Chapter 348: End of Naruto! Congratulations on Defeating my Wooden Clone!

Chapter 348: End of Naruto! Congratulations on Defeating my Wooden Clone!

The voice sounded so familiar!

It was so familiar that Uchiha Sasuke and Orochimaru both had a stress response, their bodies instinctively trembling as they turned around in disbelief.

"Akihara... Kagura?"

Uchiha Sasuke's heart began to race!

You've got to be kidding!

Why is this guy here?

And how could such deceiving words come out of his mouth! This guy is clearly the most terrifying conspirator in the ninja world, and he's even deceiving them now!

Wasn't this guy sealed by the Sage of Six Paths?

However, Akihara Kagura stood right in front of them, as if nothing from the past had ever happened, and there were even some familiar people standing beside him.

Karin, White Zetsu Awei...

Even Kaguya Otsutsuki, who had been sealed with Akihara Kagura, appeared here as well!

"You all came to the orphanage too?"

Akihara Kagura greeted them as if nothing had happened, even very politely: "It's been a few days, Sasuke, Orochimaru-sama..."

"You..."

Uchiha Sasuke immediately tensed up, his hand instinctively reaching for his ninja sword: "Weren't you sealed?"

"Don't draw your sword..."

"You're not my match..."

Akihara Kagura pushed Uchiha Sasuke against the wall with a backhand, pressing down on Sasuke's hand with his foot, forcing his sword back into its sheath!

"!!!"

Uchiha Sasuke couldn't break free at all.

"Alright."

"I'm not here to fight."

Akihara Kagura patted Sasuke's head and ruffled his hair, just like many years ago when he was the high-ranking leader of the Root and Sasuke was the little kid who wanted to join him.

Uchiha Sasuke looked up at Akihara Kagura, questioning in a deep voice: "I'm curious, how did you escape from the Chibaku Tensei seal cast by me and the Sage of Six Paths..."

"Why aren't you curious..."

Akihara Kagura chuckled softly, surprisingly asking in return: "Why did I let you and the Sage of Six Paths seal me in the first place?"

"!!!"

Uchiha Sasuke was shocked!

This long-lost fear swept over his heart!

This panic, where everything was under Akihara Kagura's control, surfaced once again in Sasuke's heart. Why did this guy willingly get sealed!

"Because..."

Orochimaru laughed, seemingly having figured something out, and voluntarily answered: "Kagura-kun... has never been a heinous villain..."

"..."

Uchiha Sasuke felt like Orochimaru was joking.

"Sasuke-kun."

Orochimaru squinted his eyes and spoke in a low voice: "Do you remember how many people Kagura-kun has actually killed?"

"Many..."

Uchiha Sasuke responded instinctively.

The entire ninja world knew that Akihara Kagura had killed many people.

Whether it was Kagura attacking the ninja villages of the great nations or single-handedly assaulting the ninja alliance, the number of ninja he killed was countless, right? Plus, he had always been the leader of the Root, so his hands must have been stained with blood...

"No."

Orochimaru shook his head, recalling the information he had reviewed about the ninja alliance, and said in a deep voice: "As far as I know, the only large-scale massacre Kagura-kun committed was killing over a hundred Grass Village ninja in one blow, indirectly leading to the fall of the Land of Grass..."

"Those scumbags all deserved to die..."

Karin adjusted her glasses and coldly retorted Orochimaru, seemingly unwilling to hear Orochimaru defending those cannibalistic scum from the Grass Village.

"..."

Uchiha Sasuke glanced at Karin.

Apparently.

Sasuke had also heard Karin's story.

Karin had never hidden her origins, and many people knew she was from the Land of Grass and had been brought to Konoha by Akihara Kagura.

"Besides..."

When Orochimaru got to this point, even he seemed somewhat incredulous: "The only large-scale massacre involving Kagura-kun was probably clearing out a group of thugs at a casino. Apart from that, Kagura-kun has almost never killed anyone..."

"No..."

"No, there's one more..."

Orochimaru remembered his former ally and said with a smile: "For example, Shimura Danzo, who attempted to use Kagura-kun as a tool..."

"As for Kagura-kun's large-scale operations, they always seemed focused on absorbing chakra, without any bloodshed..."

"On the contrary..."

Orochimaru's gaze fell on Akihara Kagura, seemingly with some emotion: "The number of people saved by Kagura-kun..."

"Is actually far more than those he has killed..."

"!!!"

Uchiha Sasuke looked at Akihara Kagura in astonishment!

"..."

Akihara Kagura gently clapped his hands, seemingly in appreciation of the detailed data that Orochimaru had obtained. He chuckled and said, "Orochimaru-sama truly lives up to being a scientist, even investigating such social data..."

"No."

Orochimaru felt unworthy of the praise. He shook his head slightly and said, "This hypothesis actually comes from someone you are very familiar with. That person, in the Infinite Tsukuyomi, had a single dream: to see a world of eternal peace without your existence..."

Yes.

This hypothesis came from Akihara Kagura's teacher, Jiraiya.

When the Infinite Tsukuyomi arrived, Jiraiya voluntarily entered it to provide chakra for Six Paths Madara. In that dream world, he saw...

A world...

Without Akihara Kagura...

But...

In that world, more people died...

Regardless of the Uchiha Clan's destruction, the Konoha Collapse, or the final battle of the Allied Ninja Forces, countless people died. Even Jiraiya became a casualty to stop Nagato's plan, witnessing the end of the world as a bystander.

In that dream world, Jiraiya saw his student, Uzumaki Naruto, become the Child of Prophecy and save the world, witnessing his lifelong pursuit come true...

However...

The dream world suffered heavy losses.

Jiraiya believed that his student, Akihara Kagura, might not be inherently evil, but he couldn't share this hypothesis with more people. He could only confide his experience in the Infinite Tsukuyomi to his friend, Orochimaru...

Orochimaru didn't want to believe it.

But unfortunately, Jiraiya's hypothesis was true.

"Being too smart isn't always good..."

Akihara Kagura smiled and sincerely invited, "I've stayed in this world for fifteen years and am about to start my next journey. Orochimaru-sama, are you interested?"

"Sure..."

Orochimaru smiled lightly and unexpectedly agreed, even proposing another hypothesis: "Kagura-kun, Danzo died by your hand, yet I survived. Is it because I gave you birthday and New Year's gifts every year?"

"You're making it sound like I care about such trivial things..."

Akihara Kagura waved his hand repeatedly, but the smile on his lips grew deeper. He enjoyed communicating with the clever Orochimaru because Orochimaru always understood his thoughts.

Yes...

Back when he was alone in Konoha, receiving New Year's greetings and birthday gifts was the most heartwarming thing.

"I've prepared a companion for you..."

Akihara Kagura smiled and summoned a familiar figure for Orochimaru: "You two were old teammates, so you should get along well, right?"

"Sasori..."

Orochimaru gritted his teeth as he looked at the figure of Sasori of the Red Sand.

Who would've thought...

Akihara Kagura would make him and Sasori, the old enemies from the Akatsuki organization, become companions. It seems this guy had premeditated using Sasori to monitor him...

"Fine..."

Orochimaru shook his head and then smiled, "If I'm with my old partner, it's not unacceptable..."

"But..."

"I prefer Kabuto as my partner..."

"Speaking of which, Kagura-kun should be able to take Kabuto away as well, right?"

"I won't stop Kabuto and the Dean from doing what they want..."

Akihara Kagura shook his head indifferently and continued, "I came here just to take a few things from Kabuto. I heard he reanimated Kinkaku and Ginkaku, so he should have some of the Sage of Six Paths' weapons..."

"Does Kagura-kun care about this?"

Orochimaru looked at Akihara Kagura in surprise.

"No..."

Akihara Kagura shook his head and looked at the festively decorated Konoha Village outside, "I heard the five great ninja villages are honoring the heroes who prevented the world's disaster today. When honoring heroes, a few prizes are essential, right?"

"Naruto doesn't need them, right?"

Uchiha Sasuke frowned.

Undoubtedly.

The ninjas the world wanted to honor were Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, but Sasuke refused to stand in the spotlight, so the honor naturally belonged to Naruto alone.

Moreover...

Naruto was now the strongest ninja in the world.

The five great ninja villages wanted to use this opportunity to honor Naruto and discuss the potential future threats to the world.

"Did I say I was giving them to him?"

Akihara Kagura smiled and walked into the orphanage.

"Wait!"

Uchiha Sasuke hurriedly called out to Akihara Kagura and asked in a deep voice, "I have a question, where are my clansmen? I want to give them a home!"

"Oh?"

Akihara Kagura glanced back at Uchiha Sasuke and waved his hand, "Then go find them yourself! Remember, request them kindly, don't use your power to threaten my former subordinates!"

Those Uchiha...

Didn't want to leave this world.

Akihara Kagura wouldn't force them.

After all, when they followed Shisui, they followed Akihara Kagura; after Shisui's soul was summoned by the Sage of Six Paths, these Uchiha, fearing Akihara Kagura's power, wanted to stay here.

Orochimaru, following Akihara Kagura, asked a question he was very interested in: "By the way, how did Kagura-kun break the Chibaku Tensei?"

"Chibaku Tensei is indeed the ultimate sealing technique..."

When Akihara Kagura mentioned this, he couldn't help but furrow his brows, seemingly still fearful of his past recklessness: "Perhaps I was a bit too reckless, that Wooden Clone of mine, in its carelessness, didn't break free from the Amenominaka..."

"A wooden... clone..."

Orochimaru's smile suddenly stiffened.

Even Uchiha Sasuke's pupils flashed with shock!

A voice interrupted Tobirama and Hashirama.

A familiar figure sat on the table in the Konoha Forbidden Techniques Room, chuckling: "Uchiha Madara isn't dead; the greatest threat to the Ninja world still remains..."

"Akihara Kagura!"

Hashirama's face flashed with shock!

Tobirama's expression was even more astonished. He had seen Akihara Kagura being sealed with his own eyes. Quickly, an explosive tag appeared in his hand!

Clang!

A shuriken pinned the explosive tag to the wall!

"Kagura has never been an enemy..."

Uchiha Sasuke quickly stopped Tobirama's aggressive actions, rubbing his forehead with a bit of frustration, wondering how many times he would have to explain today!

"No, this time... it's quite inconvenient."

Akihara Kagura shook his head and sighed softly: "The second thing I came to Konoha to do is to reclaim two people who should never have been revived..."

Akihara Kagura opened his palm, releasing a familiar figure: "Coincidentally, your old friend misses you very much, First Hokage."

"Hashirama!"

Uchiha Madara stood before Hashirama, the First Hokage, grinning with a mad smile: "Come with this guy and witness a larger world! This place is too small, not enough for both of us to mess around!"

After Akihara Kagura rescued Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, he had Kaguya extract Uchiha Madara's body. However, Madara, as the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki, had lost the chakra of the Ten-Tails and was on the verge of death.

Fortunately.

Someone saved him.

Akihara Kagura casually rescued Uchiha Madara.

This man, with his extraordinary talent and a strong heart, would almost certainly become a top force in any world, regardless of the era...

After all...

Uchiha Madara was the only one to break the internal chakra limit, surpassing the reincarnations of Indra's chakra from all previous generations. His willpower and mental strength even surpassed Uchiha Sasuke!

Given more opportunities...

Uchiha Madara might even surpass Kaguya Ōtsutsuki!

Uchiha Madara is an extremely useful tool, and Akihara Kagura, in his effort to collect the tools of this world, would naturally not miss out on Uchiha Madara...

However...

Uchiha Madara made one condition, hoping Hashirama would accompany him to another future world to become stronger. The path of the strong can indeed be lonely, but having an old friend and rival like Hashirama wasn't bad either...

As for Tobirama...

This naturally cunning Second Hokage was just an additional gain.

Akihara Kagura was very interested in the mind of this Second Hokage, who developed forbidden techniques. Regardless of what the future world would be like, the combination of forbidden techniques, science, and machinery from Tobirama, Orochimaru, and Sasori would surely be very helpful.

"Welcome to both of you."

Akihara Kagura looked at the delighted Hashirama and the disgruntled Tobirama: "If you have no one to say goodbye to, please gather at the Hokage Rock!"

"..."

Uchiha Sasuke watched all of this in silence.

"Alright, Sasuke."

Akihara Kagura tossed a bunch of Six Paths Tools on the ground, imbuing them with Six Paths chakra marked by a curse seal, and spoke softly: "Help me with this. Give these to Tenten. With this, our debts from the past are settled. I've done all I could. The fate of this world is now entirely in your hands..."

"From this moment on..."

Akihara Kagura's figure vanished, leaving only a single statement: "I have no lingering ties with this world anymore."

"..."

Uchiha Sasuke watched Akihara Kagura's figure disappear, furrowing his brows slightly. He looked at the row of Six Paths Tools on the ground, still somewhat puzzled.

These things...

He didn't have any sealing scrolls on hand, and it seemed impossible to carry them alone?

Sasuke had to find help, bringing Hatake Kakashi and Uzumaki Naruto over to move the items. He didn't hide Akihara Kagura's instructions and directly told Kakashi about it.

Compared to Uchiha Sasuke...

Hatake Kakashi knew a bit more.

After all, during the Chūnin Exams four years ago, Kakashi saw Akihara Kagura modify his own rules and personally save Tenten's life when she was in mortal danger.

Unfortunately...

Tenten still knew nothing about it.

"Why would someone send these things to me..."

Tenten flipped through the Six Paths Tools, feeling a bit confused: "Why would someone suddenly give me these things?"

"It's probably... a reward for kindness!"

Hatake Kakashi looked at the row of Six Paths Tools, sighing in his heart: "Perhaps it's because you are the hero who saved this world..."

"I don't quite understand..."

Tenten pouted and shook her head, feeling a bit melancholic.

Every day, Tenten never cared about whom she helped, because she always did whatever she could and never thought those things were of any great importance.

Inside the Hokage building.

A group of Kages gathered here.

Three days had passed since the war.

However, the Kages of these great ninja villages were still here holding a meeting. They mutually agreed that they absolutely could not let their guard down and even needed to double the vigilance of each village.

"Be extra careful!"

The Third Tsuchikage Onoki, looking somewhat worried, spoke up, "In the future, identity checks must be stricter to prevent anyone from infiltrating like Akihara Kagura did..."

"Indeed."

The Fourth Raikage A nodded, saying in a deep voice, "Should we abolish the orphanages of the major ninja villages? This could also prevent enemies from outside the world from infiltrating the ninja world by pretending to be adopted by orphanages!"

"This..."

The Fifth Hokage Tsunade hesitated.

No matter how you look at it...

This method of infiltration did pose a significant threat.

But...

If the orphanages were abolished...

What would happen to the true orphans in the ninja world?

Should we disregard the real orphans to prevent enemies from infiltrating through orphanages? The ordinary ninjas of the ninja world don't have the insight to discern whether an orphan is just a regular child or an outsider...

"Don't worry."

A familiar voice appeared in the meeting room.

A familiar figure sat on the beam, speaking with interest, "You don't need to worry. If there are any more enemies from outside the world, they probably won't be as merciful as I am. They should directly invade and kill everyone here..."

"How..."

"This voice sounds familiar..."

The Five Kages, muttering to each other, simultaneously looked up, glancing at the familiar figure sitting on the beam of the meeting room.

"Akihara Kagura!"

A long-lost fear swept over them!

The last time they were this scared was at the Five Kage Summit in Amegakure. Why did Akihara Kagura appear here at this time!

"Akihara Kagura..."

Tsunade's hand clenched into a fist!

Because she had personally seen Akihara Kagura being sealed!

When did this guy unseal himself, and why did he appear at the Five Kage Summit at this time?

The last time this guy appeared at the Five Kage Summit, he made his puppet Hanzo the Salamander the commander-in-chief of the Allied Ninja Forces. Tsunade worried about what kind of plot Akihara Kagura might have this time!

"Don't move."

The terrifying chakra emanating from Akihara Kagura instantly forced everyone to stop in their tracks!

"If you have any questions, ask Sasuke or Jiraiya-sensei later."

Akihara Kagura leisurely floated down from the beam and spoke actively, "I didn't intend to appear before you, but hearing this, I felt I should say a few more words to you, lest you keep fixating on orphanages..."

"Let me tell you a truth..."

"Actually, I was never an orphanage child..."

"..."

The five Kages were scared out of their wits, not daring to speak or move.

Even...

They felt as if they had fallen into a great conspiracy again.

"You came here..."

Tsunade looked up at Akihara Kagura, speaking in a deep voice, "What exactly is your purpose?"

"I just wanted to see you all again... After all, we have been dealing with each other for so long..."

Akihara Kagura looked at the five Kages, whose faces were either ashen or pale, with what seemed like a smile on his lips, "Until we meet again, it's been a pleasure seeing you all. I hope you are also pleased to see me..."

"Goodbye..."

After saying this, Akihara Kagura disappeared without a trace in front of everyone.

On the Hokage Rock.

Kaguya Otsutsuki stood on the Hokage Rock, overlooking the tiny village.

Karin, Uchiha Madara, Hashirama, Tobirama, Sasori of the Red Sand, and White Zetsu Awei stood beside her, also watching this village with a long history in the ninja world, a place where many had spent their entire lives striving.

Perhaps in the future, they might never have the chance to return.

Before gathering, Orochimaru specially went to see his student Mitarashi Anko, checking the Cursed Seal on her, fearing that he might die in another world in the future.

"I thought Lady Kaguya would want to see her son one last time..."

Akihara Kagura appeared beside them with Orochimaru, his gaze falling on Kaguya.

"Hagoromo... has long lost his human side..."

Kaguya Otsutsuki shook her head, not wanting to see her son, only looking back at Akihara Kagura beside her, "I don't want to see him anymore, take me away from this world..."

"Then let's go."

Standing on the Hokage Rock, Akihara Kagura took one last look at the village where he had lived for over ten years.

"I actually had a happy life in this world..."

"I hope the next world will be happy to see us..."

~~~

End! Thank you, everyone!

The next world will be One Piece, but as I mentioned before, I'm not going to translate it. Also, don't read it; even the author regretted it. But if you insist, go ahead.

Though this is officially the end of this fic, there are extra chapters that I'm going to start posting, so I can't share the author's and translator's thoughts yet.

You're free to skip the extras and just move on to my next fanfic.

*ahem*

*whispers*

Shinigami in the Ninja World

It's good!

Hmm, I don't know what else to say...

I can't say a lot here because everything has been said in the TL thoughts at the end of the extra chapters...

Oh well, see you there... I guess?

Dun dun