Chapter 304: You Are Inferior to a Dog
"Father, I want to... talk to him," Sasuke hesitated for a moment before making his request to Fugaku.
"Go ahead."
Fugaku said little, just signalled to Itachi and Tekka, who stepped aside to let Sasuke walk to the rooftop's edge.
Whoosh.
A gust of evening wind blew by, with Sasuke and Naruto standing side by side, their hair dancing in the wind.
Naruto didn't turn to look at Sasuke, staring blankly ahead as he spoke first:
"About last time… I'm sorry. I hope your body fully recovers without any lasting effects."
He recalled how he had infiltrated the Nakano Shrine, lured Sasuke into the forest, and humiliatingly beat him into serious injury.
Now, Naruto was remorseful for his past arrogance and pride.
"No need to apologize. Hearing it just feels like an insult to me. It was my own lack of skill, nothing more to say."
Sasuke said coldly, clenching his fist tightly before slowly relaxing it again, "It's a pity, with your death, I will never have the chance to avenge myself."
As Dan predicted.
Sasuke couldn't let go of his defeat at Naruto's hands and constantly thought of revenge. But he knew—
Even with the Mangekyo Sharingan, he still wouldn't be a match for Uzumaki Naruto.
After all, Naruto possessed not only the Rinnegan, which was stronger than the Mangekyo, but also the Nine-Tails, making him far more powerful than Sasuke, who was once considered the greatest genius in the ninja world.
To Sasuke, Naruto was a towering mountain he could only look up to.
"Uh…"
Naruto, at a loss for words, scratched the back of his head and laughed awkwardly, then turned to Sasuke and said, "Why don't you stab me now? It might make you feel better."
"Hmph, idiot."
Sasuke snorted coldly, turned on his heel, and left in a huff.
Naruto stood there, dumbfounded, for a while before coming to his senses.
Finally, he looked towards Dan in the distance, his Rinnegan releasing a slight wave of ocular power to communicate with him.
Naruto told Dan where he had hidden the Gedo Statue and promised that after performing the Rinne Rebirth Jutsu, he wouldn't destroy Madara's Rinnegan, leaving the eyes for Dan to handle.
But he also had one condition...
Dan nodded, agreeing to Naruto's request.
Naruto smiled brightly once more, finally without any worries.
He was ready.
So, under the gaze of everyone present, Naruto's expression turned serious as he slowly formed a seal.
Boom!
A puff of white smoke dissipated, revealing a massive King of Hell above the Tenshukaku, its enormous mouth wide open.
The next moment.
Swish, swish, swish.
Countless green lights shot out from the King of Hell's mouth, like meteors falling towards Konoha below.
Those green lights were the souls of the deceased.
On the ground.
Countless Konoha residents felt something, raising their heads in bewilderment to gaze at the sky filled with green meteors.
At Konoha Hospital, in the intensive care unit.
"This one can't be saved. Let's give up."
Shizune put down her scalpel in despair, feeling dizzy and nearly collapsing from chakra exhaustion.
"Lady Shizune, you need to rest."
Two nurses hurriedly supported her, worried she might faint from overexertion.
"No, I can't rest yet. If I can save even one more person…"
Shizune steadied herself, picking up the scalpel with trembling hands to move to the next patient.
At that moment.
Swish.
A green light suddenly shone through the window, entering the body of the deceased. Then, Shizune and the others heard a faint groan: "Ugh…"
In the stunned gazes of everyone, the patient Shizune had declared dead slowly sat up on the operating table, looking around in confusion and asking:
"Did I fall asleep?"
Alive.
The dead had come back to life.
Not only him, but as more green lights poured into the ward, the deceased Konoha villagers began to awaken as if nothing had happened to them.
"A zombie! A zombie!" a young nurse screamed.
Shizune quickly approached the bed, looking up towards the Hokage Tower in the distance and noticing the giant King of Hell in the sky.
It seemed... something good was happening.
On the rooftop.
"Incredible, reviving a hundred thousand people at once—truly worthy of the legendary Rinnegan."
The Four Kage of the ninja world were all fixated, their faces filled with shock.
Madara paced anxiously, and as the King of Hell nearly finished releasing the souls, he couldn't hold back any longer. He stepped forward and sternly reminded Naruto:
"Brat, don't forget about me!"
"Please do not disturb him," Itachi and Tekka said emotionlessly, blocking Madara from approaching Naruto.
Madara's eyes flashed with annoyance as he glared at them:
"I've decided to return to the Uchiha clan and cooperate with Dan, so put away your hostility. And from now on, show some respect to your old clan leader. Don't be so insolent."
Faced with his powerful aura, Itachi and Tekka involuntarily took a step back.
Just then, Naruto turned around and openly mocked Madara:
"Haha, you're just afraid of Uchiha Dan and have no choice but to submit to him, yet you shamelessly call it cooperation. You're really good at flattering yourself."
"What did you say, brat?" Madara's fury erupted at being publicly exposed by Naruto.
Naruto laughed heartily, then added:
"Uchiha Madara, I'd rather revive a dog than revive you."
As he finished speaking, a green light shot out from the King of Hell's mouth, landing on the streets of Konoha and entering the corpse of a stray dog.
"Woof woof."
The dead stray dog was revived, leaping around joyfully, celebrating its rebirth.
"You..."
Seeing this, Madara was completely broken, his rage surging uncontrollably.
Uchiha Madara is reduced to being less important than a stray dog!
"I'll kill you, brat!"
With a roar of fury, Madara's eyes bulged, and an incredibly terrifying amount of chakra burst from his body, instantly sending Itachi, Tekka, and others flying.
At this moment, even if Black Zetsu appeared before him, Madara would kill Naruto first.
After all, Black Zetsu had only used and toyed with him, but Naruto had severely insulted him, treating him as less than a person and intentionally using a stray dog to humiliate him.
However, Madara didn't get the chance to kill Naruto.
Because.
After mocking Madara, Naruto slowly lowered his hands and then collapsed backwards with a thud.
His vision gradually blurred, and his eyelids grew heavy.
He was so tired, he just wanted to have a good sleep.
With this thought, Naruto slowly closed his eyes, dying peacefully.
Whoosh.
A green light shot out from his body, heading straight to the Pure Land.
Then, a massive amount of red chakra erupted from his body, forming a huge orange fox in the sky above Konoha before quickly dispersing.
With Naruto's death, the chakra of the Nine-Tails also temporarily dissipated, awaiting its next rebirth.
There was no hope left.
Madara, seeing his chance for resurrection vanish, had nowhere to vent his rage and was about to wreak havoc.
At that moment.
Dan's eyes sharpened, and he silently appeared behind Madara, delivering a lightning-fast punch to his back.
Boom!
In front of everyone, Madara was blasted apart, and not even a strand of hair remained intact.
Moments later.
Rustle.
A large amount of dust gathered from all directions, reconstituting Madara's form, but now he looked deeply fearful, no longer daring to shout or act rashly.
He appeared to have calmed down.
Dan ignored Madara and turned his gaze to the First Hokage and the others.
It's coming.
Under the gaze of Dan's Rinnegan, even the First Hokage tensed up, feeling extremely nervous.
Dan thought for a moment, then looked back at Tsunade and asked, "Do you want to have a chat with your grandfathers? We can discuss other matters later."
After all, Tsunade was the godmother of Marissa and Hagoromo, so he had to give her this face.
Tsunade was stunned for a moment.
While she hesitated, the First Hokage spoke first:
"No need, Tobirama and I will soon be released from the Edo Tensei and return to the Pure Land."
"What?" Tsunade was shocked, rushing forward without any further thought.
The First Hokage made a gesture, kindly signalling her to stop, then smiled and explained:
"Back then, Tobirama and I were reincarnated through Edo Tensei because Hiruzen was worried about Konoha's future. But now, it seems Hiruzen's worries were entirely unnecessary.
The first Hokage of Konoha was originally meant to be from the Uchiha clan, but I took that position. I've always felt guilty about it.
Seeing Konoha develop so well under the governance of the Uchiha clan, I'm relieved and hopeful that the Uchiha clan can lead Konoha to an even brighter future.
As for past misunderstandings, I hope the Sixth Hokage and the Uchiha clan won't mind. I apologise here and now."
With that, the former God of Shinobi bowed sincerely to Dan.
Seeing this, everyone present was moved.
The First Hokage's magnanimity and demeanour were admirable, especially when compared to Madara Uchiha standing nearby, highlighting the stark contrast.
"Of course."
Dan replied simply, accepting the First Hokage's reconciliation.
Hearing this, the First Hokage finally breathed a sigh of relief and turned to the Second Hokage:
"Tobirama, let's go."
"Yes." Tobirama nodded. Although he was very reluctant, he knew that they could not do anything against the Uchiha clan.
Just as the two were about to form the seals for the technique.
"Wait."
Dan suddenly spoke, pointing at Madara, "Take him with you."
Madara, being pointed at by Dan, was initially stunned, then smiled bitterly, "Uchiha Dan, do you look down on me that much?"
Only now did he understand that the wager he had proposed to Dan earlier was completely one-sided.
Dan didn't need his submission or service.
Whether it was Naruto or Dan, these arrogant youngsters didn't respect this old man.
The First Hokage was pleased.
Dan's statement indicated that he and the Uchiha clan had decided to sever ties with Madara, which the First Hokage saw as a good thing.
So.
The First and Second Hokage walked up to Madara, each placing a hand on his shoulder, and said:
"Let's go, Madara. Stop embarrassing yourself here."
"This world belongs to the young now. Our era has long ended."
Madara hung his head low and sighed deeply, finally resigning himself to fate.
Before leaving, he looked up at Dan and said, "I have one last request. Don't squander my Rinnegan. I hope you find a worthy successor for it."
To this, Dan replied:
"Don't worry, it will be put to good use."
Hearing this, Madara smiled with relief, and then he joined the First and Second Hokage in forming seals.
Under the gaze of everyone present, the three Edo Tensei bodies dissipated, their souls ascending as green light into the sky, quickly disappearing into the vast expanse.
Tsunade stared blankly at the night sky, feeling a deep sense of loss.
Dan, on the other hand, walked to Naruto's corpse, squatted down, and dug out his Rinnegan with his fingers.
Seeing Dan place the bloody eyes into a container, everyone had different expressions.
Those eyes symbolised unparalleled power, a fatal temptation for anyone. If Dan wasn't present, there would undoubtedly be a bloody battle for them.
After securing Madara's Rinnegan, Dan looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi and Jiraiya with a faint smile.
"!"
Feeling Dan's gaze, Jiraiya's hair stood on end. Trying to stay calm, he said, "We'll be taking our leave."
He gave Hiruzen a look, signalling to leave.
But the next second.
The Uchiha clan surrounded the two.
Fugaku, Itachi, Tekka, Sasuke, and others all glared coldly at Hiruzen Sarutobi, their eyes devoid of warmth, making it clear that they could draw their blades at any moment.
Jiraiya's expression changed. Forcing a smile, he asked:
"What does this mean?"
Dan approached slowly and answered:
"You can leave, but the Third Hokage cannot. Do you really need me to explain why?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi had wronged the Uchiha clan and had to pay the price.
"I understand." Hiruzen sighed, knowing his end had come.
"Old man, I will stay..." Jiraiya frowned, standing in front of the Uchiha clan.
"This is my matter, Jiraiya."
Hiruzen interrupted Jiraiya, his expression stern as he ordered, "You leave quickly, as far as possible. Focus on being a novelist and stay out of the ninja world's affairs."
He didn't want to implicate his disciple.
After a few seconds of silence, Tsunade also advised, "Jiraiya, listen to the Third Hokage. Go."
"Tsunade..."
Jiraiya looked at Tsunade, then at Hiruzen, finally sighing and turning to leave.
"Kakashi, take the Four Kage to rest. Everyone is tired today, get a good night's sleep."
Dan instructed Kakashi and then ordered Itachi and Tekka to escort Hiruzen Sarutobi to the interrogation room with him.
Half an hour later.
In a dimly lit room.
A table, two chairs, nothing else, surrounded by cold walls.
Creak.
After waiting for a long time, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally heard the door open and looked up to see Dan walk in.
"What do you plan to do with me?"
The old man asked calmly.
He wasn't afraid of death or the Uchiha's torture because, at his age, he already had one foot in the grave.
(End of the chapter)