Naruto: The Last Harbinger of Storm
NTLHOS BOOK 2: Chapter 30 Aftermath
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🖋️ Author's Note:
Sorry for the slight delay, just one day this time 😅. I'm slowly getting back on track, and I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! 🙏
While it may feel like a filler, this chapter is crucial. It captures the reaction across the Elemental Nations and I have planted the seeds for future plot 🌱.
Thanks again for being patient and sticking with the story! 💌 I'll keep pushing forward and promise even more twists in the next chapter 🔥⚔️.
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"The greatest victories are those won without drawing a blade."— Sun Tzu, The Art of War
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Previously on NTLHOS-2:
Tsunade watched Kushina's retreating silhouette until it disappeared into the lower streets. Only then did she turn to Suifu. "Thank you, Grand Marshal. I'll trust that your oath will keep her in check as well, just as it protects her and she knows this."
Suifu bowed, the lacquered case still clutched to his chest. "My oath is to the main line, Lady Regent, to the child you bear and the city he will one day inherit. I can restrain her if necessary, but unless she harms you while you are pregnant, or attacks the Emperor after his birth, I cannot mortally wound or kill her and she knows this as well."
The night air pressed cool and heavy. Far out to sea, the Emperor's ship crossed the horizon line and vanished. Within the gate, two Uzumaki women, one sworn to empire, the other sworn to vengeance—walked separate paths toward an uncertain dawn.
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Now:
A year had passed since Naruto's exile, and much had changed in the Elemental Nations. But at the very beginning of his exile, the entire continent was left in utter shock, staggered beyond measure by the realization of just how thoroughly they had been played.
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"WHAT?!" was the common reaction echoed by all the Daimyō and Kage who received the news.
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The Fire Daimyo's receiving hall was a lacquered with banners, braziers, and nobles. Late afternoon sun glared through the windows, striping the long table where ministers and clan proxies sat. Normally, the greatest disturbance the chamber suffered was an occasional coughing from an advisor.
Today, that tranquility shattered when Grand Monk of the fire temple swept in, saffron robes flaring behind him. He should have arrived in quiet deference, head bowed, staff muted. Instead, he strode straight down the carpet, prayer beads clicking and kept a scroll onto the Daimyo's personal lectern.
he Daimyō, Lord Ishikawa, blinked down at the scroll: an intricate vermilion whirlpool coiled around the sigil of Bishonin, if he wasn't mistaken, the deity of war and a contracts.
"What," he managed, "is this?"
"Your Grace, forgive the intrusion, but matters of paramount urgency require your immediate attention," said the Grand Monk, his voice calm, carrying no urgency, only a hint of amusement.
Ministers exchanged fraught glances. Lord Ishikawa sighed. "Everyone except the monk remain seated. Explain."
Jinzō drew himself up. "Last nights, during a meditation, the Five Elemental Shrines received simultaneous revelation from our respective dieties. An edict from Bishonin himself. It concerns Naruto Uzumaki."
Whispers broke out; a quill snapped somewhere along the table. Ishikawa frowned. "An edict? But why? Uzumaki Naruto is exiled."
"Precisely," the monk said. "And its content… will be difficult to digest."
Ishikawa leaned forward, fingers steepled. "Speak plainly."
The Grand Monk untied the seal. "This is a copy of the edict I transcribed from the revelation I received. But even I was not made privy to what will end the exile. In summary: Bishonin acknowledges a binding contract with the Arch Sage. The deity ordained an exile of unbroken solitude as atonement for a wish the Arch Sage made. As for the exact duration, I do not know. As a consequence, the Arch Sage must forfeit all personal freedom to rule during those years. However, before the exile officially began, Bishonin granted him a brief period, Your Grace, to settle worldly affairs. That was the time spanning from the wish made during Nobinaga's invasion… to yesterday evening."
He rolled the scroll open. Kanji characters shimmered with faint indigo light. Ishikawa read them once, eyes widening then again, slower. Someone in the hall muttered, "Impossible…"
The Grand Monk continued, voice tight. "During that period, Lord Naruto attended the Daimyo and Kage summit, negotiated indemnities, military protections, and extracted lineage concessions. Then he surrendered himself to exile exactly when the god's hourglass emptied."
Ishikawa ground his teeth. "You're telling me the entire diplomatic rout we suffered was orchestrated for a divine loophole?"
"In neat calligraphy, yes." Gasps of disbelief rippled down the table.
An indignant minister pounded his fist on the table. "We should annul every concession! Bishonin's edict or not, the man deceived us. The treaty is built on omission and fraud! This contract was not signed in good faith!"
The Grand Monk smiled, unbothered. "A lack of good faith, perhaps. But we signed, and he fulfilled his part. He withdrew his forces from Kirigakure and formally acknowledged the new Water Daimyo. Did we ask why he was doing this? No, we assumed. And in matters of contract, whether divine or mundane, a party is not obligated to lay bare all disadvantages unless directly questioned. Merchants rarely advertise which of their goods are useless for you, they just sell. And daimyos never announce the weak points in their fortress walls before negotiating a defence pact. Assumption is not deceit, my lords, it is simply unasked truth."
Another official spat. "Comparing international covenants to market haggling, sacrilege!"
"Then allow me holier language." The monk's eyes flashed. "The arch sage presented terms; we accepted. Our ignorance of his timetable is not breach on his part, it's lapse in our due diligence."
A hush settled. Lord Ishikawa inhaled slowly. "Assume you are right. We void the treaty. What then?"
"The dieties would be forced to declare an act against you. The contract that all the Daimyo signed at the Land of Iron summit was sealed in blood, before both the Iron Maiden and the Shinigami. You signed it in their presence, remember? The Iron Maiden drank the oath; the Shinigami's jade effigy recorded it. To break that bond would bring contempt upon your entire bloodline. And don't forget, the Fourth Hokage used the Shinigami to bind the Nine-Tails. Do you truly believe it cannot punish a transgressor?"
One of the new noble scoffed. "Monk's superstition!"
The monk tapped the scroll. "Tell that to the Wind Daimyo. Two decades ago he defaulted on a war tithe sworn before the Iron Maiden and, he suffered a stroke, physicians found no cause. His successor paid double restitution within a month."
The envoy subsided. Another minister spoke up. "Could we not plead misrepresentation? Have the deity rescind?"
"To petition the Shinigami," the monk said quietly, "requires a public self-immolation ritual by the Daimyo who signed the offending contract. The god may, if moved, appear to renegotiate terms." He paused. "Historically, the success rate is below ten percent. Do you truly believe an Arch Sage of His Grace Naruto's calibre would leave loopholes? That he'd allow any room for evasion? The younger nobles may not grasp the gravity, but all five Daimyo, the older nobles, and the high noble lines know the consequences of defying a divine contract. Even without divine punishment, what value would a Daimyo's contract hold if we do don't follow it simply because of our own incompetence?"
All eyes shifted to Lord Ishikawa. The Daimyo paled a shade but maintained dignity. "No. We will not invite divine wrath or evade the contract."
Whispers rose again.
Lord Ishikawa turned sharply to the monk, his eyes narrowing. "Whose side are you on?"
"I stand under the Fire Temple, and by oath, I am bound to advise you, even if you harbour enmity toward the present Grace of the Uzumaki. But let me speak plainly: I have immense respect for him. We five Grand Monks of the Elemental Shrines are held in high esteem, and through extreme hardship and over half a century of dedication, we have managed to reach the higher tiers of sagehood.
But His Grace... he is an Arch Sage, a level we can only dream of. What great deeds must that soul have accomplished in its past lives to attain such a feat in so short a time? The very first time I met him in this palace, even before his foray into spirituality, I could sense he was a highly evolved soul. But even then, I did not realize just how blessed I was to be in presence of such an evolved soul."
That soul has already cultivated fourteen sages under his guidance, training not just for Uzushio but for the shrines themselves. Many more are walking the spiritual path because of him. That is an accomplishment I have not witnessed since the old Uzumaki civilization was razed to the sea.
Yes, I concede that even though Uzushio has developed far beyond what it once was, becoming not just a village but a true empire, it has yet to regain the spiritual brilliance it once held. In the past, enlightened souls who are even above the arch sage used to wander its streets. Now there are twenty sages, still a pale reflection of what once was.
But twenty is a miracle, considering the short span since its rebirth. Outside of Uzushio, sages are all but extinct, because survival and conflict consume all energy. But inside Uzushio, they've managed to create space, an ocean of stillness, where seekers can rise above mere survival and begin the journey inward, through once ignorance toward the shores of ultimate truth.
Forgive me, I've drifted. My point is this: I deeply respect His Grace, and I sincerely hope he succeeds. Because until he emerged, the tides only carried humanity further into the abyss, into the sea of materialism and ignorance."
The Daimyo sighed at the monk's words and said, "At the very least, explain how he managed to achieve this disaster?."
The monk gathered his sleeves. "My best hypothesis is that when Nobinaga's assault began, Naruto evoked Bishonin to break confinement. From the charts and dates, that was the day when the Uzumaki head enters solitude for the betterment of the shrine. As payment for bypassing the chamber, his future exile term was extended proportionally, escaping a single day of exile cost him years. But he was granted time to settle his affairs. He exploited that window, traveled to the Land of Iron at your summons, and orchestrated a masterstroke: securing recognition of Uzushio's sovereignty, trade rights, the Uchiha clan, and then after the incident, the Yamanaka, Akimichi, and the non-aggression shield of five nations, banking rights protecting the Senju properties from Nobinaga, all for a self-exile he was doomed to face anyway."
A stunned silence. Then Lord Ishikawa burst, "WHAT!", the cry echoed off gilded beams, earning astonished looks from courtiers unused to his composure cracking.
As the old saying goes, "If something seems too good to be true, probably it isn't or was it, it is."
The monk gave a knowing nod. "And that's exactly what you all missed. Everyone was so eager to celebrate the concessions, so stunned by the scale of the deal, that no one stopped to ask why it was being offered. I believe His Grace knew exactly what he was doing. Asking for the Uchiha, the trade routes, even the non-aggression pact, it all seemed grand, but in truth, it was modest compared to the Kirigakure lands. Up until the Uchiha incident, he hadn't asked for anything outrageous, apart from securing a powerful clan like the Uchiha, which many dismissed as mere sentimentality. And those lands, without him, were impossible to hold anyway. He gave up what could not be kept and took what would outlast his absence. It was never about taking more, it was about leaving behind less vulnerability."
"It is… ingenious," monk admitted. "He converted inevitable punishment into a crowbar for political gain."
The finance minister buried his face in his hands. "He outplayed us… with nothing."
"Not quite nothing," corrected the monk. "Four years of life, isolated from his wife and unborn son. A cost most would consider steep divine or not."
The Daimyo, red-faced and trembling with fury, seized his sake cup with a shaking hand. He took a sharp sip, then, with a guttural growl, hurled it against the wall where it shattered with a sharp crack.
"To hell with the Uzumaki!" he roared. "That cursed bloodline and its silver-tongued bastard emperor! I should have had him executed him all those years ago!"
The room fell into stunned silence. Ministers froze, some gasping audibly. Never before had the Daimyo, known for his cold composure unleashed such venom. His mask of nobility had cracked, and beneath it lay pure, unfiltered outrage.
Ishikawa slumped back, rubbing temples. "Yet the common folk will see only that we were duped. The nobles already whisper I signed away the treasury. Make sure this news doesn't get out"
Another voice, an advisor known for handling the palace's more unsavory affairs spoke softly, almost too softly.
"Could we… persuade someone like Nobinaga to accelerate Naruto's return? Perhaps force the exile to break through conflict?" He paused, then added, "I've heard of an organization, Akatsuki. Its leader is said to be an SS-rank shinobi like Nobinaga."
The monk's prayer beads clicked softly as he spoke with finality. "If the exile ends prematurely, the deity will reclaim the life that was redeemed. At worst, Naruto dies. At best, he is punished further. But my hypothesis is this Uzumaki Naruto will be physically unable to re-enter Uzushio, even to protect it."
The Daimyo closed his eyes. When they opened, resignation tempered the fury. "Very well. We uphold the treaty. We pray the cost was not too dear. But we will poke the extend of this treaty we will keep this Akatsuki plan on halt and see if we do this will face any repucassion"
The Monk bowed. "Wise decision, my lord."
He turned to leave, but Lord Ishikawa called, "Grand Monk." The elder paused.
The Daimyo's voice softened, almost rueful. "Had we nurtured more sages diligently, perhaps we would not have been blindsided."
The Monk replies. "Few rulers fund libraries of the soul, Your Grace. They fund arsenals of steel. Uzumaki built both."
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In the Earth Daimyo's obsidian palace, the atmosphere shattered like brittle stone when the First Monk of the Earth Shrine unrolled the edict before the assembled court.
"WHAT!?" the Earth Daimyo roared, veins bulging at his temple as the inked sigil of Bhishonin pulsed faintly on the parchment. "You mean to say, he did all this after Nobinaga's attack?"
The monk said stiffly. "Yes, Your Grace. Uzumaki Naruto bartered with Bhishonin before entering exile and in that few days, he rewrote your geopolitical future."
The old Daimyo turned toward his treasurer. "Bring me the treaty ledger. All of it. I want every concession, every clause, every rider down to the ink and seals!"
In the corner, Onoki let out a rasped cough that might've been a laugh or a curse. "Damn redhead outmanoeuvred us like we were academy genin. And you fools let it happen under your nose."
The Daimyo spat, "Cursed bloodline. I warned my father they should've never been allowed to rebuild."
One minister muttered, "They rebuilt under our noses, not our permission."
Silence answered that truth.
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In Lightning Country, at the base of the High lightening palace, the shrine envoy arrived unannounced, scroll in hand, nerves in shreds. The Raikage and Lightning Daimyo were together, seated before a war table when the news was read.
There was a beat of silence.
Then the Raikage slammed his fist into the table hard enough to crack stone.
"THOSE RED-HAIRED DEVILS!"
The Daimyo's face darkened. "We signed off protections and trade routes for a man already doomed. Doomed, A! He traded exile for empires!"
The Raikage growled, lightening chakra licking his shoulders. "It's the curse of the Uzumakis. First Mito Uzumaki. Then that monstress Kushina. Now this boy. Why does our nation always get dragged into their vortex?"
The shrine envoy, still composed despite the chakra frying scroll edges, smiled politely. "Perhaps next time, Your Excellency, will consult us."
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In the Wind Daimyo's sandstone fortress, a draft edict slipped from trembling fingers. The news of edict had arrived by hawk. The parchment was still warm.
The Daimyo's aide whispered, "Your Excellency… what shall we do?"
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In the remnants of the land of water, in the newly restructured place in the capital of land of water, the new daimyo held the missive in gloved fingers, silent.
"The Bishonin contract is confirmed?" he asked quietly.
"Yes, your grace. The Edict. Land of Iron. Signed, witnessed, sealed."
He nodded once. "So even exile was part of his game. He left nothing for us to strike—no wound unguarded. But we are not among the signatories. Still, we cannot act recklessly. The foundation and legitimacy of our rule rests on the recognition of the other Daimyo. We'll have to wait... until we regain our strength."
He paused, a faint smile playing at the edge of his lips.
"I have a new friend who may help us."
And from the shadows, a masked man stepped forward.
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Back in Sunagakure, Gaara, the Kazekage, read the letter silently. No outburst. No slammed fists. Just the faint tightening of his grip.
Temari glanced over. "I take it is not good news?"
"He outplayed every one of us," Gaara said. "And now he's vanished. A ghost wearing a god's robes."
Temari sighed. "And the village elders?"
"They're panicking, but it's too late. He still holds significant business interests in Suna under various shell companies and names. And the elders there haven't forgotten how he plunged their economy into a depression the last time."
He folded the letter, eyes distant. "A wind strong enough to reshape dunes leaves no room for old tracks."
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The daimyo palaces of the Elemental Nations buzzed with the headline, UZUMAKI REWRITES HISTORY, THEN VANISHES; EMPEROR TRADES NOTHING FOR EVERYTHING. Diplomats scrambled for new strategies, while the common folks remained oblivious of the happening.
Kushina, reading reports from her chamber in Uzushio, laughed once a short, grudging chuckle. "That's my boy," she murmured. Then her expression hardened. If the gods protected Uzushio from foreign blades, then she will use that time to stab others.
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And somewhere deep in the forest, far from thrones, Naruto tilted his head back and laughed.
"Ahahaha, gods forgive me," he wheezed between breaths, leaning against a moss-covered tree. "They're most likely will be panicking. I can feel it. Every last one of them."
He wiped his eyes, half from mirth, half from the burn of exhaustion. "Even I had to burn through nearly all my power just to suppress the information long enough. If a single piece had slipped before the Daimyo Summit, they'd have twisted it into chain to leash me."
His laughter faded into a grin wry, tired, a little smug.
"But not one of them figured it out in time. Not even the Grand Monks. A few managed to piece it together through their deities, like his mother but not before the Daimyo Summit. Had she realized earlier, he could only shudder at the level of blackmail she would have pulled. He knew he would've paid anything to suppress the truth, because if the major villages had known he would leave Uzushio unprotected, they would have bled him dry."
He exhaled deeply, laying a hand over his chest where the spiritual recoil still echoed through his chakra.
"They'll come knocking, eventually. But by then… well." He smiled, eyes gleaming. "Let's see what the world looks like when the so called gods descend."
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Tsunade, now almost year later is spending the evenings on the balcony of the palace Tower, reading letters from across the world. It has been few months since she gave birth to the Arashi.
While the world believed Uzushio was thriving, she knew the truth, it was struggling. The moment Naruto left, grumblings began, and the age-old process of power grabbing started even in Uzu. Though no one contested the authority of the Uzumaki, and all were content to remain under the Uzumaki name, the clans began vying for influence among themselves. Some resented the newcomers, accusing them of receiving undue Favor. Others complained of not getting enough recognition. The unity that bound them was slowly fracturing, and now, nearly a year later, the cracks were undeniable. For it wasn't only Naruto the man who held them together, it was Naruto the emotion that united them.
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To be continued. Stay tuned and let me know your thoughts! Like and comment! 🙏🔥
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