Konoha: Naruto's abnormal life choices

"Tick!"

"Tick!"

The sound of blood dripping from the kunai was deafening.

Footsteps outside the hall grew louder and more frequent.

If I kneel now, my ministers will see me—me, a daimyo—in such a pitiful state. Will they still remain loyal after that?

But if I don't kneel, will the bloodstained kunai in front of me plunge into my body next, slicing through my neck just as it did when it took the lives of the two guardian ninja?

The ninja sent from Konoha this time was far too bold. Arrogant, even more domineering than their own Hokage.

He dared approach the daimyo with a kunai in his hand.

Tap. Tap.

Glancing between the blade and the doors, the daimyo finally made his choice.

He stepped forward and stood before Naruto Uzumaki.

I'll kneel.

Reputation can wait—staying alive is more important.

The daimyo didn't want to die.

He hadn't yet enjoyed all the wealth and pleasures his position could offer. He still had women, gold, and power—power that even the Hokage had to bow to in order to receive an imperial edict.

I won't die here.

As long as I survive, I can rebuild. With my resources, I can raise an army of my own, stronger than any ninja village.

No more ninja villages.

This time, I'll establish my own ninja army. I'll raze Konoha to the ground and capture this little monster. He'll suffer the most excruciating torment in the world.

So he knelt.

As long as the green hills remain, there will be no shortage of firewood.

Thump!

Finding justification in his thoughts, the daimyo of the Fire Nation fell to his knees before Naruto Uzumaki, tears of fear and humiliation welling in his eyes.

"I—I'm sorry. I'll triple the funds and supplies for Konoha. Please, forgive my lapse in judgment this time."

A daimyo—an actual head of state—groveling on his knees, begging for mercy from a rebel.

Ebisu held his breath and stared at Naruto's back.

Madman.

This Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is a complete madman. He actually forced the daimyo to kneel.

He's a lunatic, completely indifferent to political consequences.

Even if Naruto managed to secure resources for the war, after this disgrace, there would be no peace between the Fire Daimyo and Konoha.

If the daimyo decided to support another village instead, it could deal Konoha a devastating blow.

Once I return, I'll definitely report this to the Hokage.

But what Ebisu didn't expect—Naruto did something even crazier.

This was unprecedented in the Fire Nation.

Seeing the daimyo groveling so pitifully, Naruto smiled—a warm, radiant grin, like sunlight in winter.

"All right, I forgive you. Please stand up," Naruto said, extending his hand toward the daimyo to help him up.

Just smile while you can, you little bastard.

I'll kill you.

The daimyo cursed inwardly, but outwardly wore a wrinkled, sycophantic smile.

"Thank you, great ninja master."

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing Option 1. Reward of 10 million taels has been successfully distributed.]

At that moment, Naruto suddenly withdrew his hand, narrowed his eyes, and gripped his kunai tightly.

"I lied."

"It's time for you to step down."

Naruto would never allow someone who humiliated him to live.

So what if the daimyo was powerful?

The soft hiss of the kunai slicing through the air wasn't loud, but to the hyper-aware daimyo, it was deafening.

His pupils contracted. His heartbeat surged.

"N-no, wait, please—"

Bang!

The sound of a head hitting the ground echoed through the hall.

In his final moment, the daimyo saw his own decapitated body—and the army of guardian ninja arriving too late.

Time stood still.

Everyone held their breath, staring at the daimyo's headless corpse.

Naruto turned to them and said flatly, "The daimyo attempted rebellion and has been executed. Prepare the funds and supplies."

His words unlocked the stunned silence like a key.

Shocked voices burst out all at once.

"Is—is that really the daimyo's body?"

"Looks like it..."

"The daimyo is dead!"

The realization set in. The shock turned to rage.

"Konoha ninja has assassinated the daimyo!"

"Everyone, charge!"

"Capture the traitor!"

"Who gave you the right to touch the daimyo?!"

"Insane! Completely insane! Seize the Konoha ninja!"

But as the soldiers surged forward, a wall of black flames erupted in front of them like an impassable chasm.

Anyone who tried to break through was engulfed and burned alive.

Cries of agony echoed across the prefecture.

Only chakra-trained ninja could leap over the deadly flames using chakra-enhanced mobility.

"Insane… everyone's insane…" Ebisu muttered, backing away with a pale face.

"Hmph." Sasuke wiped blood from his eyes and sneered. "You really think anyone here is stronger than Naruto or me? Come on, I'll take care of everything."

With that, he activated the first form of Susanoo and leapt into battle against several guardian ninja.

Seeing Sasuke covered by Susanoo's armor, Naruto flipped upward and landed upside down on the ceiling, using chakra to adhere himself there.

He rapidly formed hand seals, channeling a huge amount of chakra that materialized into gunpowder ash.

In just three seconds, the entire hall and nearby corridors were shrouded in thick black and gray ash.

Then—he exhaled a spark.

"Fire Style: Ash Pile Burning!"

The hall exploded in a roaring inferno.

All four walls collapsed.

The shockwave flattened nearby houses.

Naruto had proven: the strength of a jutsu depends on the user—not the jutsu itself.

With enough chakra, even a B-rank fire jutsu like Ash Pile Burning could rival an S-rank forbidden technique.

The entire explosion lasted under ten seconds.

Ninety-nine percent of those in the vicinity were incinerated.

Many didn't even have time to scream.

Some bodies were obliterated completely—like the daimyo, who hadn't been wearing any armor.

His remains turned to ash.

Perhaps, before today, he never imagined that after living a life of luxury as Fire Daimyo, he'd die because of his own arrogance.

If only he had spoken less, delivered the money and food quietly—there wouldn't have been a problem.

At least, Naruto hadn't originally planned to kill him.

Only a handful of jonin-level ninja survived.

Jonin have their own life-saving tricks.

Among them were:

– Sasuke, protected by Susanoo

– Ebisu, who escaped to a nearby building's rooftop

– Seven remaining guardian ninja

"You monster! How do you have so much chakra?" one sword-wielding ninja shouted.

"After using so much chakra for that jutsu, you must be spent! Let's finish him now!"

But before he could act, Naruto tapped into the Nine-Tails' chakra and dashed forward at lightning speed.

"Scorch Style: Blazing Flame Arm!"

Naruto appeared right in front of the swordsman, raising his right arm as intense heat vaporized his sleeve.

Snowflakes in the air melted into droplets, then evaporated into steam.

With a sweep of his arm, the searing heat struck the swordsman's face like the sun itself.

The burning hand reached his brain—

His face melted. His skull ignited.

"Aaaagh!"

The swordsman's screams were cut short as his skull burned down to bone.

His sword clattered to the floor—Naruto picked it up.

All of this happened in under a minute.

From releasing the ash to killing a jonin—it had all been too fast.

Ebisu, Sasuke, and the other guardian ninja hadn't even fully recovered from the explosion yet.

How can he be this fast?

"To think… the jonin in the five great nations are on such a different level," Naruto muttered, brushing the corpse aside and eyeing the next target.

To be honest, he had thought this fight would be difficult.

Back when he fought the Jonin of the Land of Lightning, it had been close—even with the Nine-Tails' help.

But these so-called guardian ninja?

Useless.

Even without Kurama's chakra, Naruto was confident he could take them down solo.

"If any of you were sent to Konoha, you'd be lucky to be rated as a special jonin," Naruto said coldly.

That struck a nerve.

Sasuke shouted, "What's that supposed to mean? You're looking down on special jonin now?!"

Fueled by pride, Sasuke charged forward, using Susanoo to launch another attack on the remaining enemies.

He needed to prove himself.

Special jonin have pride too!

"Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation Arrows!"

Sasuke had learned from Naruto: use overwhelming chakra.

While he didn't have as much chakra, the Curse Mark supplied extra power.

The number "2" lit up on the back of his hand, giving him confidence.

A blazing flame shaped like an arrow surged toward one of the guardians.

The enemy cast a Water Dragon Bullet—but the water was barely one-fifth the size of Sasuke's flames.

Water might counter fire, but quantity becomes quality.

A trickle couldn't stop a tsunami.

The fire swallowed the guardian ninja whole, turning him to ash.

In the blink of an eye, another of the seven guardians was gone.

Even though they still had the numbers advantage, none of them believed they could win now.

They looked at Naruto—the butcher—and Sasuke, cloaked in ethereal armor.

Fear bloomed in every heart.