The Meeting
From the current perspective, although some of Shirō's abilities raised questions, he had never once acted against Konoha's interests.
Coupled with Sakumo's personal trust in him, the Third Hokage and his advisors had decided to continue supporting Shirō, despite the risks.
That was why Shirō, even while knowing that men like Danzō might covet his talents, still chose to follow this path openly.
At first, he had only displayed a modest level of skill — not extraordinary by Konoha standards, a village that had never lacked geniuses.
But after becoming Sakumo's disciple, Shirō gradually revealed more. None of it harmed Konoha; on the contrary, his ideas and creations only strengthened it.
Take the Hawk Project for instance: the giant bird puppet, No. 2, had already expanded Konoha's options for mobility and aerial tactics, something no other village possessed.
Thus, with Sakumo's reputation shielding him, the Third Hokage and his advisors had allowed Shirō's secrets to remain unspoken.
Of course, none of this was something Tai Yi and the others could have known. Even Shirō himself only guessed at the discussions happening behind closed doors.
But after hearing Tai Yi's words, his teammates couldn't help looking at him with a touch of admiration.
No wonder Mitokado Homura-sama values him so highly, Pingyi thought, watching Shirō's back.
A short while later, Shirō and Shikamaru finished charting the enemy's distribution.
Shikamaru sealed the scroll and said, "That's all we can get from here. Let's enter the city and check whether the enemy's formation has shifted."
"Understood."
At Shirō's command, the giant bird No. 2 swooped toward the city. But as they neared the violet barrier around it, he slowed. Was it a specialized barrier? If it rejected summons, smashing into it would be a bad look.
Fortunately, he was overthinking. The barrier only reacted to the enemy puppets. Passing through, Shirō and the others felt no resistance.
"Who goes there?"
Naturally, the city guards had seen the shot Shirō had fired earlier. Even though the target was their common enemy, the guards couldn't drop their vigilance so easily.
That was only proper. The prestige of a nation had to be maintained.
Shirō immediately landed the bird, dispelling the summoning in a puff of smoke, and stepped forward with his teammates.
"Don't worry. We are shinobi of Konohagakure, dispatched at your Priestess-sama's request to provide aid. Here is our mission scroll."
The soldiers exchanged uneasy glances. Their captain said, "Forgive us, but we cannot make that decision. I will report to the palace."
"No problem. Please be quick — the situation outside doesn't look like it will wait long."
The man nodded and hurried away. Soon after, a squad of armored samurai approached.
"You are the shinobi from Konoha?" their leader asked. "I am captain of the Priestess-sama's guard. Please, follow me."
"Thank you," Nakamura replied politely.
As they walked through the streets, Miyue glanced around at the battered city walls and whispered to Tai Yi and Shirō, "So this is the royal capital? It feels… weaker than Konoha."
"Because of the war," Shirō answered quietly. "Konoha's conflicts rarely reach the village itself. Most battles are fought at the borders."
"Exactly," Tai Yi added with Uchiha pride. "That's why Konoha stands strong. With the Uchiha protecting it, who would dare attack?"
Shirō bit back a smile. Would you still say that if you saw Madara himself walk through the gates?
But he didn't argue. For now, Tai Yi wasn't wrong — the current Konoha was indeed powerful. After all, it was about to fight four villages at once in the coming war.
The guard captain ahead of them clearly overheard, but said nothing. The Land of Demons' weakness compared to the Great Nations was a fact.
Nakamura gave a quiet cough, reminding his team to mind their words. They fell silent until they reached the palace.
"Priestess-sama, the shinobi from Konoha have arrived."
"Thank you. You may go."
Shirō stepped forward and bowed. "Greetings, Priestess-sama. Forgive us for arriving later than expected."
"No matter. Please, come. The representatives from the other hidden villages are already waiting."
Shirō and his team followed as the Priestess led them toward the council chamber. At her side walked a woman Shirō vaguely recognized.
Shion's mother, he thought. He couldn't recall her name — hardly anyone could. She had only appeared briefly in the original timeline.
When they entered the conference room, shinobi from the other great villages were already seated.
Shirō quickly picked out familiar faces: Rasa of Sunagakure, Kitsuchi of Iwagakure, a sharp-toothed shinobi from Kirigakure — likely of the Hōzuki clan — and a towering, dark-skinned man from Kumogakure.
Shirō's lips twitched. Hmm… Tai Yi's taijutsu could use an upgrade if we're fighting people like that.
They took their seats behind Nakamura.
"Before we begin, allow me to explain the origin of the enemy—"
But the Kumogakure representative interrupted with a snort. "The enemy can wait. What matters are those puppets. Land of Demons, you hold the power to seal that thing, don't you? Then our priority is finding it."
"Easy to say. How do you expect us to find it when their puppets are endless?" another snapped. "We can't even get past the gates. Did Konoha send fools here?"
Nakamura didn't flinch. "We already have intelligence on their formations. And you've all noticed — they are puppets. That much is clear."
The Suna representative — a puppeteer himself — frowned. "Even so, you can't calculate their positions so simply. The scale is far too large. If it were that easy, Sunagakure would have solved this long ago."
"What ordinary men cannot do, the Nara Clan can," Nakamura countered smoothly. "But we must first confirm: has their formation changed since last night?"
At that name, silence fell. Even the other villages knew the Nara clan's reputation for brilliance. No one dared dismiss their words lightly.
All eyes turned to the Priestess.
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