The Raikage was coming to Konoha in person.
In the past, when the Yellow Flash was still alive, the Raikage would never have been so bold. He would have led a large contingent of Cloud elite, cautiously entering the Land of Fire, perhaps even sending an envoy ahead to negotiate with Konoha to ensure he had the upper hand.
But now... Konoha was no longer the Konoha of the past.
According to intelligence from Cloud spies, Konoha had suffered heavy losses in the Nine-Tails Rampage years ago. The Fourth Hokage had died, and the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had retaken his position.
The Nine-Tails jinchuriki was merely a three-year-old child, posing no threat. The Uchiha clan and the Konoha leadership were mutually suspicious, with internal turmoil brewing.
Such a Konoha was no longer worthy of the Raikage's caution. Therefore, he brought only his right and left hands, the sensor ninja "C" and the Storm Style user "Darui."
With an additional elite squad of over twenty Cloud Jonin, the Raikage entered the Land of Fire without a second thought.
Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep drag from his pipe, his brow furrowed. "The Raikage is here himself... and he brought over twenty Jonin?"
Standing beside him, Koharu Utatane said gravely, "This is no longer the scale of a negotiation. It's more like intimidation."
Homura Mitokado said coldly, "The Cloud is probably trying to use this opportunity to pressure us into handing over the 'masked man.' But the problem is... we don't even know who the 'masked man' is."
"Regardless, Konoha cannot show weakness. But we also cannot provoke the Raikage."
Sarutobi was silent for a moment before slowly exhaling a ring of smoke. "Let's welcome them first... and see what the Raikage really wants."
However, neither the Raikage nor the Konoha leadership, even if they wracked their brains, could have imagined that the "masked man" who had annihilated the Cloud envoy, abducted Hizashi Hyuga, and even openly provoked the Raikage... was actually Konoha's very own three-year-old Naruto Uzumaki.
Naruto was still surprised by the speed of the Raikage's actions. Fortunately, he had already received his reward.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations, Host, on completing the Main Quest: The Death of Hizashi!]
[Reward Received: Unlocked the All-Worlds Lottery Channel, obtained the Stand ability "Crazy Diamond!"]
Along with that came this.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations, Host: You have established a bond (Level 4) with the original character "Hizashi Hyuga"!]
[Points Awarded: 200!]
The points weren't much, but it was understandable, as Hizashi Hyuga was a character who had already died before the story even began in the original work.
At a time when relations between the Cloud and Konoha were at a tense point just short of war, Naruto, the culprit, after settling Hizashi, returned to his days of training and spending time with the Uchiha heiress.
A few days later, with the Cloud ninja stationed outside Konoha village and Konoha's security at its highest level, Naruto knew that the Raikage was in the Hokage's office discussing matters with the Konoha leadership. Therefore... to completely resolve this matter, and to make that "feared identity" famous in the ninja world in its own way, Naruto had to make his move.
Hokage's Office, Negotiation Room.
The heavy wooden doors were tightly closed. Sunlight streamed through the cracks in the windows, cutting lines of light and shadow across the long table.
The Raikage, A, sat opposite the Konoha side, his muscular arms resting on the table, his knuckles white from suppressed anger. Beside him, C sat bolt upright, while Darui leaned back lazily in his chair.
On the Konoha side, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sat with his hands clasped before him. To his left, Homura Mitokado pushed up his glasses, and to his right, Koharu Utatane frowned slightly.
Finally, the Raikage broke the silence.
"So?"
His voice carried an undisguised sense of pressure. "Are you refusing to acknowledge the contents of the message? My Cloud envoy was wiped out within the Land of Fire, the culprit was abducted, and that cowardly masked man even arrogantly declared that he was in the Land of Fire!"
His fist slammed onto the table, and the heavy wood groaned under the strain.
"A ninja who can single-handedly annihilate an elite Cloud unit... you dare say this isn't a Konoha conspiracy?!"
Faced with this aggressive questioning, the Third Hokage slowly exhaled a ring of smoke and replied in a calm, placating tone. "Lord Raikage, we are equally shocked by the attack."
"But if the Hidden Cloud is accusing Konoha based on mere speculation, isn't that... a bit too rash?"
A cold sneer appeared on the Raikage's lips.
"Rash? In the intelligence brought back by my sole surviving subordinate, that masked man displayed what appeared to be a Space-Time Ninjutsu—and Konoha happens to possess such a forbidden jutsu, doesn't it?"
"Third Hokage, are you still going to insist this is just a coincidence?"
The Third Hokage was silent for a moment, the embers in his pipe glowing faintly. "This intelligence, in the end, is just the one-sided account of a survivor."
"Lord Raikage, you know better than anyone how difficult it is to master Space-Time Ninjutsu. Therefore, is there another possibility that the sole survivor was placed under a genjutsu? And the masked man's true purpose was to frame Konoha and incite conflict between the Cloud and us?"
Just as the Raikage was about to speak again—
BOOM—!!!
A deafening explosion suddenly erupted, and the entire Hokage's Office trembled. The teacups on the long table rattled, and tea splashed out, spreading across the tabletop.
Everyone shot to their feet, their chairs scraping loudly against the floor.
The Raikage's muscles instantly tensed, his lightning chakra uncontrollably erupting from his body, blue-white arcs crackling across his skin. His first reaction was—Is Konoha launching a surprise attack?!
But when his gaze swept across to the other side, he saw the Third Hokage's equally shocked expression. On that wrinkled face, his old eyes were wide.
It's not them...?
The Raikage forcibly suppressed the urge to strike first, his fists clenched so tight they cracked.
The next moment, the door to the negotiation room was thrown open, and a Konoha ninja stumbled in, his forehead covered in cold sweat, his breathing so ragged he could barely form a complete sentence.
"Th-This is bad! Lord Hokage!"
His voice trembled with fear. "An attacker has invaded Konoha!"
"What?!"
Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado exclaimed in unison, their faces filled with disbelief. An attack on a ninja village? This was far beyond the scope of a normal conflict—this was an act of war!
"Who is it?! Which ninja village dares—"
The Konoha ninja swallowed hard and forced out the name. "It's-it's a man in a fox mask! He..."
"He specifically said his target is the Raikage!"
-------
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