Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 203 An Era-Changing Event

"Can you see it from this far away?"

"It's barely enough. Thank you, Lord Hashirama."

The above conversation took place in the canopy of a large tree. Parents, who could not get close but could only observe from a distance, disregarded their image and lay on the tree, using binoculars to peek at a boy who was training.

"Has Sasuke grown taller? Look how thin he is, his chin is even pointed now."

"She's at the age where she should be growing taller. Hmm... she does seem a bit thin, and her clothes are so loose! What kind of behavior is this!"

"Isn't it normal to wear less clothing when exercising?" said a woman named Qian Shou, whose style of dress is relatively open.

The old father, disregarding the other person's high moral standing, glared back and said, "Children of the Uchiha clan absolutely cannot wander around outside with their chests exposed!!"

The child's biological mother chuckled softly beside her, tugging at her agitated husband and saying, "Sasuke has always been a well-behaved child. There must be a reason why he did this."

"Even if there's a reason, it won't work!"

Just then, the view through the telescope changed. An astonishing number of ambushes emerged from all directions, lunging at the boy. The boy, suspended in mid-air, was clearly in a desperate situation with no way to escape, yet he calmly shook the clothes on his shoulders, leaving his shirt completely off. Black and gray quickly covered his entire body, and a pair of rather ferocious, giant hand-shaped wings spread out, wielding them with a single flap, carrying him away from the attack range.

Having read the written intelligence but never seen the actual situation, Fugaku suddenly slapped his forehead, feeling that the force was enough to knock him unconscious. However, since he was an impure body, he couldn't be knocked out unless it was a fatal wound!

"I'd only ever heard it was ugly, but I never imagined it was this ugly..."

Hashirama, standing to the side, was practically drenched in sweat, but unfortunately, he too was an impure spirit. "And also... um... for power... for external things like physical appearance..."

"No way, absolutely not! How will I ever find a wife if I'm this ugly? She'll scare people away the moment I show up!"

Hashirama silently shut up. He inexplicably thought of Madara, who had once accidentally singed his hair and then stopped. Suddenly, he realized this wasn't such a big deal. The Uchiha were capable of putting out fires on an enemy's hair on the battlefield, claiming their watermelon-head hairstyle was too ugly and they didn't want to see it again…

In short, they are currently lurking on a hill near Otogakure, secretly observing the "survival situation" of a certain "kidnapped" child. This is actually a regular occurrence; Naruto used to lead the stakeout, but this year Naruto had an emergency, so they had to ask Hashirama, who could directly "see" what Sasuke was doing, for help. They can only catch a glimpse of the child when he's out training.

Of course, they hadn't forgotten the other child. He was much easier to approach than Sasuke. Perhaps on a crowded street, or in a restaurant or teahouse, they could casually pass by this oddly dressed group and catch a glimpse of the child's current situation.

As the parents were discussing whether to give Orochimaru a physical warning, a very familiar voice rang in their minds.

"Excuse me, everyone, I've received a special gift, and I must issue this summons for you all to observe. I will use psychic abilities to recall you all in half an hour, so please find a suitable reason to leave."

The three of them froze, exchanging glances. Naruto had never used summoning jutsu on them before, to the point that sometimes they didn't even remember that the Impure World Reincarnation was controlled by someone. For Naruto to cause such a commotion this time, the gift must be something extraordinary. Although Sasuke was hard to find, the assembly order was more important. They quickly climbed down the tree, found a secluded spot where they wouldn't be discovered, and waited for half an hour to pass.

"Naruto has never used the Summoning Jutsu, has he?" Fugaku felt that the Senju brothers must have had some exchanges on this topic. He woke up later than Tobirama, so he unconsciously asked Hashirama.

Hashirama shrugged. "You and I woke up around the same time."

"Something serious must have happened," Mikoto said, frowning with concern.

"If it were something really important, they probably wouldn't have notified us. Don't worry, it's probably because that gift is really special."

Their guess was correct. As the white smoke from the summoning dissipated, they saw Izuna and Tobirama, as well as Naruto and a long object placed on a table.

"Sorry, I called you all back even though it's a holiday."

Naruto looked somewhat haggard, especially Hashirama, Fugaku, and Mikoto noticed it most strongly. They had just seen the vibrant Sasuke, and the contrast with Naruto in his true form was quite stark. They had treated him as "Kinrin" for so long that they hadn't realized how heavy the workload could be.

“It’s alright, Naruto. But you… you look like you need a real vacation.” Mikoto’s eyes were full of concern.

Naruto paused for a moment, then realized what was happening and said, "I'll be careful, Aunt Mikoto, but this thing kept me awake last night."

"This is a firearm, isn't it?" Tobirama was already studying it. He and Izuna had arrived long ago; that's one of the advantages of being able to use the Flying Thunder God Technique.

"Yes, you can call it firearms or muskets, whichever you prefer."

"Is it something that fires iron pellets? I remember they were weak and slow, but it still hurts a bit if you get hit." Such things did exist in Hashirama's time, but to ninjas with such high speed, their flaws were too obvious. Their power was only enough to be blocked by chakra, so they didn't spread on a large scale.

Fugaku raised an eyebrow and said, "It's not just pain, it can kill if it hits a vital spot."

"Guns have actually been improving, but the aura of ninjas has suppressed their use, and the one-country-one-village system has limited the scope of warfare, which is why they haven't become widespread." Naruto took a deep breath and asked, "Is anyone willing to be a target?"

Fugaku raised his hand without hesitation; he couldn't let his senior do this, but someone else raised their hand even faster. Izuna walked enthusiastically to the muzzle of the gun and winked at Tobirama, who was holding it.

Tobirama's expression stiffened, and he suddenly turned the heavy object around and shoved it into Izuna's hand, taking a few steps back.

"I come."

Fugaku silently withdrew his hand and moved closer to Mikoto, leaving Mikoto both amused and exasperated.

Operating the gun was simple: just load, unlock, and pull the trigger. Withstanding the recoil was a minor issue for a ninja; there was no need to worry. Izuna eagerly fired a single shot to the side to test his aim before targeting Tobirama's breastplate.

During the first attack, Tobirama didn't move, but instead used his signature Water Wall defense. He stopped to investigate after a gunshot. The bullet's trajectory had deviated slightly, but it still embedded itself in the blue armor, penetrating halfway without breaching the final defense. At this point, everyone's expressions changed, not to mention the subsequent shots. Tobirama's defenses gradually weakened, until only regular chakra remained to protect him, at which point the bullets had already entered his Edo Tensei body. Although he wasn't officially considered dead, he was practically dead.

When the chakra was depleted, Izuna couldn't pull the trigger. He lowered his gun and fell silent along with everyone else.