Naruto: I am Uchiha Shirou-Chapter 421: Naruto: I am Uchiha Shirou []

Konoha.

Morning sunlight spread across the land; the village was full of life.

"The Chunin Exams are about to start. I heard the Hokage’s son is competing!"

"It’s still early, but this will be the biggest Chunin Exam ever."

"Yeah, all Five Kage are coming—unprecedented..."

"I always knew the Hokage was a genius."

"Me too, ever since he was a kid..."

The streets of Konoha were filled with excited villagers. They’d forgotten how coldly they once treated the Nine-Tails’ host.

Now, they were proud, thinking this was what their Hokage deserved.

Konoha was livelier than ever, but in secret, after a night of meetings, the Five Kage’s eyes were full of shock.

Kaguya Otsutsuki, who nearly destroyed the ninja world, had returned!

And this time, she had two helpers—this might be the greatest disaster in history.

Nara Clan.

"Lady Temari."

Princess Temari of the Sand Village nodded indifferently to the fake respect around her.

She’d long grown used to it.

Sand Princess? That title only meant something if you had power.

With Naruto—the savior of the world—as Hokage, everyone else was just sucking up to Konoha.

Even the so-called Sand Princess was only in name.

Behind her back, Nara clan members scoffed.

The village was living in unprecedented arrogance and vanity.

Worse than in the days of Hashirama and Madara.

Seventh Hokage Naruto was undisputed number one—Sasuke, number two, could pacify the world alone.

Arrogance and pride were inevitable.

"Temari!"

On her way to the Chunin Exam arena, Temari met Shikamaru.

They exchanged glances; Shikamaru looked bored and yawned:

"Tone it down in public."

"So fake."

Temari snorted and strode off.

Shikamaru could only sigh helplessly.

"She’s too strong-willed."

In his eyes, dirty secrets among big clans were normal. Even the Hokage did it.

Yamanaka Clan.

"Ino-san."

Sai, with a fake smile, knelt respectfully at the door, acting on orders.

Or rather, his old ROOT instincts had returned.

Ino looked at Sai with indifference.

"Sai, you are Naruto’s loyal comrade, always following orders."

Perhaps, for someone like Sai, who’d always been confused about human emotions, a year of this kind of indoctrination had led him astray.

But Sai sincerely believed this was right. Naruto was not just a comrade but the Hokage.

"Ino-san, I trust Naruto."

Sai smiled his practiced fake smile, content with his tasks.

He even studied the books Naruto gave him.

"Besides, Ino-san, didn’t this bring you happiness too?"

With his fake smile, Sai truly believed he was giving Ino happiness.

Sure enough, Ino’s lips curled into a mocking smile.

"As expected. No one from ROOT is normal."

The next moment, Ino smiled proudly and walked off to the exam.

...

Chunin Exam Arena.

Cheers erupted as the Five Kage appeared.

On the high platform, Seventh Hokage Naruto waved to the crowd with a smile.

"Wow, it’s the Hokage!"

"He’s so handsome!"

As the Five Kage took their seats, the cheers continued.

But behind their smiles was a heavy sense of dread.

"Naruto, this is going to be a real headache."

Just back in Konoha, Kakashi wore a lazy look, but his eyes were grave.

"Kakashi-sensei, there’s no choice—Kaguya is free, and she has two allies. That’s why I called you back."

Seeing Kakashi, Naruto smiled—his teacher, and the one he trusted most.

Kakashi nodded solemnly, but lowered his voice:

"Naruto, you did the right thing—don’t spread this. This is beyond what normal ninjas can handle."

If Kaguya’s escape became public, the world would panic.

And what use were more ninjas?

Even Kage-levels were just strong cannon fodder in such fights.

"But..."

Kakashi touched his eye and sighed:

"Naruto, I’m afraid I can’t help much this time. Without Obito’s Mangekyo, even with Purple Lightning, I can’t do much at this level."

Kakashi knew his limitations. Obito’s Kamui had been a trump card; now Kakashi was a top-tier Kage, but nothing more.

"Kakashi-sensei."

Seeing his teacher’s sadness, Naruto sighed:

"Kakashi-sensei, don’t be sad. Obito would smile to see you now. Once you’re back, please look after the village."

They reminisced about Obito’s sacrifice, forgetting the countless others who died because of him.

The Nine-Tails disaster—Obito’s doing—was forgotten.

The Fourth War—Obito started it; how many died at his hands? Forgotten.

Especially Neji, who died to protect others—what would he think?

It seemed the whole village had forgotten his sacrifice; after all, Neji was just a minor jonin, but Obito was a hero.

"Has Lady Tsunade returned?"

Kakashi looked toward the arena but didn’t see Tsunade.

Naruto smiled:

"She got back this morning, but you know her—she grabbed a few bottles and went to the hospital." frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

Kakashi relaxed—Tsunade’s medical skills were unmatched.

He looked at Naruto with admiration:

"You’ve matured."

When crisis struck, Naruto was no longer impulsive—he thought things through, stabilized the situation, discussed only with the Kage, prepared the village, and called Tsunade back for medical support.

Kakashi’s mind wandered, remembering the grinning, reckless boy who’d become a mature, steady Seventh Hokage.

Just then, cheers from the arena snapped him back.

"Look—it’s the Hokage’s son!"

"Wow, Boruto!"

The arena erupted in excitement, everyone watching the fight below.

The son of the strongest ninja—Boruto was a star.

Nara Shikadai vs. Uzumaki Boruto

"Match seven—begin!"

With the referee’s call, the arena went wild.

"Boruto, you’re good with shadow clones now."

Shikadai grinned, watching Boruto dodge and calculating his next move.

Boruto laughed:

"This time, I’ll win for sure!"

His face was determined.

With his ninja tech, he’d made it this far—he wouldn’t lose.

In the stands, Shirou watched with amusement.

He could even read the Five Kage’s conversation from afar.

"So many years of peace really dulled this Seventh Hokage’s vigilance—or maybe he was always careless, never learned the basics."

Shirou smiled mockingly. The other Kage and Kakashi instinctively hid their lips or faked their words, but Naruto, steady as he seemed, was as careless as ever.

The other Kage saw it, but who would say anything?

Even Kakashi changed the topic rather than risk leaking info.

"Still so naive. I wonder what gives you such confidence—to deal with the enemy after the exams."

Shirou smirked. He could sense the two Otsutsuki approaching.

It was about to be a surprise for Naruto.

"See? The Hokage’s kid is a genius!"

"Awesome!"

The crowd erupted. Success made everything right.

On the field, Shikadai and Boruto’s fierce fight thrilled the audience.

Shirou, watching, could see Boruto had gotten used to relying on ninja tech.

He was already using it in combat.

"Ninja tools are part of a ninja’s strength, just as clan heirs get advanced jutsu and chakra weapons. Naruto, your opposition is just the old way keeping the ninja world stagnant."

Shirou laughed at Naruto’s stubbornness.

The child of destiny, and yet a defender of the old ways.

"Now, let’s see what happens when the Hokage’s son hurts the Nara heir—or vice versa. Consider it an appetizer."

Shirou smiled, a red light flickering briefly in his eyes.

"Boruto, give up!"

Shikadai used Shadow Possession and smiled.

But Boruto, caught, sneered:

"Give up? This fight’s just getting started!"

A few tiny scrolls fell from his sleeve, and white smoke filled the arena.

Shikadai was shocked as the smoke cleared to reveal dozens of Boruto’s shadow clones.

"How is that possible?!"

Shikadai defended with his kunai, but seeing so many Borutos, he froze.

Should he fight? He could win, but thinking of his father and Boruto’s status...

Shikadai, the Nara clan prodigy, smiled.

But as he was about to concede, Boruto’s clones surrounded him, and Boruto grinned excitedly.

"The fight’s just begun—let’s turn you into a drowned rat!"

Boruto yelled, and his clones rushed in.

Shikadai, seeing Boruto’s naughty grin, realized trouble was coming.

Sure enough, Boruto’s ninja tool shot out a micro scroll.

He thought it was just a Water Jutsu scroll, but missed a tiny character on it.