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Setting aside the question of whether Haku was a man or a woman for the moment, Kumoki up ahead had already drawn a kunai and was charging straight at Naruto!
Why wasn't he using ninjutsu?
This was precisely the painful plight of shinobi who didn't hail from the great nations. The ninjutsu they could learn were generally of a relatively low level and were often extremely disorganized and haphazard. Aside from a very few exceptions, the ninjutsu of the vast majority of non-great-nation shinobi simply couldn't compare to that of the great nations.
The great nations possessed systematically categorized ninjutsu, relatively excellent instruction, and legacies spanning over a century. These were things that shinobi from minor nations or wandering shinobi could never hope to match.
Kumoki was an experienced shinobi. He recognized at a single glance that the two who had just appeared were Leaf Village shinobi—after all, Naruto was still wearing a Leaf Village forehead protector on his head.
Knowing that his opponents were Leaf shinobi, Kumoki very decisively abandoned any thought of engaging them in a ninjutsu duel.
It was very difficult for non-great-nation shinobi to surpass great-nation shinobi in terms of ninjutsu. However, in terms of taijutsu, the situation was somewhat reversed. Something like taijutsu—no matter how you trained it—ultimately depended on an individual's physical body and practical combat experience. It wasn't like ninjutsu, where one could execute a powerful technique simply by learning the corresponding chakra manipulation method and hand seals.
Taijutsu, within the shinobi world, didn't rely so heavily on innate talent; it relied on hard work and grueling effort. Therefore, shinobi from minor nations and wandering shinobi, who frequently had to fight, often held a slight edge over great-nation shinobi in the realm of taijutsu.
Thus, Kumoki had immediately drawn his kunai and charged forward precisely to deny Naruto any chance to use ninjutsu. He wanted to close the distance. Taijutsu was Kumoki's only chance at victory!
Kumoki's decision was very decisive, and his strength was very formidable. If he had faced the Naruto from one year ago, he probably could have killed him in an instant, for all anyone knew.
Unfortunately for him, the opponent he now faced was Naruto after one full year of training!
In the original story, after two years of training, Naruto returned and possessed the strength to defeat Kakuzu. Although he had only trained for one year now, he was absolutely not someone that a Kumoki—who hadn't even reached Kage-level strength—could bully!
The kunai in Kumoki's hand pierced directly through Naruto's chest.
Poof!
A Shadow Clone!
Before he could even register his shock, a heavy punch had already slammed viciously into Kumoki's face, sending him flying backward.
Naruto shook out his hand and looked in the direction Kumoki had been sent flying, speaking.
"I don't know why you guys are hunting this big sis... uh, big brother... but can I ask you to just back off now?"
Kumoki landed on the ground. After dispersing the impact force, he stood up, clutching his face, and spoke.
"What's this? Has the Leaf Village also joined in on this hunt?"
Naruto furrowed his brow.
"Not at all. We're here to save him. I advise you to give up."
Kumoki's eyes flickered, his mind racing with thoughts. As an outstanding shinobi, he knew when to advance and when to retreat. Truthfully, he was already feeling some inclination to withdraw. But... the lure of wealth could sway a man's heart! The reward for this mission was simply far too generous. So much so that, even now facing a shinobi from the foremost shinobi village, the Leaf, Kumoki found himself hesitating.
While Naruto and Kumoki were conversing, upon a tree not too far away, three figures lay concealed. They were precisely the trio who had come from the Hidden Cloud: Samui, Karui, and Omoi.
The red-haired Karui was the first to speak.
"Hey, should we make a move? It looks like that no-name shinobi is about to run. He's so weak. That blond kid doesn't seem all that strong either. Let's attack, shall we?!"
Omoi, still sucking on his lollipop, spoke with a deeply worried, furrow-browed expression.
"If we attack, what if that no-name shinobi runs away? Wouldn't we just lose a potential asset? Also, what if that blond shinobi is actually insanely strong? Ah, seriously... it's still better back in the village. Why did Lord Raikage have to send me on such a dangerous mission? In the end, observing people is something I'm not good at in the first place. Also, our target... doesn't she just look like a little girl? Is it really okay for us to be tracking a little girl like this? And if an opportunity arises, we're supposed to personally kill that little girl... Ah, this is just too cruel. Oh, right. I'm just saying, what if—what if that little girl is actually hiding her true strength, and the moment we attack, she immediately finishes us off? What then? And that white-haired uncle behind the blond kid—he doesn't look easy to deal with either. Am I going to die here? Am I?"
Karui's face flushed with fury, and she directly punched Omoi.
"Shut up!"
Omoi—this guy, everything about him was fine. The only problem was... he thought far too much! And most of the time, his thoughts veered toward the pessimistic side.
Samui spoke without any expression on her face. "Both of you, stop arguing. As shinobi, you ought to be cooler."
The "cool" Samui referred to meant composed, steady, and unflappable.
Just as the Raikage had assessed—Karui's temperament was far too volatile, and Omoi's was far too cautious. Only Samui was the most suitable person to lead the squad.
Samui fixed her gaze on Jiraiya and spoke.
"Omoi's conjecture was right about one thing this time. That white-haired uncle is indeed not easy to deal with. If I'm not mistaken—the 'Oil' character on his forehead protector, the white hair—he should be one of the Leaf's Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya."
The moment these words were spoken, both Karui and Omoi were utterly stunned.
The Leaf's Legendary Sannin—figures renowned throughout the entire shinobi world!
Universally acknowledged as some of the mightiest shinobi alive.
No one dared to underestimate them!
Even the hot-tempered Karui swallowed a mouthful of saliva and spoke.
"Maybe... maybe we should just observe them quietly from a distance?"
As for Omoi, his eyes glazed over as he muttered under his breath.
"Gonna die, gonna die, gonna die, gonna die, gonna die... We're absolutely gonna die..."
Samui, however, shook her head and uttered words that drained the color from both Omoi and Karui's faces.
"No. We're going out to meet him. We're going to confront that renowned Sannin face to face."
Karui froze for a moment, momentarily unable to process it. A few seconds later, she laughed dryly and spoke.
"Ha... haha... Um, Samui... wouldn't it really be better if we just observed quietly from a distance?"
As for Omoi, upon hearing Samui's words, he was so dumbfounded that even the lollipop he'd been perpetually holding in his mouth fell out. "Hey, tell me... did I just hallucinate? Samui said she wants to go confront Jiraiya, one of the Sannin? I must be hearing things, right? Right?!"
Samui pressed a hand to her forehead and explained.
"Calm down, you two. At this moment, we represent not just ourselves, but the Hidden Cloud Village behind us! And even the Land of Lightning! You need to understand: over these past few decades, the Leaf Village's strength has been continuously declining. First, the Uchiha—one of the village's foremost clans—was annihilated. Then, the Third Hokage and Shimura Danzo, died. At this moment, the Leaf Village's strength is comparatively weak. No matter what, they cannot proactively provoke our Hidden Cloud Village. So, that Jiraiya—one of the Sannin—cannot possibly make a move against us. If he truly has the Leaf Village's best interests at heart, he cannot afford to actively antagonize our Hidden Cloud right now. Alright, that's enough explanation. I am the captain right now. Both of you, listen to me and follow!"
With that, Samui took the lead and directly leaped out from the tree.
Karui rubbed her forehead. Saying nothing more, she immediately followed.
Omoi sighed and followed as well. He was merely cautious, not cowardly. Before taking action, he might display some "cowardly" tendencies, but once a decision was made to act, he felt no trace of fear.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three figures suddenly appeared, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
Jiraiya spoke. "Oh? Shinobi from the Hidden Cloud. I thought you were just observing from the sidelines. But now, since you've revealed yourselves, it seems it's not just simple observation anymore."
Samui spoke with a hint of surprise. "You detected us?"
Jiraiya curled his lip. "I'm one of the Sannin, after all. I wouldn't fail to notice a few kids hiding right near me. Alright, forget the pleasantries. Just say it directly—what is your Hidden Cloud's objective here?"
On the other side, Kumoki's head instantly swelled with a massive headache. The appearance of the Leaf Village was already more than he could handle, and now the Hidden Cloud showed up too? What was going on? The reward for this mission was generous, sure, but the great nations shouldn't be lacking that little bit of money, should they?
In that very instant, Kumoki realized—the targets they were hunting were probably not as simple as they seemed. The more he thought about it, the more terrified Kumoki became.
A matter involving two great nations—he absolutely did not dare to get involved. He was merely the leader of a tiny underground organization. He didn't have the qualifications to contend with the great nations at all. To put it bluntly, he didn't even have the qualifications to shine their shoes!
Just a top-tier Jonin—the great nations had plenty of shinobi of that caliber.
'No good! I have to leave! Leave immediately!' Almost instantaneously, Kumoki made his decision.
It was also at this moment that Samui, on behalf of the Hidden Cloud, gave her answer.
"We've come for that little girl beside you. We've heard she's a companion of Uchiha Kagaya."
Samui didn't conceal the truth. Because, in the understanding of the vast majority of people in the shinobi world, the relationship between the Leaf Village and Uchiha Kagaya was one of irreconcilable, undying enmity. Even if someone openly declared they wanted to kill Uchiha Kagaya, the Leaf Village ought to be delighted.
It was just that Samui didn't know there was a person named Uzumaki Naruto in the Leaf Village. Just like in the original story, many shinobi couldn't understand why the Leaf Village refused to put Sasuke on the wanted list.
"No way!" It was Naruto who answered.
"This big brother cannot be handed over to you! I came here precisely to protect him!"
Samui paused, then looked at Naruto with an expression of disbelief. "Big brother? Isn't she a girl? Forget it, that's not important. Did you just say 'protect'? She's a companion of that Uchiha Kagaya. Are you sure you didn't misspeak? No, I should be asking you this: can you represent the Leaf Village?"
Naruto was about to speak, but Jiraiya raised a hand, signaling him to be quiet. Jiraiya paused, then spoke.
"Whose will is this? The Raikage's?"
Samui nodded. "Yes. This is Lord Raikage's order."
The reason Samui had revealed herself was precisely because she feared that the Leaf Village might simply take their target and leave. If that happened, they would have no way to lure Uchiha Kagaya out. Furthermore, the Raikage had also said that if the opportunity arose, they could eliminate the targets.
Samui's objective was very simple. She had observed for quite a while and hadn't seen any sign of Uchiha Kagaya. In that case, why not seize this opportunity to kill the two targets now? And from Samui's perspective, the Leaf Village should be very much in agreement with this.
Jiraiya narrowed his eyes. "You want to take him away?"
"It's not that we absolutely must take her away. If that's not possible, then please just kill her right here. I trust your esteemed village would also be more than happy to kill a companion of Uchiha Kagaya. If your esteemed village fears retaliation, you may allow us, the Hidden Cloud, to do the deed."
"I see... In that case, you can go back and tell the Raikage this: I am taking this person under my protection."
"Lord Jiraiya... are you serious?"
"Am I not?"
"Please give me a reason, Lord Jiraiya!"
"A reason? Save that question for the Raikage to ask me. As for you... forget it."
The implication was that Samui was unworthy of demanding a reason from Jiraiya.
Samui furrowed her brow but didn't dare to retort. The Sannin were the Sannin, after all. If he said she was unworthy, was there anything wrong with that?
"I was impertinent. I am indeed unqualified to demand a reason from you. But what I wish to remind you of is this: we, after all, represent the will of the Raikage. Are you certain you want to protect this person?"
This time, Jiraiya didn't answer immediately. He was somewhat uncertain of the Raikage's level of insistence on this matter. The Leaf Village was still in a period of relative weakness and absolutely could not afford to proactively antagonize the other great nations. If the Raikage was truly deeply insistent on this matter, then Jiraiya might just have to release the person after all.
For a moment, Jiraiya found himself hesitating.
"I'm certain!"
But while Jiraiya hesitated, Naruto, standing right beside him, had never hesitated for even a single instant!
Samui looked at Naruto with a trace of impatience.
"I'll ask you again. Can you represent the Leaf Village?"
Naruto shook his head. "I don't know if I can represent the Leaf Village. But at the very least, I can represent Uzumaki Naruto. Standing here, I'm telling you: I absolutely will not permit you to lay a single finger on him! He's my comrade!"
"Comrade? She's Uchiha Kagaya's comrade!"
"Kagaya is also my comrade! His comrade is my comrade!"
"You brat... have you gone mad?"
"No! I haven't gone mad! In short, I won't allow you to touch him!"
Looking at the resolute determination blazing in the eyes of the blond kid before her, Samui felt uncertain. This person before her—was he insane or not?
If he were insane, that would be one thing. But if he weren't? Then what did his words mean? Uchiha Kagaya was his comrade?
But the relationship between the Leaf Village and Uchiha Kagaya should be one of undying, irreconcilable hatred!
Unable to fully grasp Naruto for a moment, Samui could only shift her gaze to Jiraiya, hoping that he could provide a definitive answer. She didn't know whether that blond kid could represent the Leaf Village. But this Jiraiya before her—one of the Sannin—could absolutely, undoubtedly represent the Leaf Village!
Jiraiya took a deep breath and opened his mouth, preparing to answer.
However...
BOOM!
In a single instant, a tremendous impact slammed into Samui's abdomen, carrying her entire body with it as she smashed viciously into the tree behind her. Great mouthfuls of fresh blood spilled from her lips. She lay there, gasping and barely clinging to life. Just a hair's breadth more, and Samui would have been dead!
!!!
Everyone present was utterly stupefied!
Who was it?
The attack had come far too fast, far too suddenly. Not a single person had detected it beforehand!
And this... this was the most terrifying part! They couldn't even perceive the attack itself!
A somewhat crushed and deformed human head rolled onto the ground, slowly coming to a stop.
That head... belonged to none other than Kumoki, who had been alive and kicking just moments ago!
A hand, appearing from seemingly nowhere, was now at Samui's throat, gripping her by the neck and lifting her entire body off the ground.
A pair of scarlet eyes, marked with intricate, complex patterns, stared fixedly at Samui. What blazed within them was boundless, unquenchable fury!
Uchiha Kagaya... had arrived.