"What an idiot..."
Hearing words spoken to him by a now-dead enemy, Naruto's eyes snapped wide open, only to be met with blinding sunlight that wiped his vision clean.
He hadn't even managed to insert his Sharingan contacts before the sun's glare forced his eyes shut again.
Squinting against the intense light, Naruto closed his right eye and slowly became aware he was back home—in his own bedroom. Luckily, Tobi hadn't completely destroyed his house. At least his bedroom remained intact.
Rolling onto his side and propping himself up on one elbow, Naruto saw Maki sitting beside the bed. She wore Anbu uniform pants with her legs crossed, her white porcelain mask resting on her knees, while the hooded cloak she'd worn in battle was carelessly tossed aside on the floor.
"Maki-chan," Naruto greeted softly, keeping his right eye closed as he looked at her. "How's the village doing?"
"Everything's fine," Maki replied with a smile. "The fighting is nearly over, although there are still some White Zetsu hiding around the village, stubbornly resisting. Don't worry though—we'll eliminate them soon enough."
Konoha remained on high alert. In addition to the ninja squads conducting searches, patrols had been increased beyond normal levels, and key locations were under tighter guard to prevent attacks from any remaining White Zetsu.
Although they didn't know it yet, this was just Tobi's way of covering his retreat—an illusionary tactic. But at least that's how Maki saw it. When they found Naruto, there had been no sign of the masked man.
Thus, Naruto's battle within the Land of Fire left behind two notable landmarks—the Valley's End, and the vast wasteland left in the aftermath of their last battle.
When word reached Konoha, the villagers breathed a collective sigh of relief, glad that Naruto had taken the fight far from the village.
"Oh, by the way," Naruto asked nervously, "how angry is Lady Tsunade right now?"
"At you? Extremely," Maki answered bluntly.
"But I won."
"But you were reckless—going off alone to fight that masked man."
Come on, if anyone else had been around then, they'd already be dead. Tobi wasn't fooling around—he had started to get serious. And that was just when trying to capture Naruto alive. The powerful Ninjutsu techniques he used in battle made it clear just how dangerous he really was.
Looking at Maki through his one open eye, Naruto extended his hand slightly, clearly expecting something. Maki gave him a blank stare for a moment before slowly reaching out and handing him his contact lens. Naruto took it and placed it into his eye.
"The mission code says we must never question orders from those who outrank us," Maki said as she sat down beside the bed. "But since your fight wasn't an official mission to begin with, and now it's over, I'll say this plainly… You're such an idiot."
Naruto chuckled. "So… anything new going on?"
Maki rolled her eyes.
"A recon unit near the Land of Wind border reported that Iwagakure is gathering forces along its southern border, gearing up to attack Sunagakure."
Upon hearing this, Naruto's eyes went wide.
"You mean..."
Maki cut him off with a simple nod.
"That's probably right. Iwagakure has finally decided to annex Sunagakure. They must think they have a shot, even if we team up with the Sand Village. But…"
"But what?"
"The location where they've assembled their forces is near Rain Country's border."
That truly was a troubling issue. If the Tsuchikage has any sense, he probably already sensed the allied forces' weakening position. The "Most Powerful Spectator" will likely take advantage of this opening to divide up the smaller nations' lands before the war ends.
It's also possible that he will choose to attack Kusagakure, exploiting Konoha's current distractions and absorbing Grass Village into his ranks. That would give them a powerful forward base from which they could rapidly launch attacks toward the southwest.
Besides, Iwagakure's Earth Release techniques can easily neutralize Gaara's sand, and combined with their numerical superiority, they might secure a decisive victory.
Damn it, how did war get so complicated? What would he do if he were in the Hokage's position? Their only option now was to end the battle with Grass Village as soon as possible and then focus on defense.
Given Iwagakure's target, they faced two choices: either take on this new enemy directly or ally with a third party to fight another enemy.
As he was lost in thought, the door to the room suddenly burst open. A voluptuous woman with silver hair rushed inside and flung herself at Naruto.
"My lord, I'm so glad you're safe! You won!" She let him go and asked eagerly, "Did you really win? When they found you, they didn't find another corpse."
"Yeah, right," Naruto replied, glancing at Maki who silently polished her fingernails. "I finished him off in another dimension, so… no one should've seen his body."
"My hero," Tamako said, planting a soft kiss on Naruto's lips. The kiss lingered until Maki deliberately coughed, reminding them someone else was still in the room.
"Oh," Tamako realized her impropriety, blushing faintly as she stepped back. "Sorry, Miss Maki. I didn't notice you were here. Why don't… you go first?" She suggested.
It was such a bold proposal that even someone like Maki looked flustered.
"What? This is wartime, and you're thinking about *this*?"
The Sealing Expert didn't respond with words but instead climbed onto Naruto's lap and began untying the sash on her kimono.
Maki barely held back a scream, turning around quickly to face away from them.
This time, Tamako spoke confidently:
"My lord just went through a brutal fight. Without any reward, he might not have the incentive to return next time."
Naruto completely agreed with Tamako's suggestion—but not in front of Maki!
He wanted to refuse Tamako, but his body betrayed his intentions. Deep down, he really didn't want her to stop.
Naruto could only watch helplessly as Tamako opened her robe, revealing her pale, flawless skin.
"She wasn't wearing… *anything*?"
Hoo!
Suddenly, the Naruto right before her eyes vanished.
"…Did I scare him off?" she muttered to herself in confusion.
Maki turned around only to find that Naruto was gone.
"Tamako, where did Naruto-senpai go?"
******
Poof!
Naruto felt his soul being yanked away by some force and pulled back to the place where he had once endured grueling training.
"No! No! Noooooo! Not again!" Naruto dropped onto his butt, complaining.
He grabbed onto the nearest Gamabunta.
"Why? Why drag me back *now*? Couldn't you wait at least half an hour—maybe even a whole hour?!" Before he could finish speaking, a giant staff came slamming down on his head.
"...Yeah, I'm fine."
"I can see that," came a sarcastic reply.
Naruto looked down and realized who was speaking.
"Ero-Sennin? You're here too?"
"Of course," Jiraiya said with a grin. "How's everything going back home? Got anything interesting to share with us?"
"I just defeated the masked man who claimed to be Madara Uchiha," Naruto stated calmly.
"What? Really?! That's amazing—absolutely amazing!" Jiraiya exclaimed excitedly. The one responsible for so much death had finally been eliminated, and the war on the Northeast battlefield was coming to an end.
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