Here's @riojiyo131, your trusted writer.
You can now get early access to Chapter 86 of Re: Naruto Uzumaki on my Patreon. You can also read up to Chapter 22 of Naruto: Satoru Senju.
patreon.com/riojiyo131
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Sorry if I haven't posted as often lately. I've been very sick, though I'm still sick, but I'm better now, so I can keep writing.
I'll post the chapters I owe of "Naruto: Satoru Senju" from last weekend. If you want to read them, you already have them.
By the way, please help me find a new title for the "Naruto: Satoru Senju" story.
I was thinking something like "Conquering the Omniverse!", but I'm not quite convinced. What do you think?
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Upon seeing a thick cloud of smoke rising in the direction where Hiruzen and Orochimaru were, a smile formed on Naruto's face.
It was finally happening.
At last, that stubborn old man was going to kick the bucket and head to the other side.
At that moment, the ninjas from the Sand and Sound villages began moving throughout the village.
Explosions echoed in the distance, one after another, shaking Konoha to its core.
Then Naruto saw them: the Sound Four —Jirōbō, Tayuya, Kidōmaru, Sakon and Ukon— appearing on the scene.
"Ninja Art: Four Violet Flames Formation!"
Each one took a cardinal position, forming the corners of a barrier. Immediately, a rectangular wall of purple flames rose, sealing Hiruzen and Orochimaru inside.
Although Orochimaru still retained the appearance of the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, it was evident that Hiruzen was already beginning to suspect who he really was.
Some ANBU tried to break through the barrier... but the moment they touched it, their bodies were engulfed by the flames. Within seconds, they were reduced to ashes.
From the top of the stadium, Naruto watched from afar as multiple giant snakes —creatures summoned from Ryūchi Cave— advanced through the village, destroying everything in their path.
The joint attack by the Village of the Sand and the Village of the Sound had begun.
Naruto looked down at the combat arena, where Temari and Kankurō were trying to stop Gaara, who was refusing to abandon his confrontation with Reika.
They both warned him they had to follow the established plan, but Gaara ignored them. Holding his head with both hands, growling in frustration.
For a moment, the idea of eliminating his own siblings crossed his mind.
That's when Baki, his Jōnin-sensei, appeared.
At the same time, in front of Reika, Hayate Gekkō, the examiner of the third round of the Chūnin Exams, appeared.
"What the hell is going on?!" exclaimed Reika, confused by the sudden chaos.
Hayate frowned, staring intently at Baki, when suddenly a three-pronged kunai embedded itself in the ground between him and Baki.
A yellow flash lit up the place, and an instant later, a man appeared next to the weapon, holding it firmly.
He was tall, with intense blue eyes and spiky blond hair. He wore a standard Konoha tactical vest... and over it, a white cloak with red flames at the hem. On the back, it clearly read: "Fourth Hokage."
Hayate held his breath.
Minato Namikaze.
The hero who had saved Konoha during the Kyūbi attack. The very Fourth Hokage.
He couldn't believe his eyes.
Hayate had not expected him to return from the Pure World as well.
Then, Minato turned to Hayate with a calm smile. "You can retreat. I'll handle this. There are other places that need reinforcements."
Hayate nodded quickly and vanished without further questions.
There was no time for surprises. Konoha was being invaded, and every one of them was needed to defend it.
Reika, for her part, remained motionless for a few seconds, her eyes fixed on the newcomer.
"N-Naruto...?" she murmured, blushing upon seeing the adult version of the boy she liked standing in front of her.
Minato turned to her with a kind expression. "I'm afraid not. I'm his father," he replied with a soft, amused smile.
Reika blinked, bewildered.
She knew Naruto had grown up without parents... that they had died during the Kyūbi attack. Had they come back to life too, like her?
Her gaze slid to the man's cloak, stopping at the inscription on his back: Fourth Hokage.
She remembered the moment when Naruto revealed he was the son of Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage.
And now that she had him in front of her, she realized Naruto was the spitting image of his father.
However, Reika shook her head, trying to dispel those thoughts. This wasn't the time for that.
Konoha was under attack. She couldn't afford to be distracted.
"You can step back, I'll handle this..." said Minato in a calm but firm voice.
Reika nodded without protest. She had been forced to deactivate her Lightning Element Chakra Mode earlier than planned due to excessive chakra consumption, so she stepped back, agreeing.
Reika trusted Minato's strength.
After all, how could she not know about the great feats of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, when she had studied them at the Ninja Academy?
During the Third Great Ninja War, Minato singlehandedly wiped out an entire army from Iwagakure, earning the nickname "The Yellow Flash of Konoha."
He also surpassed the Fourth Raikage A of Kumogakure in speed, a ninja known precisely for his impressive swiftness.
And how could anyone forget the Kyūbi attack... The Fourth Hokage had managed to deflect a Bijūdama. A feat unthinkable for almost any other ninja.
Finally, he sacrificed himself to stop the Kyūbi...
For all those reasons, even though part of her wanted to keep fighting, Reika knew the wisest course of action was to stay out of it.
But just as Minato was about to attack Baki, Gaara, behind him, began to writhe.
The sand contained in his gourd started to cover his body, first his arms, then the right half of his torso.
Minato frowned, realizing Gaara was partially transforming.
From the top of the stadium, Naruto smiled.
It seemed Gaara was starting to transform earlier than he remembered.
One of Gaara's eyes turned completely yellow, identical to Shukaku's.
"This will be the third time I face a Jinchūriki... and I'm not excited at all," Minato murmured, sighing.
The first Jinchūriki he had faced was Killer B, during the Third Great Shinobi War.
The second was Kushina... every time she hit him for doing something wrong...
Minato's eyes narrowed upon noticing Gaara's transformation was still ongoing.
And it seemed this would be the third time he faced one.
"We have to get out of here!" Temari shouted to Kankurō.
Kankurō quickly followed her, fleeing the scene. They both knew that when Gaara lost control, he couldn't distinguish between friend and foe.
Then Naruto appeared in front of Minato, falling from the sky.
"Naruto..." Minato murmured, confused to see him there.
"I know. I shouldn't be here..." Naruto replied, frowning.
According to their plan, he shouldn't be there at that moment.
Naruto molded his chakra, and five golden chains emerged from his back.
The chains shot directly toward Gaara, wrapping around his body and lifting him into the air.
Suddenly, one of them pierced Gaara's stomach… but strangely, not a single drop of blood spilled.
"Naruto! What are you doing...?!" Minato exclaimed, surprised.
When the chain exited Gaara's body, it dragged with it a turbulent yellow-orange chakra, with a tone similar to sand.
Gaara shuddered violently, feeling Shukaku being ripped from inside him.
Realizing what was happening, Baki couldn't just stand idly by.
The Sand Village couldn't afford to lose Shukaku.
"Stop!" he shouted, lunging toward Naruto.
But Minato stepped in his way without hesitation, stopping him cold. Though he didn't fully understand why his son was extracting Shukaku, he trusted him.
Meanwhile, Naruto continued the process. He finally managed to completely extract Shukaku, and immediately began working on sealing it inside his own body.
[Hashirama Senju: Is he planning to become a double Jinchūriki?]
[Tobirama Senju: I think I understand why he's doing it. Naruto is taking the opposite path from yours, brother. He doesn't intend to let the Tailed Beasts' power roam free in the world.]
[Mito Uzumaki: But will his body be able to withstand it...? There have been no records of someone sealing two Bijū inside themselves before.]
[Hashirama Senju: It could certainly be dangerous...]
[Tobirama Senju: He has a chance. He's an Uzumaki, after all.]
[Hashirama Senju: But just in case...]
[Hashirama Senju has bestowed upon the group leader his 'Sage's Body'!]
[Tobirama Senju: Brother...]
[Hashirama Senju: It's just precaution, Tobirama!]
Naruto, who wasn't having major difficulties with the sealing, smiled amusedly at the reward sent by Hashirama.
He had finally obtained the Sage's Body, though he hadn't expected to receive it in the middle of this situation.
Without wasting time, he accepted the reward.
He didn't feel any immediate change, but the process of sealing Shukaku became much faster and smoother, without complications.
He would have to apologize to Kurama later for forcing him to share space with the idiot Shukaku.
Naruto was sure he'd have many headaches in the future because of their arguments.
Naruto's gaze immediately turned to Gaara, who was still writhing in pain, trapped by his chains.
If he didn't do something soon, Gaara would die from Shukaku's extraction.
Pulling him closer, Naruto forced the Shukaku inside his own body to lend him chakra.
He placed the palm of his hand on Gaara's stomach. It was wrapped in turbulent yellow-orange chakra, similar to the color of sand.
Quickly, he made that chakra flow into Gaara's body.
In some cases, if the Bijū's chakra remains in the Jinchūriki's body even after extraction, there's a small chance of survival.
Though his medical ninjutsu knowledge was limited —coming only from what he had learned from Rin Nohara— Naruto also used it to treat his wounds while transferring Shukaku's chakra.
Temari and Kankurō watched from a distance, from the spot where they had taken refuge, believing Gaara was about to lose control.
Seeing that Naruto was healing their little brother, both Temari and Kankurō didn't intervene.
Although they were prepared to step in the moment Gaara was safe.
Several minutes passed until Naruto finally let Gaara fall gently to the ground.
At that moment, Minato approached him. Behind him, Baki lay unconscious, injured.
Naruto completely ignored him and turned to Temari and Kankurō.
"Take your little brother and your Jōnin-sensei back to the Sand Village."
His words surprised both of them. They didn't expect to be let go… but they didn't ask questions. They just nodded and moved quickly.
"The Kazekage is dead," Naruto suddenly said, just as Kankurō crouched to lift Gaara onto his shoulder and Temari helped Baki stand up.
Kankurō froze, slowly turning with wide eyes.
"W-what did you say...?" Kankurō's voice trembled slightly, unable to believe the words.
"He died months ago," Naruto replied seriously. "Orochimaru killed him and impersonated his identity to orchestrate this attack together with the Village of the Sound against Konoha. I thought you deserved to know."
Temari and Kankurō were paralyzed. They didn't know how to react upon hearing that.
Had the Sand Village been used by another country? Manipulated without even knowing it?
That's when Gaara opened his eyes. His body was weak; he could barely move.
Kankurō frowned at seeing him wake up.
"Stay still, Gaara... you might hurt yourself. Listen to your older brother for once in your life."
Gaara obeyed, but his gaze remained fixed on Naruto.
"W-why did you do it…?" he asked in a weak, hoarse voice.
"From now on, you'll be able to sleep soundly all you want, Gaara."
To the surprise of Minato and Reika, who were listening to the conversation, Naruto's tone was kind.
"Yeah..." Gaara whispered, slowly closing his eyes. "Thank you..."
In his childhood, Gaara had a conversation with Shukaku in his subconscious. On that occasion, the Bijū warned him not to sleep deeply, or he would take control of his body and kill everyone he cared about.
Since then, Gaara had lived in nightmares, unable to sleep peacefully… in addition to the multiple assassination attempts orchestrated by his own father.
"I hope the next time we meet, you're not a homicidal maniac," Naruto muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Maybe we can be friends."
To the amazement of Temari and Kankurō, Gaara smiled… before falling soundly asleep in his brother's arms.
They both looked at him closely, and though they said nothing, a shadow of gratitude crossed their faces before quickly leaving the stadium.
Naruto let out a long sigh once he saw them disappear into the distance.
"You have something to do, Naruto… Go," Minato said, placing a warm hand on his shoulder with a smile on his face.
He was glad to discover his son had this compassionate side. He never imagined he would help someone so selflessly, even if he had taken some benefit from it.
Naruto nodded without saying a word and swiftly departed toward his next objective.
It was going to be a very long day.