"This is just proof."
Neiki waved the remote control in his hand toward the surrounding Konoha shinobi, a slight smile on his face.
The remote had three red buttons.
Just now, as the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, arrived with Konoha reinforcements, Neiki had pressed the first button in front of everyone.
Even from this distance, they could all see the massive flames and hear the booming explosion from the village.
"This proves that I really am holding something over you—and that you have to obey."
As Neiki's words fell, the atmosphere grew chaotic. Everyone, including the Third Hokage, wore grim expressions.
"Neiki! Do you know what you're doing?!"
"Put that thing down—put it down now!!"
"Do you even deserve to be a ninja? Why hurt so many innocent Konoha civilians?"
Some cursed, some pleaded, some tried to distract Neiki, some tried to rush him. Others, worried about family and friends, wanted to return and evacuate the villagers. The scene was noisy, but no one dared to act rashly.
"Don't send messages, don't do anything unnecessary, don't make this unpleasant for everyone," Neiki warned, sweeping his gaze over them.
The commotion died instantly when his thumb brushed the second button, as if everyone feared provoking the madman.
So, with Neiki at the center, over thirty people gathered in the forest, and only the starlight and the wind moved between them.
"Put down the remote and return to Konoha to face judgment, Neiki!" Hiruzen Sarutobi urged, his voice thick with disappointment and anger.
"Is that your idea of negotiation?" Neiki's face cooled. Did this old man really not understand the situation?
There shouldn't have been many people in the Hokage Residence apart from the guarding ANBU. The number of civilian casualties from the explosion wouldn't compare to the Uchiha rebellion earlier that day. Aside from the direct blast and the collapse of the building, the explosive tags hidden in the walls and under the floor wouldn't pose much threat to trained shinobi. The biggest loss would be the documents and archives stored there.
But as Neiki said, the first explosion already proved that he had arrangements in Konoha.
Two buttons remained unpressed on the remote. If the first had been the Hokage Residence, what would the second target?
The busiest Konoha Hospital?Or the Ninja Academy currently serving as a temporary shelter?
After the Uchiha rebellion and the Nine-Tails incident, the people of Konoha, who had just barely calmed down, would start panicking all over again.
"Could Neiki be bluffing?" Hiruzen asked Shikaku in a low voice, eyes fixed on the remote.
"It's likely…" Shikaku could only make this judgment with the limited information they had.
They didn't know how Neiki had planted explosive tags in the Hokage Residence, but Shikaku guessed it was probably a pre-planned escape measure laid out before the rebellion.
Judging by Neiki's age and income, there was no way he could have planted too many explosive tags personally. The cost and difficulty of producing tags were high; without the resources of a ninja village, tens of thousands of tags would already be pushing the limit for someone of Neiki's level.
The thunderous blast that destroyed the Hokage Residence had likely used up most—if not all—of Neiki's stockpile. The remaining two buttons on the remote seemed more like a bluff.
But could Konoha afford to bet on that?
Bet that the remaining buttons were nothing but a bluff?
Seeing the hesitation in Hiruzen's eyes, Shikaku shook his head.
Compared to the potential loss of lives and property in Konoha if the buttons were pressed, their hatred toward Neiki and the need to capture him seemed trivial.
This was something everyone present, including Shikaku, could understand at a glance.
"Is there really… no way?" Kakashi's voice trembled slightly.
He had never imagined Neiki would have such a trump card. He had thought Neiki would be taken down the moment Konoha's reinforcements arrived. But while they were waiting for backup… Neiki had been waiting too.
Neiki hadn't produced the remote when he faced Kakashi earlier because Kakashi didn't have the authority to negotiate. Neiki had waited for the Hokage—the one with the power to make decisions and meet his demands.
There was still a way… Shikaku's eyes flickered.
Both possible solutions came down to the same thing: either directly restrain Neiki, or destroy the remote before he could press any more buttons.
In the shadows, something seemed to move.
Neiki noticed it, glancing toward the bushes, then smirked.
"The Nara clan's shadow…"
Shikaku's heart sank.
Byakugan…
Neiki shook his head and casually pressed the second button in front of everyone.
Boom—
Another explosion echoed from the village.
"Didn't I say, don't do anything unnecessary?"
Neiki's casual tone was like someone changing channels on a television.
For a moment, everyone fell silent, staring in shock in the direction of the rising flames.
This explosion was even louder than the previous one. There was no way to tell how many might have died.
"It's the Inuzuka clan compound!" someone cried out, recognizing the location.
"—Bastard!!"
A ninja from the Inuzuka clan drew his sword, roaring as he charged at Neiki, but his comrades tackled him to the ground and held him back.
"Remember, this one's on the Nara clan," Neiki said, pointing straight at the Nara shinobi who had stepped out of the shadows, reminding the Inuzuka ninja where to direct his hatred.
"You… die!" The Inuzuka ninja looked on the verge of going berserk.
The explosion at the Inuzuka compound had caught everyone off guard. The level of skill required to plant explosive tags inside such a sensory-focused clan's territory was terrifying.
Realizing that their compounds might also be rigged, many shinobi's faces turned ashen.
"Hokage-sama, there's only one button left on that remote…" Kakashi reminded quietly.
The ninjas around him snapped back to themselves.
To them, that last button was almost certainly a bluff. The previous explosions had probably consumed everything Neiki had prepared. How could he possibly have more?
Yes… Neiki had only one threat left—and it was most likely fake…
Licking their lips, some began to show fierce expressions.
Sensing their rising aggression, Neiki raised an eyebrow and said, "Oh?" Then he pressed the last button on the remote without hesitation.
Another explosion rocked the village.
There was no time to mourn the victims; almost every Konoha ninja unsheathed their blade, itching to tear Neiki apart.
But in the next second, they saw Neiki casually toss the remote aside… and calmly pull an identical one from behind his back.
Everyone, including Shikaku, froze.
…There's another one?
Neiki toyed with the new remote, clearly enjoying the looks on their faces. He smiled and said:
"I'll repeat this one last time."
"Don't send messages."
"Don't do anything unnecessary."
"Don't make this unpleasant for everyone."
Seeing no one move or speak, he nodded in satisfaction.
"Good. Now we can finally communicate normally."
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