Before the Anbu could react, the envoy from Kumogakure had already walked away.
"Why didn't you stop him?!" the Third Hokage barked toward the door.
A foreign shinobi should never be allowed to freely enter and leave the Hokage building!
"Forgive me, Lord Hokage," said the Anbu from the Sarutobi clan at the entrance, bowing his head respectfully.
But deep down, he didn't regret it.
If he offended a messenger from the Hidden Cloud, he'd likely be sacrificed—just like Naraku. And if that happened, who would stand up for him?
Even as a member of the Hokage's Anbu unit, he dared not take the risk of defying Kumogakure's envoy.
"..." Hiruzen looked at the Anbu with a rising headache.
"Forget it. Just be more careful next time. Do not allow foreign shinobi into the Hokage building again," he ordered.
Then he pointed toward the scroll that had been thrown to the floor. "Also—read the contents of that."
"Yes, sir." The Anbu picked up the scroll and left.
"That was bold of them," Mitokado Homura muttered.
Koharu Utatane nodded grimly. "If those hot-headed villagers saw the threat of war right at their doorstep, perhaps they'd stop screaming about marching into one."
The Third Hokage nodded in agreement.
He had been thinking the same thing.
He hoped that the Raikage's warning would cool the anger flooding the village.
One hour later—
"It didn't work at all!" Shinnosuke said, pacing in frustration. "The announcement has only made people even more furious!"
He was quickly losing control of the situation.
If this escalated into war, the Sarutobi clan might once again be thrown into the front lines.
During the Third Great Ninja War, their clan had already suffered heavy losses while defending Konoha.
Compared to then, they were still recovering—and their numbers were thin.
If another war broke out, who would fill the ranks? Who else would fight?
"It's ridiculous!" Homura slammed the table. "The villagers demanding war are completely unreasonable!"
"It's all because of that damn child!" Koharu's face twisted with resentment.
She didn't bother to hide who she meant: Hyuga Naraku.
"If he had just died quietly, none of this would've happened!"
"Khm." Hiruzen cleared his throat, a subtle but sharp warning to the other elders.
Yes, they were in the Hokage's office, far from prying ears. But there were things best left unsaid, even here.
Still, Hiruzen's expression remained grim as he recalled the events of the past few days.
Naraku.
First, he accused the Hokage himself of betraying the Will of Fire in front of the entire council.
Now? The entire village was ablaze with anger—all over a single act of self-defense.
This boy was too dangerous.
Even if war with Kumogakure could be avoided, Naraku posed a threat that had to be removed.
"I'm also curious how he managed to survive today," Danzo finally spoke, squinting with narrowed eyes.
Today, he had sent the elite of Root:
A wind-style specialist from the Shimura clan, known for devastating vacuum-style ninjutsu.
A strategist from the Nara clan, handpicked from their war planning unit.
An assassin from the Aburame clan, trained in silent, deadly insect techniques.
This squad could threaten even a Kage under the right conditions.
Yet, the assassination failed.
"Bring me Asuma," the Third Hokage ordered Shinnosuke.
Soon after—
Asuma arrived, still visibly shaken. Shinnosuke had briefed him on the official version: the attackers were "foreign spies" from the Hidden Cloud.
Any other narrative would point fingers inward, and that couldn't be allowed.
Still, Asuma was bitter—not only over the farce, but because his own father had slapped him in public.
"Tell us about today's battle," Hiruzen said calmly. "From the beginning."
"It started when I challenged Naraku... over Kurenai," Asuma began hesitantly.
He didn't want to explain the whole story, but under the judging eyes of the room, he had no choice.
He told them everything: the challenge, the duel, the deal that the loser would back off from Kurenai forever.
Hiruzen's face went still. Danzo frowned.
A seventeen-year-old jonin picking a duel over a girl?
He wasn't a child anymore.
Asuma turned red as the room fell into silent judgment, but he continued.
"His blade was... sharper than anything I've ever seen. It cut through my chakra blade like paper."
"And when I used Fire Style—he crushed it. Crippled it with a superior fire technique."
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed.
He knew Asuma's limits well. For someone to defeat him that quickly would require elite jonin skill at minimum.
Was Naraku really that powerful?
Asuma continued, describing the ambush:
"The Shimura clan's wind specialist used a Vacuum Sphere jutsu, but it didn't faze Naraku."
"He moved too fast—his lightning-style was faster than the jutsu itself."
Asuma went into extra detail here—subconsciously justifying his defeat. The stronger Naraku seemed, the less shameful it was to lose.
Danzo's expression soured.
He had personally trained that wind specialist. The Vacuum Wave jutsu he used could flatten entire forests.
If Naraku had really just walked through it…
"I didn't see what happened to the Nara operative," Asuma admitted. "He just... fell out of a tree and died."
"And the Aburame's beetles? Naraku incinerated them. All of them."
Danzo's fists tightened.
He had spent years convincing the Aburame and Nara clans to loan those operatives to Root. Their loyalty wasn't easily earned.
The entire room fell quiet, the atmosphere heavy.
If Naraku had truly defeated all three elite Root assassins with ease…
Then this wasn't a case of luck.
It was power.
And that made Naraku more dangerous than any of them had anticipated.