Chapter 21
Three days after the Kumo leader was critically injured, he regained consciousness. His vital signs had stabilized.
At the main entrance of the Hokage Tower.
"Please."
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood in his full Hokage robes, pipe in hand, wearing that signature gentle smile—impeccable and impossible to fault.
A cold wind swept through. Traces of the festival from two days ago still lingered in the air, but the atmosphere now was icy.
Behind him, an Anbu handed over a sealed scroll.
"This is a letter written personally by me to the Raikage. It details every action your village took inside Konoha."
"I hope Lord Raikage, upon reading it, will provide me, the Hyūga clan, and Konoha with a reasonable explanation. After all, we do not wish for the peace brought by this alliance treaty to be tainted by such underhanded methods."
Hiruzen deliberately emphasized the word "peace."
"Please ensure it reaches the Raikage."
The two remaining Kumo escorts stood with ashen faces. One of them took the scroll with trembling hands.
On the ground nearby, the gravely wounded Kumo leader lay limp on a stretcher, breathing shallowly—he would soon be carried away by his subordinates.
His body was wrapped in thick bandages. In his exposed left eye burned both venomous hatred and deep, lingering fear from that night.
That single strike—the "Eight Trigrams: Azure Dragon Probes Claw" wrapped in Nine-Tails chakra—hadn't just shattered his ribs.
More critically, the chakra had surged into his body, mangling the chakra pathways around his chest into chaos.
For a ninja, that was worse than death.
Unless a top-tier medical ninja from the shinobi world personally realigned them, even full recovery would leave permanent hidden damage—severely hindering his ability to perform ninjutsu smoothly and drastically reducing his combat power.
The ninja holding the scroll shook slightly. He knew full well this was no ordinary letter—it was a formal condemnation.
"We… will deliver it to Lord Raikage as instructed."
He could already picture the Raikage's fury. Not only had they failed to obtain the Byakugan—they had been thoroughly humiliated in Konoha.
Though they were leaving with their lives intact, whether they would still be breathing by the time they reached the Raikage was another matter.
"Let's go!"
They secured the scroll, lifted their barely-alive leader, and slunk away like beaten dogs—hurrying down the main road, vanishing into the forest beyond the village gates, racing toward the border.
At the same time—underground at the edge of Konoha, in Root's hidden base.
The place never saw sunlight—perpetually dark, damp, and reeking faintly of mold and decay.
Danzō Shimura stood at the center of Root's cross-shaped bridge, listening to his subordinate's report. A ruthless glint flashed in his single eye.
"That old fool Hiruzen really just let them leave?"
Danzō's voice was hoarse with contempt. "That was the man who tried to kidnap the Hyūga heiress! An invader of Konoha! And all he gets is a harmless little condemnation letter?"
"Hiruzen, Hiruzen… your weakness will doom Konoha sooner or later!"
Danzō paced back and forth on the bridge, leaning on his cane.
In his mind, once Kumo had dared to step on Konoha's face like this, the only correct response was to cut them down root and stem.
More importantly… the power Naruto displayed that night filled him with delight.
That was the prototype of a perfect jinchūriki weapon!
Unfortunately, Hiruzen's attitude that night had been unyielding. He hadn't pressed further afterward.
As long as Konoha remained at peace, Hiruzen would never allow him to touch Naruto.
He dared to send assassins after Hiruzen on the road to the daimyo's palace when the Third was temporarily stepping down—but he did not dare kidnap Uzumaki Naruto while Hiruzen still held the Hokage seat.
Only war…
Only if Kumo's ninja continued invading Fire Country's borders, forcing Hiruzen to crave a counterstrike—only then would he understand the importance of "power" and willingly hand over the Nine-Tails jinchūriki to Danzō, who possessed Wood Release, for training!
At that thought, Danzō stopped pacing. His gaze turned ice-cold and manic.
"Take a squad of Root elites."
Danzō issued the order to the ninja kneeling before him. "Intercept the Kumo delegation at the Fire Country border. Disguise yourselves as rogue ninja."
"Leave no survivors—not the crippled leader, not the escorts. Kill them all."
"As long as they die on the road, the Raikage will have no choice but to settle the score—even if he doesn't want to!"
"Yes, sir!"
In the darkness, several black shadows vanished instantly.
...
Near noon—at Ichiraku Ramen.
"Uncle! Another bowl of tonkotsu chashu ramen! Extra narutomaki!"
Naruto sat on a tall stool, legs swinging happily.
He had accomplished a great feat. Though the incident couldn't be made public and he'd been told to keep quiet,
Grandpa Third had still waved a generous hand and given him a hefty sum of "pocket money" as reward—enough to enjoy ramen freedom for at least the next month.
"Coming right up! Naruto's appetite is as big as ever today!" Teuchi grinned while fishing noodles from the pot.
Naruto cradled an empty bowl bigger than his face and let out a satisfied sigh. "It's all because Uncle's ramen is just too good!"
"Haha, come back anytime if it's that tasty."
While waiting for the next bowl, Naruto chatted with Xuanming beside him.
"Fox Sage can't eat Uncle Teuchi's ramen—that's really too bad!"
Even though Xuanming sat with him, eating delicious food was always better when two people enjoyed it together with big mouthfuls.
Teuchi had long grown used to it. Uzumaki Naruto had been talking to thin air for a long time—as if he had an invisible friend.
But was Teuchi the type to care about supernatural things? Even if a real ghost came to the ramen shop, it would bow before the deliciousness of his broth.
Xuanming, seated beside him, didn't respond to Naruto's lament about food.
The Taiji mark on his brow slowly rotated.
Xuanming spoke calmly: "We just sent away a pack of greedy wolves… only for a viper from our own house to follow behind."
"The roots of this great tree have long since rotted and mildewed."
"Huh? What wolves, snakes, and trees?"
Naruto looked completely confused as he accepted the fresh bowl from Teuchi. "Did animals from the forest come out?"
"Just eat your noodles. This matter no longer concerns you."
Xuanming shook his head, gaze drifting beyond the village. "Someone else will clean up the mess."
Whether it was enhanced malice perception, daily cultivation attuning him to nature, or unconsciously absorbing local natural energy—
Xuanming's vision pierced through the walls of Ichiraku Ramen, looking toward the dense forest outside the village.
Heart cultivation merged his mind with nature. With memories of the original story's characters and plot, plus the Nine-Tails' acute sensitivity to malice and natural energy's enhancement of perception—
All combined.
Just now he had faintly glimpsed fragments related to himself and Naruto—something akin to the Great Toad Sage's prophetic dreams.
The shadow of malice representing Danzō had chased after the departing resentment of the Kumo delegation.
Though the vision was blurry, it was clearer than any divination.
Based on the outcome he foresaw, Danzō would not achieve his goal.
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