Naruto: I am Uchiha Shirou

Chapter 352 - Naruto: I am Uchiha Shirou [352]

Konoha.

After Konohamaru and his group entered Konoha, in a secluded corner, the Animal Path performed a summoning jutsu and called out the other five Paths.

In an instant, Kisame Hoshigaki and the Six Paths scattered in all directions.

Only the masked man, Obito, followed Konohamaru deeper into Konoha.

"Today is a holiday. Damn it, where did Iruka-sensei go!?"

When they arrived at Iruka's house and found it empty, the masked Obito sat coldly at the bedside, while Sarutobi Konohamaru was drenched in cold sweat.

"This isn't my fault! There's no day or night in your space; I couldn't tell it was Sunday."

Konohamaru explained in a panic, his eyes showing a trace of madness.

"No! I know where he is!"

Konohamaru suddenly remembered something and shouted excitedly under Obito's watchful gaze:

"Besides Iruka-sensei, the only people who frequent Ichiraku Ramen are the owner and his daughter, and big bro Naruto! If we go to Ichiraku Ramen, we'll get information."

At this moment, Konohamaru clung to this hope like a lifeline, and Obito nodded coldly.

"Fine, let's go to Ichiraku Ramen."

With an indifferent expression, Obito headed toward Ichiraku, and Konohamaru failed to notice that the masked man seemed even more familiar with Ichiraku than he was.

Ichiraku Ramen Shop.

"Sigh, that Naruto..."

At the ramen shop, only Iruka sat alone on a stool, shaking his head helplessly.

The shop owner smiled and tried to comfort him:

"Naruto is still young. With everything he went through as a child, he treasures his friends. If you guide him a bit more, maybe if he gets a girlfriend, he'll realize romantic feelings are different from friendship."

"Girlfriend!?"

The thought of Naruto finding a girlfriend made Iruka smile.

"I wonder who Naruto will end up with—"

At that moment, the curtain was suddenly lifted, and a familiar shout rang out.

"I knew Iruka-sensei was here! In all of Konoha, Iruka-sensei knows where big bro Naruto is!"

The shout startled Iruka and the shop owner, who looked toward the entrance to see an excited Konohamaru.

Their expressions immediately changed, and the masked Obito behind him revealed a sinister smile.

"Lucky indeed. We found them."

"Konohamaru, why are you back!?"

Seeing it was Konohamaru, Iruka's face changed dramatically and he shouted in panic:

"Why did you come back!? You should have stayed away! Why did you return..."

But the moment the figure behind Konohamaru stepped forward, Iruka's face twisted in shock.

A long cloak with red clouds—this outfit!

"It's Akatsuki!"

Iruka's mind immediately recalled the terrifying Akatsuki organization that hunted tailed beasts, and his expression changed dramatically. He looked at Konohamaru with anger.

"Konohamaru, how could you bring someone this dangerous into the village!?"

"Damn you, Iruka-sensei! You were among those who destroyed the Sarutobi clan, and now you still say such disgusting things. Tell me where big bro Naruto is!"

Konohamaru roared furiously. As Iruka drew his kunai, preparing to fight,

Suddenly a hand pressed down hard on his head, slamming him onto the table. As he struggled, he was met with a pair of scarlet Mangekyo Sharingan.

"Tell me! Where is Uzumaki Naruto!"

A cold voice echoed. Under the genjutsu's torture, Iruka's eyes grew blank, and he mumbled:

"...Naruto just left... he went to apologize to Sasuke..."

After Iruka revealed Naruto's information, Obito smiled.

"We've found the target!"

The next moment, Obito vanished, and at the same time, Black Zetsu hiding underground immediately notified the others of the Nine-Tails' location.

"I just now..."

As his vision returned, Iruka felt dazed. As he recalled everything, a sudden sharp pain made him cry out in agony.

"Konohamaru, you—!"

His abdomen and hands were nailed with kunai, blood pouring out. As the Akatsuki masked man disappeared, Konohamaru's eyes were filled with madness.

"Damn it! I know Akatsuki has abandoned me, but I don't care! I won't survive anyway, but I'll make you all taste my pain!"

With bloodshot, crazed eyes, Konohamaru brandished a kunai. Under the shop owner's terrified gaze, he threw another shuriken.

"Konohamaru! Don't! They're innocent!"

Splurt!

Blood was sprayed everywhere. Ayame looked on in shock, her chest pierced by the shuriken, hot blood streaming down. The owner, Teuchi, roared in rage.

"Die! Everyone in Konoha deserves to die!"

With a cruel smile, Konohamaru slashed Teuchi's chest with a kunai.

"Haha, innocent? Was my Sarutobi clan not innocent? Without my grandfather, none of you lowly people would even be alive.

Yet my grandfather protected you, and you all just watched as my clan was destroyed. Kill, kill, kill..."

Inside Ichiraku, after realizing he'd been abandoned and had no way out, Konohamaru fell into a bloodthirsty frenzy.

He wanted revenge!

Revenge on Konoha!

At the same time, in every corner of Konoha, the hidden Six Paths of Pain received the signal and revealed cold expressions.

"Let's begin creating chaos! The operation to capture the Nine-Tails begins!"

In a dark corner, the Asura Path's puppet body opened up, revealing countless missiles.

The next moment, a barrage of missiles launched into the sky. Under the villagers' curious gazes,

Explosions rang out, and screams and panic filled the air.

Elsewhere, the Animal Path, with a cold gaze, performed a summoning jutsu.

In an instant, centipedes, split dogs, hell crabs, chameleons, giant birds, bulls, pandas, and more appeared in Konoha.

These enormous, terrifying summons ravaged the buildings, spreading further panic and destruction.

On a river outside Konoha, Kisame, seeing the smoke and chaos, grinned.

"The operation's begun? Looks like I can't be idle, either."

Water Style: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!

A terrifying flood swept toward Konoha.

In an instant, chaos erupted in all directions, smoke billowing everywhere.

On the Hokage office rooftop, countless Konoha shinobi had assembled. Upon seeing the turmoil, Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage, grew furious and shouted:

"Akatsuki is attacking Konoha! Among them is the culprit behind the Nine-Tails' Night! All Konoha ninja, move out!"

"Yes!"

"Konoha is now at the highest alert! All genin evacuate the villagers to shelters; chuunin and above are responsible for the rescue. Only Jonin can participate in battle!"

"Yes!"

In an instant, hawks circled the sky. With their piercing cries, Konoha's shinobi turned grim.

Orders from the Hokage tower spread quickly.

Meanwhile, Obito, heading toward the Uchiha district, narrowed his eyes.

"They responded so quickly. Looks like we were discovered as soon as we entered, but it doesn't matter. The Nine-Tails must be captured."

He sped toward the Uchiha compound, where Sasuke was located.

If Naruto went to find Sasuke, then he must be there too!

But no one expected Naruto, the unpredictable ninja, who originally set out to find Sasuke, to turn back halfway.

"Damn it, I said I'd pay today, but I left Iruka-sensei alone! No! I have to go back and get money, or next time Iruka-sensei will be mad..."

Naruto scratched his head, hurrying back, worried Iruka might have already left, taking a shortcut.

As a result, he just narrowly missed Obito—truly the luck of an unpredictable ninja.

...

Uchiha Compound.

Sasuke and Senju Rei were quietly cleaning the courtyard when explosions and hawk signals from the village caught their attention.

Their expressions became grim.

"Rei! The village is about to get dangerous. Go home first."

Senju Rei, wearing an apron, tensed. Although not weak—her Wood Style and Cursed Seal made her an elite jonin—she nodded solemnly:

"Sasuke, don't worry about me. My Wood Style isn't as strong as the First Hokage's, but if I hide, most ninjas wouldn't be able to find me."

To put Sasuke at ease, Rei took off her apron and used Wood Style to hide in the forest.

Sasuke nodded silently. That way, she'd never be his burden if he asked.

"I'll be back soon."

Sasuke, with the Kusanagi sword, ran toward the village.

Meanwhile, two Kakashi Hatakes were heading this way, clearly targeting Obito.

At the same time, Jiraiya was gathering material for his research. Faced with the sudden chaos, he got angry.

"Damn Akatsuki! Let me show you the power of Mount Myoboku's sage!"

With a summoning jutsu, three huge clouds of smoke appeared, and the three great toads of Mount Myoboku arrived.

Toad Boss Gamabunta, Gamaken, and Gamahiro.

"Akatsuki! Let me show you the might of the toad sages!"

Jiraiya immediately targeted the Animal Path, who had summoned so many beasts and caused massive destruction.

In this world, because of Uchiha Shirou's arrival, Jiraiya hadn't infiltrated the Rain Village yet and didn't know the relationship between the Rinnegan, Nagato, and Yahiko.

But Tsunade had already been briefed by Uchiha Shirou about the Rinnegan's abilities, and the jonin had been told about the Six Paths' powers.

So, they were prepared.

"How dare you ruin Konoha—Lee, let's go!"

"Guy-sensei, I'll never give up!"

The green duo, Might Guy and Rock Lee charged toward Kisame, who had created the giant Water Style jutsu.

At the same time, countless jonins mobilized.

The old Ino-Shika-Cho trio knew this was their time to shine in Tsunade's era, or they might not get another chance.

Within the Hyuga clan, the domineering heiress Hinata threw off her blanket angrily and began suiting up.

The shy Hinata and Hanabi also began preparing, their expressions serious.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Konoha twelve—Neji, Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino—rushed to the battlefield.

At that moment, Naruto was shocked.

"What's happening!?"

He'd leaped onto a rooftop, and seeing the chaos, was furious. But at that moment, a weak voice below made his eyes widen.

"Naruto..."

A blood-soaked Iruka crawled out of Ichiraku, leaving a trail of blood.

When he saw Naruto, he called out hoarsely.

"Iruka-sensei!"

Seeing Iruka's state, Naruto was shocked and jumped down, ignoring everything else.

Iruka's hands were pierced by kunai, blood everywhere.

"Iruka-sensei, who did this? Who hurt you!?"

Naruto screamed in disbelief and anger, tracing the blood trail back to Ichiraku, where he saw an unbelievable sight.

"Uncle! Big sister!"

Inside Ichiraku were the bodies of Teuchi and Ayame, the two who had always cared for Naruto, both lying in pools of blood.

"Na...Naruto..."

Iruka, weak and trembling, grabbed Naruto and revealed the true culprit.

"It was Ko...Konohamaru. He came back, he's gone mad, Naruto, be careful...be careful, Konohamaru came with Akatsuki, they're after you...hide, quick..."

Staring in disbelief, Naruto watched as his mentor and father figure, Iruka, his bloodstained hand slipping away, his pupils dilating—he was gone.

"No! Iruka-sensei!"

Naruto screamed in rage, memories of his childhood flashing through his mind.

When everyone else shunned him, only Ichiraku and Iruka-sensei had cared for him—now they were gone.

Especially since he was the one who'd let Konohamaru go. At this moment, Naruto screamed in agony.