Naruto: I am Uchiha Shirou-Chapter 340: Naruto: I am Uchiha Shirou []

The Forest of Death.

"Sasuke! How could you kill Konohamaru's clansmen?!"

Naruto shouted angrily, demanding an answer, his voice causing Sasuke, who had just arrived, to show a furious expression.

He had come here precisely because of his bond with Naruto, yet now Naruto was questioning him like this? This wasn't just a matter of being clueless anymore—this was stupidity!

"Naruto, are you out of your mind?! Right now, the Sarutobi, Mitokado, and Koharu clans are plotting a coup and have attempted to assassinate the Hokage! All three clans are criminals—they're traitors!"

Sasuke had never been angrier. He had suppressed his urge to return to the Uchiha compound to confront Itachi, coming here instead to chase after Naruto.

But Sasuke's words only made Konohamaru roar in anger:

"Nonsense! My grandfather was the Third Hokage. How could the Sarutobi clan ever betray the village?! It's you who have betrayed Konoha!"

"Shut up!"

Hearing this, Sasuke exploded with rage, his eyes flashing with the Mangekyo Sharingan as he rebuked:

"Your grandfather was the Third Hokage—so what about the Uchiha? Konoha was founded by the Uchiha and Senju together—what does that old man Sarutobi count for?!"

After learning about Konoha's true history, Sasuke despised those who always relied on their clan's past sacrifices for Konoha as if that gave them the right to judge others.

Because, in his eyes, none of these people had the right to say such things in front of the Senju and Uchiha!

"Sasuke! I don't care; Konohamaru would never betray Konoha!"

Naruto shouted back, angry as ever, making it clear that, no matter what, he would never believe that Konohamaru or the Third Hokage's clan could be traitors.

"Naruto! Are you insane?!"

Sasuke was at a loss to understand Naruto's way of thinking, looking at him in shock.

"Naruto! Do you even know what you're doing right now? The coup by the three clans and their attempt on the Hokage's life are facts! Lady Tsunade has already ordered the extermination of the three clans. Are you crazy?!"

"Sasuke!"

Faced with Sasuke's warnings about the seriousness of the situation, Naruto didn't listen at all. Instead, he shouted even louder:

"I, Uzumaki Naruto, absolutely will not accept any order that disregards the lives of our comrades! Konohamaru, run! I'll hold Sasuke off!"

Naruto hadn't even considered how serious things had become. He immediately formed hand seals, and countless shadow clones appeared in the Forest of Death.

"Naruto-nii!"

"Konohamaru, run!"

The many Narutos shouted, like heroes standing against tyranny in the darkness of night!

"Naruto! You're completely unreasonable!"

Sasuke was furious, his eyes filled with murderous intent as he looked at Konohamaru in the distance. As far as he was concerned, if he just killed the brat, everything would be over.

"Sasuke! I won't let you hurt Konohamaru!"

Instantly, countless shadow clones of Naruto roared in anger, each forming blue Rasengan. The forest shook with the chaos.

"Naruto!"

From within the smoke and dust, Sasuke's hoarse, anger-suppressed voice came out. As the haze cleared, countless Narutos looked on in shock.

"What is that?!"

A purple Susanoo skeleton blocked all the Rasengan. Inside the Susanoo, Sasuke looked truly grim.

"Naruto! Tonight, the three clans have staged a coup. All Konoha ninjas are under orders to eliminate the traitors. It's not just me—Kakashi-sensei, Jiraiya, Iruka-sensei, even Neji, Shikamaru, Ino, Chouji, Hinata, Kiba, and Sakura are all participating! The entire village is involved!"

Sasuke's cold voice echoed in the forest, making Naruto's face change dramatically as images of all his friends flashed through his mind.

"And you, Uzumaki Naruto, are just a genin! Lady Tsunade was afraid you'd make trouble and didn't tell you about any of this! But you dared to let the child of a traitor escape. Do you know what you're doing?!"

"You're betraying the village! Openly betraying Konoha!"

Sasuke was so angry he wanted to use Susanoo to pry open Naruto's head and see what was inside.

But Naruto's expression quickly shifted, and he raised his head, shouting at Sasuke with determination:

"Sasuke! I don't care what you do, but this isn't the ninja way I accept! That's why I have to become Hokage—to change your mistakes!"

"Naruto!"

Sasuke was furious. He'd explained the gravity of the situation, but Naruto still didn't get it.

Sasuke no longer felt like talking. He transformed into lightning, quickly cutting through Naruto's army of clones.

"Naruto-nii!"

Konohamaru, fleeing in the distance, suddenly encountered Konoha ninja up ahead.

"Target located!"

With his Byakugan, Neji blocked Konohamaru's escape.

But at that moment, a terrifying roar sounded. Neji shouted in alarm:

"Lee, everyone, get out of the way!"

With a thunderous boom, Naruto activated his Nine-Tails cloak, three tails lashing wildly. His roar blew apart the forest in front of him.

"Get out of my way!"

With Naruto's furious shout, the forest was devastated.

Naruto was angrier than ever. Why had everyone changed? Why were his former friends now trying to kill Konohamaru?

"Naruto! Are you insane, attacking your comrades?!"

From the ruins, figures appeared, all looking at Naruto in shock.

Neji, Rock Lee, Tenten, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru, Chouji, Ino, Sakura.

"Naruto!"

Rock Lee stared at him in disbelief that he'd attacked his friends.

"Why are you all forcing me?!"

Naruto glared at everyone, unable to hide the anger in his eyes.

But he didn't realize that, at this moment, many felt a chill in their hearts. Was Naruto, who couldn't distinguish right from wrong, even still their comrade?

"Naruto! Stop—you'll become a traitor if you keep this up!"

Shikamaru gulped in terror, hurrying to persuade him, while the others also spoke up.

Especially Sakura, who, recalling Naruto's rampage at the Tenchi Bridge, shouted:

"Don't provoke Naruto! If he loses control, we'll all be in danger!"

With Sakura's warning, everyone looked grim.

But Naruto only glared at them, furious.

"Granny Tsunade made a mistake, and you're all helping her. Have you forgotten the care the Third Hokage showed us in school? The stories he told us..."

In Naruto's mind, this was Tsunade's fault—forcing everyone to follow her error as Hokage. He couldn't accept that.

"Naruto!"

In the crowd, Hinata's eyes filled with tears as she trembled:

"Naruto, please stop! The three clans secretly joined Root in human experimentation, even using our Hyuuga Byakugan. Isn't that enough?! And plotting a coup against the Hokage is a capital crime!"

Hinata called out, desperate to wake Naruto and stop him from going further down the wrong path.

But seeing even timid Hinata say such things, Naruto snapped.

"Hinata! I can't believe you'd say that. The Third Hokage and his people would never do such a thing. And if they did, they must have had a reason. How could you all treat his family like this?"

Naruto's furious shout stunned everyone—especially Shikamaru, who stared at him in disbelief.

Shikamaru, always the smartest, knew that tonight's action was a last chance from Lady Tsunade for families like his own to prove their loyalty—if they helped quell the rebellion, past issues would be forgiven, especially for the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, who had once supported the Third Hokage's faction.

"Out of my way! I have to protect Konohamaru!"

Naruto's declaration left everyone numb. Sakura, in tears, screamed:

"Naruto! Stop! If you keep this up, you'll never be able to come back..."

"Everyone, together! Dawn's almost here—if this drags on, Naruto really will become a traitor!"

"Go!"

Rock Lee, out of concern for Naruto, opened the first three gates of the Eight Gates.

The others all steeled their resolve—they couldn't let Naruto make a mistake.

"Damn it! If the Hokage's orders are wrong, then we should bravely stand up, not keep making mistakes..."

Facing their assault, Naruto's eyes became more beastlike, and his movements with the tailed beast cloak were beyond what any normal Jonin could handle.

The forest shook with their battle.

"Naruto!"

"Hinata, do you have proof they experimented on your Byakugan? And so what if they did? Your clan only lost one eye, but Konohamaru lost his entire family!"

At Naruto's outburst, Hinata, ready with her Gentle Fist, was stunned—was this the brave, confident Naruto she'd admired?

A huge swipe of Nine-Tails chakra sent Hinata flying.

"Hinata!"

The crowd cried out as Hinata staggered from the wreckage, blood streaming from her nose and mouth, clearly seriously injured.

"Naruto! How could you hurt Hinata?!"

Faced with everyone's angry accusations, Naruto panicked, but seeing Konohamaru's bloodied form and remembering the massacre, he roared:

"You don't understand! I didn't mean to! But you killed Konohamaru's family, you..."

"And Granny Tsunade only claims the three clans tried to kill her, but she wasn't killed. What I see is you slaughtering your comrades in the village..."

Naruto's words implied that, since the Sarutobi hadn't killed Tsunade, how could they be treated like this? As if only actually killing Tsunade would justify such an action.

"Naruto!"

At this moment, everyone looked at Naruto differently—as if seeing him for the first time.

This mindset! Immature? No—

This wasn't just childishness or naivety, but something twisted and warped!

Shadow Imitation Technique!

Taking advantage of a distraction, Shikamaru finally succeeded, sweating as he felt Naruto's terrifying chakra.

"Hurry! Naruto's chakra is overwhelming—everyone restrains him, now!"

No one expected Hinata, determined, to charge forward, readying the Gentle Fist stance with Neji mirroring her from behind.

Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!

In a flash, the Hyuuga's best sealing technique was unleashed. But Naruto, seeing Lee and the others charging at Konohamaru, his beastlike eyes trembled.

"Not good! Everyone, run!" Sakura's eyes widened in horror as she screamed a warning.

But Naruto's beast eyes flickered, and a fourth tail appeared, breaking free of Shikamaru's shadow and unleashing a monstrous wave of Nine-Tails chakra.

"Not good! I can't control him!"

Shikamaru shouted in shock as Naruto transformed into a terrifying, blood-red beast, the chakra claws lashing out.

A blinding light—huge swathes of the forest collapsed.

"Naruto!"

Lightning flashed as Sasuke, having destroyed all the shadow clones, rushed over to witness the shocking scene.

Naruto had only stalled him for a few breaths, but in that time, everything had gone mad!

"Naruto! Do you realize the disaster you've caused?!"

Sasuke's Mangekyo spun wildly, Susanoo's giant form grabbing the Four-Tails Naruto.

At the same time, Jiraiya finally arrived, shouting from afar: "Sasuke! Don't hurt Naruto!"

But Sasuke's Mangekyo spun faster, Susanoo's giant claws suppressing the Four-Tails, the chakra fading.

Finally, the burnt and wounded Naruto was revealed. Seeing Jiraiya and Sasuke, he managed a tired smile.

"Sasuke, looks like I've won. I do what I say—this is my ninja way! I can't let you hurt Konohamaru or make a mistake!"

"Naruto! Look at all this! Is this what you wanted?!"

Sasuke shouted, turning Naruto to see the devastated forest, the destruction shocking Naruto into a daze.

"How could this be? Everyone..."

As the sun rose, the ruined forest revealed bodies everywhere. Naruto couldn't believe his eyes.

Rock Lee lay in agony, covered in blood, his leg twisted grotesquely.

Neji was battered and gasping, blood on his lips and round marks on the ground showing he'd used Rotation at the last second to protect Lee—otherwise, Lee would have died.

Kiba, in tears, stared at Akamaru, who had shielded him and was now a bloody mess.

Chouji had been sent flying, breaking countless bones, now barely alive.

"Chouji!"

Shikamaru cried out in terror.

Tenten, who had kept her distance, was less hurt but still clutching a stomach wound from a wooden spike.

Shino, the least injured, hurried to use his bugs to help everyone.

"Hinata! Hinata!"

Ino's frantic cry rang out as Hinata, covered in blood, lay in the ruins—having been closest, she was gravely wounded.

Coughing blood, Hinata's pupils dilated, her mind replaying everything.

"Cough... So everything I did was just a joke..."

She realized, in the end, that in Naruto's mind, his so-called ninja way was above all else.

"Sakura! Sakura!"

Ino rushed to stop Hinata's bleeding, while Sakura, as at the Tenchi Bridge, had been knocked out.

Ino's anguished cries echoed over the Forest of Death, making Naruto's pupils dilate in horror.

All of this—was his doing!?

Konohamaru had long since disappeared; the one they saw before was just a shadow clone.

Neji, Lee, Tenten, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru, Chouji, Ino, Sakura...

"Naruto!"

Jiraiya was shocked at the scene—he'd arrived too late. Naruto had truly caused a catastrophe.

Sasuke glared at the broken Naruto. At that moment, the bond between them was fractured.

Their childhood connection was gone—Naruto was now more impulsive and stubborn than ever, clearly not a qualified ninja.

Sasuke now felt a crisis of trust.

Was Naruto even still a ninja? Being with a comrade like him only brought disaster. Worse yet, once he set his mind on something, no one could change it.

PS: Naruto did not realize he had lost his potential future wife.