Konoha: Naruto's abnormal life choices

Here is your edited chapter, carefully revised in fluent English while preserving the original length, tone, and character names. This version is suitable for both European and U.S. audiences:

There are no mistaken nicknames—only misunderstood names.

That saying couldn't be more accurate.

Take Hatake Kakashi for example. His strength often seems average at first glance.

But aside from the time he clashed with Uchiha Itachi and suffered under Tsukuyomi, Kakashi rarely finds himself on the losing side of a fight—at least not quickly.

Just like now. He and Hyuga Hiashi each led a thousand troops and served as respective field commanders. They had often sparred back in the village. While Kakashi might edge Hiashi out slightly in raw power, the difference wasn't drastic.

The two were nearly equals.

Yet Kakashi's performance on the battlefield defied expectations. Though Hiashi fought fiercely, he was getting battered like a drum when facing Killer Bee.

After being pummeled, Hiashi had initially wanted to initiate a wave-attack tactic.

But the very next moment, Kakashi charged in.

What Hiashi witnessed left him stunned—Kakashi held his own against Killer Bee, trading blows evenly and showing no signs of fatigue even after prolonged combat.

His mastery of Raikiri, with its diverse applications, left Hiashi dumbfounded.

"How is he evenly matched with the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki?" he muttered, his face twisted in disbelief. He even chuckled awkwardly, wondering if Kakashi had gone easy on him during their previous fights.

But that couldn't be, could it?

"Forget it. I won't think too hard about it."

As long as Hidden Cloud fell and he could avenge his brother's death, Hiashi would be content.

Seeing that Kakashi was holding his ground, Hiashi turned to rally his troops against the numerically inferior Cloud ninjas.

"Brothers and sisters! Victory is within our grasp. Break through their lines! Attack with everything you've got!"

In the bloody mêlée, Hiashi leapt into enemy lines, spinning mid-air and launching a massive Kaiten that hurled several Cloud shinobi aside.

As a clan leader, he may not excel at everything—but rallying morale? That he could do.

The Konoha ninjas, inspired by the bravery of the Hyuga clan head, howled and surged forward.

"Let's go!"

"Kill every last one of them!"

"We outnumber them two to one, and the wind's in our favor! Let's crush them all!"

Meanwhile, the Cloud side saw their morale deteriorating rapidly under the pressure of mounting casualties and a shrinking force.

Panic and despair started to creep in.

Some began thinking about desertion.

"When are Lord Samui and Lord Darui bringing reinforcements?"

"We can't hold this much longer."

"Did Lord Raikage defeat the Hokage?"

"No reinforcements have arrived. Have we been abandoned?"

"Maybe we should just run."

Killer Bee, thanks to the heightened senses granted by the Eight-Tails, caught wind of the fearful murmurs.

"You fools! What nonsense are you spouting? We've not been abandoned!" he roared while fending off Kakashi and the Konoha sealing squad.

"Hold the line! Victory will be ours!"

But his words failed to lift their spirits.

In life-or-death moments, fear overpowers loyalty.

Ten more minutes passed.

One-third of Killer Bee's original forces had already perished. Only about 600 Cloud ninjas remained, while Konoha retained over 1,800 troops.

The numerical disadvantage had widened from 2:1 to 3:1.

Survival instincts kicked in—and many began to flee.

Seeing this, Hyuga Hiashi swiftly led a portion of the Konoha forces in pursuit—not only out of hatred for the Cloud but also out of fear.

If all the Cloud ninjas escaped, the Eight-Tails would be free to launch his devastating Tailed Beast Bomb.

Hiashi didn't know if Kakashi could hold him off alone, but he was sure he couldn't survive a direct hit from that.

So, he pursued the fleeing Cloud forces, hoping to end them before that scenario occurred.

Meanwhile, Kakashi felt the dread rising in his chest.

Cloud forces fleeing was bad enough—but now Konoha forces were running off too?

What the hell?!

Was he supposed to face the Eight-Tails with just the sealing team?

He felt like shouting to the sky, "Come back here, you bastards!"

But Hiashi was already gone—vanishing as cleanly as he came, like a passing cloud.

"You think you can beat me, you fools?!"

Killer Bee, though disappointed, didn't blame his comrades. He understood—they just wanted to live.

But the enemy?

He would vent all his fury upon them.

Now unburdened by the risk of friendly fire, the perfect Jinchūriki roared, opening his massive maw.

The ultimate Tailed Beast technique began to form.

Tailed Beast Bomb.

At that instant, Kakashi felt his scalp tingle.

His mind raced. Which direction should he flee to avoid getting vaporized?

Just then—

Boom!

Tsunade descended from the sky, stomping down onto the Eight-Tails' skull with such power it shattered the forming Tailed Beast Bomb and sent tremors through the earth.

"ROAAAAAR!!!"

The massive impact left the Eight-Tails dazed, his head buzzing, his world spinning.

Tsunade landed in front of him without an ounce of fear in her eyes.

She slapped her palm to the ground, summoning a beast the same size as the Eight-Tails—Katsuyu, the Slug Queen.

"Sealing squad—keep going! Don't be scared of the Eight-Tails!"

"It's just a big beast!"

In that moment, Kakashi and the Sealing Squad were struck by awe.

Their Hokage radiated a presence that made the battlefield tremble.

Arriving alongside Tsunade were Nara Shikaku and Yamanaka Inoichi from the strategist corps.

Shikaku clapped Kakashi on the shoulder. "Surprised? If Lady Tsunade wasn't this strong, none of us would've accepted her as Hokage."

"I'm dumb," Kakashi chuckled sheepishly. "I forgot she's one of the legendary Sannin. All kunoichi idolize her for a reason."

Yamanaka Inoichi rubbed his hands together and said, "If we capture the Eight-Tails today and bring him back to Konoha, we could end the war right now—and still walk away as the victors."

Hope lit up in their eyes.

The Sealing Squad stared at the towering Eight-Tails as if they could devour him with their gaze.

The final battle to capture the Eight-Tails was about to begin.

But just then—

The already shattered ground split open again.

Dust billowed everywhere, and from it emerged an incredibly muscular figure.

A gravelly voice rang out.

"Have you asked me, his brother, before trying to take him?"

Raikage A had arrived.

He wasn't alone. In each hand, he dragged a body—Akimichi Choza and Hyuga Hiashi—both of whom had led battalions of Konoha troops.

"Now begins the final battle, Hokage."

"Either my brothers and I kill you and go rescue our forces—"

"—Or you kill us and go after ours."

"Let's see who's stronger."

Raikage hurled the bodies aside and erupted in lightning. Then, with blinding speed, he charged into battle.

Tsunade inhaled sharply and roared back, "Exactly what I wanted! Today we settle this—live or die!"

At this moment, most of the shinobi were still unaware of this titanic clash. They were too busy fighting for their lives.

The entire border had become a slaughterhouse. Every few minutes, another squad was wiped out.

But as death came, so too did salvation.

Yugito was saving lives.

"There's someone trapped under that stone! Dig him out!"

"His leg's broken—stop the bleeding, now!"

"Get bandages! We need antiseptic here!"

Rather than attacking enemies, the Two-Tails Jinchūriki busied herself with tending to the wounded, surrounded by thousands of Cloud shinobi.

Her following had swelled far beyond the 400 Samui and Darui initially brought.

She dug out survivors, moved rubble, and treated the injured.

She had become a beacon of hope.

Many of those she saved watched her in awe. Some even wept.

"Lady Yukito is the kindest soul in the world."

"I used to throw eggs at her when I was a kid… Damn it."

And among them, a young boy's voice always rang out:

"If only Lord Raikage treated us like Yukito-sama does… maybe we wouldn't have lost so many lives."

"He didn't even stick around after the last attack. Just vanished."

"He's never cared about us…"

"It's Yukito-sama who saved us."

These words spread like wildfire.

A rebellious spirit was taking root.

Once, they'd accepted that higher-ups saw them as expendable. But now, someone from the top was bleeding for them—saving them.

And when someone shows you kindness, your heart inevitably turns toward them.

One ninja hesitated, then asked Yukito: "Why save nobodies like us? You could be on the frontlines earning glory. Why waste time here?"

Yugito grew visibly angry.

"What do you mean, 'nobodies'? What do you mean, 'waste'?"

"Everyone here is my comrade! How could I stand by and watch you die?"

"Don't ever say that again!"

Under the moonlight, she let her chakra trigger her tear glands.

Tears streamed down her cheeks.

"I don't want to see another brother or sister die."

Her petite frame burned itself into the hearts of those who watched.

She had surpassed the Raikage in their eyes.

At that moment, Raikage had no idea he was being quietly replaced.

His power couldn't hold their loyalty—but kindness could.

"If only Lady Yugito were the Raikage," many began to think.

And while they observed her—

She observed them too.

"I didn't think Lord Naruto's strategy would work so well," she thought.

"Pretending to be a kindhearted person, shedding tears… That's all it took."

Her rank had risen far more from this act than all her years of mission work and battle ever had.

And without even realizing it, she had begun to refer to Naruto with honor.

"Lord Naruto."

Meanwhile—

Naruto's fight with Samui and Darui was nearing its end.

"These two aren't that great," he muttered with a smirk under the cold moonlight.

Darui and Samui were on the verge of losing their minds. And Naruto now understood why they had chased him so relentlessly—it all stemmed from misunderstanding and emotion.

Sure, he'd used some underhanded tactics.

But they worked.

"Uzumaki Naruto, come out and fight me like a man!"

"Coward!"

"Beast!"

"Pervert!"

"Show yourself!"

The mix of rage and humiliation in Samui's voice was music to his ears.

"Since you asked so nicely…"

Naruto suddenly appeared behind Samui, hugged her tightly, and gave her a firm squeeze.

Darui's face turned purple with rage.

But before either of them could react, Naruto vanished into the forest, leaving behind a puff of black smoke—and a few final taunting words:

"Ha! Cuckold! I'm playing with your goddess right in front of you, and you can't do a damn thing about it."

"Better watch out… next time might be even worse."

Darui snapped.

"Uzumaki Naruto! Come fight me one-on-one, if you dare!"