War?
Peace?
Sacrifice?
That night, Naruto tossed and turned, those words circling endlessly in his mind.
Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke of the "bigger picture."
Shimura Danzo's schemes ran deep.
Cloud shinobi stirred conflict without reason.
It was too tangled, too ugly.
The world shouldn't be like this, Naruto thought, before finally drifting off to sleep.
On his chest, the sapphire pendant flickered once, then went quiet, as if nothing had happened.
"Huh? I didn't even make a wish…"
The next morning, Naruto awoke to find an elegant black box beside his bed, along with an instruction scroll.
Multi-Function Projector:
Projects images directly into the host's mind.
Crystal-clear visuals and audio up to 1000x zoom.
Can take photos, record sound, capture everything.
Naruto studied the scroll until he figured it out.
"What do I even use this for?"
Unable to answer his own question, he tucked the projector into the subspace storage of his bedrock armor.
He pushed through training early, showered, changed clothes, then created a clone to sit at home practicing the Transformation Jutsu while the real Naruto slipped out the window.
Silent as a fox, his movements had grown sharper each day. His Transformation Jutsu no longer even required hand seals—his body shifted in an instant from a three-year-old boy to the form of a tall villager strolling casually down the street.
The villagers went about their day, oblivious. But Naruto could feel it—Konoha was tense. More shinobi patrolled every corner, watchful and on edge.
Naruto's curiosity led him to the guest house where Cloud's delegation stayed. With stealth honed by bedrock armor, he slipped inside unnoticed.
"Lord Leizu's death must not be in vain," one Cloud ninja growled. "We'll force Konoha to hand over the Hyuga clan head. We must win this."
"Before coming here, Lord Leizu already planned for death," another said coldly. "If he captured the Hyuga princess, perfect. If not, then his 'death at Hyuga hands' would still give us a reason to strike."
"But what if Konoha stands firm? Lord Raikage isn't fully prepared for war yet."
"Relax. Konoha's Third Hokage is a soft persimmon. All we need to do is threaten to rip up the treaty and scream 'war,' and he'll cave. He'll never dare fight us head-on."
"The key is pressure. If the Hokage pushes the Hyuga clan hard enough, they'll break."
From the shadows, Naruto's blood boiled. Unbelievable… they admit it openly!
His chest burned with fury, but he forced himself to stay calm. Carefully, he pulled out the projector, recording every word, every sneer, every arrogant face.
"Who's there?!"
A Cloud ninja spun, hurling a shuriken into the corner where Naruto had just been.
"What's wrong?" another asked.
"Felt something off… but no, nothing here."
"You're too jumpy."
By then, Naruto had already slipped out, heart racing.
In an alley, he replayed the recordings, grinning grimly as the projector showed the Cloud delegation threatening Sarutobi Hiruzen with war.
"With this, they won't be able to twist the truth. Their lies are finished."
But his triumph faded when he overheard two villagers talking nearby.
"I heard Hokage-sama went to the Hyuga compound himself this morning. Must be serious."
"Strange, isn't it? The Hokage almost never deals directly with clan heads. Something big must've happened. Poor Hyuga family…"
A chill ran down Naruto's spine. Without hesitation, he raced for the Hyuga estate.
Using his bedrock armor's scan and Transformation Jutsu, he disguised himself as a Hyuga shinobi and slipped inside.
What he found made his blood run cold.
In the main hall, the Hyuga clan stood face-to-face with Sarutobi Hiruzen, their expressions grim and furious.
"Third Hokage, do you even understand what you're suggesting?" Hyuga Hizashi's voice thundered. Hiashi stood silently at his side, fists clenched.
"I mean no harm," Hiruzen said softly. "But Konoha is weakened. We cannot survive another war. If things escalate with Cloud, countless lives will be lost." His voice broke, tears glistening in his eyes.
"The Cloud shinobi wronged us. The Hyuga clan are the victims. And yet you ask us to make sacrifices—to hand over our own clan head? That's absurd. It's injustice, plain and simple. Hokage-sama, our Hyuga clan will never accept it. Please leave."
Hizashi's words were ice, untouched by Hiruzen's show of emotion.
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