Chapter 65 Awakening and Tragedy

Deep in unconsciousness, a flicker of awareness sparked inside Renjiro.

His mind slowly rose from the darkness as Arkain’s robotic voice grew louder and clearer:

[Beep! Body repair completed! Vital signs stable... Life-support mode deactivated… Starting awakening sequence… 3, 2, 1… Awake!]

Suddenly, Renjiro’s mind snapped into focus. He opened his eyes slowly, staring at an unfamiliar ceiling.

“Where… am I?” He wondered weakly.

A voice called out, one he recognized immediately.

“Finally awake, huh?” Said Maemon, the guy with glasses who always got on his nerves.

“Still you…” Renjiro muttered, too tired to joke.

Maemon leaned back in his chair and said: “Meri stayed by your side for three whole days. Wouldn’t budge. I had to knock her out just to make her rest. After that, I took over. You ungrateful jerk.”

Renjiro felt a wave of warmth in his chest. A small smile appeared on his face: “Thanks… both of you.”

Maemon was about to respond, but Renjiro’s eyes narrowed suddenly, and said in a dead serious voice: “If I find out you hit her too hard… you’re dead.”

“Am I still your friend or not?!” Maemon stared in disbelief.

He looked offended. What happened to gratitude? To friendship? To their childhood bond?

Before he could complain, Renjiro cut in, and asked in a serious voice: “How did I survive? What happened after I passed out? And… the Nine-Tails—what happened to it?”

“Ahh…” Maemon’s face fell, then he sighed.

Renjiro immediately sensed something was wrong. Then Maemon began to explain.

While Renjiro was unconscious, it was Minato who saved him. Renjiro had still been in Thunder God Mode, and though he had left his back wide open to the Tailed Beast Bomb, his body had been tough enough to survive the blast—barely.

As for Obito, he disappeared the moment he used Izanagi, clearly unwilling to die with Renjiro.

At the last second, Minato appeared on the battlefield.

Thanks to the special kunai he had given Renjiro earlier, he was able to teleport in and pull him out of the Tailed Beast Bomb’s blast just in time.

Even so, Renjiro was barely clinging to life. Arkain immediately activated full life-support mode, and medical-nin worked day and night to stabilize him.

It took three full days before he finally woke up.

Renjiro’s voice dropped to a whisper, as he asked: “What about the Nine-Tails?”

Maemon let out a long sigh before answering: “Yondaime-sama… used his own life to seal the Nine-Tails into a newborn child.”

Bang!

It felt like Renjiro’s brain exploded from the shock.

Minato had sealed the Nine-Tails inside his own son, Naruto Uzumaki, to save the village.

Just like in the anime. The tragedy had unfolded exactly as he remembered.

Minato and Kushina both gave their lives. Naruto became the new Jinchūriki. Despite everything Renjiro had done, but the fate hadn’t changed at all.

“Damn it!!”

Bang!

Renjiro punched the edge of the bed, trembling with anger.

He’d given everything—fought the Nine-Tails head-on, nearly died in the process… and still, nothing changed.

What was the point of his suffering? Was the universe mocking him?

His heart sank into frustration and guilt.

He had overestimated himself. If only he’d been more careful… more prepared… maybe, just maybe, he could’ve changed destiny.

Renjiro realized the truth, he had become arrogant. His rising fame, the victories he stacked up, even outsmarting someone like Orochimaru—it had all gone to his head.

He got too confident.

So, when he made his battle plan, he didn’t think about unexpected situations, emergencies, hidden enemies, the unpredictable chaos of war.

Arkain was powerful, but it wasn’t human. It could only work with the data Renjiro fed into it. It lacked instinct.

So, when Obito suddenly showed up, Arkain managed to give him a warning—but only at the last second. Why? Because Renjiro had never even considered that possibility.

He assumed Minato had already handled Obito. He thought there was no way Obito could still interfere in the fight against the Nine-Tails.

He didn’t leave any backup plan for that scenario. If he had just considered the chance—if he had given Arkain the right instructions, maybe things could have gone differently.

In the end, he had overestimated himself… and people died because of it. Minato and Kushina were gone. That was the price.

Luckily, the people closest to him, Meri and Maemon survived.

But if one of them had died… if either of them had been caught in the crossfire, he didn’t know if he could have lived with that kind of pain.

---

The Next Morning

As dawn broke over the village, a heavy silence hung in the air.

Everyone, men, women, and children dressed in black, moved slowly toward the memorial grounds.

The funeral had been delayed for days. With half the village destroyed, there hadn’t been time to grieve properly, but now, finally, the ceremony would begin.

Renjiro stood before the stone memorial, eyes locked on Minato’s engraved image.

His chest ached with sorrow… regret… anger. All those feelings boiled inside him until they became one thing—rage.

[Beep! Mission Data Detected! Starting Data Collection… Collection completed! Mission Progress Updated... Simulation Completed... Awaiting User Input to Access Rewards.]

Arkain’s voice buzzed in his mind.

But Renjiro didn’t hear it. Not at first.

Only after several prompts did he snap out of his daze and absentmindedly accept the results.

Nearby, under Hiruzen’s solemn gaze, the final eulogies were spoken. Then—

The weeping began.

Shinobi and civilians alike couldn’t hold back their tears. Their sobs echoed through the cemetery like a haunting melody of grief.

A soft voice pulled Renjiro from the storm inside him.

“Stay strong, Renjiro. Don’t blame yourself… You did everything you could.”

It was Meri. She had come to comfort him, sensing the weight he carried. Everyone knew how close he had grown to Minato over the past few weeks.

“I’m fine.” Renjiro said, forcing a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

He had to stay strong. As long as Meri and the others were safe… he could keep going.

Still, the pain in the air was too much to bear. He turned away, ready to leave—

And that’s when he saw it.

A figure nearby—slumped, lifeless, and broken.

Kakashi!

When Renjiro saw him, something inside cracked. That face. That silver hair. That empty stare.

"Hatake Kakashi! He’s the reason this all happened!"

If Kakashi hadn’t spoken so carelessly about the mission at the cemetery, Obito would’ve never found out about Rin’s death. And if Obito hadn’t known—none of this would have happened.

“Fuu—!”

Renjiro’s rage exploded.

Before he even realized it, one of his newest, still-untested techniques activated on its own—triggered by pure fury.

BOOM!

In an instant, a crushing wave of mental pressure burst from his body, spreading across a hundred-meter radius.

It felt like a mountain had slammed down from the sky, pressing down on every soul nearby.

Thud! Thud!

People dropped to the ground, unconscious, those with weaker wills unable to handle the storm of chaotic thoughts now pouring into their minds. Only the strong stayed standing.

“R-Renjiro!” Meri gasped in disbelief.

She was the closest and took the worst of it, but she held her ground. As a sword bearer with iron mental discipline, she barely managed to stay upright, though her body trembled.

But this couldn’t go on. Before anyone could move, a thunderous voice boomed through the air:

“RENJIRO! THAT’S ENOUGH!!”

It was the voice of the Third Hokage, enhanced by chakra—sharp and commanding like a slap to the face.

The moment Hiruzen’s voice thundered through the air, Renjiro snapped out of it.

He blinked, confused, then looked around. He was stunned by what he saw.

The area around him was in chaos. At least a dozen people shinobi and civilians lay unconscious on the ground. Even some strong shinobi hadn’t been able to withstand it.

Renjiro’s eyes widened in shock: “This… this is the power of my Conqueror’s Will?”

Yes—Conqueror’s Will.

A jutsu born from a forgotten theory buried deep in the archives. A wild idea left behind by an unknown shinobi.

Arkain had taken that theory and built something new, combining Killing Intent, Mind Net, and surges of intense emotion, especially anger, into a terrifying Genjutsu.

Renjiro had given it its name himself: Conqueror’s Will.

The concept was simple, but deadly. Using the Mind Net as a network, Renjiro could release a shockwave of raw emotion rage, bloodlust, and chakra into the minds of anyone nearby.

As it evolved, the technique could even create a physical sensation—like a spiritual hammer smashing straight into someone’s soul.

But Renjiro hadn’t expected it to be this powerful. Even those with strong minds were visibly shaken.

And the weaker ones? Knocked out cold before they even knew what hit them.

It reminded Renjiro of a moment from One Piece.  When Shanks stepped onto Whitebeard’s ship, and Diamond Jozu muttered: “If your will isn’t strong enough, you can’t even stay conscious around a man like him.”

From now on… Renjiro would be that kind of man.

A man so overwhelming, so intense, that even standing near him took sheer willpower. This was the terrifying power of Conqueror’s Will.

---

Even Hiruzen and the village elders were visibly shaken.

Their trained eyes quickly recognized it as a Genjutsu, but none of them had expected something so violent.

And the most terrifying part?

It hadn’t even been aimed at anyone directly. Yet so many had collapsed from the sheer pressure.

“This Genjutsu… it’s unbelievably strong.” Hiruzen stared at Renjiro’s back, eyes narrowed in deep thought: “This boy…”

At the far edge of the crowd, hidden in the shadows, Orochimaru let out a quiet, snake-like chuckle.

His tongue flicked out, and his golden eyes gleamed with hunger.

“What a monster…” He whispered: “I want him even more now.”

---

Hiruzen stepped forward, flanked by the two village elders.

“Renjiro.” He said gently: “I understand your pain… but releasing a Genjutsu like that in the middle of a funeral surrounded by innocent people is unacceptable.”

Then, from the side, Danzo spoke in a cold, heavy voice: “This wasn’t a careless mistake. He must be held accou—”

Boom!

Before Danzo could finish, Renjiro’s gaze locked onto him.

In that instant, Conqueror’s Will surged again.

A second wave of crushing pressure slammed into the crowd—aimed directly at Danzo.

His mouth snapped shut mid-sentence.

His whole body tensed, frozen under the weight of Renjiro’s willpower.

He could barely stay on his feet.

“Enough, Renjiro!” Hiruzen’s voice boomed with real anger this time.

Renjiro sighed and withdrew the Genjutsu.

“I’m sorry, Sandaime-sama.” He said quietly.

This was a funeral, after all. He knew he had gone too far. Without even glancing at Danzo or the elders, Renjiro turned and walked away.

Danzo glared after him and shouted, voice full of rage: “Did you see that?! Such arrogance—no respect for authority! He must be punished, Hiruzen!”

His voice echoed behind Renjiro, long after he had gone. For the first time, the two elder advisors looked clearly displeased with Renjiro’s behavior.

Sensing the tension in the air, Hiruzen spoke calmly: “Let it go. What’s done is done.”

---

Later That Day — Emergency Council Meeting

The atmosphere was heavy.

The Third Hokage, the two elder advisors, and even Danzo were all present.

Below them sat every Jonin in the village, their faces grim.

Koharu opened the meeting with a solemn tone: “We may have sealed the Nine-Tails again… but the cost was devastating. We’ve lost the Fourth Hokage—and his wife.”

Homura continued, voice calm but firm: “There’s no time to grieve. The most urgent matter now… is choosing a new Hokage.”

They all knew it.

The Hokage wasn’t just a commander, it was the heart of the village. Leaving that seat empty meant instability, fear, and potential chaos.

Then, Shikaku stood up.

He looked straight at Hiruzen and said: “Why not choose someone from the younger generation? Someone who came up after Minato.”

Koharu frowned and said: “Some of them are talented, yes… but they don’t have enough experience. Leading a village takes more than just strength.”

That’s when Hiruzen finally spoke: “I disagree.”

The room fell silent.

All eyes turned toward him.

“If we’re talking about reputation, strength, and proven loyalty to the village.” Hiruzen said firmly: “There’s one shinobi who stands above the rest.”

Everyone leaned in, waiting.

“Who?” Homura asked.

Hiruzen didn’t hesitate and continued: “Takane Renjiro. The Lightning Flash of Konoha.”

A wave of shock rippled through the room.

“Renjiro?!”

“Now that you mention it…”

“If it’s him, maybe…”

The room buzzed with murmurs. The Jonin didn’t reject the idea. In fact, many nodded in quiet agreement.

Then—

“Absolutely not!”

Danzo shot to his feet, his voice sliced through the chatter like a blade.

Silence fell instantly.

Hiruzen looked at him calmly: “Why, Danzo? On what grounds?”

Danzo sneered and said: “Yes, his record is remarkable—he defeated forces from the Land of Water, pushed back Iwagakure, and even held off the Nine-Tails. But he’s just fourteen. And did everyone suddenly forget what happened today?”

He turned to the others, voice cold and sharp: “He lost control. Gave in to emotion. He released a dangerous genjutsu in a public space, and disrespected village elders. Myself included. You all saw it with your own eyes.

Then Danzo said in a deep voice: "A Hokage must lead with composure. If he can’t stay calm under pressure—he’s not fit to wear that title."

There was a pause. Even those who admired Renjiro looked uncertain now.

“He wasn’t wrong…” Someone muttered quietly.

“Renjiro did cross the line today. He lost control.”

The Jonin started whispering again, their expressions mixed with doubt. Danzo’s reasoning actually made sense.

Even the advisors looked uneasy, remembering Renjiro’s angry outburst earlier. Their support faded fast, and the idea of making Renjiro Hokage fell apart.

"Ahh!" Hiruzen let out a bitter sigh.

He had truly hoped Renjiro could take the mantle—but in the end, Renjiro had failed at the final moment.

“I will take up the role of Hokage again.” Hiruzen suddenly declared, his voice was loud and clear.

Just like that… it was decided. Danzo was stunned and speechless. The council quickly agreed with Hiruzen, and Danzo could do nothing but watch.

The Third Hokage was back in power.