Let's turn the clock back a little.
At the Hidden Sand Village.
Daimaru received an S-rank mission, and he was ecstatic! How could a mere genin like him get to participate in a mission of this caliber? Could it be that his title, "Red Dust, Daimaru of the Wind," was no longer a secret?
Just as I thought. Even though he tried his best to hide it, the village still discovered his talent and planned to groom him as the future Kazekage! Hahaha.
With an excited heart, Daimaru went to find his team captain, Yura.
"Daimaru, this mission is very dangerous. You need to be prepared!" Yura encouraged the excited Daimaru. However, Yura himself wore a bitter expression, as if his parents had just died. No one wanted to lead a mission like this. It was an enormous humiliation that would be recorded in the village's history books! The task had been passed around the village until it finally landed on him, a jonin with little seniority. This mission was of unknown danger, but his reputation was definitely on the line!
"Captain Yura, did the village choose me for this S-rank mission because they discovered my talent to become a Kage and are planning to fully support me? Hahaha."
Hearing this, Yura felt helpless. The kid was way too confident. After the Konoha Crush, there weren't many ninjas left in the village who could perform missions, so they had no choice but to bring a genin along. That was all there was to it! Besides, for that person, it didn't matter whether it was a genin or a jonin; it was all the same. However, at a time like this, Yura didn't want to bluntly discourage Daimaru. He simply offered a word of encouragement and then gathered the team.
The team was small, with only five people. A jonin as the leader, three chuunin, and one genin—Daimaru. The team had received intel that Naruto Uzumaki was currently in the Tanzaku Town. Tanzaku Town was in the southwest of the Land of Fire, near the border of the Land of Wind, so the team's travel speed was fast. If nothing went wrong, they would see Naruto Uzumaki tomorrow.
On the way, the team leader, Yura, explained the details of the mission. They were going to negotiate! With a boy who was only twelve years old!
"Our entire Hidden Sand Village is going to take the initiative to negotiate with Naruto Uzumaki, that twelve-year-old brat?" Yura had just finished explaining the mission, and the other three chuunin were silent, but Daimaru reacted strongly! They were the Hidden Sand Village, one of the five great ninja villages! Naruto Uzumaki, a genin around his age, was going to make the entire Hidden Sand Village humble themselves and try to please him? He couldn't accept it!
Daimaru looked at his teammates with disbelief. The three chuunin and even the jonin captain, Yura, were completely unfazed! Give me some reaction, damn it! You're a jonin and three chuunin; there's no way you should be scared by a genin!
Suddenly, he realized something. In the Hidden Sand Village, he had heard of Naruto Uzumaki's name. His reputation was famous, and his achievements were terrifying. But...
"Hey, you guys aren't actually scared by the Naruto Uzumaki reported in the newspapers, are you?" Daimaru shouted. "It's just news made up by the newspapers! How could that stuff be real? The Ninja World Daily has been doing everything they can to promote the Leaf Village and Naruto Uzumaki during the entire Chunin Exams. Can't you see it?"
"This is all news that the Leaf Village paid for! If our Hidden Sand Village had enough money to promote me, Daimaru, I could also become a once-in-a-millennium genius of the ninja world! Hahaha..."
A masked chuunin suddenly laughed at Daimaru's joke. Although Daimaru's words sounded unrefined, they did hold some truth to the others. However, there was one undeniable fact that supported the news.
"But a large portion of our Hidden Sand Village's fighting force was captured by the Leaf Village."
"The Leaf Village was already much stronger than our Hidden Sand Village. Is it really that strange that we were defeated and captured by them?" The chuunin who asked the question was stunned. It didn't seem strange at all.
For those who didn't participate, their knowledge of the Konoha Crush was limited, and they only knew bits and pieces. Yura, who knew more, remained silent and lost in thought. After considering things from a different perspective, the others reevaluated Daimaru's previous words and found them to be quite reasonable. Not just a little reasonable, but very reasonable. Based on their attitudes, the Leaf Village's propaganda had at least achieved its goal. They were already intimidated by Naruto Uzumaki's reputation and power even though they hadn't even met him. And they hadn't even realized this tactic themselves!
What kind of tactic was this? Was it a media war? Or something else? The few of them didn't know what this new tactic was called. It didn't matter.
A chuunin who had just come to his senses roared, "Hmph! The Leaf Village is so devious! They're using this method to intimidate others!"
"What about that one-second flash to defeat fifty of our Hidden Sand ninjas, or that one person defeating the First and Second Hokage? It must all be lies!" a chuunin said through gritted teeth. Even as enemies, no, as allied ninja villages, they still knew that the First and Second Hokage were legendary figures. And now, they were supposedly easily defeated by a twelve-year-old genin? Who would believe such an exaggerated story?! He had his doubts when he first read the news, but he had never dared to speak up!
"Exactly! And we were intimidated by this tactic!" Hearing the three people complain, Daimaru replied decisively, "Right? How could such a genius person exist? Even I, Daimaru, couldn't do all that!"
"Hahaha." The others just laughed at his words. Daimaru was indeed overly confident. But this kind of confidence was a good thing! See, this kid had found the flaw in a matter that their Hidden Sand Village hadn't even noticed! With this thought, everyone felt a bit more at ease.
One of the chuunin looked at their silent captain. "Captain Yura, say something!"
Yura looked up and at his four temporary subordinates. In the end, he remained silent, not saying a word. His calm eyes were like a deep abyss, and no one could guess what he was thinking. In fact, Yura had already had his doubts about the intel they had received from above. The news in the newspapers and the incoming reports all seemed like a joke, not real intelligence. Yura didn't have the authority to ask the intelligence department to reconfirm, so he could only temporarily accept the intel.
Now, after hearing Daimaru's analysis, out of a jonin's cautious nature, he neither refuted nor agreed with Daimaru's point of view. "No matter what, it's never wrong to be cautious. Just complete our mission." Yura reminded them in a low voice.
Daimaru, seeing this, took it upon himself to lead. "Captain Yura, don't worry! I, 'Red Dust, Daimaru of the Wind,' will test out Naruto Uzumaki's strength!"
Yura just glanced at him and said nothing more. He knew his mission and the bottom line the village had given him. It was a very large sum of money. If Daimaru could test Naruto Uzumaki's strength, maybe the village could save that money?
Time returned to the present, in Tanzaku Town. Yura's group, after asking around, had a general idea of where Naruto Uzumaki usually was. Finally, they waited for him on a certain road. From the corners and rooftops, everyone focused on observing the Naruto Uzumaki walking down the street.
He was just an unremarkable young boy. Aside from his good looks, there was nothing else to describe. He held a can of soda in his right hand and two skewers of takoyaki in his left. He was walking with a swagger, his steps in a strange rhythm.
Gulp, gulp, gulp~~~ The sound of the empty soda can being sucked dry came, but he was still happily playing with it.
The group was speechless. This is the legendary Naruto Uzumaki, who single-handedly defeated two Hokage and instantly killed fifty Hidden Sand ninjas? Heh! He's just an immature kid! As expected, the news in the papers was all lies!
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Several figures with an aggressive aura suddenly appeared in front of him. Naruto looked up at the newcomers. They were all travel-worn, and they had Hidden Sand headbands on their foreheads. What did these people want from him?
"You must be Naruto Uzumaki?" The one leading them was a ninja with a head wrap, a cloth hanging from his headband, and a side fringe covering one eye.
"Yeah. What do you want?"
Before the leader could speak, a young, short kid stepped out from the side after hearing Naruto's affirmative answer. Daimaru's face was arrogant and confident. He pointed a finger at Naruto's nose. "So YOU'RE Naruto Uzumaki, huh?"
That arrogant tone, that overbearing attitude. Heh. It just proved that people really do laugh when they're speechless.
Naruto gave a helpless laugh. Where did this idiot come from? But he found it amusing. It had been a long time since anyone had dared to be so arrogant in front of him. The last person to point a finger at him like that was probably Konohamaru. He wasn't going to let this slide!
Naruto's eyes flashed, and an endless will and immense pupil power instantly burst forth!
Suddenly, everyone felt the atmosphere around the blond kid change dramatically. The laziness on his body instantly disappeared, replaced by an unparalleled sharpness. This sharp edge seemed to pierce everyone's will with just a single glance!
Daimaru, who was the closest, felt it the most. He was the first to face it! In the instant their eyes met, Daimaru felt as if he were staring into a bottomless abyss. In the next second, he felt a hand grip his heart, making it difficult to even breathe! Then, Daimaru realized that he couldn't control his body. Moving even a single finger was harder than climbing a mountain.
"You..." What he wanted to say got stuck in his throat because he couldn't control his body, and all that came out was a gurgling roar.
Suddenly, an overwhelming fear enveloped Daimaru. The shadow of death instantly loomed over him! I was wrong! Daimaru suddenly realized that he had made a mistake, and it was an absurd one! With just a look, he had become a fish waiting to be slaughtered. He couldn't even control his own life or death! Naruto Uzumaki's power was too terrifying! All those things reported in the newspapers weren't lies after all! This feeling... it was too powerless.
Thud!
Unable to bear the pressure, Daimaru knelt on the ground. He struggled to lift his head and saw Naruto, bathed in the blinding sunlight, looking like a god. His eyes were condescending, and he looked at Daimaru like an ant, without a trace of mercy.
"Daimaru!" The three chuunin shouted.
But they were met with Naruto's gaze. As his eyes swept over them, thud, thud, thud... In three sounds, the three chuunin who had been shouting were now unconscious on the ground. They had no ability to resist; they were defeated instantly.
Finally, Naruto's gaze fell on the only other person in the field who was still standing. This person hadn't had a chance to speak since his first words. He just stood there, trembling, looking pitiful, weak, and helpless.
"What are you guys doing? You didn't come all this way just to get beat up, did you?" Naruto asked, puzzled, staring at the leader. He couldn't understand their purpose. Was it an assassination attempt? But who would carry out an assassination by walking up to their target in broad daylight?
Yura, on the other hand, was sweating profusely. He had watched Naruto's movements the entire time. This person hadn't even moved his hands, yet he had instantly rendered all of their people incapable of fighting. Now, facing this terrifying and unknown pressure, his heart was about to jump out of his chest.
"Sir..." Yura said with a trembling voice. "We have come to negotiate with you on behalf of the Hidden Sand Village."
"Negotiate?" Naruto chuckled as if he had heard a joke. "But I haven't felt even a shred of respect from you!" Before Yura could reply, Naruto opened his palm. He had lost his patience and decided to get straight to the point.
"Let me see what you guys want to do!"
Yura's eyes were fixed on Naruto's outstretched hand. He tried to dodge, but he suddenly realized that his body was no longer under his control. He used all his might, but he couldn't even move a single finger. Is this a genjutsu? How can there be such a terrifying genjutsu?! No wonder the others reacted that way!
Yura was terrified. He desperately tried to channel his chakra, but it was useless. He could only watch as Naruto's hand landed on his forehead. With just a light tap, Naruto's hand was gone. Yura felt his mind go blank. Then...
"Our purpose is to negotiate with you on behalf of the Hidden Sand Village." The words came out of Yura's mouth, and he was inexplicably terrified. He realized that it was his own voice speaking, but the words were not his own. He didn't even feel like he was speaking. Yet, his body was uncontrollably spilling out information.
He continued, "We were in negotiations with the Leaf Village regarding our captured ninjas. We had agreed on five hundred million Ryo in reparations, but a few days ago, the Leaf Village suddenly changed the terms and unilaterally increased the reparations to ten billion Ryo."
With a look of terror on his face, Yura's mouth continued to leak information. "Elder Chiyo speculated from intel that this matter was related to you, so she formed a negotiation team to come and negotiate with you directly."
"Oh? I see." Naruto nodded. So they really were here to negotiate. The reason was a bit interesting. Old Man Hiruzen knew how to shift the pressure, didn't he?
As for negotiating with the Hidden Sand Village, Naruto had something he wanted to talk about! "What is your bottom line?" Naruto asked directly.
"Our bottom line is..." Don't answer! Don't answer! Yura screamed inside, but reality didn't go as he had planned. His mouth kept on blabbering. "Our bottom line is seven point two billion Ryo. This is the maximum our Hidden Sand Village can afford. We can't pay any more."
Seven point two billion Ryo, huh? Naruto murmured to himself and continued to ask, "Do you have the authority to handle these negotiations completely?"
"Of course." "Yura's" mouth answered with certainty. "With only one day left before the deadline, our Hidden Sand Village has no other choice."
"Good! You analyze for me if I can add a useless piece of desert wasteland to the seven point two billion."
"As for desert wasteland, our Land of Wind has plenty. Most of it belongs to the daimyo." Naruto took out a map, pointed to a marked area, and drew a circle around it. "What about this one? Does it belong to you?"
Yura uncontrollably took two steps forward and looked at the map. The small circled area was not far from the Hidden Sand Village. "This area does fall within the Hidden Sand Village's jurisdiction."
"Excellent!" Naruto nodded in satisfaction. "If you cede this area to me, I'll agree to your terms."
"Really?" This time, it wasn't Naruto controlling him. It was Yura, who had regained control, speaking with genuine surprise. A piece of desert was worth two point eight billion Ryo? Was there gold buried under that desert? Besides, the small circle he had drawn was only a few tens of thousands of square kilometers at most.
"Of course, it's true." Naruto smiled meaningfully. He had originally planned to use more than ten billion Ryo to buy this land, but now he was getting it for free! And the money he was getting was all an unexpected bonus! Seeing this, Naruto prepared his next move. "Not only that, but I won't even take seven point two billion Ryo from you. I'll take fifty billion Ryo instead."
"Really?" This time, Yura was completely shocked!
"Of course. Let's sign the contract right now!" They drafted a contract, and in a short while, the two of them signed the Naruto Uzumaki and Hidden Sand Village Memorandum of Understanding. The contract stipulated the money and the piece of land. Once Yura brought it back, the contract would officially take effect.
He thought that after signing this contract, this person named Yura should be a hero of the Hidden Sand Village, right? Wait, no, there was one more step: the propaganda machine.
"By the way, Yura, do you... have a dream?"