Chapter 326: Sarutobi Clan gone!

Lightning Release: Kirin

The perennial rainy weather in Rain Village was an excellent location for releasing Lightning Release ninjutsu. Suddenly, a ferocious Kirin appeared in the sky, descending from above.

With a massive roar, Naruto and others in the distance quickly ran towards the location of the ninjutsu release.

This was an S-rank Lightning Release technique. The fact that it forced Sasuke to use such a method showed the strength of Asuma.

Whoosh~ A group of people rapidly moved through the forest, and when their vision cleared, Naruto showed a shocked expression.

In the open area, a huge crater had formed, with scorched earth and faint flashes of lightning. The intense heat from the Lightning Release had even caused the surface of the earth to crystallize.

"Asuma!"

In the center of the crater, Asuma lay on the ground, his life or death unknown.

Strangely, Asuma's left arm was connected to a huge broken tree trunk. Clearly, in his final moments, he had frantically activated the Wood Release cells in his body to create a massive tree stump for defense.

However, the attack power of Lightning Release: Kirin was too strong, destroying the tree and severely injuring him as well.

"This!"

Under the terrifying ninjutsu, Sasuke was slightly out of breath. His Six-Pointed Star Mangekyō Sharingan was in pain, but his face showed an excited smile.

"Ha ha, this is the debt owed by your Sarutobi clan."

Sasuke had no mercy for his actions, feeling a thrilling excitement instead.

"Sasuke!"

However, at this moment, the excited and laughing Sasuke was greeted with a punch from Naruto. Although he reacted and dodged, he was still grazed on the cheek due to the large amount of physical and chakra exhaustion.

"Naruto!"

Looking at Naruto who had struck him, Sasuke was filled with anger, his voice questioning.

And Naruto, as if meeting Sasuke for the first time, angrily yelled, "Sasuke, how could you do this? No matter what mistake Teacher Asuma made, we are comrades, aren't we? We should have taken him back to the village for resolution, how could you be so harsh?"

Clearly, Asuma was already beyond help. This scene made Naruto somewhat angry, as they were both ninjas of Konoha.

"Damn it, Naruto!"

Sasuke also angrily responded with a punch, and the two glared at each other.

"Sasuke, how could you do this!"

"Idiot Naruto, Asuma is a traitor! A traitor who massacred his own clan!"

"You shouldn't have done this either! Teacher Asuma is already in this state, I think he must have had his reasons back then."

"Reasons?" Sasuke sneered at the overly compassionate Naruto, "You idiot, what do you know? The Third Hokage had planned the Uchiha clan massacre. If it wasn't for Teacher Itachi, the Third would still be sitting as the Hokage of Konoha, and the Uchiha clan would probably have disappeared from the village long ago."

And Naruto, not thinking before he speaks, angrily retorts, "Even the Third Hokage is better than you Uchihas!"

Instantly, Sasuke's face changes, his anger turning into a cold chill, his eyes icily fixed on Naruto.

"Sasuke!" Realizing he might have said something wrong, Naruto doesn't think he's mistaken, instead showing a serious expression.

"Sasuke! I still remember the Konoha Village when the Third Hokage was alive. At that time, although everyone in the village despised me and called me the Demon Fox, the village was peaceful, and the smiles on the villagers' faces were genuine!"

"But what about now? The Uchiha clan is strong, that's true, but because you're too powerful and unsatisfied with the status quo, look, a great ninja war is about to erupt. What have you brought us?"

Naruto's superficial saint-like ideology suddenly makes Sasuke smirk sarcastically.

"Peace? It seems ironic coming from you, the so-called 'Hero's Son.' You only see the surface, but have you seen the wars on the borders during the Third's era? Do you know how many ninjas die every year?"

"You don't know! The high ranks of the Third Hokage's administration, for the sake of their own prestige and to embellish their achievements, downplayed the impact of all the wars at the borders, presenting an image of peace within the village, unaware of how many ninjas were dying at the frontlines!"

"And you!" As Sasuke speaks, he remembers the burden on his shoulders, thinking of his future responsibilities as Hokage, he takes a deep breath, suppressing his anger to calm himself down.

"Even though you are the son of the Fourth Hokage, I have to admit something, you really are an idiot who only had parents but wasn't raised by them!"

"Nani! Sasuke, you!" Such hurtful words fill Naruto with disbelief, as if he can't believe these words could come from his comrade Sasuke.

Faced with Naruto's look, Sasuke gradually calms down, revealing a self-mocking smile.

"Indeed, I should have known better than to have any illusions about you. You're just someone who only sees the surface, living in the fairy tales the old Third told you, ranting every day about a naive idea of mutual understanding and peace."

In the original timeline, compared to Naruto, Sasuke is somewhat more normal.

As the reincarnation of Indra, Sasuke activated a single tomoe Sharingan only after the Uchiha clan massacre, while Obito activated his Mangekyō Sharingan immediately after Rin's death.

But consider, on the night of the Uchiha massacre, there were many elite Uchiha ninjas with three tomoe Sharingan, so why didn't they activate the Mangekyō Sharingan? Both in the face of clan extinction and impending death.

If the Uchiha's Sharingan was so easy to activate and evolve, the Uchiha clan would have dominated the ninja world long ago.

So, Sasuke is considered normal, whereas Naruto's mentality is somewhat abnormal, or rather, too good, almost like a character out of a fairy tale.

After the massacre, Sasuke, bearing the hatred of his entire clan, continues to live, which is a more typical way of thinking.

It's hard to imagine how Naruto would have coped if he had experienced such a clan massacre.

While Naruto and Sasuke are arguing, Kankuro and Temari slowly approach the area near Asuma to investigate.

"Asuma! Haha."

When Konohamaru sees Asuma's body, he feels a void in his heart, followed by a burst of insane laughter.

Seeing this from a distance, Naruto angrily roars: "Konohamaru is already like this, what more do you want!"

Temari and Kankurō, chastised by Naruto, looked at each other with unpleasant expressions, while Naruto continued angrily, "Konohamaru is just a kid, how can he run away in this state?"

"Let him go, I'll take all the consequences. I will personally bring Konohamaru back to the village!"

"Damn blonde!" Kankurō glared at Naruto with frustration. If he could, he would really like to beat Naruto up right now.

Temari, on the other hand, was more composed, considering the current situation of the Sarutobi clan and the fact that Gaara was being groomed as the future Sixth Kazekage.

As long as nothing unexpected happens, Gaara will surely become the Sixth Kazekage. Naruto is not only powerful but also the Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails and the son of a hero, so it's best to avoid conflicts with him.

"Kankurō, let go!" Temari said coldly. Kankurō, feeling wronged, pointed at Naruto and said, "Temari, look at this brat!"

"Let go!"

Confronted by his sister, Temari, Kankurō lowered his voice and said, "Think of the bigger picture, Kankurō. Don't cause unnecessary trouble for Gaara."

Hearing Gaara's name, Kankurō's anger faded slightly. Gaara was their hope and his brother, and he couldn't make an enemy for him for no reason.

"Hmph! Damn brat, go see your useless uncle now."

With a flick of his fingers, the puppet made a creaking noise and released Konohamaru.

Konohamaru fell to the ground with a thud, laughing maniacally as he stumbled towards Asuma, holding a kunai in his left hand.

"Ha ha, Asuma you beast, you killed the whole clan, you deserve to die!"

Tears streaming down his face, Konohamaru, on the verge of collapse, reached Asuma.

Asuma, weakly, could barely open his eyes to see Konohamaru crying and laughing crazily at him, and he managed a strained smile.

"Konohamaru, you've grown up."

He wanted to reach out and touch Konohamaru's head, but he didn't even have the strength to lift his arm.

"You deserve to die!"

Swishing the kunai in his left hand, Konohamaru continued to laugh maniacally, splattering Asuma's blood on his face.

Watching Konohamaru venting his rage, Asuma showed not sadness but a look of guilt.

"I'm sorry, Konohamaru, I didn't know I hurt you this much…"

The murmuring Asuma felt his eyelids getting heavier, unable to resist closing them, when suddenly a green chakra surged within him. With newfound strength, he opened his mouth wide, shouting out with blood spewing:

"Run!"

With blood splattering, Konohamaru's eyes widened in disbelief, and at a distance, Naruto watched this scene, his eyes nearly bursting with rage.

"Konohamaru!"

In Asuma, the last power of the wooden release cells in his body went berserk. Suddenly, a wooden spike shot out from his chest. It happened so unexpectedly that Konohamaru, already in a frenzy, felt a sharp pain as the spike pierced his chest.

But it wasn't over. The moment the spike penetrated Konohamaru's chest, it absorbed chakra and began to sprout more branches and spikes.

In an instant, Konohamaru's body was like a sieve, covered in densely packed, sharp wooden spikes, with blood splattering everywhere.

"Asuma! You are the criminal of the Sarutobi clan…"

Konohamaru's last words were full of resentment and hatred towards Asuma. After tremblingly pointing at him and uttering these words, Konohamaru's head tilted, and he passed away.

His pupils dilated, losing their liveliness; Konohamaru was completely lifeless. Witnessing this, Asuma's pupils contracted, and he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Konohamaru!"

Asuma, weak and screaming hoarsely, had a fierce expression. Everything for him was over.

The Sarutobi clan was completely ruined! Asuma never imagined that the wooden release cells implanted in him by Obito, this power that made him strong, would uncontrollably take away his only kin at the end.

"Uchiha Yoru!"

Asuma roared the name with a distorted and broken spirit, blaming everything on Uchiha Yoru.

Why! He had promised to let Konohamaru live while he slaughtered the Sarutobi clan. Why did it end like this!

Despite his unwillingness, Asuma followed Konohamaru in death after a final burst of blood, his wide-open eyes indicating his unrest in death.

"Konohamaru!"

Naruto, who ran over in panic, was devastated, unable to believe the scene before him.

Kankuro was dumbfounded, frantically gesturing with his hands.

"No! It wasn't me. You all saw, it was Naruto who made me release Konohamaru, it was Naruto!"

Kankuro was completely confused. Releasing Konohamaru from his grasp hadn't brought the expected satisfaction, only bewilderment.

"Sasuke, you have to vouch for me. It was Naruto who sternly told me to let go of Konohamaru, he guaranteed it. It's not my fault…"

Kankuro, usually arrogant, was now full of panic. Temari, standing aside, helplessly covered her forehead in this mess.

"I saw it, don't worry Kankuro."

Sasuke, seeing this, smiled slightly, reassuring Kankuro that he had witnessed everything.

"Thank you, Sasuke. This really wasn't my fault."

Kankuro, now utterly meek, found Sasuke, once an annoyance, now incredibly agreeable.

Sasuke, relaxed and even feeling a bit pleased, signaled to Kankuro reassuringly.

At this moment, Kankuro was wronged. It seems like he was responsible for the death of Konohamaru, but the truth is, he wasn't.

Despite Konohamaru belonging to the Sarutobi clan, which had its share of adversaries during the reign of the Third Hokage, it's important to remember that Tsunade and Jiraiya, the current Fifth Hokage and a legendary Sannin, were disciples of the Third Hokage.

Even if there were grievances against the Third Hokage's regime, with his passing being akin to a snuffed-out candle, and the Sarutobi clan being in such a dire state, he's the only successor left.

Jiraiya and Tsunade certainly wouldn't want their teacher's grandson to be the end of the line, but with this incident, Kankuro doesn't want to take the blame.

"Naruto, damn you, you blonde! It's all your fault! You said you would take responsibility for everything, and now Konohamaru is dead because of you!"

In a fit of rage, Kankuro accused Naruto to absolve himself, while Sasuke watched the drama unfold with a sarcastic smile.

And Temari, with veins popping on her forehead, glared at Kankuro. "Blonde? Who is he calling blonde? I'm blonde too!"