Shinnosuke did not dare to move.
He never expected that his strongest Fire Release jutsu—his pride—would look so pitiful against Naraku.
Just seconds ago, he had been certain it would kill him.
But in the blink of an eye, everything changed.
"You... you... you..." Shinnosuke stared at Naraku, utterly speechless.
He wanted to ask—how much chakra did this man have?
Why was the gap in their strength so vast?
"Let Shinnosuke go!" one of the remaining Konoha shinobi shouted, rushing forward.
He was terrified, but he couldn't stand still and watch. If the Third Hokage found out that his son had died while he stood by doing nothing...
God knows what fate awaited him.
Naraku's expression remained unchanged. His right hand held the Kusanagi sword, pressed against Shinnosuke's throat.
"Chidori Spear."
His left hand lifted slightly, releasing a bright blue lightning spear that pierced the heart of the charging ninja with a crackling hiss.
"This is…" The two remaining shinobi looked at each other, eyes filled with disbelief.
How could Naraku still use ninjutsu?
Why did he still have chakra left?
It was simply too unreasonable.
He was from the Hyūga clan—not the Senju, not the Uzumaki! So where was all this chakra coming from?
"You two, don't just stand there! Help me!" Shinnosuke shouted, panic overtaking pride.
He no longer cared about his dignity.
"If you dare run away, my father will never forgive you!"
At any other time, Shinnosuke would have never spoken like this. But today...
The two ninja exchanged helpless glances.
Then, steeling themselves, they charged toward Naraku from both sides.
"Do you think someone can still save you?" Naraku asked, calm and unbothered.
With the Chidori Spear still active, he struck down the shinobi on the left, then backhanded his corpse aside.
Without hesitation, he followed up with Air Palm: Eight Trigrams, blasting the other shinobi backward in a lifeless heap.
"And now..." Naraku looked back at Shinnosuke, "you're alone."
"You… you can't kill me!" Shinnosuke's voice cracked. "If you do, my father will never forgive you!"
Naraku smiled slightly. "Why do you Sarutobi always say that?"
"You think just because the Hokage comes from your family, the world must obey you?"
Shinnosuke was stunned.
Wasn't that obvious?
Who would dare defy the Hokage?
Even Danzō, the leader of Root, could only say, "Hiruzen, you'll regret this," and storm off.
"You said your father wouldn't let me go," Naraku said softly, almost amused.
"But did he ever intend to?"
"Did he not push for my death to appease the Hidden Cloud?"
"What do you think you're all doing here today?"
"Do you think over a hundred shinobi came just to take a stroll?"
"Yesterday, someone tried to kill me. Today, it's you again. You keep coming… I knew this would happen."
"You've known... all along?" Shinnosuke gasped.
Suddenly, he recalled the gas mask Naraku had prepared in advance.
He hadn't just guessed someone would try to kill him.
He had even predicted the use of poison.
And Naraku had recognized him—even with a mask—without activating his Byakugan!
"How did you know it was me?! You didn't even activate your Byakugan!"
Naraku gave a faint smile. "Would it scare you if I told you?"
He looked toward the Hokage building.
"There are levels to the Byakugan, too. If your Yin chakra is strong enough, you can perceive far more—without even activating it."
"I knew it was you. Even if you wore ten masks, it wouldn't matter."
"And when I do activate it..."
Naraku's expression sharpened as he sensed multiple chakra signatures approaching fast.
"The whole village is within my sight now."
"I can see your father. Danzō. The others. All crowded in the Hokage's office, watching me through that pathetic crystal ball."
Shinnosuke's heart dropped.
He thought it was a secret mission.
But to Naraku, it was as if they were walking around naked in plain view.
"I can see your old man rushing here, probably the fastest he's run in decades," Naraku said coldly.
Four chakra signatures closed in—Hiruzen was first.
Danzō followed.
More chakra traces appeared across the village as other shinobi sensed the explosion and thunder.
Shinnosuke felt a burst of hope.
"My father... he's almost here!" he shouted.
Surely, once Hiruzen arrived, Naraku wouldn't dare kill him!
But when he looked back at Naraku, his heart turned cold.
"Yes," Naraku said calmly, "he's less than a hundred meters away."
"So now... you can die in peace."
Without another word, he thrust his sword through Shinnosuke's throat.
As the life faded from the Sarutobi's eyes, the chakra signature of Hiruzen spiked in fury.
Standing amidst the corpses of the last four, Naraku lowered his stance, composed and still.
"Hyūga Naraku, stop!!"
The voice rang out before Hiruzen even arrived.
Fire Release: Great Annihilation!
A wave of flames incinerated the bodies, leaving behind only four blackened craters.
With a shriek, the Third Hokage launched from the treetops like a furious monkey.
But by the time he arrived, the flames had dispersed.
Only the smoking ground remained.
For a second, Hiruzen felt disoriented, as if caught in a genjutsu.
The rage that erupted from his chest made the very air around him tremble.
"Hyūga Naraku!!!"
His roar shook the sky, as he lunged toward the one who had killed his son.