After changing into a set of casual clothes, Jie Uchiha headed out with Izumi Uchiha by his side, followed closely by Itachi and Sasuke.
The four of them walked down the village streets together. Originally, Jie had just wanted to enjoy a happy, private date with Izumi. However, he couldn't withstand Sasuke's hopeful gaze or Izumi's gentle persuasion. Left with no choice, Jie finally decided to bring Sasuke along.
Since he already had one third wheel, Jie simply called Itachi to come as well. If it wasn't going to be a world for just the two of them anyway, it might as well become a family outing. It was the perfect opportunity to dump Sasuke onto Itachi, letting the brother-con serve as a proper babysitter.
Due to the arrival of the Kumogakure envoy, there were far fewer pedestrians on the streets, even though the villagers were still conducting business as usual. Occasionally, members of the Uchiha clan who had joined the Konoha Military Police Force could be seen hurrying past on patrol.
Seeing the tense atmosphere, a trace of disgust appeared on Itachi's face. "Damn this war," he muttered softly.
Jie smiled. "If you hate war so much, then you should think about what you can actually do to bring eternal peace to this world."
Surprise flashed across Itachi's face at Jie's words, and he fell into a thoughtful silence.
Ignoring Itachi's shift in mood, Jie led Izumi from one shop to another. The bright smile never once left Izumi's face.
Watching them, Sasuke's expression clearly displayed his displeasure. 'I'm obviously Big Brother's favorite person. Why did everything change as soon as Big Sis Izumi showed up? I'm never playing with her again.'
"Hey, brat. You thought you could just run away without apologizing after bumping into someone?"
"Is this the extent of a Hidden Leaf commoner's tolerance?"
On a street not far away, a few dark-skinned shinobi whose appearances differed greatly from the locals were gripping the collar of a child in bright orange clothes. As they shouted their insults, they completely ignored the child's desperate struggles.
'Naruto?' Surprise flickered in Jie's eyes. Why was Naruto in the hands of the Kumogakure shinobi?
"You're talking nonsense! I clearly dodged, but you crashed into me yourself!" Naruto shouted angrily as he thrashed around.
Naruto had just been walking down the street as usual. Seeing some new faces in the village, he had gotten curious and wanted to take a closer look. He didn't expect someone to shove him from behind, sending him stumbling forward.
Fortunately, he had reacted in time and dodged out of the Kumogakure shinobi's path. But before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, the Kumogakure ninja had intentionally stepped forward and crashed right into him.
What followed was exactly what Jie was witnessing: the Kumogakure ninja lifting Naruto by the collar while the surrounding group constantly mocked him.
"Do the commoners of the Hidden Leaf have so little courage? You don't even dare to admit it when you make a mistake. What a bunch of trash."
"Or perhaps you aren't a commoner at all, but an assassin sent by the Hidden Leaf to kill our envoy?"
"With a village this cowardly, no wonder you have to beg Lord Raikage for a peace treaty."
"Hahaha!"
The Kumogakure ninjas' faces were full of unchecked arrogance. Despite being the defeated party, they showed zero self-awareness of their position. Under the watchful eyes of a crowd of Konoha civilians and shinobi, they wildly degraded the Hidden Leaf.
'Hiruzen Sarutobi has truly lived out the better half of his life like a dog,' Jie thought, shaking his head. 'Outsiders are degrading his village like this, yet he holds back and do's nothing.'
His gaze suddenly sharpened.
Since Hiruzen didn't want to make a move, he would leave it to the Konoha Military Police Force. After all, wasn't the Police Force's duty to protect the villagers from being harmed by outsiders?
"Rasengan: Miniature Shuriken!"
Jie extended a single finger. Chakra gathered rapidly at his fingertip, instantly forming a tiny Rasengan. He had drawn inspiration for this move from Boruto; a Rasengan that turned invisible after being thrown was sometimes even more practical than a standard one.
Jie lightly flicked his finger, and the tiny sphere of chakra shot forward. After flying for a few meters, it vanished into thin air, as if it had simply lost its momentum.
"For a cowardly village like this, I should report to Lord Raikage and continue the war—"
The Kumogakure ninja holding Naruto wanted to continue mocking them, but an intense, overwhelming sense of crisis suddenly welled up inside her. Before she could even react, a violent mass of chakra exploded against her chest without any warning.
Boom!
The clothes on the ninja's chest instantly tore apart. The terrifying shredding power of the Rasengan immediately turned her chest into a bloody, mangled mess.
"Ah!"
With a cry of agony, the Kumogakure ninja collapsed to the ground, her face twisted in pain.
Naruto seized the perfect opportunity. Shaking off the loosened grip on his collar, he spun around and delivered a swift kick. The moment his foot connected, he darted into the crowd. His speed and fluid movements caught even the Kumogakure shinobi completely off guard.
However, they didn't have time to care about the kid right now. To prevent another sneak attack from the shadows, the leader of the Kumogakure envoy instantly formed a defensive perimeter around the fallen ninja.
"Karui, how are you holding up?!"
"Who's there? Who dared to attack the Kumogakure envoy?!"
"Is the Hidden Leaf trying to provoke another war between our two nations?!" The envoy leader stepped forward, his face flushed with shock and fury.
"I've seen plenty of shinobi, and I've seen plenty of arrogant people," a voice called out calmly. "But going to another village and strutting around instead of keeping your tail tucked between your legs? That's a first for me."
Wearing a cold smile, Jie Uchiha slowly stepped out of the crowd and approached the Kumogakure envoy.
Upto 40 chapters ahead on patreon :-
patreon.com/Vristikk