Naruto couldn't even put a name to the feeling twisting in his chest.
Up on the Hokage's seat, Tsunade felt something far sharper—pure, gut-wrenching shock mixed with a headache that wouldn't quit. She knew exactly how strong the Fourth Raikage was. The man had shone brightly several times during the Third Great Ninja War. Speed and raw power both at the absolute peak of the ninja world. The Hidden Cloud had always been considered second only to the Leaf in overall might, and their individual shinobi were terrifyingly elite.
Three thousand-plus Cloud ninja. The Raikage himself in command. The Two-Tails Jinchuriki riding shotgun.
Honestly, if the Leaf had gone in alone, Tsunade wasn't sure they could have crushed that force without her and Jiraiya both throwing down everything they had. The rest would've come down to grinding them down with sheer numbers.
So how in the hell had the Hidden Waterfall pulled it off?
Three Tailed Beasts were impressive, sure, but history had shown that very few people could ever draw out a Tailed Beast's full power. If every Jinchuriki had been that strong, the Leaf would have been exhausted to the bone after each of the three Great Ninja Wars.
A Jinchuriki was still human. A Tailed Beast was still a Tailed Beast. They weren't the same thing.
Yet under those conditions—on paper, a terrible mismatch—Menma had led the Waterfall shinobi in a straight-up, head-on victory over the Cloud army personally commanded by the Fourth Raikage.
And the worst part? Menma had done it alone. One-on-one. He had crushed the Raikage.
That level of strength. That level of dominance.
Tsunade's heart actually skipped.
Worse, the Cloud's total collapse had completely blown their original plan to pieces. After reading every line of the scroll, her expression kept flickering between dark and darker.
Still, Tsunade was Tsunade.
She took one deep breath, steadied her mind, and locked everything back into place.
"Send word to Jiraiya. Tell him to proceed exactly as he and the front-line staff judge best. I'll handle the other villages myself—tell them not to rush, to watch the situation a little longer. Final decisions on the battlefield stay with the people actually there."
Her voice was calm, measured.
Jiraiya and Shikaku were on the front. She trusted them completely. Her job was logistics and politics. She didn't need to micromanage.
"Yes, Lord Hokage!"
The Leaf ninja in front of her bowed sharply and strode out.
"Shizune, get this front-line report to the three elders right away. Ask for their opinions too."
After the messenger left, Tsunade turned to her assistant and handed over the scroll.
"Understood, Lady Tsunade."
Shizune took it with grave seriousness and left at once.
"Naruto… I know how you feel. But right now is not the time for you to head out. Stay in the village. I'll consider things carefully, but you are not to do anything reckless. Do you understand?"
Tsunade looked straight at the boy standing to the side, her expression deadly serious.
Naruto opened his mouth, then closed it again, clearly struggling.
In the end he just gave a small nod. "I understand, Granny Tsunade…"
He was still the same Naruto—bright, stubborn, unbreakable. But because his childhood had been different, this version had grown up faster and carried heavier weight behind that sunny smile. He had worn the title "Son of the Fourth Hokage" his entire life.
Tsunade's heart ached at the sight of his lowered shoulders.
"Mhm. Go home and get some rest. Trust me, and trust your Grandpa Jiraiya. We'll handle this properly."
Her voice softened, almost motherly.
Naruto gave another quiet nod, turned, and walked out of the office without another word.
"Fox."
The moment the door closed, Tsunade spoke softly toward the left-side shadows.
Whoosh.
A black-clad ANBU appeared instantly, animal mask in place, cold killing intent rolling off him. Clearly an elite Jonin.
"Twenty-four-hour protection. Add more personnel. Naruto must not leave the village. You understand what I mean."
Tsunade's tone left no room for discussion.
"Yes, Lord Hokage. I will ensure Young Master Naruto remains inside the Leaf."
The ANBU's low, firm reply echoed before he vanished back into the shadows.
'Old man… I really don't want to say it, but this is all your fault…'
Tsunade glanced at the four Hokage portraits on the left wall, her eyes lingering on the Third—her teacher. She let out a quiet sigh in her heart.
If twelve years ago both boys had grown up in the Leaf as sons of the Fourth Hokage, none of this would be happening now.
But that was fate.
On the other side of the village, Naruto walked home, unaware that Tsunade had just doubled the watch on him. The elite ANBU shadowing him were top-tier. Normal people had zero chance of slipping away.
Unless you were Kage-level and specialized in stealth and evasion.
Naruto knew that perfectly well.
He also knew Tsunade's caution made sense—because even though he had answered her obediently, the second he left the office he had already made up his mind.
He was leaving the village.
No matter what.
The front lines were tearing him apart inside.
'Menma… I'm definitely bringing you home. And Sasuke too. Even if I have to break both your arms and legs to do it. That's my ninja way!!'
Naruto took a deep breath, clenched his fists, and strode toward home. He needed to plan—quietly, carefully—how to slip out without anyone noticing.
The massive waves caused by the front-line upheaval… had only just begun.
After Tsunade's orders went out, the three old advisors received the reports as well.
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were shaken, but they ultimately agreed with her decision. They really couldn't afford any rash moves right now. Menma's overwhelming strength and the Waterfall Village's sudden power had far exceeded every previous estimate.
Caution. Extreme caution.
That was the ingrained habit of two people who had lived through decades of war.
Danzo Shimura, however, could not stay calm.
BANG!
Crash!
In the darkest underground chamber, a piece of equipment shattered into pieces.
Danzo's single exposed eye burned with icy venom.
"Menma Uzumaki!!!"
It wasn't pure anger. It was jealousy—raw, scorching jealousy.
All his life the old warhawk had chased one simple goal: ultimate power, then the Hokage seat, then Leaf domination of the entire ninja world. That chain of ambitions had never changed.
Sharingan. Wood Style. The Nine-Tails.
All of it, in Danzo's mind, belonged to him and him alone.
So watching Menma wield the Nine-Tails, lead a "weak" village, and crush the Fourth Raikage's Cloud army…
The fire of envy in Danzo's chest burned hotter than anything else.
Still, after the outburst he forced himself to calm down.
The Root leader might make stupid greedy mistakes when blinded by desire, but this situation was different. Menma's victory was undeniable.
Danzo still believed his own strength—with Wood Style and Mangekyo Sharingan—could suppress the Nine-Tails. But the Root operatives already on the front lines clearly weren't enough.
"Send word to the front. Tell Sai and the others to halt all independent action for now. Follow Jiraiya's and Shikaku's orders."
Even in his rage, Danzo was pragmatic. He had too few people left. He couldn't afford pointless losses. He refused to become a commander with no army.
If he wanted Menma dead, he would have to do it himself.
And he wasn't about to leave the village casually. The old fox cherished his own life too much. Unless he had absolute certainty—or the matter was truly critical—he would wait and plan.
"Yes, Lord Danzo!"
A tall shadow in the darkness bowed and vanished to carry out the order.
'Menma Uzumaki… Tsunade… Hmph. Just wait. I will patiently wait until you fools show a single opening…!!'
Danzo's face twisted into something darker and more sinister than ever.
The Sand's hesitation.
The Mist's timely pause.
The Leaf's temporary watch-and-wait.
The Cloud's terrifying silence.
All of it only made the Waterfall Village under Menma shine brighter across the ninja world.
Four of the great villages reacting in almost identical—yet seemingly different—ways drew the eyes of every smaller nation straight to the Land of Earth and the Hidden Stone.
As one of the nominal victors of the Third Great Ninja War—the village that had killed the Third Raikage—the Stone should have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the Leaf in prestige.
But insiders knew the truth. To kill the Third Raikage, the Stone had paid a brutally heavy price. And Onoki was the kind of Kage who only cared about real benefits, never empty fame. For more than a decade he had stayed on the sidelines, watching every major event with cold detachment.
He had shown zero interest even during the earlier Leaf-Cloud clashes.
Unless those two actually went to full-scale war, the Third Tsuchikage simply couldn't be bothered.
The so-called alliance pact with Menma had been the same—Onoki had treated it like a casual game, never believing the boy could accomplish anything big.
A Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? So what? He was still just a kid.
Let him be a useful pawn.
But reality had slapped the old man in the face again and again.
Especially this latest clash with the Cloud.
War had always been the fastest way for any person or village to make their name.
Step on the shoulders of the strong, and the whole world would look your way.
Menma Uzumaki's name now echoed across the entire ninja world in a completely different tone than before.
People used to tag him as "Son of the Fourth Hokage" or "Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."
Now they simply said his name and thought one thing:
Menma Uzumaki—one of the strongest shinobi alive.
Even Onoki had to update his evaluation once more.
The old Tsuchikage had only just issued orders to adjust their stance and watch how things developed… when, less than a few days later, the report arrived:
Menma had led the Waterfall forces and crushed the Cloud army personally commanded by the Fourth Raikage.
For a man who had seen every storm the ninja world could throw at him, the Third Tsuchikage still felt a rare moment of dizziness.
And then—almost simultaneously—he received the message Menma had sent in response to his earlier instruction to strengthen contact.
Onoki stared at the two pieces of intelligence sitting side by side and, for the first time in years, quietly wondered if he really was getting too old.