Konoha: The Honored One

The sun dipped low in the western sky, painting it a fiery red as dusk settled over the barren land at the village's edge.

"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Uzumaki Naruto landed on the ground, looking around with confusion at the desolate expanse. "Why am I here? I was just with Sasuke and Sakura!"

He scratched his cheek in frustration, wondering how he had ended up in such an empty place.

"I teleported us here." Gojo Satoru said, popping a lollipop into his mouth, clearly unfazed.

"Teleported?" Naruto blinked in surprise. "Gojo-sensei, you eat too much candy!"

"Stupid brat, wait here." Gojo Satoru replied, clasping his hands together before vanishing into thin air.

With that, he used his teleportation technique, derived from the spell Blue, which allowed him to compress the distance between two points and move instantly.

"Disappeared?" Naruto was left scratching his head, bewildered.

Three seconds later, Gojo Satoru reappeared, this time holding Danzō Shimura in one hand and Hiruzen Sarutobi in the other.

"Grandpa Third Generation!" Naruto exclaimed, a smile spreading across his face upon seeing the familiar figure. He had a deep respect for Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been a part of his life since childhood and was a driving force behind his dream of becoming Hokage.

"Naruto?" Hiruzen, clad in his signature gray coat and Hokage hat, looked equally surprised. Just moments ago, he had been peeking into the women's bathroom, and now he found himself in this strange place.

"Gojo Satoru, explain yourself!" Danzō barked, his expression furious as he glared at Gojo. Bandages wrapped around his body obscured much of his appearance, save for one glaring eye.

"Cough cough, choking on smoke!" Gojo Satoru waved away the lingering fumes from Hiruzen's pipe. "Smoking less, or you'll get lung cancer sooner or later."

"Gojo Satoru, what is your intention?" Hiruzen demanded, taking a long drag from his cigarette and exhaling a cloud of smoke. He regarded Gojo warily, suspecting some ulterior motive behind this sudden gathering.

"Look at this, Naruto," Gojo Satoru continued, ignoring Hiruzen's question. He turned to the young ninja and said, "The leaders of our village are all old, weak, sick, and disabled." He pointed at Danzō, chuckling. "Especially him—wearing a bandage over an eye that can see. Isn't that funny?"

"Why is that old man wearing a bandage if he can see?" Naruto asked, eyeing Danzō curiously.

Danzō's face darkened, anger sparking in his lone visible eye. "If there's nothing else, I'll be going," he grumbled, suppressing his fury. He knew that Gojo Satoru's strength made him a formidable obstacle in his quest for power.

"Let's cut to the chase," Gojo said, lifting Naruto's shirt to press his hand against the spiral seal on his abdomen.

"Hahaha! That tickles, Gojo-sensei! What are you doing?" Naruto giggled, the sensation causing him to squirm.

"Don't be scared, I'm here." A light blue chakra enveloped Gojo Satoru's fingertips, forming the characters for gold, wood, water, fire, and earth.

"Gojo Satoru, are you trying to release the Nine-Tails?" Hiruzen's expression turned grave as he realized the potential danger. He bit his finger and slapped the ground, summoning his trusted ape companion.

"Summoning—Ape Demon!" he shouted, white smoke billowing around them.

The ape demon appeared, a massive creature ready for action, and without hesitation, it formed a wish-fulfilling vajra stick.

"Gojo Satoru, the Nine-Tails is extremely dangerous. If you touch that power, I will consider you an enemy!" Hiruzen warned, holding the weapon firmly.

Danzō remained still, his gaze fixed on Gojo Satoru, calculating his next move.

"Eight Trigrams unsealed!" Gojo Satoru declared, his hand trembling slightly as chakra poured into Naruto's sealing barrier.

As the seal was released, Naruto's expression turned blank, his body stiffening as a scarlet chakra erupted around him, his skin gradually reddening.

"Om—"

The burst of chakra was immense, sweeping over the area and causing the ground to tremble beneath their feet. Naruto transformed, his body growing larger as six tails of chakra appeared behind him.

"Ho—!" Naruto roared, the sound echoing with a dark power as he swung his six tails, sending shockwaves through the terrain.

"What a tremendous amount of chakra!" Hiruzen's face paled, his grip tightening on the vajra stick as he stared at Naruto in his six-tailed form. The sheer power emanating from Naruto was beyond anything he had faced in his old age.

"Gojo Satoru, what are you trying to do?" Danzō's voice wavered, fear creeping into his tone as he regarded the overwhelming energy radiating from Naruto.

"Old man, stop asking dumb questions. The power you seek is right in front of you. Try to stop it if you can," Gojo replied nonchalantly, chewing on his lollipop. "If I were you, I'd hold my breath, or else it might burst out into nine tails."

"Come on, put in some effort," he added, pretending to be excited as he watched Naruto begin to form a seventh tail.

"The Jinchūriki form can unleash the power of the Tailed Beast, making it even more formidable than the Nine-Tails itself, so be cautious," Gojo advised, his voice taking on a serious tone.

Hiruzen's voice grew desperate. "Stop this at once! If the Nine-Tails is released, it will destroy the village!"

The Third Hokage was well aware of the nightmare the Nine-Tails represented. With Naruto in this state, he feared for the safety of everyone in the village.

"With that amount of chakra, we cannot contain him!" Danzō added, grim determination mixing with his growing dread. He had not anticipated such overwhelming power from Naruto's Jinchūriki form.

"Though you're old, weak, sick, and disabled, you're still Hokage and a leader, so do your best to stop him," Gojo Satoru remarked lightly, his confidence unwavering.

Hiruzen's voice turned grave as he shouted, "Gojo! Seal Naruto! Do you want to destroy the village?"

Panic had gripped him now, realizing just how dangerous the situation was. The power of the Nine-Tails was not to be trifled with, and Naruto's raging chakra could spell disaster.

"Why, are you afraid of this power? If you're scared of the Nine-Tails, don't even think about trying to control it," Gojo Satoru challenged, taking a bite of his candy.

"Face it, I'm the only one in the village who can subdue Naruto Uzumaki in his current state. Do you understand what I mean?" Gojo proclaimed with an arrogant smile.

Both Hiruzen and Danzō wore grim expressions, realizing the truth in Gojo's words. Only he possessed the strength necessary to manage the chaos that was about to unfold.