The shadows of the trees danced under the bright moonlight, and the strong scent of blood filled the air.
It should have been the most intense moment of the battle, but an enraged shout brought everything to a standstill.
"Mikoto, who is that man?!"
Curiosity is almost a universal human instinct—even in the heat of battle.
When Uchiha Fugaku shouted, everyone turned their eyes toward him.
He was gripping a tree for support, clutching his backside, and glaring in a specific direction with bloodshot eyes. There, a man in a fox mask held a woman tightly by her thighs.
The Uchiha clan members who knew Fugaku and Mikoto looked at him sympathetically.
Poor clan leader… first he loses his manhood, and now it looks like his wife is about to be taken from him too.
Naruto frowned and met Fugaku's Sharingan glare head-on, staring back with equal intensity.
"What the hell are you looking at? Never seen a handsome guy before?"
"No wonder people say the Uchiha are crazy. Mentally unstable, all of them."
"What's your problem? I'm just trying to stop your wife from bleeding, and you're over there glaring like I stabbed you."
"She was literally begging me to save you, and here you are acting like an idiot, accusing her the moment you wake up."
Fugaku was left stunned, the scolding leaving him speechless. For a moment, he even forgot the pain in his crotch.
When did I accuse my wife?
I just asked who this guy was!
But before Fugaku could defend himself, he met Mikoto's furious gaze.
"Fugaku, is that really the kind of woman you think I am?"
He opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to explain.
Suddenly, a golden light erupted from Naruto's body. He shielded Mikoto with his arm as a sharp cry sliced through the air.
Hundreds of chakra arms burst from Naruto's back, piercing through the blood mist left by the previous battle and launching at the remaining Mist Ninja.
"You morons! We're still in battle and you're all watching like it's some crappy soap opera."
"No wonder the Hidden Mist Village is still such a dump even after all these wars."
In an instant, several Mist Ninjas were impaled by the chakra arms, their chests torn open.
The rest finally realized this wasn't the time to stand and gawk. They leapt into action, countering Naruto's assault.
"Who the hell are you?" Kurochi Raiga demanded. "I've never heard of anyone like you in Konoha!"
"Of course you haven't." Naruto sneered. "You're not important enough to know me."
"Arrogant bastard."
Before he could finish, Raiga struck with the two thunderbolts in his hands, targeting a chakra arm flying at him.
As one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist—second only to the Daimyō—Kurochi Raiga had absolute confidence in his lightning-style attacks.
But the moment lightning met chakra, Raiga's pupils widened in disbelief.
His thunderbolts… had been dispersed.
The chakra arm surged forward, completely unharmed, now even faster.
"Impossible!"
Raiga dodged in a panic, and the arm instead struck a Mist Ninja behind him—his head exploded like a melon, brains splattering the ground.
He hadn't even had time to scream.
Raiga froze in terror, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
"Impossible…!"
"We've read all the intel on Konoha's wars with Iwagakure and Kumogakure. With battles on that scale, all elite forces should've been accounted for."
"But you... you've never shown up before. I don't even recognize your fighting style."
What Raiga didn't know was that even Konoha's own forces had never seen this before.
Otherwise, Uchiha Fugaku wouldn't have been asking who Naruto was either.
But Naruto didn't give them time to think. His chakra arms certainly didn't.
Holding the beautiful Mikoto in his arms, Naruto soared into the sky, the golden limbs reaping life after life.
He looked like a divine tentacle demon from ancient myths.
"Dad! A monster took Mom!" Uchiha Itachi shouted in horror.
Children don't really grasp the difference between friend and foe. All Itachi saw was a fox-masked figure with countless arms abducting his mother.
Fugaku watched helplessly as his wife was carried away into the sky by another man. His expression turned pale, blue veins twitching on his temple.
But he trusted his wife.
They had been together for years. He knew her character—she would never betray him.
And besides, that fox-masked man was terrifyingly strong—he had just crushed dozens of elite enemies single-handedly.
Even the proud Uchiha clan leader wasn't foolish enough to step forward.
"Don't be ridiculous. That man is protecting your mother," he said at last.
"I get it, Dad. That man is a hero," Itachi said, eyes wide with sudden understanding.
Probably.
Fugaku clenched his jaw. Watching his wife in another man's arms stung. But had Naruto not been there, the Uchiha forces might have been wiped out tonight.
BOOM!
BOOM!
In mere minutes, Naruto had slaughtered over 70% of the Mist Ninja. He deliberately let the remaining 30% escape.
In the original timeline, Raiga was supposed to face off against Might Guy in a 7-on-1 battle.
Naruto didn't want to disrupt too much of the story.
Meeting Mikoto here already risked affecting Sasuke's future. If she got too involved in other major events, who knew what kind of chaos could ensue?
Would the "Twelve Little Champions" of Konoha still exist?
Would Haku still be picked up by Zabuza?
Would Xi Yan still look after him when he was a kid?
Would he even have transmigrated into this world at all?
There were too many unknowns.
Though Naruto could change things—he didn't want to.
So instead of killing Raiga, he snorted and withdrew his chakra at the last moment, leaving the man alive.
Raiga's expression shifted. He turned and fled.
"I'll remember this. Next time, I won't be alone."
The swift, brutal battle ended with the Mist forces devastated.
But the Uchiha had taken losses too. Even though the fight was short, the enemy's superior numbers meant over a dozen Uchiha shinobi died.
Some had awakened the Sharingan before falling.
Fugaku was devastated. Between his personal loss and excessive blood loss, he collapsed on the battlefield.
"Clan Leader!"
"Father!"
"Husband!"
With their pillar fallen, the Uchiha were thrown into disarray. They didn't even stop to collect the other bodies—everyone rushed to save Fugaku.
Mikoto, who had been pulled along by Naruto, had initially misunderstood her husband's suspicions.
But when she saw Fugaku collapse, she broke free from Naruto's grasp and limped toward him, ignoring her wounds.
Just then—
BOOM!!!
A massive chakra explosion erupted from Naruto, golden light radiating outward. He coughed violently and collapsed, blood pouring from his mouth.
Mikoto stopped, shocked.
Up in the tree branches, Izumi and Zhiming's faces went pale.
"Naruto!" Zhiming lost her balance and almost fell, but Izumi caught her just in time.
"We have to check on him!" Zhiming cried. Even though Naruto had hurt her, seeing him cough up blood gripped her heart with pain.
"Calm down," Izumi said, clutching her waist. "I think Naruto-kun is faking it."
"Faking?! He just spat blood!"
But then Zhiming frowned. "Wait... how come I didn't feel anything?"
Naruto's condition usually affected her too—as his childhood sweetheart, they were spiritually linked.
When Naruto opened the Eight Gates before, she had felt it and suffered with him.
But now? Naruto coughed up blood… yet Zhiming felt nothing.
She calmed down and scowled. "What kind of nonsense is he up to now?"
Izumi simply pointed toward Uchiha Mikoto.
Zhiming's expression darkened. "That little bastard... what's he trying to pull this time?"
Just as Izumi suspected, Naruto was faking it. He had already made his decision.
If it helped Sasuke in the future, he'd sacrifice his pride again—he'd play the fool one more time.
"Menma-kun, are you okay?!" Yoshino ran to him, hugging his body, tears in her eyes.
Naruto shook his head weakly, then spat more blood.
Panicked, Yoshino fumbled through her bag, stuffing pills into his mouth.
'You're going to overdose me, woman…'
But Naruto endured it and gave her a tender smile before turning to look at the dazed Mikoto.
Elsewhere, Itachi knelt by his father, crying: "Mom, Dad's hurt! Come help!"
Naruto softly told Yoshino, "Don't cry. My old injuries haven't healed, and saving Mikoto twice tore my meridians. But I'll survive."
A man should know how to tell others what he's sacrificed.
Silently guarding someone? That's just being a fool.
And Naruto wasn't a fool.
As expected, Mikoto stopped.
Only now did she realize how badly Menma-kun was injured—his earlier warnings to stay calm had been to protect her.
She felt guilty.
Seeing her family in crisis and Naruto in pain, Mikoto stood frozen, unsure where to go.
Naruto raised a hand, still smiling through blood.
"Mikoto-san, go to your child. He needs you. I've got Yoshino—she'll take care of me."
"Thank you, Menma-kun." Mikoto bowed deeply.
The wind rustled the treetops.
Naruto smiled to himself.
Mikoto had chosen her family—but her affection for Naruto had skyrocketed to 90%.
With 50% given by the selector system and 40% earned naturally, Naruto had hit a milestone.
In stories where heroines make tyrants regret, this is how it begins—with selflessness, tenderness, and quiet power.
"You idiot, Menma! If I'd known how badly you were hurt, I never would've let you fight!" Yoshino sobbed, wiping the blood from his face with her skirt.
"Heh. If I didn't fight, you would've rushed in recklessly." Naruto gently tapped her forehead.
Yoshino began crying even harder.
In the shadows, Uzumaki Chiname was dumbfounded.
"What the hell? He's shameless and still plays it cool?"
"He's acting like he's dying just to make Yoshino cry?"
She looked at Izumi.
Izumi shrugged. "Maybe Naruto-kun just likes to play with people's emotions."
"If someone lied to me like that, I'd slap them," Zhiming growled.
"I wouldn't let you touch Naruto-kun."
"...You too?! He's probably lied to you as well!"
"Maybe. But at least he's willing to lie for me."
Zhiming: "..."
There's no cure for someone in love.
A few hours later…
The Uchiha clan collected the Sharingan of their fallen comrades, buried them on-site, and then cautiously relocated.
With Fugaku unconscious, Mikoto took charge.
She arranged for Naruto and Yoshino to share a tent so Yoshino could care for him, and sent scouts to inform the Third Hokage and Minato about the Kirigakure attack.
Two days passed before Mikoto visited again.
Fugaku, now out of bed, arrived with his wife and son to personally thank Naruto.
"No need, Mikoto-san." Naruto paused, then smiled bitterly. "She's my friend. Of course I helped her."
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