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NA - Chapter 234: One Hundred Years
🕑 Added 2025-02-14 09:00:07 +0000 UTCDisclaimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create.
“Dialogue”
‘Thoughts’
-Author notes-
Chapter 234: One Hundred Years
“Danzo is dead…”
“Orochimaru is dead…”
“Our last Uchiha is dead…”
“And we lost the Kyubi…”
Naruto looked over at the Hokage. She seemed to be in shock, so he waited for her to recover a little bit.
One would think that ninjas are used to people dying all the time, but apparently, he was wrong. Unless she was concerned with something else.
“Are you worried about the Council’s reaction?” he asked.
“Of course, I—” She meant to slam her hand on the desk but instead ended up hitting the decapitated head of Orochimaru. “Would you get this thing off my table!”
Naruto didn’t need to use his divine senses to know that the woman was freaking out. So he stored all the limbs in their respective scrolls.
“I still want to know if some of those eyes can still be of use.”
Tsunade raised an eyebrow. “Do you seriously want a Sharingan implanted in you?”
“Why not?”
“Because… you know… there are a lot of downsides. But let’s talk about that another day...this is too much for one day. And I would need to examine them properly to know if any of them is still usable.”
“That’s fine by me.” He was in no hurry, so he handed the scrolls to her.
“There’s something else that has you worried, isn’t it?” Naruto asked.
After taking a moment to recoup, she spoke again. “I won’t beat around the bush on this one… there is a Great War approaching.”
“A war? Against who?”
Tsunade didn’t see any change in his demeanor after mentioning a war. Most would have gotten nervous, at least. There had been three Great Ninja Wars since the founding of the village, and all of them had been extremely bloody.
“We have good reason to believe that the Stone Village and the Cloud Village have been colluding to invade us in the near future.”
“Is this about what happened with me and Jiraiya? The whole thing with the Two-Tails Jinchuuriki?” Naruto asked.
“That may have been the trigger… but the relationship between our villages has never been a good one.”
“And what about this Stone Village? What is their motive?”
“That would be… you.” Tsunade admitted.
“Me? What have I done to that village?” He wasn’t completely sure that he hadn’t already killed someone from there.
“To be fair, their grudge is with your father, Minato. During the last Great War, he annihilated over a thousand of their ninjas, including the Tsuchikage’s two only sons. They have also been bitter about their loss.”
“So they found out that I was his son and decided to use me as an excuse for their invasion.” Naruto didn’t like sore losers. The only thing he considered a real loss was death. Anything else is no more than an obstacle to surpass in order to reach your goal.
‘Dwelling on the past will do you no good,’ Naruto thought.
Tsunade nodded. “That’s likely the case. But still…”
“Still, there is a large army marching towards Konoha. Because of my actions, you lost your greatest weapon, the Kyubi, so you are uncertain about the village’s odds of survival… did I get it right?”
Tsunade took another sip of sake. “More or less.”
“You are also unsure about my loyalty… would I fight for a village I don’t care about, or will I abandon it to its fate?”
Tsunade’s eyes turned sharp. “Will you?”
Naruto chuckled. “I’m sure Jiraiya already told you this, but I’m not the ungrateful kind. I may not be like your loyal subjects, but this village has helped me during the beginning of my journey, and not by a small amount. I believe that those who do good will receive good.”
“Meaning?” Tsunade felt relief to hear him say those words, but she needed to make sure he was on their side. There could be no ambiguity on this.
Naruto then raised one finger up.
“One?...” She wondered what he was trying to say.
“One hundred years. As repayment for the resources this village has bestowed upon me, I will protect it for one hundred years. However, I will only give you my most sincere oath on this. I will not perform any soul-binding ritual. You will have to trust my word.”
Tsunade looked shocked now… and confused. “A hundred years?...”
Naruto frowned. “Is it not enough? You’re getting a bit greedy here. With this place under my protection, there will be no one capable of—”
“Wait!” Tsunade interrupted him. “What do you mean by a hundred years?! That is a ridiculously long amount of time. Most people don’t even live that long, not to mention protect one place…”
“Ah… I see.” Naruto had forgotten for a moment that he was no longer in his old world. The perception of time for these mortals with no means to extend their lifespans was very different.
“I suppose you are correct.” Naruto nodded. “For a normal mortal, one hundred years must be almost a lifetime… but for me, that is just a short stop in my long journey to immortality.”
“Immortality? Is that what you are after?” Tsunade’s tone became a bit harsher.
Naruto didn’t pay it any mind. “I know what you are thinking… but do not make the mistake of comparing me with your old teammate, Orochimaru. I will never resort to such despicable means to accomplish my goals.”
Tsunade thought about it for a moment. If someone else had told her what Naruto just did… she would have laughed in their face before kicking them out of the office for wasting her time.
But Naruto was different… every time she thought she had a good grasp of what he was capable of, he revealed more and more… as if he had always been holding back for their own benefit.
And now, Naruto was just starting to reveal the true him.
“You will truly protect Konoha for a hundred years?”
