253. Failed ‘Punch My Dad’ Moment

----

With the shadow clone gone, peace was restored.

Pakkun, finally recovering from his confusion, turned to Kakashi. "The target should be up on the mountain."

Naruto activated his mini-map. "Huh?"

Everyone turned to look at him. "What's wrong?"

"There are two people up there," Naruto said, squinting at the display. "And one of them is… Sora."

"Sora?" Chiriku immediately thought of the worst-case scenario. Was this a distraction using the grave site to pull their attention away while Sora was kidnapped from the Fire Temple?

Kakashi considered another possibility of Sora being held hostage. "Either way, let's get up there. Stay cautious."

With Team 7, Chiriku, and Pakkun, five people and one dog, they carefully made their way up the mountain, moving in stealth.

But what they found wasn't what they expected.

Sora was lying on the ground, unconscious. Beside him, a bonfire flickered. Sitting nearby was a white-haired man, casually eating a roasted sweet potato.

Four coffins were arranged in a neat row, each one marked with a kanji Ao (Blue), Byaku (White), Shu (Vermilion), and Gen (Black).

The man, despite a new scar on his face, was instantly recognized by Chiriku.

"Kazuma?! Impossible!"

As one of the Twelve Guardian Ninjas, Chiriku had worked alongside Kazuma for years.

Even though they had parted ways due to ideological differences, he clearly remembered that Kazuma had been killed by Asuma.

Kazuma paused mid-bite, lowering his roasted sweet potato. "Come out," he said lazily.

Chiriku didn't hesitate, stepping forward and demanding, "Kazuma! You're alive!?"

Kazuma laughed. "My goal hasn't been achieved yet. Why would I let myself die so easily?"

His gaze then swept over the others. "Looks like my subordinates failed."

Chiriku's eyes landed on the four coffins, his face clouding with grief. "Kazuma, are you really going through with this? You would go so far as to desecrate the corpses of our fallen comrades?"

Kazuma's expression was resolute. "I have only one goal in life: to build a strong and prosperous Fire Country ruled directly by the Daimyō. I cannot allow two rulers to exist!"

Kazuma believed the Hokage was an unnecessary existence. In his mind, all ninjas should serve the Daimyō directly, without Konoha acting as a middleman.

"As for these four… Their jutsu are too valuable to waste. I know they would gladly give their strength to serve the Fire Country!"

Chiriku clenched his fists. "I will not allow this!"

"You're as naive as ever," Kazuma scoffed. "Too bad you're not going to get the chance to stop me. I still need a bit more time to finish the resurrection… and judging by your stance, you're not planning to let me have it."

Without hesitation, Kazuma lifted his staff and pressed it against Sora's stomach.

"What are you doing?! Sora is your son! This has nothing to do with him!" Chiriku shouted. Having watched over Sora for years, he genuinely cared for the boy.

Kazuma's voice was chilling. "It has everything to do with him. Sora was born for this very moment! He will kill you all and then… he will destroy Konoha!"

Everyone stared at him, dumbfounded.

Kakashi slowly pulled up his headband, exposing his Sharingan with a deadpan look.

Sakura glanced at Naruto, silently asking for confirmation.

Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan, his expression screaming, 'Are you an idiot?'.

Naruto: "…"

Oh, this is perfect.

Good thing Sasuke had restored Sora's seal back then.

"Go ahead. Unlock it," Naruto thought smugly. "I wanna see what exactly you think you're releasing."

The others didn't have such an exaggerated reaction, but they all had a similar thought.

Kurama, however, was furious. "This bastard thinks he can just make another me?! Who does he think he is?!"

Kazuma didn't notice their reactions he was too focused. "Unseal!"

Gathering chakra in his hand, he slammed it onto Sora's stomach.

For a second, Sora's body convulsed. A surge of purple chakra erupted from him.

His eyes snapped open as he sat up, overwhelmed by the sudden power coursing through him.

Kazuma grinned. "Hahaha—"

Then he froze.

Something was off.

That chakra… the colour was wrong.

Sora, now fully awake, recognized his kidnapper. Without hesitation, he launched a Wind Release: Beast Wave Palm straight at Kazuma.

A blade of wind slashed toward him. Kazuma took two quick steps back, swinging his metal staff in a wide arc to disperse the attack.

Chiriku immediately moved in front of Sora, taking a defensive stance. "It's over, Kazuma. Stop this!"

Kazuma's expression twisted with fury. "What did you do to him?! Where's his chakra?!"

Chiriku's voice was calm. "We only made him normal again. That's what he wanted. What happened back then… It was all our fault."

Kazuma slammed his staff into the ground. "What nonsense are you spewing?! He's my son! Using him to achieve my dream is only natural!"

Sora's eyes widened.

He had never seen his father before.

And now?

His first meeting with his father was this man using him as a tool?

Seeing Chiriku's reaction, Sora realized Kazuma wasn't lying.

His head buzzed.

His blood boiled.

"Why the hell would you seal something like that inside your own son?!" Sora shouted, charging forward in a blind rage.

"Because of you, I suffered my whole life! People feared me! No one wanted to be my friend! I had to train every day just to be acknowledged!"

"Why?! Why did you do this to me?!"

Fists clenched, Sora threw a punch straight at Kazuma's face.

But Kazuma wasn't Minato.

And Sora sure as hell wasn't Naruto.

"Foolish," Kazuma sneered, his staff lashing out.

Thwack!

The staff struck Sora's stomach, sending him to the ground.

Kazuma looked down at him with disgust. "Weak. If you can't even understand this, you don't deserve to be my son."

Sora clutched his stomach, gasping. But the pain in his heart was far worse.

Everyone watching had had enough.

In a blur, Kakashi snatched Sora away and handed him to Sakura for healing.

Sasuke's body crackled with lightning.

Chiriku had reached his limit.

"Enough, Kazuma! If words won't stop you… I'll use force!"

Raising his hands into a seal, a thousand-armed Buddha phantom appeared behind him.

A deep, resonant chant echoed through the mountain.

"Come, O Thousand Hands of Judgment!"

----

Don't forget to drop some Power Stones!

For early access to advanced chapters on p@treon.

P@treon/iamxeno

Thank you so much for your support and for reading!