Naruto, my father's name is Uchiha Madara.

Page 267

Finally, in the center of a slightly more open cave, they witnessed a chilling scene.

On a simple stone bed lay an old man with white hair and beard, whose face still faintly showed traces of his former dignity.

He was wearing the traditional royal sleeping robes of the Moon Kingdom.

But at this moment, most of the luxurious fabric was covered by an unsettling grayish-white.

This grayish-white color was not the natural color of the clothing, but rather spread from his body like mold.

It presents a cold, lifeless, and lusterless rock-like texture.

His legs, waist, and even most of his chest had completely turned into hard stone.

Only the head and one right hand barely retain the appearance of flesh and blood.

But it was also covered with spiderweb-like gray cracks, as if it would collapse completely at any moment.

Each faint breath seemed exceptionally difficult, accompanied by a hoarse, leaky sound.

The flame of life is like a candle flickering in the wind, which may be extinguished at any moment.

This is the old king of the Moon Kingdom.

When Prince Manyue saw his father in such a miserable state, he could no longer hold back and rushed to the stone bed, tears streaming down his face.

All the arrogance and pretense built with money that he usually maintained were completely shattered at this moment.

The son was left to face his dying father's grief and helplessness.

Little Prince Guang was also terrified, staring blankly at his grandfather's frightening appearance, his little face turning deathly pale.

The old king struggled to turn his only still-moving eyeball.

His cloudy gaze focused on the full moon's face, his lips trembling as he made an extremely faint sound.

"Full moon...you're...back...good...good..."

"Father! What on earth happened?! Was it that bastard Sadaba who did this?!"

Full Moon grasped her father's hand, which was not yet completely petrified but was already cold and stiff, her voice choked with emotion.

The old king's breathing quickened, and deep regret and anger were evident in his eyes.

He began to speak haltingly, using the last of his strength:

“That Sadaba… his wolfish ambitions… I… I already sensed them…”

His voice was so faint that you had to get very close to hear him: "He colluded with miners to line his own pockets... and secretly trained a private army..."

“I originally planned… to take advantage of your trip… to reorganize the internal affairs… and eliminate him… and his cronies… in one fell swoop…”

A flicker of pain and helplessness crossed the old king's eyes: "I never expected... I never expected that he would secretly find... three extremely powerful wandering ninjas..."

"It's... Shi Li... Jin Gang... Jin Lianhua...they...they are...powerful...and have strange methods..."

“The palace guards…were no match for them…they swept them away…I…I was also ambushed by that Shi Li…”

He glanced at his petrified body and smiled bitterly: "If it weren't for... the royal guards... risking their lives to protect me... and rescuing me... I'm afraid... I would have already... cough... cough cough..."

A violent cough interrupted his words, and gray fragments coughed up from the corner of his mouth, a terrible sign that his internal organs were beginning to petrify.

"Father! Please stop talking! Get some rest!" Manyue felt as if her heart was being torn apart.

"No...no...time...is running out..." The old king gripped Man Yue's hand tightly.

A final glimmer of light shone from his cloudy eyes, a king's last obsession and responsibility: "Listen...to the full moon..."

"The Moon Kingdom... cannot fall into... Shadaba's hands... He will... destroy this country... drain all the mines... the people... will be plunged into misery..."

His eyes were filled with expectation and a heavy entrustment: "Take back... the throne... in your own way... perhaps I was... wrong before..."

"But...to build...a country that truly allows the people to live in peace and prosperity...that...is the king's responsibility..."

"Instead of...being obsessed with...the numbers of money..."

"I...I believe...you can do it..."

"Compared to me... you know better... how... to... create wealth... but... you must learn... how... to... use it wisely..."

The old king's gaze finally turned with difficulty to the terrified little prince, Guang, standing beside him.

Filled with love and reluctance: "Guang... my grandson... don't... be like your father... before... be a... kind... responsible..."

Before he could finish speaking, the light in his eyes quickly dimmed, and his last breath dissipated like smoke.

The hand that was tightly holding the full moon completely lost its last bit of warmth.

And at a speed visible to the naked eye, it quickly spreads from the fingertips to the final grayish-white color.

In the end, he completely transformed into a cold, regretful stone statue.

"Father!!!"

The full-moon prince let out a heart-wrenching wail, threw himself onto his father's cold stone statue, and wept uncontrollably.

Little Prince Guang finally burst into tears.

A heavy sense of sorrow and despair permeated the entire cave.

The captain of the guard and the guards around him all knelt on one knee, bowed their heads, and silently expressed their condolences.

Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon stood aside, watching this scene of life and death, their hearts heavy with sorrow.

They thought of their deceased loved ones and could better understand the pain of the full moon at this moment.

At the same time, the old king's dying words weighed heavily on their hearts—

To reclaim the throne and confront Nasadaba, who possesses the three Shi Li brothers?

This sounds like a fantasy!

After a long while, the Prince's cries gradually subsided.

He looked up, his face still wet with tears, but his eyes had undergone a dramatic change.

His past arrogance, extravagance, and habit of using money to pave the way seemed to have been completely washed away by this upheaval and his father's death.

Instead, there was a profound grief and a resolute determination to burn one's bridges.

And a nascent sense of responsibility befitting a king.

He gently lowered his father's completely petrified and stiff hand, stood up, and turned to the captain of the guard and Konohamaru.

He straightened his disheveled clothes; although he was still obese, his back was much straighter.

He bowed deeply to the captain of the guards: "Thank you all for risking your lives to protect my father. I will never forget this kindness."

The captain of the royal guard quickly returned the salute: "Your Highness is too kind! Protecting the King is our duty!"

Full Moon nodded, her gaze finally settling on Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon.

His eyes were complex, filled with guilt and sincerity.

Chapter 288 Our Ninja Way! Forge Ahead!

Man Yue walked up to the three men without any hesitation, addressing these three Konoha genin who were much younger than him.

He bowed deeply, almost at a ninety-degree angle!

This action startled Konohamaru and the other two.

“Three Konoha ninjas,”

Full Moon's voice was hoarse but incredibly clear, carrying an unprecedented sincerity and humility: "Before... my son and I offended you in many ways, being short-sighted, arrogant, and rude."

"I sincerely apologize to you!"

He raised his head, his eyes filled with pleading, even a hint of despair: "You've all seen the situation now."

“That Shadaba usurped the throne, his army was powerful, and he was also aided by those three terrifying ninjas, Shi Li.”

"We are outnumbered and outgunned; a direct confrontation would only lead to our demise."

"The only hope is to temporarily leave the Land of the Moon and seek assistance from the neighboring Land of Iron or the Land of Hot Springs."

"They have an old alliance with the Moon Kingdom, and may be willing to send troops to help."

"However, the journey will be fraught with danger, and Nasadaba will never let us leave."

Full Moon's tone became extremely heavy: "My personal guard is good at guarding, but infiltration, breaking through, and dealing with ninja pursuit... are not their strengths."

"Therefore... I beg you! I beg everyone in Konoha to help us and escort Hikaru and me safely out of the Land of the Moon!"

"The Moon Kingdom will repay this kindness a hundredfold in the future! I beg you!"

He remained bowed, motionless, placing all his hopes on these three children.

Faced with the Full Moon Prince's humble and sincere plea, Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon instinctively took a half-step back.

Fear, like an icy tide, instantly overwhelmed them.

Even the powerful Naruto was turned to stone in an instant by that stone!

They were just lowly genin, and even when they dealt with the Sand Bandits, they needed Naruto's constant protection. How could they possibly fight against that kind of monster?

Going up there would be suicide, wouldn't it?

The thought of giving up grew uncontrollably.

The little yellow face was pale, and its fingers were twisted together.

Udon was so scared that her body trembled slightly, and she even forgot to wipe her snot.

Konohamaru also bit his lip tightly, struggling intensely inside.

He recalled the look of astonishment on Naruto's face when he was petrified.

That was a sense of powerlessness he had never seen on the face of his all-powerful older brother, Naruto.

They're too strong, the enemy is too strong...

Seeing the hesitation and fear in the three people, the light of hope in Man Yue's eyes gradually dimmed and turned to ashes.

He realized that this demand was indeed too much for these children.

However, just as this desperate silence was about to engulf everything—