Winter arrived quietly as autumn faded away, and before anyone realized it, Konoha was once again blanketed beneath a thick layer of snow.
Natsuhiko sat inside a tavern overlooking the street below, calmly watching the reception procession moving through the village. His expression remained utterly composed, without the slightest ripple of emotion.
The people from Kumogakure had arrived.
Just like in the original story, they had come under the banner of signing a peace treaty with Konoha, and just like before, they had been smoothly granted entry into the village.
Even now, they were using the exact same excuse, and unsurprisingly, it had drawn Hiruzen Sarutobi's full attention.
Konoha and Kumogakure had never officially signed a ceasefire agreement. It was like a thorn lodged in everyone's throat, something impossible to ignore no matter how much time passed. Hiruzen had long wanted to remove that thorn once and for all.
Now that Kumogakure had taken the initiative to propose a treaty, how could he not be tempted?
Still, something that felt like a gift falling from the heavens naturally demanded caution. Anyone in Hiruzen's position would be wary, and he was no exception.
Kumogakure was currently too strong.
During the Third Great Ninja War, they had suffered very little damage compared to the other villages. As things stood, there were few forces left in the ninja world capable of truly challenging them.
Even Konoha felt powerless when facing them. Considering Konoha's current condition, the gap between the two villages was no longer something that could be ignored. They weren't even operating on the same level anymore.
Because of that, although Hiruzen remained deeply suspicious of Kumogakure, he still approached these negotiations with genuine sincerity. More than anything, he wanted to avoid further conflict.
Unfortunately for him, the people he was dealing with were ambitious monsters—individuals obsessed with pushing Kumogakure to the very peak of the ninja world.
Wishful thinking would accomplish absolutely nothing.
In truth, he was walking straight into humiliation.
Of course, there were other reasons pushing Hiruzen toward this decision as well. The small-scale conflicts between Konoha and Kumogakure had been escalating more and more frequently lately.
If things continued like this, no one knew how far the situation might spiral out of control.
Hiruzen desperately wanted to extinguish the flames before they spread further. Otherwise, Konoha's mission completion rate would suffer severely, and even the village's reputation could take a major hit.
In the past, Konoha would never have feared this sort of thing. If necessary, they would have sent elite jonin squads into the field, even using the conflict as an opportunity for gifted young ninja to gain combat experience.
But after the Third Great Ninja War, Konoha's foundations had nearly been hollowed out.
The village no longer had the luxury of acting aggressively and had been forced into a state of complete strategic contraction.
"Commander, everything has been arranged."
Kakashi suddenly appeared behind Natsuhiko and spoke quietly.
Natsuhiko gave a faint nod.
"I understand. Good work."
With such a major event taking place, there was no way the ANBU would remain idle.
Although, under Natsuhiko's recommendation, maintaining public order had been handed over to the Police Force, covert protection and surveillance still fell under the ANBU's responsibilities.
The reform of the Police Force had already reached its final stage.
Ever since the day the clan heads and jonin surrounded the Hokage Building, Uchiha Shin had fully seized control of all three divisions of the Police Force.
After such a long period of restructuring and internal cleansing, the organization had finally achieved a balance between civilian ninja and Uchiha clan members.
Combined with the regulations Natsuhiko had asked Sora to draft for the force, the Police Department was steadily developing in a far healthier direction.
Originally, the Police Force's structure had already been fairly large. After absorbing a significant number of civilian ninja, its organizational capacity was now completely filled.
They even had reserve units established.
From that alone, one could imagine just how powerful the current Police Force had become.
Of course, the price for all this was that the relationship between Uchiha Shin and Uchiha Fugaku had grown increasingly strained.
Anyone with eyes could see the tension building inside the Uchiha Clan. The atmosphere was thick with gunpowder, as though a single spark could ignite the entire clan at any moment.
No one knew what would happen once that explosion finally came.
But Natsuhiko believed Shin's chances of victory were extremely high.
After all—
Natsuhiko himself was standing behind him.
"Once the reception ends, divide the teams and have them follow the Kumo delegation."
While Natsuhiko's thoughts wandered briefly toward the Uchiha situation, his gaze never left the people below.
The welcoming ceremony had more or less come to an end by this point. Hiruzen Sarutobi personally led the Kumogakure delegation toward the Hokage Building while snow continued to drift steadily from the sky.
In weather like this, forcing guests to remain outside any longer would have been extremely discourteous, and Hiruzen was not the type to make such a mistake.
"Yes, Commander."
Kakashi immediately nodded.
Truthfully, even without Natsuhiko giving the order, he would have handled the matter carefully himself.
After all, he knew very well what Kumogakure had been doing near the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Water. On top of that, the clashes between Konoha and Kumo mission squads had grown increasingly intense lately. No matter how one looked at it, things hardly resembled a situation on the verge of peace.
And yet now, Kumo had suddenly come claiming they wanted a ceasefire.
What made it even more suspicious was the Fourth Raikage's grand declaration about "working for peace in the ninja world."
After spending several years by Natsuhiko's side, Kakashi had learned to instinctively distrust words that sounded too righteous.
After hesitating for a moment, he finally spoke.
"Commander… I still can't figure out what Kumogakure's real objective is."
"Their objective?"
Natsuhiko glanced up at Kakashi before letting out a faint chuckle.
"It's actually very simple. They're here to cause trouble for Konoha."
He paused briefly, lightly tapping the table as a signal for Kakashi to sit down before continuing leisurely.
"The answer to your question is straightforward. From the very beginning, Kumogakure has been dissatisfied with Konoha's position—especially after the Third Great Ninja War, when Konoha still controlled the largest share of resources in the ninja world."
"This is ultimately a problem of unequal resource distribution. No one willingly hands over their interests to someone else."
"On top of that, Kumo suffered very little during the war. They possess the strength necessary to act on those ambitions."
Natsuhiko leaned back slightly, his gaze calm.
"Think about the recent conflicts between Konoha and Kumo during missions. Those clashes never stopped escalating, yet the Raikage suddenly announces that he's coming in the name of peace."
Then Natsuhiko asked quietly,
"Let me ask you something. If you lowered your posture that much and sincerely sent representatives to negotiate peace, but those representatives encountered a major incident inside the other village…"
"Say they died for some reason."
"What would you do?"
Natsuhiko spoke slowly and clearly, while Kakashi listened with complete focus.
By the time he finished, Kakashi's expression had completely changed.
"Commander… are you saying—"
He abruptly stood up, but before he could finish speaking, Natsuhiko interrupted him.
"War requires an excuse," Natsuhiko said with a soft sigh. "And this would be a very good excuse."
Kakashi fell silent for several seconds before finally asking in a low voice,
"Can this kind of war still be prevented? Or… should we warn the Third Hokage?"
"There's no real point in warning him now. Since they've already entered Konoha, things are already in motion."
Natsuhiko chuckled lightly and tapped the table once more.
"As for stopping it… all we can do is try our best."
Kakashi lowered his eyes slightly.
"I really wish things could be resolved peacefully. War is disgusting. If everyone could just sit down and talk things through properly, wouldn't that be better?"
Natsuhiko raised an eyebrow.
"Jiraiya's philosophy, huh? It's admirable… and incredibly naïve."
"The idea of everyone peacefully understanding one another simply doesn't exist when national and village interests are involved."
Jiraiya's ideals—and Naruto's future determination—were fundamentally built on the hope of erasing hatred and achieving true understanding between people.
Without question, it was an extraordinarily noble dream.
But in the end, it was still only a dream.
Natsuhiko had understood this long ago.
For people to truly understand one another, there had to be a prerequisite first:
Equality.
Without equality, genuine empathy was nearly impossible.
And when matters escalated to the level of nations and shinobi villages, the idea of mutual understanding became even more unrealistic.
Take the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind, for example.
The Land of Wind suffered from a harsh climate and scarce vegetation. Even basic agriculture was practically a luxury there.
Transportation was inconvenient, economic growth was painfully slow, and as a result, despite Sunagakure being counted among the Five Great Shinobi Villages, both the village and the nation consistently ranked at the bottom in terms of overall strength and prosperity.
In contrast, Konoha enjoyed a mild climate, fertile land suitable for growing all kinds of crops, convenient transportation, and a thriving economy.
Under circumstances like those, trying to talk about "mutual understanding" between Konoha and Sunagakure was almost laughable. The two sides simply stood in completely different worlds.
If one insisted on applying the philosophy of "people understanding one another," then should Konoha generously hand over part of its territory to Sunagakure so they could develop more comfortably?
Anyone with a functioning brain—and not some blindly self-sacrificing idealist—would answer that question the same way:
Bullshit.
These matters couldn't simply be reduced to relationships between individuals. Perhaps ordinary people could attempt to understand one another on a personal level.
But in Natsuhiko's previous world, there had once been a saying:
Science has no borders, but scientists do.
The same logic applied perfectly well here.
The profession of being a ninja might transcend borders, but ninja themselves belonged to their respective villages.
Kakashi either understood what Natsuhiko meant, or perhaps he simply needed time to think it through himself.
Regardless, no matter what conclusions he reached, he would never neglect his duties. The Kumogakure delegation had already become one of the ANBU's primary surveillance targets.
And as events unfolded, the actions of the Kumo envoys only seemed to confirm Natsuhiko's suspicions.
They absolutely had ulterior motives.
The ceasefire agreement had already been signed. Hiruzen, after all, had been eager to finalize it as quickly as possible.
Yet after the signing ceremony, the Kumo delegation did not immediately leave Konoha and return to Kumogakure.
Instead, they remained in the village temporarily.
Although Hiruzen felt uneasy about this, the treaty had already been completed, so he chose not to interfere too much.
As a result, the Kumo shinobi behaved like ordinary tourists during their stay.
They wandered through nearly every street and alley in Konoha, recording a tremendous amount of information. Aside from restricted military zones, they had practically explored the entire village.
Many Konoha ninja were dissatisfied with their behavior, but considering the delegation's diplomatic status, no one openly stopped them.
Natsuhiko, however, understood very clearly that these people had a hidden agenda.
If nothing unexpected occurred, they were most likely still planning to target the Hyuga Clan.
The only uncertainty was how they intended to act.
Natsuhiko had to stay cautious because butterfly effects were impossible to ignore.
The changes he had caused in this world were neither few nor insignificant.
Leaving aside the things he had intentionally altered—such as Minato Namikaze surviving, Orochimaru never joining the Akatsuki, Uchiha Fugaku losing one eye, and Danzo already being dead—there were also many unexpected changes that had happened without his direct involvement.
One example remained especially vivid in his memory:
During the Nine-Tails Incident, Obito had unexpectedly returned midway to cause trouble.
Natsuhiko had never forgotten that.
Now that Konoha possessed someone like him as the ANBU Commander, he could no longer be certain that Kumogakure would still follow the original timeline and target Hinata Hyuga, the eldest daughter of the Hyuga main family.
"Maybe they'll decide to cause trouble for the Uchiha instead," Natsuhiko mused inwardly. "After spending so much time wandering around Konoha, they've definitely gathered plenty of information."
He was certain their sightseeing was merely a cover for intelligence gathering.
Not only were they collecting information, but they were probably also attempting to exchange intelligence with a spy hidden somewhere inside Konoha.
Every village had enemy agents lurking in the shadows. That was nothing unusual.
Sometimes they remained undetected because their infiltration skills were exceptional. Other times, villages deliberately allowed them to stay in order to feed false information back to their enemies.
However, after roaming around for several days, the Kumo delegation suddenly changed their behavior completely.
They became unusually quiet.
For an entire day, not a single member left their residence.
The sun gradually sank below the horizon as darkness swallowed the village.
Without the slightest warning, Natsuhiko's figure silently appeared in a hidden corner outside the Kumogakure residence.
Looking calmly at Kakashi standing before him, he asked quietly,
"What's the situation?"
"For now, there hasn't been much movement." Kakashi shook his head lightly before continuing in a serious tone, "But I've arranged four separate teams to monitor them. Even Lone Wolf came over personally."
The name Lone Wolf made Natsuhiko pause for a moment.
He hadn't forgotten that Hyuga clansman—the one who had once competed against him for the position of division commander.
Ever since Natsuhiko himself became division commander, the two of them had hardly crossed paths again.
Still, it made sense that the man had remained in the ANBU instead of being purged. After all, he belonged to the Hyuga branch family. People like him generally weren't considered firmly tied to any single faction.
And honestly, Kakashi bringing him here was a smart move.
Even as a branch family member, Lone Wolf still possessed the Byakugan.
"Lone Wolf, huh? With his Byakugan around, there's probably no need to worry too much."
Natsuhiko nodded slightly, clearly satisfied with Kakashi's arrangements.
"Their behavior has been far too strange, and they're extremely vigilant," Kakashi said with a helpless sigh. "Several times while tracking them, we almost got discovered. And today, none of them showed themselves even once. No matter what, we need to stay careful."
"Being cautious is never a bad thing."
Natsuhiko smiled faintly, but just then, he noticed a figure rapidly approaching from the distance. That immediately caused his brows to knit together slightly.
"Commander. Division Commander."
The newcomer was Lone Wolf.
The moment he saw Natsuhiko, his body stiffened briefly, but he quickly regained his composure and bowed respectfully toward both him and Kakashi.
"There's no need for that. Tell me what happened."
Natsuhiko waved it off casually before asking directly,
"Did those people make a move?"
"Yes, Commander."
Lone Wolf nodded immediately.
"They've started moving."
Moving already?
Both Natsuhiko and Kakashi unconsciously let out a small sigh of relief upon hearing that.
For Kakashi, this was hardly good news, but at least once the enemy acted, the ANBU finally had the authority to respond accordingly.
As for Natsuhiko…
He was genuinely pleased.
What he feared most was those people not moving. That would have been far more troublesome for him.
Once they acted, he finally had a legitimate reason to act as well.
As someone determined to ensure a war between Konoha and Kumogakure, he had already made extensive preparations. Whether it was subtly guiding public opinion within Konoha through newspapers or preparing analytical reports from Iwagakure's perspective for the aftermath of war, he had been laying the groundwork for this conflict for a long time.
Now, nearly everything was ready.
If he continued manipulating public sentiment through the newspapers any further, even Hiruzen Sarutobi might start noticing something unusual.
And that was the last thing Natsuhiko wanted.
Being noticed by Hiruzen would do nothing but complicate his plans.
Fortunately, Kumogakure had arrived.
And more importantly—
they had finally made their move.
How could Natsuhiko not be satisfied?
"However…"
At that moment, Lone Wolf suddenly frowned.
"They used a large number of clones to split up before leaving. Based on observation, they appear to be Shadow Clones."
"They used Shadow Clones to scatter?"
Kakashi's expression immediately darkened.
That was definitely not good news.
One of the greatest strengths of the Shadow Clone Jutsu was how difficult it was to distinguish the clones from the original. Although the technique was difficult to master and carried certain drawbacks, its deceptive nature made it extremely troublesome to deal with.
For the Kumo shinobi to deliberately use Shadow Clones while splitting up…
No matter how one looked at it, they were clearly planning something major.
And whatever they intended to do was almost certainly serious.
"Damn bastards…" Kakashi muttered through gritted teeth. "Every single one of them can use Shadow Clones."
At this point, he no longer cared what those people were actually planning.
His only thought was to get every last one of them out of Konoha as quickly as possible.
"Move to apprehend them."
After a brief moment of thought, Natsuhiko finally spoke.
"Try to avoid direct combat whenever possible. They may fight like they have nothing to lose."
He paused slightly before continuing in an unusually serious tone.
"However… if they threaten the safety of Konoha's civilians in any way, do not hesitate."
"Kill them immediately."
"Yes!"
Lone Wolf answered without the slightest hesitation.
Meanwhile, Kakashi looked somewhat conflicted.
He understood perfectly well what Natsuhiko's earlier words truly implied.
Once they killed those Kumo shinobi, the enemy's objective would essentially be achieved.
Kakashi understood that perfectly well.
But he also knew something even more important:
They absolutely could not allow those people to endanger Konoha.
The ANBU existed to protect the village.
"Yes!"
After reaching that conclusion, Kakashi answered decisively before immediately departing alongside Lone Wolf to track down and intercept the Kumogakure shinobi.
Natsuhiko remained standing where he was.
Only after their figures completely disappeared into the darkness did he slowly activate the Jōgan.
A brilliant blue radiance flickered within his eyes, and in an instant, several Kumo ninja who had not yet escaped his field of vision were completely locked onto.
More importantly—
he found the real body of the Kumo delegation's leader.
Natsuhiko had never particularly cared whether others discovered he possessed these eyes. Yet strangely enough, every time he used them, there were very few witnesses.
By sheer coincidence, the existence of his eyes had essentially remained hidden. Even the rare people who had seen them had no understanding of their actual abilities.
Naturally, Natsuhiko had no intention of explaining anything.
No ninja would casually reveal the secrets of their own power.
"Unless they're talking to a corpse."
Natsuhiko's figure shifted slightly.
In the blink of an eye, he silently appeared in a shadowed corner beside the Kumo shinobi leader.
He did not move immediately.
Instead, he quietly observed.
Under the cover of darkness—and using the commotion created by the other Kumo ninja to divert the guards—the man silently infiltrated deeper into the Hyuga Clan compound.
"So it's still the Hyuga Clan after all…"
Natsuhiko murmured inwardly.
With the assistance of the Jōgan, he could clearly see the Kumo ninja skillfully avoiding every patrol route while heading directly toward the Hyuga Clan Head's residence with remarkable familiarity.
It was obvious this man had gathered an enormous amount of intelligence over the past few days.
The internal layout of the Hyuga compound was not information ordinary people could easily obtain.
Honestly, if Danzo hadn't already died, Natsuhiko would have seriously suspected him.
But now it seemed more likely that Kumo had planted highly capable spies somewhere inside Konoha.
"People like that need to be dealt with eventually," Natsuhiko thought calmly. "Otherwise, who knows what kind of disaster they'll cause if they remain hidden in Konoha."
As those thoughts crossed his mind, the Kumo leader finally made his move.
The Hyuga Clan had simply grown too comfortable.
As one of Konoha's two greatest dōjutsu clans—and one of the village's strongest clans overall—they genuinely never imagined anyone would dare attack them inside Konoha itself.
Of course, they still maintained clan patrol units. After all, people still vaguely remembered Kumogakure's attempt to kidnap Kushina Uzumaki years ago.
But their current level of vigilance was far from sufficient.
And with the other Kumo shinobi deliberately causing disturbances elsewhere, the Hyuga patrols had already been drawn away.
Ironically, this was precisely the time when security should have been strengthened the most to stabilize and protect the clan internally.
Through the vision of his Jōgan, Natsuhiko watched as the Kumo ninja effortlessly captured the sleeping Hinata.
"Nicely done."
Natsuhiko silently praised him.
At this point, if the man simply wanted to retreat quietly, escaping would not have been difficult at all.
Hinata was still asleep, and he had not attracted any attention whatsoever.
Yet instead of leaving immediately, the Kumo shinobi deliberately created noise, intentionally alerting Hiashi Hyuga, who was sleeping in the adjacent room.
In the next instant, killing intent erupted violently.
Hiashi burst out at full speed, charging directly toward the Kumo ninja almost instantly.
At the same time, Natsuhiko finally chose to act as well.
The Hyuga Clan's response tonight was extremely important to him. There was no way he would miss this opportunity.
Besides, as the Commander of the ANBU, there were certain situations where he absolutely had to appear personally.
"Caught you!"
"Don't act rashly, Clan Head Hyuga."
Just as Hiashi caught up to the man and was about to strike, Natsuhiko's figure appeared between Hiashi and the Kumo ninja.
With seemingly effortless ease, he blocked Hiashi's furious strike.
Of course, Hiashi himself had not attacked with full force.
After all, he still had to be careful not to accidentally injure his own daughter.
Natsuhiko's sudden appearance caused Hiashi Hyuga to frown deeply. He had already recognized the young man standing before him—
This was Natsuhiko Senju, the Commander of the ANBU.
Hiashi himself had not interacted much with Natsuhiko, even though he knew perfectly well that the young man represented the interests of the Fourth Hokage's faction and was currently locked in fierce conflict with the political forces surrounding Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Still, the Hyuga Clan had never shown any intention of involving themselves in that struggle.
The Hyuga were proud.
Proud enough that they preferred supporting the victor after the outcome was decided rather than gambling on a side before victory had been secured.
"Commander Natsuhiko Senju?"
Hiashi halted his attack, and the Kumo shinobi stopped as well.
There was only one Commander in Konoha carrying the Senju name—the Commander of the ANBU.
And the authority held by that position made the Kumo shinobi instantly realize something very clearly:
Running was meaningless.
No matter how fast he was, he could never outrun someone who possessed space-time abilities like Natsuhiko.
"Do not act recklessly. He is a member of the Kumogakure diplomatic delegation."
Natsuhiko spoke calmly before shifting his gaze toward the Kumo shinobi.
Hiashi's expression immediately turned grim, and the killing intent radiating from him gradually subsided.
As the head of the prestigious Hyuga Clan, Hiashi naturally understood just how sensitive this man's identity was.
If anything happened to him inside the Hyuga compound, then regardless of what crimes he had committed, the Hyuga Clan would inevitably bear the consequences.
And the outcome of that…
was something Hiashi did not even want to imagine.
Only then did Natsuhiko fully look toward the Kumo shinobi leader. His voice became unusually cold.
"Your actions are destroying the hard-earned peace between our two villages. Are you aware of that?"
"Peace?"
The Kumo shinobi suddenly grinned.
In the next instant, he swiftly drew a kunai and pressed it directly against Hinata's throat.
Hinata herself remained completely unconscious, unaware of what was happening.
But when the cold blade touched her delicate neck, a faint expression of pain unconsciously appeared on her sleeping face.
"Stop!" Hiashi roared immediately.
Unfortunately, his anger had no effect whatsoever on the Kumo shinobi.
The man remained unnervingly calm, and that composure filled Hiashi with growing unease.
What confused him even more was how this man had managed to infiltrate the Hyuga main compound so silently in the first place.
And more importantly—
how did he know the internal layout of the estate so well?
How had he found Hinata so quickly and so precisely?
Sneaking into the compound itself could perhaps be explained away by failures among the Hyuga patrols and guards. After years of peace, the clan had indeed become somewhat complacent.
But the layout of the main family residence was not information outsiders should possibly possess.
"Clan Head Hyūga, don't worry. With me here, he can't do anything."
Natsuhiko glanced briefly at Hiashi before returning his attention to the Kumo shinobi.
"And besides…"
"He's already dead."
"He took poison."
Earlier, while still outside, Natsuhiko had already noticed something strange about the man's life force. It was rapidly deteriorating with every passing second.
Now that he stood this close, the condition was even clearer.
With his perception abilities enhanced by the Jōgan, uncovering details like this had become effortless for Natsuhiko.
Sure enough, the moment those words left his mouth, the Kumo shinobi's expression changed slightly.
He clearly had not expected his condition to be discovered so easily.
"You…"
Hiashi's face darkened even further.
This man had gone completely insane.
No—
this wasn't simply suicide.
He was deliberately trying to drag the Hyuga Clan into disaster alongside him.
"So you figured it out… Just as expected of the Commander of the ANBU."
The Kumo shinobi gritted his teeth slightly before sneering.
"But do you really think you can save this little girl from my hands?"
"Whether she can be saved is for me to decide, not you."
Natsuhiko let out a faint chuckle before speaking slowly and calmly. "Your Raikage really went to great lengths for this plan. First, he continuously escalated mission conflicts to pressure Konoha."
"Then he deliberately lowered his stance, pretending to pursue peace for the sake of the ninja world and willingly proposing a treaty."
"But the treaty itself was never the real goal. It was merely an excuse to send a group of expendable operatives into Konoha. Once inside, you'd have far more opportunities to carry out your true mission."
At this point, Natsuhiko paused slightly. A faintly amused smile appeared on his face as he looked at the increasingly grim expression of the Kumo shinobi leader.
"When you die, the Raikage will naturally step forward and condemn Konoha."
"And since your death occurred inside the Hyuga Clan compound, he'll present Konoha with two choices."
"The first option would be handing over the culprit. I imagine he would insist that Hiashi Hyuga was responsible. That way, Kumogakure would obtain a Byakugan."
"The second option would be war."
"A war that would further weaken an already exhausted Konoha, allowing Kumogakure to profit from the chaos."
"Of course, no matter which choice Hiruzen Sarutobi makes in the end, Konoha's prestige will suffer tremendously. Meanwhile, Kumogakure can step on Konoha's corpse and ascend to become the strongest village in the ninja world."
By the time Natsuhiko finished speaking, the entire scheme had become crystal clear.
Hiashi Hyuga's expression turned incomparably ugly.
Only now did he realize that, without even noticing it, he had already become a pawn trapped within a far larger political game.
And worse still—
he had no room to resist.
All he could do was watch helplessly as both sides maneuvered against one another and wait to see what decision Hiruzen would ultimately make.
As for the Kumo shinobi leader, his expression had completely changed.
Although he had not known every detail of the mission beforehand, he was intelligent enough to piece together the general outline.
After all, there were reasons he had been chosen for this operation.
Part of it was because his relationship with the Raikage had soured, making him a convenient disposable asset.
But more importantly, he was absolutely loyal to Kumogakure and intelligent enough to adapt to unexpected situations.
And now he realized something terrifying—
everything this ANBU Commander said matched his own deductions almost perfectly.
"No wonder someone this young could become the Commander of the ANBU…"
The Kumo shinobi felt a chill creeping into his heart.
This man's intelligence was genuinely terrifying.
"Well then, enough talking."
Natsuhiko looked calmly at the silent Kumo shinobi before speaking softly.
"I'll give you two choices now."
"Either release the girl yourself…"
"Or I'll do it for you."
"You really think you can save her with the Flying Thunder God?"
The Kumo shinobi abruptly snapped back to attention.
The kunai in his hand pressed even deeper against Hinata's throat, to the point where thin streaks of blood began to emerge.
Seeing this, Natsuhiko merely shook his head slightly.
"So you chose the second option…"
The moment his words fell, dazzling blue light suddenly erupted from Natsuhiko's eyes.
At the same instant, his figure vanished like a phantom.
"Then I'll handle it personally."
A cold voice echoed abruptly from behind the Kumo shinobi leader.
...
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