Naruto: Promotion is my Ninja Way

Gravel and sand flew through the air as a fierce sandstorm arose, obscuring visibility.

"AAAAARGH!"

"Damn it! Who are you? I'll kill you!"

A massive wound had opened across Shukaku's abdomen. Sand continuously poured from the gash, carried away by the powerful wind.

Shukaku could no longer maintain his balance. He crashed to the ground with a thunderous impact, struggling desperately against his restraints.

But with both arms severed and the Black Dragon binding him tightly, the One-Tail had no means of resistance.

"THUNK!"

Gripping the enormous black sword firmly, Acala thrust it deep into Shukaku's abdomen, pinning him to the ground.

"Brother Naraku!"

Gamabunta landed beside Acala with a resounding crash. Uzumaki Naruto immediately waved enthusiastically at Shihouin Naraku.

Naraku pointed toward Gaara's location, signaling for Naruto to act quickly. "Go, Naruto! Wake that guy up!"

"Leave it to me!"

Naruto shouted his acknowledgment. Remembering that Sakura was still trapped by Gaara's sand, he immediately rushed forward.

Shukaku, slashed twice and thoroughly restrained by the black dragon, could only watch helplessly as Naruto delivered a powerful punch to Gaara's face, jolting him awake.

As Gaara regained consciousness, the seal activated. Despite his protests, Shukaku was forced back into containment.

The One-Tail vanished from sight. The black dragon roared triumphantly, its body rapidly shrinking as it transformed back into an illusion, merging once more with the Kurikara blade, where it resumed its slow, undulating movements.

Acala remained in place briefly before gradually fading away.

The battle that followed was merely a friendly confrontation between Naruto and Gaara. Shihouin Naraku had no interest in participating.

Standing atop a tall tree, Naraku noticed Uchiha Sasuke nearby, watching Naruto with obvious resentment. His hunger for power could no longer be concealed.

"Naraku!"

"Lord Naraku is here!"

A few minutes after he had settled in to watch the exchange between Naruto and Gaara, Kakashi and Might Guy arrived with several Konoha shinobi.

"I was counting on you to help Naruto, but you just watched from the sidelines," Naraku teased.

Kakashi smiled ruefully. In truth, he knew he had no business joining the recent battle.

The power of the tailed beasts was simply too overwhelming. Ordinary ninja lacked the strength to oppose them.

Might Guy's Eight Inner Gates technique was formidable, but since Naruto was holding his own, Kakashi had decided against letting Guy enter the fray.

"Naruto's strength is growing at an incredible rate."

Kakashi glanced at Sasuke in the distance. The young Uchiha's eyes revealed a complex mixture of admiration, jealousy, and desire.

Sasuke had always maintained a psychological advantage over Naruto, but now, seeing that Naruto's power had surpassed his own, his mind was clearly in turmoil.

Shihouin Naraku found Kakashi's concerns somewhat exasperating. Many would say Kakashi was biased, always focusing on Sasuke's well-being.

"Naraku, what about Orochimaru?" Might Guy leaned closer, lowering his voice. "Is he...?"

Guy made a gesture with his hand, clearly asking whether Orochimaru was dead or had escaped.

Kakashi and the other Konoha shinobi looked over expectantly. Naraku spread his hands. "I saw him burn to ashes with my own eyes, but with Orochimaru's abilities, even death might not keep him down permanently."

The assembled ninja trusted Naraku's assessment without question. However, they all suddenly remembered that Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen had perished, and their mood grew somber.

"Oh, right," Shihouin Naraku said, as if suddenly remembering something. He immediately issued an order to one of the ninja: "You arrived here in such haste earlier. I recall that Orochimaru's Kusanagi Sword should still be in that deep crater. Go retrieve it."

"Yes, sir!"

The Kusanagi could be taken back and absorbed by Kurikara. Orochimaru would have no chance of reclaiming it anyway.

As they spoke, the battle between Naruto and Gaara finally concluded.

Both young shinobi had exhausted their strength and collapsed to the ground.

"Take everyone with you and return to the village. We have much to do soon..."

The Sand Siblings—Gaara and his brother and sister—had not escaped either. They too were taken back to Konoha Village by the ninja.

Upon returning to the village, everyone could sense the atmosphere of sorrow. News of the Third Hokage's death had evidently spread.

At least the invasion had been halted!

Except for a few who had managed to escape, the enemy ninja who had invaded Konoha were either killed or captured.

The plot to destroy Konoha had ended here!

In this conflict, Konoha Village had suffered severe damage!

Before the chaos erupted, the village had evacuated the elderly and children to shelters. Apart from being frightened, these civilians had emerged largely unharmed.

As for the spectators at the Chunin Exam venue, casualties had been inevitable.

Even though Konoha ninja had done their best to protect them, and neither Sunagakure nor Otogakure had deliberately targeted civilians, once battle broke out, collateral damage was unavoidable.

This was partly why Konoha's jonin had been unable to focus solely on eliminating the enemy. They had more factors to consider.

The outer defense positions of Konoha Village had suffered heavy casualties during the initial assault. The three summoned giant snakes and other disruptive forces had caused great trouble for Konoha's defenders.

But when Shihouin Naraku appeared, the situation reversed instantly. The summoned snakes were killed, the enemies cleared out, and the defenders even had enough strength remaining to support other battlefields.

The gravest loss in this war was undoubtedly the death of Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Overall, the invasion had not only destroyed many homes and buildings in Konoha Village, causing serious economic damage, but more critically, many powerful ninja—led by the Third Hokage—had died, significantly weakening the village's overall strength.

Compared to Konoha before the Chunin Exams, the village's current strength had diminished by approximately one-third. Of course, the loss of Sarutobi Hiruzen accounted for a large portion of this decline.

While others worried about Konoha's future, Shihouin Naraku accepted the outcome readily.

This result was actually quite favorable.

After all, in the original plan to destroy Konoha, not even considering indirect losses, the village's overall strength would have been reduced by more than half!

That would have been truly catastrophic!

In fact, if Shihouin Naraku hadn't needed to spend time dealing with Shimura Danzo, Konoha's losses could have been reduced even further.

So, ultimately, it was all Shimura Danzo's fault!

If he had died earlier, there would have been fewer complications.

As for whether Danzo might protest this assessment... well, let him crawl out from his grave if he could.

The following day, a light rain began to fall from the overcast sky.

The misty drizzle soaked people's hair as the village gathered to mourn their fallen Hokage.

Soft crying could be heard periodically, intensifying the somber mood.

Whatever mistakes or triumphs had marked Sarutobi Hiruzen's leadership, he now rested in peace, honored by the village he had served.

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