["See you tomorrow."]
["Mm~"]
["There'll be a celebration tomorrow. We'll come find you then~!"]
After parting with Ino, little Naruto did not return the way he came.
Instead, he deliberately took a detour.
There was no helping it—what had just happened honestly frightened him a little.
The look in Ino's father's eyes…
It even carried a hint of resentment.
"Hahahaha~"
Akimichi Chōza laughed without the slightest attempt to restrain himself.
Senju Hashirama: This child remains calm even in unexpected situations.
Uzumaki Mito: He's nothing like Kushina was back then.
Uzumaki Mito: But that's exactly what makes Black-Frame Naruto so terrifying.
Nara Shikaku sighed.
"Black-Frame Naruto is far too similar to Minato back then."
"The thing Inoichi fears most is bound to happen."
"Back then, many factors were involved… but the truth is that in just one night, the only viable candidate for the Nine-Tails jinchūriki was taken by Minato."
Akimichi Chōza patted Nara Shikaku on the shoulder.
"It's fine. Their kids will still be 'pigs' in the future anyway~"
"Look—Ino's hair color isn't that different from Naruto's."
"That's not what I'm worried about," Shikaku waved his hand.
"In the black-frame world, the Third Hokage can't possibly be unaware of this."
"But he hasn't stepped in to stop it."
"And combined with the Third's attitude toward Naruto…"
"I'm worried that in that world, aside from the Hyūga, our three clans will be added to the list."
"What?" Chōza blinked.
"It's nothing." Seeing his friend's reaction, Shikaku could only shake his head and smile bitterly.
"Mm, I'll listen to you." Chōza laughed again, carefree as ever.
Of course, Chōza wasn't completely oblivious.
With Shikaku around, anything Chōza could think of—his friend had already thought of long ago.
[On the way back.]
[Little Naruto noticed that all the shinobi who usually monitored him seemed to have disappeared.]
[He frowned slightly. His instincts told him something major was about to happen.]
["There's a celebration tomorrow… things shouldn't feel like this."]
["Fox demon, I want to take a look. If my life's in danger, don't abandon me."]
He murmured softly.
—Whoosh—
In the next instant, little Naruto leapt high into the air.
Standing on the rooftops, the cold wind bit even harder.
He didn't know when it had started, but his body had grown noticeably lighter.
Although he still couldn't sustain this nimble strength for long periods,
for now, it was enough.
He had asked Shikamaru about it before.
Shikamaru had been shocked.
"This is strength you only get after refining chakra."
"Ninjas are strong because they can refine and use chakra."
At the time, little Naruto had remained silent for a long while.
So I really am special.
But ever since the day I moved out, that comforting power hasn't appeared again.
Still… I'm sure that power belongs to the fox demon.
[Night.]
[Little Naruto moved like a ghost, darting swiftly across rooftops.]
[His small body blended into the darkness.]
[The people below noticed nothing.]
[Even the ninjas were the same.]
[At the same time.]
[Inside the Hokage Tower—Hokage Office.]
Sarutobi Hiruzen set down his smoking pipe.
Looking at the ANBU shinobi before him, he asked calmly,
"How is it?"
"Hokage-sama, Uzumaki Naruto is behaving the same as usual."
"Then it's fine. There's no need to watch Naruto for now. That child has already deeply understood the importance of the Will of Fire."
"We're short on manpower recently. Join the others and guard the barrier perimeter."
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
The ANBU responded and vanished in a flicker.
Sarutobi Hiruzen turned to look out the window.
Two days ago, Kumogakure had sent envoys.
He had no choice but to treat the matter cautiously—
a single mistake could ignite a war between villages.
Konoha had yet to recover from the Nine-Tails incident.
Now was not the time for war.
Otherwise, the other three great villages would swarm in like cats smelling blood.
"Strange… logically speaking, Kumogakure and Iwagakure should be badly weakened as well."
"Shouldn't they be pretending nothing happened and maintaining appearances?"
"And yet they've taken the initiative to send people to sign an alliance agreement?"
"Let's see what they're really after."
Sarutobi Hiruzen lifted his pipe, then suddenly chuckled softly.
"The Fourth Raikage is still too young. If this trick worked, your father wouldn't have had to swallow his losses back then."
A moment later, Hiruzen spoke toward the shadowed corner.
"Don't stop that Kumogakure squad leader. Let's see what he intends to do."
"But during tomorrow's celebration, I don't want any accidents."
"Yes."
—Whoosh—
Yamanaka Ino: "I knew it! The moment that old bastard shows up, nothing good ever happens!"
Terumī Mei: "Little Ino, you're absolutely right. Whenever Konoha's Third appears, bad things follow immediately."
Hyūga Neji: "Damn Third Hokage!"
Orochimaru: "Teacher Sarutobi, why don't you come out and say something? Everyone's waiting."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's eye twitched.
At the time, he had only thought the newly appointed Fourth Raikage was young and impulsive.
He had even planned to teach him a lesson through this incident.
Who could have expected the envoy they sent to be so incompetent?
He was killed in less than one exchange by Hyūga Hiashi.
And yet Kumogakure dared to use that death as leverage for negotiations, adopting an extremely hardline attitude.
In the past, Konoha had also killed envoys from Kumogakure.
Back then, even the Third Raikage had no choice but to swallow the loss.
In the end, it all came down to one thing—
Konoha's top-tier combat power was far too thin at that time.
—Whoosh—
[Little Naruto jumped down from the rooftops.]
[Landing in front of his apartment door.]
After making a full circuit, he hadn't discovered anything unusual.
However, when passing the compounds of major clans, he could sense shinobi guarding them from far away.
"This situation isn't right."
"But it's not something I can get involved in right now."
"Otherwise, I'd really like to guide those people straight to that old bastard's clan."
Little Naruto removed his scarf and glanced at the sky.
"Sleep. Just be extra careful tomorrow."
Early to bed and early to rise—
that was already a good habit.
Shimura Danzō: "Hiruzen! Look! I told you long ago—the jinchūriki should have been handed over to me!"
Neji closed his eyes in pain.
"What's wrong, Neji?" Naruto noticed his change in mood and asked instinctively.
Neji took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
"Tomorrow."
"The seal will be placed on my forehead."
"On the very day Konoha holds its celebration."
At that time, Neji was still somewhat naive.
After finishing his training and seeing how lively it was outside, he planned to go out and play.
Instead, his father brought him to the dojo—
and had members of the main family—his uncle and grandfather—
apply the Caged Bird Seal.
Meanwhile, in Kumogakure.
The Fourth Raikage fell silent for a moment.
"Because of my father, Kumogakure preserved its fighting strength. During those years, we constantly sent people to harass other nations."
"We fought Konoha in wars large and small for many years. In truth, we were also nearing our limits."
Then the Fourth Raikage suddenly laughed.
"That's right. I've said it before—the Five Great Villages have no right to criticize each other. But Kumogakure is different."
"When it comes to schemes, we're completely open about them."
"The squad leader we sent to Konoha was our open scheme!"
"We took advantage of your weakness, found a legitimate excuse to extort you—
and at the same time, see how the so-called Number One Village would respond."
"Even if that squad leader hadn't died—"
"You Konoha shinobi dared to attack our envoy!"
"What does that mean?"
"I came to sign a peace alliance, and you attacked my envoy?"
"In short—dead or alive, this matter can't be settled so easily."
"Hand over the culprit!"
"Otherwise, a small-scale conflict will escalate into a full-scale war!"
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