"Lord Hokage, what happened in the Land of Demons has alarmed the entire ninja world. The other four great ninja villages are also paying close attention to this so-called monster army. If this immortal legion continues advancing toward the Land of Marsh, we may need to convene a Five Kage Summit and unite the forces of all five great villages to deal with it."
Akiyama Shige spoke earnestly, his expression grave.
Naruto waved a hand dismissively.
"Old man Akiyama, you love making a mountain out of a molehill. A Five Kage Summit? For a single monster? That's like using a butcher knife to kill a chicken."
He leaned back casually.
Destroy the world? Please.
The Land of Demons was just inexperienced. They'd never seen a truly powerful shinobi before, so they exaggerated everything.
This "sprite"? It probably couldn't even defeat Shukaku, let alone the Nine-Tails.
The only mildly troublesome thing was the so-called immortal ghost army.
But if the sprite died, the army would collapse. Simple.
"Send for Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata, Hyūga Neji, Rock Lee, Haruno Sakura, Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chōji, Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba, Yamanaka Ino, and Tenten."
Akiyama blinked.
"Lord Hokage… isn't that a bit excessive?"
Even he felt this was overkill.
Sasuke alone was already comparable to a Kage-level powerhouse. Crushing a sprite would be effortless.
And now he was adding elite Chūnin and top-tier Genin on top of that?
It was like mobilizing an army to swat a fly.
Naruto shook his head.
"They need to see the world. Sparring in the proving ground has no real life-and-death danger. Without real pressure, they won't grow into true powerhouses."
Akiyama could only obey.
---
Soon, the Hokage building grew noisy.
"Neji, what's going on? Why were we all called?"
"Not sure."
"I bet it's about the Land of Demons mission."
"Shikamaru, how'd you guess?"
"It's obvious. The shrine maiden came to Konoha. Red Sun TV is broadcasting the ghost army nonstop. Connect the dots."
"…You're scary, Shikamaru."
"Ghost army? That sounds awesome! I want to fight them!"
"Ghosts?! Can I skip this mission?"
The group entered the office.
Naruto smiled at them from behind the desk.
Everyone immediately went quiet.
"You've guessed correctly. This is a Land of Demons mission."
"First: Protect Shrine Maiden Shion and escort her to the Swamp Shrine. That's the priority."
"Second: Kill the sprite. Don't bother sealing it again. Killing it is simpler."
"Third: You're going to experience real danger. You'll face the so-called immortal ghost army."
"There's no such thing as immortality. They're just chakra constructs fueled by ninjutsu. Chakra runs out."
"So besides protecting Shion, your secondary objective is to wipe out the ghost army. Consider this a trial assigned by the village."
Naruto's gaze fell on Sasuke.
Sasuke stood tall and composed. Despite his youth, he already carried himself like an Elite Jōnin.
"Sasuke. You'll lead this mission."
"Yes, Hokage-sama! I will complete it!"
His voice was firm.
His family was reunited. His world felt whole again.
Now his greatest wish was to support Naruto and strengthen Konoha.
---
At the village gate, Shion and Shiho frowned as they saw a group of teenagers approaching.
"I am Uchiha Sasuke, mission leader."
Shiho stiffened.
"Uchiha Sasuke? The prodigy who became Jōnin at twelve and defeated Shimura Danzō?"
Her concern eased slightly.
But still—
Most of the team looked barely thirteen.
Could they truly handle an immortal army?
---
"Neji, you lead one group to eliminate the ghost army directly."
"I'll escort Lady Shion with Hinata, Shino, and Shikamaru."
Sasuke split the team cleanly into two.
One group would move with Shion toward the Swamp Shrine.
The other would intercept and destroy the ghost legion along its route.
"Destroy… the ghost army?" Shiho repeated in disbelief.
Neji nodded calmly.
Though only a Chūnin, he carried himself like a seasoned Jōnin.
His blood stirred.
Leading a team against a powerful enemy—for the first time.
---
Back atop Konoha's walls, several Jōnin watched the departing youths.
"This is reckless. They're just kids."
"There's Sasuke. He's a Jōnin."
"He's strong, yes. But he's still inexperienced. And Neji's group has no Jōnin at all."
"You worry too much. Neji's strength rivals Jōnin. Those Genin? They're far stronger than their ranks suggest."
Still, unease lingered.
For years, Jōnin had led missions.
Now the fledglings were flying alone.
It felt like watching young birds leap from a cliff.
---
"Relax," Naruto's voice suddenly echoed behind them.
They turned in shock.
"This is just a trial. When real danger appears, I'll handle it."
"What do you mean by that, Lord Hokage?"
Naruto grinned.
"Secret."
And vanished.
The Jōnin exchanged glances.
"…Does Hokage-sama just want to sneak out of the village for fun?"
"Well, honestly, the village runs fine without him these days."
"It feels different from the Third Hokage's era."
"Different isn't bad. The atmosphere's lighter."
"Asuma's still here, watch what you say."
Asuma snorted.
"I left to guard the Fire Daimyō because I hated that old atmosphere. This village is much better now."
---
Meanwhile—
Naruto lay comfortably on a drifting white cloud, yawning.
He followed behind Sasuke and Neji's teams at a distance.
Invisible.
Relaxed.
If needed, he could deploy clones instantly.
The Fifth Hokage secretly acting as a babysitter?
If the elders found out, they'd explode.
But Naruto had prepared.
A shadow clone remained in the village, perfectly handling official matters.
In today's ninja world—
No one could distinguish his clone from the real thing.
Whether he was present or not—
Was entirely up to him.
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