Chapter 172: The House-playing Game Ends Here
Every word pierced the heart, every sentence drew blood.
Orochimaru was not just driving a wedge between Naruto and Hidden Leaf Village, but also torturing Jiraiya's Soul in the most cruel way.
He was exposing the scars of Hidden Leaf Village's high-level decision-making, laying bare the guilt, mistakes, and regrets buried by time, bloodily under the sunlight.
Jiraiya's fists creaked; the natural energy in his Sage Mode fluctuated violently due to extreme anger, shame, and pain. On his shoulders, Immortals Fukasaku and Shima Sage looked at him with concern.
The Third Hokage seemed to age another ten years in an instant, his back hunched, speechless.
He knew all of this.
Just as Orochimaru said, he truly could not change it.
As Hokage, he could only stop the rumors on the surface, but he could not stop the malice in people's hearts.
Orochimaru's accusations and exposure of old wounds, which permeated every inch of the air like venom, plunged the entire battlefield into a deathly heavy silence.
The cold images painted by those words formed a Soul-tearing contrast with the usual Uzumaki Naruto, who seemed like the Incarnation of the sun, enthusiastic and friendly to everyone.
Ino stepped forward; she reached out a slightly trembling hand and gently held Naruto's left hand hanging by his side.
Those always bright green eyes were now filled with shock, heartache, and an indescribable bitterness.
The Naruto she knew always had a smile on his face.
However, behind that brilliant smile, there was once such a desolate and cold frozen land.
Hinata stood on Naruto's other side at almost the same moment.
She didn't speak, but just slightly raised her pale face, looking deeply at Naruto's lowered profile with her pure Byakugan.
So... had Naruto-kun once experienced such darkness?
Was every kindness he showed to others, every hand he reached out, a way to fill the void he once craved but never received?
Heartache flooded her like a tide, making it almost impossible for her to breathe.
Naruto... this name fell heavily in their hearts, carrying an unprecedented weight.
Just then, a hand, with a bit of hesitation but finally steady, rested on Naruto's slightly tensed back.
It was Sasuke.
He still maintained that expressionless face.
He had also experienced the night of his clan's extermination and the loneliness soaked in hatred, but at least he had once possessed complete love.
Whereas Naruto had nothing from the beginning, struggling and growing up alone in the cold.
Sakura bit her lip and also stepped forward, gently placing her hand on Naruto's back.
Her eyes were a bit red.
No wonder... no wonder the bad kids who mocked her for having a "wide forehead" and made her feel inferior for a long time suddenly stopped and never dared to bully her openly again.
Thinking about it now... could it be Naruto, on some night she didn't know about, "taught those guys a lesson" in his own way?
Shikamaru glanced at Choji; the simple smile was gone from Choji's chubby face, replaced only by heaviness.
The two stepped forward and supported Naruto's shoulders.
Kiba rubbed his aching nose and, along with Akamaru, leaned forward and placed his hand on Naruto's back.
"Hey, Naruto..."
He wanted to say something but found his throat choked up.
Akamaru also let out a low whimper and rubbed his head against Naruto's leg.
Shino pushed his glasses; the sunglasses blocked his eyes, and the high collar blocked his face, making it impossible to see his expression.
He also stepped forward and placed his hand next to Shikamaru.
Lee pursed his lips tightly, trying not to let the hot tears fall.
He thought of his past, being mocked for not knowing Ninjutsu or Genjutsu and desperately cultivating Taijutsu.
He sniffed hard, took a big step forward, pressed his hand heavily on Naruto's shoulder, and said with a sob but absolute determination: "Naruto, this is youth!
Even in darkness, never give up, and finally welcome the bonds of comrades!
This is truly hot-blooded youth!"
Tenten looked at Naruto, who was silently surrounded by his companions, her heart filled with complex emotions.
She also stepped forward and joined the silent line of support.
Finally, Neji looked at Naruto, who was surrounded by everyone but still had his head lowered, his figure appearing exceptionally lonely.
He was silent for a few seconds, then finally took a step forward and gently placed his hand on Naruto's other shoulder.
One, two, three... the elites of Hidden Leaf Village's younger generation, as if sharing a common mind, gathered around Naruto as the center.
They didn't speak, but used the simplest and most direct physical contact to convey silent support, understanding, and companionship.
Only now did they truly catch a glimpse of what a long polar night the sun that shone on them had experienced.
And because he had experienced such darkness, the light he emitted seemed so precious, so warm, so... heartbreaking, and something they wanted to protect.
This silent but powerful support was like an invisible barrier, temporarily isolating Orochimaru's poisonous words and the wedge he tried to drive.
Jiraiya watched this scene, his eyes filled with complex relief and deeper self-reproach.
The Third Hokage looked at the group of young figures huddled together below, tears flickering in his cloudy old eyes.
The smile on Orochimaru's face faded slightly as his golden snake pupils watched the scene of "huddling for warmth" below.
An inscrutable emotion flashed deep in his eyes, seemingly mockery, yet also a faint hint of... something else.
In any case, this was not what he wanted.
"Naruto-kun is a smart child; you must have guessed long ago that the Fourth Hokage and his wife are your parents!
Use your power to kill Jiraiya, and I'll help you resurrect your mother, how about it?"
Orochimaru didn't think the Third Hokage's cleverness could hide it from Naruto.
He could recognize him as Minato's son at a glance; this smart child, looking in the mirror every day, would find that he was carved from the same mold as the Fourth Hokage.
It was impossible for him not to notice.
Naruto raised his hand and gently patted Ino's hand, then signaled his companions to let go first.
Naruto looked up at Orochimaru and said with a smile:
"Are you talking about Edo Tensei? Why is only my mother among your bargaining chips? Is it because you found you couldn't summon the Fourth Hokage?"
The smile on Orochimaru's face instantly froze.
This child even knows about this?
"Because the Fourth's Soul is not in the Pure Land at all, but entered the belly of the Shinigami because of the Reaper Death Seal. Of course, Edo Tensei cannot summon him."
Naruto put away the wooden sword and clapped his hands together.
"Alright."
Naruto spoke, his voice calm without a single ripple, as if the heart-piercing words just now, enough to break anyone's mental defenses, were nothing more than a passing breeze to him.
"The house-playing game... ends here."
The moment his voice fell, an indescribable Chakra, vast as the sea and vibrant with life, suddenly erupted from him like a volcano that had been silent for thousands of years.
Wood Release: Wood Human Technique!
The roof groaned and shook under the unbearable weight.
Right where Naruto stood, countless thick and gnarled giant brown trees grew out violently, intertwining, combining, and shaping themselves with amazing speed and precise structure.
In the blink of an eye, a thirty-meter-tall behemoth rose from the ground and then landed on the arena.
It was a massive wooden humanoid creation.
It was clad in Bright Light Armor carved with complex patterns; the armor plates were grim, the lines hard, filled with unparalleled majesty.
The face of the wooden man was blurred, but it possessed an Aura that looked down upon all living beings.
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