Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 3 The Fall

This was undoubtedly the darkest moment for the Uchiha clan.

Uchiha Shisui, clutching his right eye, hurried through the forest, the physical pain far outweighing the desolation in his heart. He had always known of the Konoha leadership's suspicion of him, but he truly hadn't expected Danzo to disobey the Hokage's orders and directly attack him after the Hokage commanded the use of Kotoamatsukami. The divisions within the leadership were already so severe, and the Uchiha's rebellious spirit was growing ever stronger. If his clansmen learned how he had lost his right eye, then… the worst possible outcome could very well occur.

It could have been avoided with just one step, but... Danzo's stubbornness ruined everything. Thinking about it carefully, wasn't Danzo the very source of the Uchiha's widespread rejection? Even if the wills of those few hawkish elders within the Uchiha were changed, with such high-ranking officials in power, could the Uchiha truly integrate into the village?

A deep weariness crept over him, and Shisui, who had always treasured the Will of Fire, stopped in his tracks, curling up under the tree canopy. But that weak sorrow lasted only a moment; he quickly took out paper and pen and wrote a half-truthful suicide note, which he had his summoned beast take home. Afterward, he stopped before the waterfall of the Naka River, awaiting the final fate he had chosen.

"Zhishui? What happened?"

His friend's voice roused him, reminding him that, as always, a reliable senior should die without complaint to prove their worth, and not leave confusion for the next generation.

"The Uchiha coup is unstoppable. If Konoha breaks out into civil war, other countries will inevitably take the opportunity to invade, and war will break out again. I originally wanted to use Kotoamatsukami to stop the coup, but Danzo took my right eye." Shisui adjusted his expression, trying his best to hide his true self, before daring to tilt his head slightly. "He never trusted me, and was willing to sacrifice everything, only wanting to protect the village in his own way. I'm afraid my left eye has also become his target."

Shisui barely dared to look at Itachi's expression, so he only glanced at Itachi's figure before resolutely raising his hand, "I entrust this eye to you before it is taken away."

His world was plunged into darkness. Only under such circumstances did he have the courage to turn around completely and offer his eyes with a faint smile.

"The only person I can ask for help is you, my best friend." This road has no end, and I can no longer walk it with Itachi.

"You must protect Konoha, and uphold the name of the Uchiha." You must also protect yourself, don't end up like me...

The silence was long, but Shisui still heard the cawing of the crows and felt the touch vanish from his hand. He smiled again; in the years since he awakened his Sharingan, his vision had gradually blurred, so he had specifically trained his other senses. He could clearly hear the subtle tremor beneath Itachi's seemingly calm tone, as well as his disordered breathing and heartbeat.

He felt truly sorry, but... he no longer had the courage to create a new future.

"Don't stop me, Itachi." Shisui stumbled backward, lost his footing, and fell. "If you're still my friend."

The deep pool beneath the waterfall is teeming with hidden currents; surely he would be swept away and drown? A battle-hardened warrior, ultimately dying in internal strife. What an absurd death.

Shisui awaited his fate in the darkness, oxygen deprivation and cold slowly consuming his life. Just as his consciousness began to fade, a distinct warmth grasped his hand, and then… a familiar yet strange dizziness washed over him. Air rushed into his mouth and nose, and he coughed up the river water from his lungs, breathing again. But being saved was nothing compared to the spatial fluctuations he had just sensed. He remembered the technique, the Flying Thunder God Technique, created by the Second Hokage and later becoming the Fourth Hokage's signature move. He had personally consulted that Hokage and remembered this fluctuation. Sadly, before he could even grasp its essence, the Fourth Hokage had already perished. After that, he had no reason to pursue the research of the Flying Thunder God Technique again.

"You are..." Shisui wanted to see with his own eyes who had saved him, but all he could see was darkness. Just as he was about to ask, a light but firm blow struck the back of his neck, and he could only lose consciousness unwillingly.

"This injury isn't serious, is it? Can it kill someone?" Nine-Lama simply couldn't understand the fragility of humans.

"If I don't rescue him, he'll drown," Naruto replied helplessly while saving the man.

"Tch, what ninja could drown? He clearly doesn't want to live." Kurama was clearly annoyed by everything about him. "Is this guy really worth you using your Yang Release chakra to save him? To make sure you got him, you haven't slept properly for almost half a month, and you've been storing leaves marked with the Flying Thunder God symbol for months. Anyone with a spare moment who picked them up..."

"Alright, Kurama." Naruto released his hand from Shisui's eyes. He simply stopped the bleeding from the empty eye sockets and then deactivated the transformation jutsu.

Rescuing someone is a technical task, requiring sufficient size and strength, but the Transformation Technique only grants size, not power. He wasn't confident he could rescue an adult from turbulent waters with the strength of a five-year-old, so he opted for the Flying Thunder God Technique as a shortcut. Despite his lack of physical strength, his chakra was more than sufficient. Without Kurama's restraint, his speed and precision in gathering and controlling chakra were significantly improved. For this rescue, he had diligently accumulated chakra for a whole year using the principles of the Hundred Healings Technique. There was no other way; he couldn't use Kurama's power right now.

A slight rustling sound of a space-time ninjutsu being activated came from behind him, and a blond adult wearing a fox mask appeared. He carried three ropes covered in runes, the ends of which were tied to three pale humanoid figures. The White Zetsu, responsible for intelligence gathering, certainly wouldn't miss this night. Their surveillance points planted in Konoha had long been thoroughly investigated by Naruto, and the fact that they had waited so long to make their move was because they were now useful.

His adult form arranged the three items neatly and then disappeared. Everything that happened tonight was Naruto's deliberate choice. The ruined shrine of the Uzumaki clan, Shisui without his eyes, not far from Konoha. After confirming several times that the barrier was functioning properly, he took out two scrolls filled with writing and two glass bottles containing some unknown liquid from the spatial scroll tied to his wrist. Then, he activated a ninjutsu considered offensive to the dead.

Reincarnation in the Pure Land.

Two White Zetsu awoke from their unconsciousness, screaming as they were enveloped by the dust summoned by the Pure Land. The trembling candlelight illuminated their red and blue armor. Naruto quietly glanced at the two figures who had once stirred up the ninja world, then waved his hand, summoning the one in red armor back. The First Hokage was indeed shrewd and incredibly powerful, but he was also full of unpredictability and would absolutely not agree to the initial plan! Therefore, he would have to wait until later. Summoning him now was only to prevent Orochimaru from getting there first.

Kurama, inside Naruto's stomach, was utterly shocked. This technique for summoning the dead, and being able to summon them in a state almost identical to their living state, was something he had never seen before. "Which pervert invented this technique? It's incredibly insidious."

Naruto cleared his throat. "It's this guy in front of you. The Second Hokage is pretty reliable, seems like a sunny person. There's probably another reason he invented this technique."

"Huh? You've seen people who've been dead for decades in the future?" Kurama quickly realized, after all, even Naruto had mastered the Impure World Reincarnation technique, so it might have been widely abused in the future. He wasn't wrong at all. After the future Madara Uchiha publicized the weaknesses of the Impure World Reincarnation, almost all powerful ninjas seriously learned the hand seals for jutsu, and Naruto, as Hokage, even memorized the jutsu activation formation. Don't ask, it's a story of bitter tears.

"Alright, alright, the real battle is about to begin tonight, we need to be on our toes and deal with the Second Hokage." Naruto said this, but he hadn't even considered the possibility of failure. After all, he didn't believe that the prerequisites he had gone through so much trouble to gather would be completely useless.

Where people go after death remains a mystery, because souls returning from the Pure Land never retain memories of that place. The worlds of the living and the dead are deliberately separated, and the souls returning to the mortal world only possess memories of their living days. Even the Second Hokage had to acknowledge the power of time; his stamina, nearing fifty, could no longer sustain him through this relentless onslaught. He remembered the agonizing pain of exhaustion and near-death, and the serene passage of his long yet fleeting life. He had lived long enough, long enough to send off everyone he cared about, family and enemies alike. He accepted death with equanimity, even somewhat anticipating his older brother's expression upon discovering he had joined him so soon. However, the scene before him when he opened his eyes again left him somewhat disoriented.

What did he see? A blond child, slightly taller than his calf, was smiling at him, and behind the child lay a person whose fate was unknown but whose face looked somewhat familiar, with fresh blood on their cheek. Blood flowing from the eyes? The clothing also looked familiar—was it an Uchiha? He immediately realized something was wrong, raised his hand to look, and sure enough, he saw cracks.

It is a rebirth in the filthy world.

He had considered being summoned by the very spell he invented, but… it was still incredibly frustrating. However, judging from the situation, there were two scrolls on the ground, indicating he wasn't the only target, and this combination of child and cripple was puzzling. Had the caster already left? Had he deliberately left him behind to… silence him?

"Kid, wait a moment." The Second Hokage politely reminded the child not to move, and immediately formed hand seals to release the restraints. After ensuring he wouldn't be controlled due to a moment's lapse in attention, he released his senses. There was a barrier outside, not very strong, used to conceal chakra fluctuations. No one was nearby, but a group of ninjas were gathered not far away. Hmm? That barrier over there looks so familiar. Is that… Hiruzen's chakra? And Torifu, Koharu, Homura, Danzo—they've all grown quite a bit. But where's Kagami? Did he just leave the village? He hadn't expected someone to summon him so close to Konoha without alerting anyone. These little brats definitely need a makeover.

"No need to look anymore, Tobirama-san, it was I who summoned you." Just as the Second Hokage was having a brainstorming session, the child in front of him waved at him with a bright and cheerful smile, startling him as soon as he spoke.

Tobirama then focused his attention back and immediately discovered that the child in front of him possessed a power he was very familiar with. He frowned and asked, "What's your name?"

"Naruto Uzumaki".

So, the surname is Uzumaki. Looking closely, this seems to be a shrine that Uzumaki built near Konoha. How did it end up in such a state of disrepair? And no matter what, they shouldn't have sealed the Nine-Tails inside such a young child! Is there no one left in the Uzumaki clan? At the very least, the Senju could take their place, right?

"Where is the person behind you?" Tobirama had never considered the idea of ​​summoning him as a child. Such a complex formation couldn't be written on a whim; it was probably instructed by that unconscious Uchiha.

"His name is Shisui, and he is the son of Uchiha Kagami."

Tobirama was taken aback and immediately stepped forward to perform a medical ninjutsu. Despite the chaotic situation, he couldn't bear to see the child in front of him die so suddenly. However, upon inspection, he discovered that the child's eye sockets were empty; both eyes were missing! At that moment, he almost lost his temper, but remembering that those around him were either seriously injured or children, he had to restrain himself.

"Who did this?" Tobirama's voice was low, with anger simmering within it. He knew better than anyone how important the eyes were to the Uchiha!

"Shimura Danzo."

"What?" Tobirama wondered if he had misheard.

"Shimura Danzo, advisor to the Konoha Elder Council." The blond child stopped smiling and looked at him expressionlessly.

Tobirama finally noticed the strong sense of incongruity about the child. When he uttered those words, he was quite certain that a fleeting murderous intent emanated from the child. This was not something a child should be able to do.

"If you don't believe me, you can ask him when he wakes up." Naruto laughed again, but this time it was a blatantly fake laugh, as fake as could be.

Tobirama stopped the treatment; without eyes, he couldn't heal much anyway. Only after looking directly at the child did he become serious, repeating his initial question with certainty, "You summoned me."

“Yes, Second Hokage.” Naruto bowed formally and said, “I want to show you the world as it is now.”

Naruto stopped talking after speaking, instead wiping Shisui's horribly disfigured face with a handkerchief. His genuine concern was unmistakable. Tobirama was momentarily confused by Naruto's intentions. He habitually assumed the worst, but Naruto's actions were contradictory, even watching him lift the restrictions of the Impure World Reincarnation. Was this brat sure he wouldn't kill him? Oh, he really couldn't kill him; after all, he was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

After thinking for a while, Tobirama's tone softened. He was really feeling guilty seeing such a small Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!

"Naruto, may I call you that? Where are your parents? Is it alright for them to be out so late?"

"Don't worry, they sacrificed themselves the day I was born. I'm all alone. The only problem is fooling the Anbu. It's not a big deal," Naruto replied with a bright smile.

Tobirama: "..." His conscience suddenly ached a little.