Naruto: Starting as the Third Hokage with Tears in His Eyes

On the beach under the cover of night, the warmth of the campfire still lingers.

But at this moment, no one cares about those things anymore.

Several gazes converged on the man who was bent over deeply.

Kaguya Honebami, the madman who had recently unleashed a bloodbath and attempted to drag the entire Hidden Mist Village into the abyss of destruction with the Shikotsumyaku (Corpse Bone Pulse), was now bowing deeply at a perfect ninety-degree angle, his arrogant head bowed low.

The Kaguya clan members behind him, those warriors who once took pride in battle and slaughter, all bowed in unison, following their clan leader.

Yagura's pupils dilated slightly, and he subconsciously hugged his arms tightly to his chest, as if only in this way could he suppress the chill emanating from his body.

He doesn't understand.

I don't understand it at all.

It's harder to get a madman who makes a living by fighting to lay down his weapon than to kill him.

And now, this madman has not only put down the knife, but also wants to pick up a hammer and a shovel? What kind of absurd drama is this?

Hiruzen Sarutobi calmly stared at Kaguya Honebami.

His gaze held neither praise nor mockery, like that of an experienced craftsman assessing whether a tool recently forged in fire still had any value.

After a moment, he spoke slowly, his voice not loud, but like a heavy stone, clearly falling into everyone's heart.

"If you want to learn, you can."

Kaguya Honebami's body trembled visibly, a sign of extreme excitement.

"but,"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's words were flat and even, without any inflection: "What your Kaguya clan destroyed with their own hands, you Kaguya clan must rebuild with your own hands."

He didn't even bother to point to the ruins in the distance.

"Starting tomorrow, the Kaguya clan members who participated in the rebellion will go and work with the civilians of Kirigakure to repair the neighborhoods and houses that you destroyed."

"You are not allowed to use even a single bit of chakra."

"We can only use the most primitive tools, with your own hands."

Upon hearing this, Yagura and Mei Terumi's brains completely shut down.

Forbidden to use chakra? Making a bunch of ninjas do pure manual labor? This is more insulting than killing them! How could those lunatics of the Kaguya clan possibly...?

However, Kaguya Honebami's reaction once again exceeded everyone's expectations.

Far from feeling humiliated, his pale eyes blazed with an even more fervent fire, as if he had heard the gospel of God.

"yes!"

He straightened up abruptly and bowed deeply once more.

"I will obey the Hokage's will!"

He accepted the order in a hoarse voice, his tone carrying a resolute determination to burn his bridges.

Then, he turned to face his equally bewildered yet unconditionally obedient people and waved his hand.

His posture didn't resemble that of a defeated sinner, but rather that of a pilgrim who had found faith and was about to embark on a journey.

"Walk!"

He led a portion of his people without looking back, heading straight for the distant ruins that appeared particularly grotesque in the night.

Their steps were heavy, yet exceptionally firm.

They will use those hands, accustomed to tearing flesh and blood, to learn how to lay bricks and stones.

They will use those bodies, born for battle, to experience the exhaustion of construction.

This is their atonement, and also their rebirth.

Watching the group of madmen disappear into the darkness, Hozuki Kaigetsu's fingers, gripping the scroll of the revitalization plan, unconsciously tightened a little more.

He felt like every cell in his brain was screaming in disbelief.

So... it can be done like this?

So the aftermath of war isn't just about reckoning and hatred; it can also be about... transformation and rebirth?

How exactly did this Hokage manage to tame a complete madman into a fanatical builder?

While Yagura and Mei Terumi were still reeling from the repeated shock of their worldviews being shattered, Hiruzen Sarutobi dusted off his hands, as if he had merely chased away a noisy fly.

He turned around and gave a gentle yet chilling smile to Hozuki Kaigetsu, Karatachi Yagura, and Terumi Mei, who were still frozen in place.

"Alright, that's the end of the interlude."

"Come on, I'll take you to see something... really interesting."

Something interesting?

Yagura and Mei Terumi exchanged a glance, both seeing deep fear and a hint of... reckless curiosity in each other's eyes.

What could be more interesting (or scary) than what just happened?

Instead of returning to the brightly lit flagship, Hiruzen Sarutobi strolled over to another small, sleek, black-bodied high-speed assault boat moored at the edge of the beach.

He didn't even turn around, but simply waved casually, signaling the three of them to follow.

That matter-of-fact attitude seemed to say: You have no right to refuse.

Hozuki Kaigetsu was the first to react and quickly jogged to catch up.

Yagura and Mei Terumi hesitated for a second, but ultimately followed.

They knew that from the moment Konoha's fleet arrived at Kirigakure, the rules of this game were no longer something they could decide.

The assault boat silently glided across the water, not heading towards the flagship, but turning its bow and heading straight towards the deep darkness in the southeast.

There, it was an uninhabited island that was not marked in detail on any nautical chart.

As the island grew larger in view, the air began to change.

The warm sea breeze seemed to be shut out by an invisible wall, replaced by a cold, damp chill with a putrid smell that seeped into your bones.

What's even more terrifying is an indescribable sense of oppression.

It was a vast chakra mixed with endless loneliness, overwhelming tyranny, and primordial chaos, like a boundless giant net that enveloped the entire sea.

It hits you like a saturation.

It's as if your whole being, along with your soul, is being sunk into a cold, viscous deep sea.

"Glug."

Ghost Lantern tide had followed us without us noticing. She was holding her large gourd and nervously swallowed, instantly losing the appetite for the grilled squid strips in her arms.

"Brother... why do I feel... a little cold?"

Hozuki Kaigetsu did not answer; his teeth were chattering slightly, making his signature shark teeth look somewhat comical at that moment.

As a water-style ninja, his perception of water and chakra far surpasses that of ordinary people.

He could sense that the source of that power was deep within the island ahead, like a sleeping, mysterious creature whose mere breath could change everything around it.

The assault boat stopped a few hundred meters from the island.

In the darkness, a figure appeared silently at the bow of the ship.

It is Uchiha Shisui.

Behind him, twenty members of the secret service appeared like ghosts from the water and from the night, kneeling on one knee to firmly block the landing point of the entire island.

"Lord Hokage."

Shisui's voice remained as calm as ever, as if the terrifying chakra roaring around him was merely a gentle breeze. "The Four Directions Sealing Formation is complete, completely isolating the entire island from the outside world. The target's activity is stable, and we can begin teaching at any time."

teaching?

What should we teach?

A sense of foreboding arose simultaneously in the hearts of Yagura, Kaigetsu, and Terumi Mei.

Hiruzen Sarutobi then slowly revealed the answer, his tone as relaxed as if he were introducing a tourist attraction.

"On that island, there is an old friend who has been abandoned by your Hidden Mist Village for many years."

"——Three-tails, Isofu."