Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 484 "Moon"

When he woke up, he saw only darkness.

He sat up and found himself lying in a small wooden boat, surrounded by the boundless sea, with a bright moon on the horizon. The sea was black, as was the sky, and he saw no other light source except the moon, so he instinctively rowed towards the moon.

As he rowed, his oars encountered resistance. Looking down, he noticed that the waves beside the boat were unusually large, as if many small fish had been startled by the boat and scattered away.

But there were also fearless fish. For example, a pale green snake coiled around his oar, a red swordfish flew out of the water to stab him, and a golden seal somehow managed to grab onto the stern of his boat.

He didn't understand why this strange combination would appear together. Besides snakes, are there really any animals that are that color?

However, his thoughts didn't hinder his actions. He dodged the oncoming fish, letting its sharp head pierce the seal, causing it to howl in pain. Even so, the seal still wouldn't let go, so he had no choice but to raise his paddle and slap the snake, along with the paddle, onto the seal's head.

The excitement finally subsided, and the three strange animals left his boat, being left far behind. But then a new wave of activity began in the sea. Countless flying fish swarmed towards him, a rather frightening sight. However, they were not large, and they didn't hurt him much when they hit him. They quickly filled the cabin with a layer of them.

He paddled the boat a couple of times, protecting his head. Some of the fish were still breathing, while others had already died; it seemed there was no way to stop them from dying. He decided to ignore them and instead rowed hard, trying to get away from this strange sea as quickly as possible.

After paddling for a while with his head down, the number of flying fish finally decreased, but when he looked up, something even stranger happened.

The moon, which had been hanging high in the sky, suddenly fell onto the sea, appearing so close that it seemed within reach.

Then he heard a voice say, "Take the moon down."

"Take it off, and it will be yours."

He instinctively reached out his hand, but then, just before touching her, his heart skipped a beat, and he pulled it back.

He thought: The moon should belong to the sky.

The voice urged him on again, as if even the moon was drawing closer to him, but he only found it noisy and wanted to avoid it.

The darkness suddenly vanished, day and night alternated in an instant, and the world before him was dazzlingly bright. But the moon, so close at hand, lost its brilliance, grew smaller and dimmer, and finally transformed into a person.

The man had blood around his mouth and kept calling out a name.

his name.

He could finally see clearly; it was Sasuke calling him. He was injured! Who did this?! Had another Otsutsuki invasion occurred?

But when he reached out and touched the sticky feeling of the fish, it didn't disappear; instead, he saw a crimson stain. Not just on his hands, but also on his body, on the ground, everywhere.

He froze, but his sluggish mind suddenly started working quickly. He "saw" himself waking up inexplicably in the middle of the night, walking straight in one direction, and without exception, running over everything he encountered along the way.

He smashed through skyscrapers, he personally knocked children flying, he trampled through countless people's defenses like crushing ants, he saw some people die, some people are still alive, but no longer whole.

Then he walked up to the "moon" and tried to "pick it off".

The voice in his mind still echoed, and the dark night seemed to want to envelop him again. He struggled desperately, trying to maintain his last vestiges of clarity instead of immediately plunging into the chaos of the night. Then, he walked straight toward Sasuke, toward his "moon."

"Naruto? You're awake! What happened?" The moment he realized Naruto seemed conscious, Sasuke almost instinctively lowered his sword. But what he wanted now wasn't concern, but rather…

"***"

He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a word. He seemed to see moonlight again, cool and gentle, the only light that could illuminate him in the night. Time was running out, but he believed Sasuke would understand him.

Sasuke truly understood him. His expression turned grim, and the blade, which had never wavered, trembled. Yet, he still raised his sword, and the bright lightning became a second source of light piercing the darkness.

At that moment, his longing subsided, and he closed his eyes contentedly in the embrace of the moonlight.

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Madara Uchiha's name could send shivers down the spines of the ninja world, prompting him to spare no expense in assembling an unprecedented Allied Shinobi Forces. The impact of this event extended far beyond the ninja world itself; even ordinary people who didn't usually pay much attention to ninja movements sensed the impending crisis.

The once peaceful southern Sichuan region has recently been showing signs of unrest. Although "Hui" has repeatedly stated that this war will not take place in southern Sichuan, the people of the Sichuan Kingdom, who are always involved in battles, are still filled with anxiety.

But soon, something happened that caught their attention.

The ruler of the River Country used this as a pretext to demand an increase in taxes in various regions in order to prepare for the impending war.

The speed of development in southern Sichuan is virtually unimaginable unless witnessed firsthand. "Hui" cleverly exploited this, keeping tax revenue at a stagnant level. This served as cover, and also to provide a pretext for future military intervention.

It's important to understand that the tax revenue items set by "Hui" were already pitifully few. In the early stages, the deficit was basically covered by the old man's treasury in Wande City and income from other businesses. Only this year has a true balance between tax revenue and fiscal expenditure been achieved. "Hui" is transparent about the income and expenditure of the people, writing quarterly financial reports and reading them aloud on the radio. So even if the people are illiterate, they can understand whether the government is in deficit or in surplus.

The quarterly financial report finally showed a barely positive sign, and everyone was feeling happy. But then the king suddenly announced a tax increase, and a whopping 50% increase! Who could stand that? The initial worries about war were instantly ignited, turning into a raging fire of anger towards northern Sichuan.

"Is this a godsend?" After suppressing his emotions for so long, Beichen Xiaohui finally showed some high spirits and excitement, and Izuna, who had been itching to try his hand for many years, was eager to get started.

“Collecting taxes before a war is a common practice among many belligerent nations, but the Land of Rivers has only been a battlefield for many years… Will these taxes be used to support reconstruction or to line the pockets of the people?” Tobirama hadn’t carefully read the tax decree; that was the Finance Department’s job, and he was only responsible for receiving the final report. As a result, this part-time Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Military was itching to get his hands dirty.

“It’s impossible to give money. Who knows how many areas this war will affect? ​​We need to reserve resources for reconstruction.” Hashirama finally remembered that he was the head of the Construction Department.

"Only accepting gold and silver... It seems the lord of the River Country knows a lot about war." Fugaku rarely spoke wittily.

The four of them looked at each other, and in each other's eyes they saw a certain eagerness.

"Does the command of the chakra spirit count?"

"The minority obeys the majority."

So, shall we fight?

"Beat him! I've disliked him for a long time."