"Raikage-sama, we have internal unrest too. Without compensation, civil war is likely. All we can do now is borrow—!"
"Borrow?!"
Darui gave a mournful laugh—he never imagined his village would fall so low.
"Yes, Raikage-sama. It's not just us—almost all the ninja world's resources and wealth have gone to Konoha over these years. Let's borrow from them.
Konoha won't miss the money; it'll help us get through this."
"But didn't we hear that Konoha was devastated as well?"
"It's not the same. Our village is on the brink of civil war. Konoha just lost some buildings—they've rebuilt before, and their economy will recover. We need help now."
Darui, massaging his head, saw his subordinates in chaos. Finally, he slapped the table and ordered,
"Send an envoy to Konoha! Ask Naruto for a loan!"
"Wise decision, Raikage-sama!"