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

His palms were slightly sweaty, and every time he heard Kushina's suppressed cries of pain coming from the room, his heart would clench uncontrollably.

These are the two most important moments in his life: becoming a husband and soon becoming a father.

Both of these identities are tied to tailed beasts capable of destroying villages.

He stopped and placed his palm on the cold door, as if this could alleviate some of his wife's pain.

Outside the manor, the night was as dark as ink, and the air was thick with murderous intent.

"For the great evil god!"

The silver-haired man, Hidan, wielding a three-sectioned scythe and wearing a Jashin necklace around his neck, let out a frenzied roar. He charged ahead, his scarlet tongue licking his chapped lips, his eyes blazing with fanaticism.

Behind him, a dark mass of cultists emerged silently from the forest, like puppets controlled by invisible threads. Their eyes held no fear, only a morbid thirst for death and blood.

"Crush them! Offer their hearts to the evil god!"

Hidan held his scythe high, his voice hoarse and excited.

The main gate of the manor was right in front of them, and the carved wooden door seemed as fragile as a piece of paper to them.

Closer, closer.

Hidan could already smell the warm scent of living people wafting from the manor, a scent that made his blood boil. He raised his foot and kicked the door hard.

"Bang--!"

The wooden door opened with a thud, then fell inwards and crashed to the ground with a dull thud.

The expected screaming and crying medical ninjas, and the chaotic guards... were nowhere to be found.

In the vast courtyard, the soft glow of lanterns cast a gentle glow, and the stone path was spotless.

In the center of the courtyard, a man sat cross-legged beside an old-fashioned stone table.

The man had long, jet-black hair that reached his waist. He was dressed in simple samurai clothes, and a tea set was placed in front of him. He was leisurely holding a cup of tea, and the rising steam blurred his gentle face.

Everything was eerily quiet.

Hidan's followers were also stunned. They gripped their weapons tightly, and the madness in their eyes was replaced by deep confusion.

Where is the promised Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?

Why are you drinking tea alone here?

"Hello!"

Hidan's inherent arrogance led him to break the deathly silence. He pointed the tip of his scythe at the man, grinned, and revealed a cruel smile. "Where's the delivery room? If you know what's good for you, tell me quickly, and Lord Jashin might grant you a quick death!"

The man slowly put down his teacup, which clattered against the stone table with a clear, crisp sound that was particularly distinct in the quiet night.

He raised his head, his gentle face revealing neither joy nor anger, but he simply sighed softly.

"It's so late at night, can't people even enjoy the moon properly?"

Hashirama Senju's voice was calm, as if he were complaining that the neighbor's children were too noisy and disturbing his enjoyment.

But those seemingly innocuous words sent a chill down Hidan's spine. His grip on the scythe tightened instinctively.

Not right.

This man is so calm.

He was unusually calm.

A chill, originating from the depths of his soul, rose without warning from Hidan's spine all the way up to the top of his head.

The man in front of me stood up, his movements slow, like an ordinary person stretching his stiff limbs.

But in Hidan's perception, the whole world changed as the man got up.

What is that?

The chakra emanating from the man.

That was... a sea.

A vast and unfathomable sea of ​​life.

His supposed immortality, which he was so proud of, was as insignificant as a grain of sand that could be washed away by the tide at any moment in the face of this vast life force.

However, my body wouldn't obey me.

His legs felt like they were made of lead, firmly nailed to the ground, and he couldn't even move a single toe.

The fanaticism on the faces of the followers behind him had frozen, turning into a distorted expression that was a mixture of bewilderment and extreme terror.

Some people's weapons had already fallen to the ground with a clatter.

The gentle smile on Hashirama Senju's face had completely vanished at some point.

Instead, there is a compassionate, godlike majesty that looks down upon ants.

He looked at the group of invaders who exuded an ominous and insane aura. There was no anger in his eyes, only a kind of helplessness as if he had mistaken a malignant weed growing in his own farmland.

"Since you're here,"

A deep voice echoed in everyone's ears, "Then stay, all of you."

The moment he finished speaking, he clasped his hands together in front of his chest.

It was a simple movement that every ninja apprentice knew, but when he performed it, it seemed to stir the rhythm of the entire world.

The earth began to tremble.

It wasn't a slight tremor, but a violent roar like an earthworm turning over. The dry landscape garden in the courtyard instantly collapsed, and the stone lanterns tilted and shattered as they shook.

"Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands!"

A low shout, like the power of words at the beginning of creation.

Under the horrified gaze of all the evil god cultists, behind Hashirama Senju, countless thick trees, brimming with immense life force, burst forth from the ground at a visible speed, growing wildly and intertwining their roots, rapidly constructing a colossal structure in a way that defied the laws of nature.

It was an unimaginably huge thousand-armed Buddha statue.

The Buddha statue rose from the ground, its enormous body easily surpassing the manor's walls and even the surrounding mountains.

It obscured the bright moon in the sky, casting a huge shadow that enveloped the entire earth.

The Buddha statue has a solemn and dignified appearance with a compassionate face, but beneath that compassion lies an absolute power capable of erasing everything.

Golden light emanated from the Buddha statue, illuminating the entire night sky as bright as day.

Hidan and his followers looked up, appearing as insignificant as dust before that miraculous behemoth.

The curtain has indeed been drawn back on the grand feast.

However, what was served on the table was not Konoha.

Meanwhile, on the left and right sides of the manor.

Two completely different, cold and sharp killing intents suddenly erupted amidst the golden light!