Konoha is in chaos!
People's hearts are in turmoil!
Ever since the Child of Destiny of the ninja world, Konoha's Seventh Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto, erupted in fury outside the Hokage building—unleashing the power of the Nine-Tails and sweeping away the crowd that was denouncing him—the recently rebuilt Konoha has once again suffered devastating damage. This time, the casualties no longer even matter.
The important thing is: the hearts of the people of Konoha are in total disarray.
In the chaos, countless villagers fled in panic, causing stampedes. At the same time, riots broke out everywhere.
Looting, arson, robbery, and murder—the darkest sides of human nature were exposed. The village descended into self-slaughter and mutual suspicion.
Especially during this chaos, White Zetsu fanned the flames even more. As a result, many ninjas in Konoha were shocked to discover that, in the turmoil, they had killed their comrades.
On that day, over 500 Konoha ninjas defected. You can imagine how chaotic it was.
"Waaah, mother, you were killed by the demon fox!"
"Everyone, my whole family is gone! This isn't the village we once knew—this is hell!"
In the ruined, darkened village, countless Konoha residents sobbed in grief.
At this moment, numerous ninjas were scrambling to put out fires and quell the riots. But the people's hearts were already lost.
If Konoha is like this, the other ninja villages are even worse. The chaos White Zetsu has stirred up this time isn't limited to Konoha; it's a storm shaking the entire ninja world.
…
Kumogakure.
Within Kumogakure, and even throughout the Land of Lightning, terrifying internal strife broke out. White Zetsu, disguised as Kumogakure ninjas, continuously escalated the conflicts among them.
Raikage's Office.
"Raikage-sama, the Daimyo has issued an order. We are to deploy five thousand ninjas to the Land of Lightning to quell the unrest."
"Raikage-sama, even within our village, conflicts keep breaking out these days..."
The Fifth Raikage, Darui looked even grimmer at these words.
"Damn it, what the hell is Naruto doing!?"
Darui slammed his fist and shattered his desk. The joy he'd felt from Konoha's previous financial aid of hundreds of billions was now utterly gone.
In an instant, those hundreds of billions had become worthless, and worse yet, the unrest had spread throughout Kumogakure and the Land of Lightning.
"The Daimyo's orders must be followed. If the Land of Lightning falls into chaos, Kumogakure's economy will take an even bigger hit."
True to his role as the Fifth Raikage, Darui quickly ordered the deployment of five thousand ninjas to towns and villages across the Land of Lightning to suppress the turmoil.
Even though the previous Fourth Raikage had lost nearly all of Kumogakure's elite forces, Darui had no choice but to ensure the country's stability first.
Only with the Land of Lightning stable could Kumogakure's economy continue to flow.
"Yes, Raikage-sama."
"Also, the internal strife in our village cannot be delayed. Anyone who dares stir up trouble at this critical moment will be severely punished!"
"Yes!"
With a resolute expression, Darui issued one decisive order after another.
"Also, reallocate our resources internally. We must stabilize the village first."
Darui continued to give orders, though he wore a deeply troubled look. By his usual methods, such problems wouldn't normally be so severe.
This was, at worst, a painful but necessary sacrifice.
But, with no outside help, this was already the best response possible.
Yet Darui did not know that many White Zetsu imposters had already infiltrated the village.
With White Zetsu constantly stirring up conflict under the guise of others, harsh suppression would only further inflame this powder keg.
…
Iwagakure.
"Father, I have many clones, but I swear I only gave things a little push. Who could've guessed the ninja world would go this insane?"
Seeing the world spiral out of control, even Black Zetsu was shocked and hurriedly explained.
Shirou smiled and waved:
"It's not your fault. The flaws of the ninja world have always been there. In the past, powerful ninjas banded together to co-rule with the Daimyo, leading to so-called peace.
"But that peace was always fake, masking ugliness and injustice. The powerless just had no way to rebel—until now, when power is up for grabs, everything is erupting."
Shirou saw things clearly: the current ninja world was beyond anyone's control.
Centuries of built-up flaws exploded, plunging the world into chaos.
What was needed now was a new ideology, new hope, and the power to unite the ninja world again.
The ninja world didn't need restoration, it needed rebirth through fire.
"How's the Land of Earth recently?"
Hearing his father didn't blame him, Black Zetsu let out a sigh of relief.
"Father, the Daimyo of the Land of Earth has started worshipping you and Mother as deities, just like a thousand years ago with Mother as the Rabbit Goddess, and you as the Supreme God.
"Ninja status has risen, the Daimyo and the village co-rule the land, obeying the divine will of Father and Mother..."
Shirou smiled in satisfaction.
This distorted ninja world needed only a display of overwhelming power for everyone to become obedient.
"They know petty manners but not great righteousness; they fear power but not virtue!"
"Kurotsuchi is now the Tsuchikage, and with her constant speeches, new reforms have been enacted. The entire Land of Earth is following new policies.
"Because of the currency collapse, the whole country has entered a militarized phase—the currency has been suspended, and now everything is bartered."
Black Zetsu smiled more excitedly:
"Because we stockpiled food and resources, now we've set up centralized distribution. Salaries are paid in grain—grain is the hard currency. Of course, rare resources like chakra metal, refined iron, and chakra wood can also be traded."
Even the Land of Earth wasn't spared from the turmoil.
But because of good preparations, they adapted quickly and minimized the danger.
Shirou nodded with a broad grin.
"Kurotsuchi has done well. Once things stabilize, tell her to open up to the outside. Then we can absorb the ninja world's strength."
The Land of Earth acted early and decisively. Some nobles had ulterior motives, but they were swiftly purged, yielding plenty of resources.
Now, Iwagakure had even built a giant temple.
…
Sunagakure, Land of Wind.
In the Kazekage's office:
"Kazekage-sama, our village already lacked food and resources. Now things are completely out of control."
"Yes, every year we rely on imports, but now the whole ninja world is in chaos. We don't even have enough for ourselves."
"Lately, the unrest keeps escalating. The Daimyo has conscripted over five thousand of our ninjas to suppress the rebellion in towns and villages..."
"We can't go on like this—there are already many missing-nin in the village."
Gaara was deeply troubled by the changes in the ninja world. Even after nearly twenty years as Kazekage, he'd never seen anything this severe.
"Everyone, I believe Naruto won't abandon us. Please bear with it for now."
But at the mention of Naruto, many Sand ninjas' faces showed dissatisfaction and anger.
"Kazekage-sama, if not for the Hokage's recklessness, the ninja world wouldn't be in this mess."
"Exactly! This could all be a plot by the Hokage."
"He printed trillions! My god—the ninja world doesn't even have that much currency in circulation. It's madness!"
As tempers flared, a messenger arrived:
"Kazekage-sama, urgent news from Konoha!"
They'd hoped to buy food from Konoha, their allied brother village, to stabilize the unrest.
But what arrived was a crisis report.
When Gaara opened and read its contents, his expression changed dramatically:
"Impossible! I can't believe this is Naruto!"
"What is it, Kazekage-sama?"
With everyone watching, Gaara's face darkened. He sighed deeply and handed around the report.
Everyone gasped in shock as they read.
"Impossible!"
"Has Konoha gone mad?!"
The report detailed Konoha's upheaval, especially the Seventh Hokage, Naruto, who had used the Nine Tails' power to brutally suppress the unrest, causing countless deaths, and even unleashing a Tailed Beast Bomb inside the village.
It also reported that countless Konoha ninjas had defected—Land of Fire's turmoil was now as bad as Kumogakure's.
"That means we have no hope of getting aid from Konoha!"
Those who reacted quickly were stunned. Without external aid, Sunagakure and the Land of Wind would fall into utter chaos.
"Damn it! It's all the Hokage's fault!"
"Bastard! He's destroyed the entire ninja world!"
With chaos raging and no way to stop it, everyone needed a scapegoat.
Naruto, because of his reckless actions, was now at the center of blame.
The entire ninja world now cursed and hated the Hokage—once the Child of Destiny and savior, now the world's most reviled sinner and demon.
…
Back to Konoha.
Hokage Office.
The once high-spirited Seventh Hokage sat in silence at his desk. The office was eerily quiet.
Not even the ninjas outside dared to come in and report.
Meanwhile, in the conference room, the Hokage was absent—only the Sixth Hokage, Hatake Kakashi, and two elders were present.
"This has gone too far. I propose Uzumaki Naruto must abdicate. If he doesn't, how can we answer to Konoha?"
Mitokado Homura frowned. The original plan had spiraled out of control.
Even though their goal was achieved, the cost to Konoha was enormous—something no one wanted.
Koharu Utatane also banged the table in anger.
"Now the Hokage is killing people at will! Kakashi, look at the village—everyone only fears the Hokage.
"What does he want? To kill everyone and be the last person in Konoha?"
Her fear of Naruto's outburst haunted her.
Naruto had to be removed!
After they got what they wanted from him, Naruto should be sent to Mount Myoboku—let him bother the toads there.
If Konoha faced another crisis, they could always call him back.
After all, he could still train at Mount Myoboku.
It was obvious: Naruto had little true authority—only kindness.
In short, they had spoiled everyone.