Chapter 102 - 2

Chapter 2: Absolute ControlIf the time of transmigration had been a few years earlier, landing when Naruto was five or six, or seven or eight years old, it would have truly been a complicated mess.Long-term malnutrition, three meals a day consisting of nothing but instant noodles or expired milk, and walking down the street with everyone staring at you as if you were trash, with the occasional dim-witted thug coming over to beat you up in the name of justice.Naruto didn't consider himself the kind of saint who could laugh off any amount of malice, and he couldn't have tolerated that kind of life for even a single day.Furthermore, if he had transmigrated to childhood, he would have been forced to face two people: Danzo Shimura and Hiruzen Sarutobi.Danzo, the Root of Konoha's darkness, only wanted to keep the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki firmly under his control and turn him into a war weapon that belonged only to himself.Although Sandaime Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed kind on the surface, those cloudy yet sharp eyes were constantly watching the growth of the Jinchuriki.These old foxes were not playing games; the slightest hint of something wrong, a small change in personality, or a sudden shift in habits would not escape their eyes, especially not the Root Ninjaunder Danzo who specialized in intelligence and surveillance.Naruto knew he wasn't an award-winning actor; he couldn't possibly play the role of a naive, optimistic orphan perfectly under the gaze of those two old foxes.Within three days, his identity as a transmigrator would be exposed, and then he would either be interrogated as a spy or surrounded by a sealing squad.But this point in time was simply perfect.First, he had already passed Kakashi's test and officially possessed a Konoha Ninja headband and a Ninja registration number, which meant he had the most basic identity security and a certain degree of leverage.Ninjas could take on missions to earn money and no longer had to rely on meager orphan subsidies to get by.With money in hand, he could improve his life and purchase training resources.Secondly, after the Land of Waves mission ended, the Chunin Exams would immediately follow.According to the plot, during the Chunin Exams, Orochimaru would launch the Konoha Crush Plan, and Sandaime Hiruzen Sarutobi would sacrifice his life, using the Reaper Death Seal to seal the souls of the First and Second Hokage as well as Orochimaru's arms, ultimately dying of exhaustion.By then, everyone's attention would be drawn to this massive upheaval, and the Konoha high command would fall into a brief period of chaos and power transition; no one would have the leisure to pay attention to whether a Genin brat's personality had suddenly become a bit more composed.Once Tsunade returned to take over as the Fifth Hokage, the situation would improve.Tsunade had never had any contact with Narutobefore, and all her knowledge of him came only from others' accounts and a single file.By then, he would interact with Tsunade using his true personality, and given Tsunade's straightforward nature, she would never in a million years think in the direction of something as absurd as soul possession or transmigration.At most, she would just think this kid was more mature and sensible than what was written in the file."Pfft..."Just as he was thinking, a sharp yet muffled piercing sound rang out.It was the sound of cold metal breaking through flesh and piercing a body.There was not a shred of warmth, only the naked intent to kill.Immediately following that was a heavy sound—the dull thud of a body hitting the hard ground.Naruto snapped his eyes open.The scene that met his eyes made his pupils constrict violently.He saw Sasuke lying in a pool of glaring blood.His body was pierced by countless slender senbon, from his back to his arms, from his thighs to his waist.The ends of the senbon glinted with a cold metallic light in the morning mist; some were embedded extremely deep, revealing only a tiny fragment, while others scraped against bone, emitting a faint, teeth-gritting sound.Fresh blood spread out from beneath Sasuke, soaking his dark blue high-collared short-sleeved shirt, and soaking the dusty ground as well.Naruto's pupils reflected that pool of blood, and immediately, a surge of fury that threatened to burst his chest—like a lit powder keg—rushed uncontrollably from the depths of his heart straight to his brain.His vision began to turn red.But just at that moment, from the deepest part of his body, an indescribable sense of control quietly emerged.Just as he had done countless times in his previous life, Naruto subconsciously moved slightly.In an instant, the excessive secretion of adrenaline and the manic emotional fluctuations were gently pressed down by an extremely precise force.Like an invisible hand, it steadily "lifted" the floodwaters that were about to burst the banks back into the river channel.The anger instantly faded, leaving behind extreme calmness.Naruto was stunned, then immediately felt wild joy in his heart.This feeling... Absolute Control!Did his ability transmigrate with him?"Cough... cough, cough..."Just then, Sasuke's hoarse voice rang out, his face weak but carrying the stubbornness of a youth who refused to admit defeat.He turned his head; his handsome face was covered in blood and dirt, his lips as pale as paper, and his eyes were already beginning to lose focus, yet he forced himself to look at Naruto."You... you super big idiot..."Sasuke's voice was intermittent, every word sounding as if it had been squeezed out from his throat with great effort:"What is that expression?""I clearly... hate you the most..."His voice grew lower and lighter, like a candle flickering in the wind, about to be extinguished."But my body... just threw itself in front of you..."The moment the words fell, Sasuke's eyes closed, and his whole body, like a log drained of all strength, collapsed into the pool of blood.Watching Sasuke collapse in front of him just like that, Naruto's heart gave a violent jolt.This shock did not come from anger, nor from sadness, but from something deeper.It was as if some residual consciousness of the body's original owner had completely resonated with him at this moment.Immediately afterward, an astonishing amount of Chakra erupted from within his body.It was a deep red, tangible aura of Chakra. Like magma surging from hell, carrying endless hatred and frenzy, it rose up around Naruto.The temperature in the air climbed abruptly, and the gravel on the ground was blown away by this wave of energy; even Haku, who was standing in the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals not far away, retreated half a step."This is..."Thoughts raced through Naruto's mind, and he instantly knew what this was: "Nine-Tails Chakra."The violence and destructive will contained within the Nine-Tails Chakra were enough to make anyone with a weak will lose their sanity in an instant and devolve into a beast that only knew how to destroy.In the original story, Naruto had lost himself countless times under such Chakra surges.But at this moment, there was not a trace of pain or madness on Naruto's face.Because although the Nine-Tailed was sealed within his body, on a certain level, its Chakra was also a part of his own body.Since it was a part of himself, it should be under his own control."Absolute Control."Naruto thought silently to himself.In an instant, the violent Nine-Tails Chakra seemed to have its neck pressed down by an invisible hand, and after struggling a few times, it surprisingly quieted down obediently like a tamed hound.This sense of hatred that sought to devour his sanity was steadily isolated outside his consciousness, leaving behind only the most robust Chakra power.The violent deep red aura became stable and dense, as if it had draped him in a crimson cloak of Chakra.Naruto felt a surge of joy.