As more and more people gathered in front of the Hokage Building, Danzo slowly realized what Naruto was planning.
"No… no! You can't do this!"
The old man's earlier defiance had completely vanished. But Naruto had no intention of responding to him now.
Once the crowd had grown large enough, Naruto stepped forward and spoke in a booming voice that carried across the square.
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto! The son of the Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina! I'm sure some in this village already knew this, didn't they?!"
Naruto's very first sentence sent shockwaves through the crowd, instantly sparking a storm of murmurs.
'Uzumaki Naruto… is the Fourth Hokage's son?'
'So he is actually the hero's son?'
'If what he's saying is true… then what have we been doing all these years?'
Naruto paid no attention to whether they believed him or not. He simply continued, his voice steady.
"Twelve years ago, my parents died protecting this village during the Nine-Tails Rampage!"
"But they didn't have to die!"
"It's because of this guy… Shimura Danzo!"
Then, Naruto briefly recounted what Danzo did on the night of the Nine-Tails Rampage, repeating the very words Danzo himself had spoken earlier.
As a result, many villagers looked at Hiruzen with incredulous eyes, seeking confirmation… but all they got was his silent acknowledgment.
The atmosphere instantly grew volatile.
Many in the crowd had been victims of the Nine-Tails Rampage that night. Even if a few Ninja still harbored doubts, the majority of villagers and Ninja now glared at Danzo with undisguised scorn and hatred.
Watching how easily these people's emotions could be swayed, Naruto felt nothing but bitter irony.
'Back then, they believed baseless rumors without question.'
'Today, they're swayed by just a few words from me.'
'How laughable.'
And yet, at the same time, it all felt hollow.
For Danzo, being subjected to so many hate-filled gazes at once was a shock he couldn't endure.
The dream he had clung to for so long seemed to shatter completely in this moment.
"No… you can't do this!"
"Don't you dare look at me like that! I am the root of Konoha!"
"I am Konoha's Hokage!"
"No…!!!!!"
Watching the old man's descent into madness, Naruto had no intention of wasting any more time on him.
"Your guilt means nothing to me."
"But whatever my parents left behind… no matter who took it, they will spit it all back out."
His words were uncompromising, causing the Ninja Clan's Heads and the two Advisors to shift uncomfortably. But Naruto didn't care about their feelings.
He simply tossed Danzo's broken body high into the air, then gathered all his strength.
In an instant, his muscles, Haki, and Chakra erupted simultaneously, and his strength was forcibly condensed into a single point.
Everyone present seemed to feel as if their hearts were hit by a drumstick, making it hard to breathe.
Then, just like at Baratie, Naruto unleashed an attack with all his strength, [Hakoku Sovereignty]!
This time, he doesn't have the strong physique like in the One Piece World.
But that didn't matter, as he used Chakra to forcibly make up for some of the physical power gap.
When Naruto's fist shot forward, a massive shockwave engulfed the sky above the Hokage Building.
Danzo, who was caught in the blast, was instantly reduced to dust.
Immediately afterwards, the impact continued and went straight through the Hokage Rock behind the Hokage Building.
The faces of the First, Second, and Third Hokages vanished into thin air with this blow.
Whether intentional or not, Naruto had slightly adjusted his aim… leaving only the stone face of his father, the Fourth Hokage, untouched.
Even with Naruto's current enhanced physique, after several battles and throwing this punch that gathered all his energy, he couldn't help but feel a little weak, but he held himself together and refused to show it.
The crowd, who witnessed this terrifying spectacle, fell deathly silent.
It can be said that before being attacked by Pain in the original work, no one in the village had ever seen it, or even imagined that someone could launch an attack of this magnitude.
'If Naruto had aimed this punch at the village itself… what would have happened?'
After realizing this, the Ninja Clan's Heads suddenly became very reasonable. None dared to speak.
Naruto slowly lowered his fist. Behind him, a colossal hole pierced through everything in its path.
"Who agrees? Who objects?"
Total silence.
In an inconspicuous corner, a figure resembling a giant Venus flytrap slowly sank into the ground.
Perhaps because of the distance, or perhaps because of the sheer number of people present, even Naruto's Observation Haki failed to detect it in time.
…
A lot of things happened after that day.
Naruto's punch not only pierced through the Hokage Rock, but also seemed to pierce through the stubbornness in some people's hearts.
First, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, declared that the chaos had left him with incurable injuries. Using his declining health as an excuse, he officially stepped down as the acting Hokage.
Thus, the Konoha's high-ranking people began to look for a successor to the Fifth Hokage.
The top candidate is Jiraiya, one of the [Sannin] and a loyal Konoha's Ninja.
However, the old pervert seemed to have anticipated this happening, and he had slipped away somewhere before the Advisors could even approach him.
Only his 'student', Uzumaki Naruto, might have known his whereabouts.
But whenever Naruto's name came up, everyone seemed to tacitly avoid the subject.
As for how to 'handle' Naruto… how could they possibly hold him accountable for killing a Konoha's Advisor?
Especially when the deceased himself had no objections.
Whether it was great clans like the Hyuga Clan or the two remaining Advisors, they all seemed to collectively ignore this Konoha's Genin.
Yes, Genin.
Because the Chunin Exams had been interrupted, Naruto and the rest of the Konoha 12 hadn't been promoted.
But they were the lucky ones.
As those guys from Sunagakure and Otogakure weren't so fortunate.
Konoha was very decisive in dealing with Otogakure, which is Orochimaru's loyalists.
Summary execution.
As for Gaara, the Jinchuriki of Sunagakure, and several other important examinees, Sunagakure could only grit their teeth and tightened their belts to pay hefty reparations to get them back.
…This decision was made after discussion among the remaining high-ranking people of Konoha.
Naruto had no intention of intervening in this matter.
To be honest, he had been going out less these days.
After all, for some ordinary villagers and Ninjas who were previously affected by rumors, telling them the truth that 'Naruto is not a monster, but on the contrary a hero's son' is too disconcerting, and they cannot adjust to it in a short time.
But they couldn't just treat Naruto with the same bad attitude as before.
Even without mentioning Naruto's sheer intimidation factor, the label of 'politically incorrect and failing to deeply implement the Will of Fire' is enough to make them look terrible.
And Naruto couldn't stand their awkward friendliness, so he simply stopped going out.
He spent most of his time at home, studying the Uzumaki clan's secret techniques, and sent Konohamaru to run errands for him whenever he has something to do.
Speaking of which, this 'good grandson' of Hiruzen, Konohamaru, had to be mentioned.
Perhaps influenced by Naruto, after he vaguely knew part of the truth, he finally chose to stand on Naruto's side.
As for Naruto? He also enjoyed the company of pure-hearted kids like Konohamaru.
He always feels that being with these little brats makes his mood much better.