Naruto: I, who fooled the ninja world, was hailed as a savior.

Chapter 391 Finally

The slums in the southwest of the Fire Kingdom's capital city at noon.

The sky here seems to be forever fragmented by the low, crooked roofs of the shantytowns.

Boom!

The shack, made of broken planks and rusty iron sheets, suddenly shattered into pieces, with broken wood and rubble flying in all directions, and the billowing dust engulfing the panicked figures around it.

"Ah! The monster has appeared again!"

"Run! Run quickly!"

"Don't step on it! Ah!"

A piercing scream, a desperate wail, a terrified scream...

In the narrow, muddy alleyways, the crowd fled frantically like headless flies, pushing and trampling each other.

Some people tripped and fell, and before they could get up, they were overwhelmed by the surging crowd behind them. The ground, which was covered in sewage, was soon splattered with a glaring scarlet color.

The source of this disaster...

"Roar!"

A newly born 'Void', with a slender black body about two people tall, stood in the ruins, letting out a resentful roar at the crowd.

It seemed to have no specific target, but simply wielded its sharp claws instinctively, wantonly destroying everything in sight.

Each swing of its claws brought with it a piercing whistling sound, turning another fragile habitat into ruins!

Clang! Clang!
Two chains, gleaming with golden light, shot out from one side like serpents, wrapping around the 'void''s torso and limbs.

"Roar!!"

The sealing power contained in the chains immediately caused 'Void' to pause in its movements, letting out an angry howl as it looked in the direction from which the chains were extending.

As the dust settled in the distance, Naruto Uzumaki frowned slightly. Two chains extended from behind him, and his chakra flowed continuously, reinforcing the chains' binding force.

"What's going on? Another 'Void' with considerable strength has appeared?"

Sensing the intense resistance, he stared intently at the 'Void' in the distance, thinking, "This is the third one to appear in the slums this week."

“Even if pain is the best nourishment for 'emptiness', the current frequency is somewhat abnormal.”

With that thought in mind, Naruto shouted without turning his head, "Karin! Prioritize treating the seriously injured, and organize the evacuation of the lightly wounded!"

"learn!"

Not far away, Karin knelt on the ground, pressing her hands on a poor man whose abdomen had been slashed open and was bleeding profusely, using chakra to treat the wound.

He, Karin, and Chiba Ryosuke were simply passing by on their way home from school when they unexpectedly encountered 'Hollow'.

With Sasuke absent, this Hollow's power is not weak, and its violent and venomous consciousness cannot be completely sealed. If it is forcibly absorbed, it may provoke a desperate counterattack from the Hollow.

Therefore, Naruto did not intend to take any risks. He only needed to suppress it by force and hold out until the nearby patrolling samurai or ninja arrived at the scene, and then let them finish it off.

Once the 'Void' is killed, there will be no risk in him absorbing spiritual energy.

However, just as Naruto was pondering this...

"I come!"

Seeing the still struggling 'Void', a loud shout rang out from his side.

Suddenly, Chiba Ryosuke drew his kunai, his face flushed with tension and excitement. Without waiting for Naruto's response, he leaped off the ground and charged forward.

He concentrated his chakra in his feet, leaped high into the air, and charged at the pale mask on Hollow's face with the kunai in his hand!
"Ryosuke! Wait..." Naruto's expression changed slightly, and he hurriedly called out to stop him.

But, it's too late.

Ryosuke Chiba's sudden display of speed surprised even Naruto, as he leaped directly in front of the Hollow, almost touching it.

The previously suppressed 'Void' sensed the instinctive threat of death and suddenly raised its head to meet its gaze.

Chiba Ryosuke clearly saw those scarlet eyes, devoid of any reason, filled only with the most primal, insane resentment and coldness!
A bone-chilling coldness instantly shot up Chiba Ryosuke's spine to the top of his head, causing him to freeze involuntarily for a moment.

The next moment, 'Void' suddenly opened the irregular slit located beneath the mask!
A chilling dark red energy was rapidly gathering and condensing in front of its mouth at a speed visible to the naked eye!
False flash!

Moreover, it was a near-zero-distance Cero, enough to instantly vaporize Chiba Ryosuke!

"Oops!"

Seeing that Chiba Ryosuke was too late to dodge, Naruto's pupils contracted, he gritted his teeth, veins bulged on his forehead, and a massive amount of chakra poured out of his body like a flood.

Click! Click!

The golden chains wrapped around 'Hollow' shone brightly, and tightened again with a teeth-grinding creak, causing 'Hollow's' body to groan under the strain!
One of the golden chains shot up, its incredibly sharp head forcefully piercing into the crack in the 'Void' that was gathering 'Cero Flash'.

Then, with undiminished momentum and relentless penetrating power, it pierced through the pale mask from the inside! *Crack!* *Boom!*

With a crisp cracking sound, 'Void's' roar came to an abrupt end. 'Void's' entire body exploded from the inside out into countless scattered pale white fragments and dark red energy.

The purest and most violent spiritual energy of the 'Hollow' began to spread wildly towards Naruto along the golden chain that pierced through the 'Hollow'!

This tainted spiritual energy was neither purified nor suppressed by the Sharingan as before; it was entirely borne by Naruto alone.

It contains all the negative emotions absorbed when the 'Void' was born: the despair of the slums, the fear of death, endless resentment, and a deep-seated hatred for someone...

"Hmph!" Naruto couldn't help but grunt, his face instantly turning as pale as paper.

A chilling, venomous resentment and a soul-scorching ferocity raged wildly in his brain, making him feel as if his brain was being pierced by countless red-hot steel needles.

And this nauseating feeling...

It's like putting a rag used to clean up vomit in your mouth and chewing it bit by bit!
Naruto clenched his teeth tightly, his body began to tremble uncontrollably, cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and pain appeared on his usually calm face.

At the same time, feeling the same way as 'Void' in life, countless fragmented and chaotic memories, along with that deep-seated hatred, forcibly flooded into his mind.

He saw it, the white laboratory, and he saw the horse walking towards "himself"...

"Cough!" With the last bit of spiritual energy forcibly absorbed, Naruto felt his body go limp and he was about to kneel down.

"Naruto!"

Ryosuke Chiba scrambled over and quickly reached out his trembling hand to support him.

Seeing Naruto's pale face, his voice trembled: "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I was too impulsive! I...I..."

Naruto slowly shook his head, interrupting his incoherent apology.

"It's alright, no need to apologize." He paused, his breathing calming down a bit, and continued, "Next time, don't rush straight through like that, it's too dangerous."

His implication was very clear: he did not blame Chiba Ryosuke for trying to help him, and even tacitly agreed that he could ask for help "next time".

As long as he remembers the lesson from this rash move and doesn't repeat the same mistake next time, that's fine.

After all, with Sasuke gone, Naruto is now missing someone who can help him kill Hollows when he encounters them.

However, Naruto, whose mind was still in chaos due to his resentment towards 'Hollow', did not immediately notice that Chiba Ryosuke was not responding as usual.

He simply kept his head bowed deeply, his fists clenched so tightly that no one could see his expression.

"Here! Quick!" Karin's voice came from the alley entrance at that moment.

She led a group of people and hurried over. The person in the lead was still Nanwu, one of the Twelve Guardian Ninjas, with squinty eyes.

Nanwu glanced around at the ravaged landscape and frowned, clearly finding the recent spate of 'void' somewhat troublesome.

However, he did not think deeply about it, but simply attributed it to the fact that the slums, which had already been overpopulated, were still too densely populated.

"It seems I still need to suggest to His Highness the Daimyo that we clear out another batch of refugees..." he thought to himself, looking at Naruto who was being supported by Chiba Ryosuke.

"It seems we're too late again," Nanwu said. "Naruto-sama, are you alright?"

Naruto took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the thoughts in his mind. Without looking at Nanwu, he simply said, "It's nothing serious."

He then gently broke free from Chiba Ryosuke's support, stood up straight, and glanced at the ruins left by the 'Hollow' explosion.

On the ground, which was covered with rubble and stains, a few inconspicuous pieces of glass were scattered, reflecting a faint light.

"Let's go." Naruto didn't tell Nanwu about his discovery, but whispered to Karin and Ryosuke before turning around and walking out of the slum.

Nanwu stood there, squinting, watching the three leave until their figures disappeared at the alley entrance, at which point the smile on his face slowly faded.

The "Lightning Release Four," including him, belonged to the same faction as Sarutobi Asuma back then, which supported the division of power between the Hokage and the Daimyo. Jiraiya of the Fire Temple was the same.

Ever since Sarutobi Asuma returned to Konoha, their faction has been intentionally or unintentionally neglected by the Daimyo.

Instead, the daimyo began to give more important positions to radicals like Kazuma and started doing things behind their backs.

However, Nanwu and the others did not know Naruto's true identity. Even Kazuma only learned of Naruto's identity because he happened to witness the Nine-Tails' attack while monitoring Konoha.

It was around that time that Kazuma collected a portion of the Nine-Tails' chakra.

Therefore, Nanwu and the others couldn't understand what the Daimyo and Kazuma wanted to do, or why they inexplicably came up with an exchange student program with Konoha.

They just felt that Ma and the others had been becoming increasingly secretive lately, which made them somewhat uneasy.

"Your Highness," Nanwu frowned, pondering, "what exactly do you and Kazuma want to do?"

The situation in the ninja world is becoming increasingly chaotic; we can only hope that Kazuma won't do anything rash...

(End of this chapter)