Hiruzen persuaded me to die

"Hyuga... Naraku?!"

The four rebel clans—Sarutobi, Shimura, Mitokado, and Utatane—stared in shock as the feared man appeared from a rift in space.

For several moments, not a soul among them moved.Their minds refused to accept the reality: Hyuga Naraku had returned… alive.

Then, like a switch flipped, panic erupted among them.The elite ninja of the four clans stumbled backward in horror.The confidence they'd worn only seconds ago shattered like glass.

By contrast, cheers burst from the walls of the Hyuga compound.Hope had returned.

The air itself seemed to shift.

The momentum reversed completely the moment Naraku appeared.

These four clans knew exactly who he was.

Not long ago, Sarutobi Shinnosuke had led a strike force of hundreds to ambush Naraku.

None had returned.

Not a single corpse remained whole—bodies charred by lightning, melted by flame, unrecognizable.

Hyuga Naraku had crushed them effortlessly.

And in the days since, the rumors only grew more terrifying:He had obliterated Kumogakure's forces.Defeated both the Fourth Raikage and Killer Bee.He had tossed mountains like pebbles.

But they had dared come here today—only because Sarutobi Hiruzen insisted Naraku was dead.

He wasn't.

And now, everything—every bit of courage they had—evaporated.

"You... how are you alive?"Sarutobi Asuma choked, his throat caught in Naraku's iron grip.

Naraku's eyes gleamed playfully.

"So sure I wouldn't come back?"

He tightened his hold slightly.

"I assume the masked man—you know, the one with the space-time ninjutsu—told you I'd die in Kumogakure?"

"The Cloud thought their secret weapon would kill me. You believed him, too?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's face turned pale.

He cursed Uchiha Obito furiously.

That damned brat fed me lies… I never confirmed Naraku's death!

"Let go of Asuma!"

Hiruzen charged at Naraku, desperation overtaking logic.

He couldn't bear to watch another son die—not again.

He knew Naraku would kill Asuma without hesitation.

He had killed Shinnosuke.He had executed Danzo in public.He would do it again.

But Naraku merely chuckled.

With Asuma still dangling from one hand, he vanished—and in the blink of an eye, appeared before Hiruzen.

CRACK!

A single palm strike slammed into Hiruzen's chest.

BOOM!

Hiruzen was flung backward, crashing into a wall and spitting blood.

He staggered to stand—only to find his chakra completely sealed.

"Y-You…" he gasped.

Naraku had hit several of his tenketsu, locking his chakra flow.Even the Reaper Death Seal was now useless.

Homura and Koharu stood frozen.

Even as old as he was, Hiruzen had the strength of a Kage.

But he'd been dismantled… like a child.

And Naraku had done it with one hand, still holding Asuma effortlessly.

"This… this is impossible!"

Mitokado Homura's face contorted in fear.

But he rallied his courage.

"He came alone! Everyone—attack now! Kill him, or we're all dead!"

Naraku smirked.

"You really think I came alone?"

The swirling portal he had emerged from still remained.

A glowing blue ring of chakra—constructed by Naraku's Tenseigan.

A one-way space-time gateway.

And one by one… they emerged.

Uchiha clan.

Hyuga clan.

Ino-Shika-Cho.

Inuzuka. Aburame.

More than 2,000 Konoha ninja marched through the portal—intact, unharmed, and deadly.

All had returned from the expedition to Kumogakure.All had come back ready for battle.

All wore icy expressions—and their killing intent was directed at the four rebel clans.

"I heard you wanted to wipe out the Hyuga?"Hiashi and Hizashi stepped forward, Byakugan blazing.

They had left to defend the village's honor—only to have their own clansmen plan their extermination behind their backs.

If not for Naraku, their family—including Hinata and Neji—would have been slaughtered.

Their rage was volcanic.

Uchiha Fugaku stepped up beside them, his Sharingan whirling.

"After Hyuga, your next target was us—wasn't it?"

The return of the full force had tipped the scales beyond repair.

The rebel clans cracked.

"RUN!"

Someone screamed.

And then, chaos.

The Sarutobi, Shimura, Mitokado, and Utatane clans broke ranks and fled.

But they wouldn't get far.

Naraku casually dropped Asuma, tossing him at the feet of the defeated elders.

Then, coldly, he gave the order:

"Chase them down. Leave none alive."

"YES!"

The returning ninja surged forward with furious resolve.

They had gone to war in the name of peace.And while they fought, these cowards had tried to murder their families.

This wasn't just justice.

It was retribution.

Uchiha Shisui flickered into view, catching up with the fastest of the fleeing shinobi.

His blade sliced effortlessly.

"Why did it have to come to this?" he muttered.

Earlier, he had felt a chakra pulse from a Flying Thunder God marker left in the village.When he returned, he found the Hyuga and Uchiha clans about to be annihilated.

By their own people.

Elsewhere, Uchiha Itachi appeared before a Sarutobi jōnin.

"Out of my way, brat!" the man snarled, swinging his blade.

But Itachi's calm never wavered.

His Sharingan flared.

"Tsukuyomi."

The jōnin froze mid-strike, locked in the eternal moment.

Then, silently, Itachi's blade cut him down.

"Why can't you acknowledge your own weakness… and let go of your greed?" Itachi whispered.

Hatake Kakashi moved like a shadow.

His mask was soaked in blood.

Every kill, he threw the body in front of Hiruzen—who watched in horror as his clansmen died, one after another.

Kakashi's eyes were cold.

"This is for my father."

He wanted Hiruzen to understand what it meant to lose everything.

Aburame Shibi, silent behind black glasses, released swarms of poisonous insects on the Shimura clan.

His vengeance was methodical.

He had recovered his son from Root before the mission began.

But the child he got back…

Had already forgotten what it meant to be loved.

If he could kill Danzo again, he would do it a hundred times over.

Hyuga Hizashi crushed a Mitokado shinobi's chest with a single palm strike.

Then his Byakugan locked onto a new chakra source.

"They're coming…"

The rebel ninja looked up with hope.

Reinforcements?

Maybe… just maybe they could turn the tide!

But then—

A unit of Konoha shinobi arrived from the outer village.

Their leader glanced around in confusion.

"The Mist ninjas have been repelled. We saw a flare from the Hyuga compound—what's going on?"

He blinked.Wasn't Hyuga Hizashi supposed to be on the expedition?

When did they come back?

Shibi turned to him and spoke in a calm, cold tone:

"The Sarutobi, Shimura, Mitokado, and Utatane clans launched a rebellion.Hyuga Naraku has ordered all traitors be eliminated. Leave none alive."

The newly arrived Konoha troops stood stunned.

They had fought Mist ninjas to protect the village—And these scum had used the opportunity to stage a coup?

Their expressions turned grim.

"Everyone—purge the traitors!"

"Yes, sir!"

The final nail struck.

The last hopes of the four clans vanished.

Their legacy…

Would be buried here tonight.

To be continued…