manynovel Chapter 34 The World's Reaction
Chapter 34 The World's Reaction
Naruto sat alone on the edge of his small bed in his apartment, his hands burying his head in his hands. The images transmitted by his shadow clones kept flashing through his mind—the devastating Great Spiral Wheel, the terrified expressions of the Konoha ninja, the Raikage's charred body...
I... I've caused way too much of a commotion...
The memories of the shadow clone were like firsthand experience, allowing him to clearly feel the almost arrogant confidence he had when releasing the ninjutsu.
Am I really a chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) sufferer?
The thought made his ears burn. Those exaggerated lines, those oppressive declarations—looking back now, they were utterly humiliating. Especially that one line.
"Either you obediently continue living off the rotten fruits of peace... or let me teach you what real war is!"
How could you say something like that?!
Naruto rolled around on the bed and buried his face in the blankets. But soon, he forced himself to calm down and began to analyze the logic behind the shadow clone's actions.
Regarding the organization's name—【Ember】.
Why was that name chosen back then? Through memory sharing, he sensed the shadow clone's thoughts at the time.
Simple, direct, and powerful.
Like the Akatsuki organization, the single-character name is both easy to remember and intimidating. "Jin" means to burn the flames of war to ashes. This word represents both destruction and implies the end.
It sounds cool... but isn't it a bit too pretentious?
He remembered that the Shadow Clone had considered several other options. [Heavenly Punishment] was too aloof, like someone who called himself a god.
【无咎】 is too literary and not intuitive enough.
【Meteor Army】is too targeted, only targeting the military.
【The Cage of Paradox】means to regard war as a paradox, to lock war in a cage forever... This was rejected outright, because even Shadow Clone found it awkward to pronounce.
The final choice of "Jin" is also a tribute to the Akatsuki organization; a single-character name is indeed more impactful.
Regarding the stated objective—"to deter war through threats."
This reason sounds plausible, but in reality... in the original timeline, the Third Shinobi World War had already ended, and apart from the Fourth Shinobi World War, there wouldn't be any more major wars...
This is just a smokescreen.
The real purpose was to take this opportunity to secretly recruit ninjas who could not be recruited by those with "righteous identities"—these people might have eccentric personalities or extreme ideologies, but without exception, they all possessed great strength.
The future enemy... is the Otsutsuki.
The five great nations fighting individually are simply not enough to contend with those alien monsters. There must be an organization that transcends the boundaries of ninja villages, a force capable of uniting all "unconventional combat power."
And [Jin] is the first step in this plan.
Naruto took a deep breath and sat up in bed. Outside the window, Konoha had returned to calm, and the villagers had no idea that the "masked man" who had almost destroyed the village was now sitting in this small apartment in the form of a three-year-old child.
Although the methods were a bit radical... this is a path we must continue down.
All of this is to accumulate enough power before the real apocalypse arrives.
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Although this conflict miraculously resulted in no casualties, it caused a nuclear-level sensation in the ninja world.
The evidence was right in front of everyone—a huge crater outside Konoha Village, almost the size of the village itself.
Just as Naruto had requested, the names of "King" and "Menma" quickly spread throughout the ninja world. One could even say that the Cloud Village's propaganda went a bit overboard. They used diplomatic channels, black market bounties, underground intelligence networks, and many other means to exaggerate Menma's terror.
The Raikage, the face and strongest fighter of Kumogakure, was severely injured and on the verge of death.
The Hidden Cloud Village, known for its "fight if you disagree" mentality, strictly forbade any behavior that might provoke Menma when the Raikage was on the verge of death. Even the most radical pro-war faction fell silent after seeing the giant crater outside the Hidden Leaf Village.
On Konoha's side, the Third Hokage took a long time to recover after the war, but as the village's leader, he had to stabilize the situation as soon as possible.
He first selected elites from the secret service to form a special reconnaissance team, responsible for gathering all intelligence on "Menma". However, the Third Hokage specifically instructed that they should not go too deep, and if any abnormalities were discovered, the pursuit must be stopped immediately, and no risks should be taken.
He then urgently recalled Jiraiya and Tsunade, who were traveling abroad, in an attempt to stabilize public morale by bringing back the legendary Sannin.
Meanwhile, Konoha mobilized all the village's ninjas skilled in Earth Release to begin filling the shocking crater outside the village. This was a massive undertaking, but it had to be completed as quickly as possible, not only to restore the landscape but also to eliminate the terrifying symbol that constantly reminded people that "destruction is imminent."
Here's where things get interesting. In Iwagakure, the Tsuchikage Onoki publicly condemned Kumogakure, accusing them of being foolish enough to "try to steal a chicken but lose the rice instead." Then, a high-value bounty quietly appeared on the black market, offering a large sum of money for all information about Menma and [Jin].
This old guy outwardly gloated, but secretly he wanted to make contact with the [Jin] organization that struck fear into the hearts of the entire ninja world.
Meanwhile, Kirigakure, which was still being secretly controlled by Obito, also reacted.
Obito was wary of this suddenly appearing powerhouse. When did such a person emerge in the ninja world? He worried that this variable would interfere with the Eye of the Moon plan, so he immediately ordered Black Zetsu to gather information on [Jin] with all his might.
The two schemers hidden behind the masks felt uneasy as their plans spiraled out of control.
Meanwhile, in Amegakure, Nagato, the leader of the Akatsuki organization who had not yet taken action, learned of this momentous event that had shaken the ninja world through his intelligence network. What caught his attention even more was Menma's publicly declared ideology—"Ending war with fear."
This idea resonated subtly with Nagato. They both sought to achieve peace through extreme means, but in drastically different ways. Menma chose to become the enemy of the entire ninja world, using absolute military force to suppress war.
Nagato's plan was even more radical—he intended to collect the Tailed Beasts, create a weapon powerful enough to destroy a country in one blow, and then use this power to cause mass casualties.
Let all nations understand the horror of war by experiencing the pain of countless lives lost, and thus fear war itself.
However, after careful consideration, Nagato decided to try contacting the [Jin] organization. Faced with this "colleague" who also sought to achieve peace through extreme means, he wanted to explore the possibility of cooperation.
Of course, if their ideologies clash, he, possessing the Rinnegan, is confident enough that he will never lose.
There were some benefits, too; an eerie calm descended upon the ninja world. After seeing the giant crater outside Konoha, all the major ninja villages were gripped by panic. They feared that one day Menma would suddenly appear above their village and casually drop a "Great Rasengan."
As a result, all countries unanimously ordered a halt to all diplomatic conflicts, and even the small-scale border skirmishes that had been going on for years came to an abrupt end.
Then something even stranger happened. No matter how the five great nations investigated or offered a hefty reward, Menma seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving no trace. The [Jin] organization also disappeared without a trace, as if it had never existed.
After all, the terrifying being who strikes fear into the hearts of the entire ninja world is now just a three-year-old child—no one would believe such a thing.