"Naruto-sama, please think this through!"
"Yes — Naruto-sama, think twice. You mustn't take the initiative and provoke war."
"Under the Third Hokage's rule Konoha enjoyed relative peace. Even through the Second Ninja World War we were a cornerstone of stability and maintained friendly ties with the other great villages. Why, now that the Fourth Hokage has taken office, would you kindle a war on the mainland at once?"
Ryōma's brow tightened. Konoha was strong — why had Naruto come to this decision?
It became clear that the senior council within Konoha was split. Factions and caution ruled the day.
Even the usually humble Hatake Sakumo spoke up: "Lord Naruto, open aggression will see us besieged by the other four great nations."
Naruto rolled his eyes inwardly. "You're really lacking tact," he thought, but he kept his voice calm.
"I'm doing this for you."
A clearing cough.
"Let's not dress this up as peace or war," another elder said.
"Over the years there've been a hundred skirmishes between the villages. Konoha's shinobi have died for less. Three years ago Upper Shinobi Kato fell to a sneak attack — ten years of 'peace' is a lie if blood still stains our gates."
"Not long ago Sunagakure tried to seize our candidate for the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki — Uzumaki Kushina. Is that not an act of war?" someone else added.
"What about the dignity of the First Village? Are we to stand by when we are bullied?" a voice demanded.
Those who opposed Naruto tried to explain themselves calmly.
"Naruto-sama, we are not saying we should provoke others. We merely urge caution. If we strike first, the four great nations will likely unite against us. Konoha would be dragged into a quagmire."
"It would be a lesson written in blood," another elder said.
"Most of the victims will be lower- and mid-ranking shinobi. Look at the orphans in our streets — they are the price of rashness. We do not want more of that."
Naruto smiled at the assembled elders, his expression deceptively light.
"So you're lecturing me on how to act?"
"Not at all, Naruto-sama," Sakumo hurried to say.
"We only wish to prevent needless loss."
"You must think this through," they chorused.
"When the time comes, time will pass," Naruto interrupted, voice cool.
"Waiting to make sure 'nothing is lost' is the coward's way."
"Perfect security is a fantasy, Lord Minato," someone murmured — and Minato himself bristled at the remark.
Naruto turned to a different matter.
"Have the Anbu arrived?"
"Yes."
"Good. Everyone — remain here for the day."
"What do you mean?" the council asked, alarmed.
"It's simple. Today's meeting is important. By today's end, we will take Sunagakure."
A stunned silence swallowed the chamber.
"Take Sunagakure in one day? How is that even possible?"
Naruto's smile didn't waver.
"Our Anbu network inside Sunagakure has spent three years mapping their defences. The infiltration cells have produced a complete layout. With that, taking key positions is straightforward."
"You're still afraid," Naruto said flatly.
"Those who live in fear should not hold high office."
He looked at Minato and Hatake. "Sakumo, Minato — come with me."
Both men froze.
"Just the two of us?" Sakumo asked, hesitant.
"Enough," Naruto said.
Sakumo dropped into a half-kneel, voice trembling with loyalty: "At your command, Lord Hokage!"
Minato echoed him: "At your command, Lord Hokage!"
They followed Naruto out; the remaining elders watched them go, confusion and dread etching their faces.
"He's really going?" one whispered.
"What are we supposed to do now?"
"I knew his youth would be his downfall," another muttered.
"Too late to stop him now."
Many of Konoha's high-ranking officials were pessimistic about Naruto's plan. A few were hopeful.
Fugaku Uchiha, arms folded, sneered at the older dissenters.
"You old men are clinging to life and fear. You're relics of a past that's dead. When the Hokage returns to his strength, you'll have nothing to say."
An old retort rose from the other side of the chamber — the council's divisions were not merely political, but generational and ideological.
Naruto's resolve, however, was iron. He turned once more to the room. "No one leaves tonight. The Anbu will seal the perimeter. No news out. Anyone who betrays Konoha to the outside will answer to me."
His words carried a chill; the gathered elders broke into a cold sweat.
"Naruto-sama— we could never do such a thing," someone protested.
"We only fear that your plan is not thorough enough," they pleaded.
Naruto waved them off.
"I've thought it through. A thirty-year, deep-coverage Anbu operation inside Sunagakure — that map is all the proof I need."
He walked out without another word. Sakumo Hatake and Minato followed, voices low with agreement.
The council remained, split and shaken. Outside, the wind over Konoha's roofs seemed to hold its breath — the village's fate would be decided before dawn.
"Still waiting for Ryoma to return? Hmph. When he comes back, we'll see about this! If Konoha ends up paying reparations or suffering losses, I'll file a formal impeachment!"
Uchiha Fugaku snorted coldly.
"Fine by me. When Lord Hokage returns victorious, I'll be sure to repeat every single word you said here, word for word."
The patriarch of the Kuriarare Clan sneered.
"Since when did the Uchiha become Hokage's lapdogs?"
"You—!" Fugaku's eyes flashed with anger.
The Kuriarare patriarch smirked, deliberately provoking him, hoping Fugaku would lose control. If a fight broke out, even the Anbu might struggle to keep order.
But before Fugaku could respond, masked Anbu operatives flickered between them in an instant.
"Kuriarare-dono, please do not cause trouble."
"What did I do?" the man snapped. "I haven't provoked anyone—"
Before he could finish, the Anbu restrained him firmly.
"Please maintain order. Everything will be discussed when Lord Hokage returns."
The sight of the Anbu's intervention made the other elders bristle with discontent.
"Lord Hokage has barely taken office, and already he ignores the council's advice?"
"That's right! Konoha isn't ruled by the Hokage alone!"
"If this continues, we'll have no choice but to impeach the Fourth Hokage!"
A calm, aged voice interrupted from behind.
"Enough. Stop arguing."
Everyone turned and immediately bowed. "Lord Third!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi entered the hall, pipe in hand, his expression unreadable.
"Naruto-sama," one of the elders blurted, "if the Fourth Hokage continues like this, he'll destroy Konoha!"
"Presumptuous!" Hiruzen barked, cutting the man off. "Have you forgotten who Ryoma is? It's only been one night since he became Hokage — one night since the man who saved and rebuilt this village took that seat! Have you forgotten already?"
He looked across the gathered elders. "Trust him. If he said one day, then give him one day of trust."
Hiruzen exhaled slowly, eyes shadowed with concern. He had only just learned of Ryoma's plan himself — and could do nothing but try to stabilize the situation.
After all, Ryoma had already departed with Minato Namikaze and Hatake Sakumo.
Three men of such caliber… perhaps, just perhaps, they could actually pull it off.
...
At the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind
Within a Sunagakure border outpost, a bored sentry yawned and rubbed his eyes.
Three dark figures flashed past in the distance.
"Eh? Shadows…?" He blinked hard, thinking his eyes were playing tricks.
"Did… three people just—? No, must've been the wind…"
But those three shadows were no illusion. Ryoma, Minato, and Hatake Sakumo were already leaping swiftly through the dense border forest.
"The defenses of Sunagakure seem rather sloppy," Ryoma remarked as he moved from branch to branch.
Sakumo nodded.
"The Second Great Ninja War might be over, but frictions haven't stopped. The Third War could break out at any moment."
"The main Sand forces aren't stationed at the border," he continued.
"Their army's concentrated closer to the village. The desert between here and Sunagakure makes supply lines too unstable."
Minato frowned.
"Can't the great villages ever truly coexist in peace?"
Ryoma smiled faintly.
"Peace is only temporary — unless someone unites them all."
"Otherwise, you follow your ninja way, I follow mine. Who listens to whom?"
Minato sighed softly, unwilling to agree. His ideals leaned toward understanding and peace — the exact opposite of Ryoma's hardline philosophy.
Sakumo, however, was thoughtful. Having survived many wars, he could not dismiss Ryoma's vision so easily.
"Can unification really be achieved?" he asked quietly.
"Even the First Hokage, as great as he was, couldn't do it. And you're not yet twenty."
Ryoma's eyes glinted.
"Maybe not. But if we never try, how will we ever know?"
...
An hour later
Just after Ryoma, Sakumo, and Minato crossed the border into the Land of Wind, an anxious messenger from the Fire Country hurriedly reached a Sunagakure border outpost.
"Sir! Urgent news!" the breathless spy shouted.
"It's reported that the Fourth Hokage, Ryoma, has infiltrated the Land of Wind with Hatake Sakumo — the White Fang of Konoha — and Minato Namikaze, the new head of the Anbu!"
"What?!"
The commander of the border post — Murakami, a veteran jōnin — sprang to his feet, eyes wide in disbelief.
"Explain! What's going on?"
"Reports say Lord Ryoma personally ordered an assault on Sunagakure!"
Murakami stared at him, stunned.
"That's impossible! Wait — when did this happen?"
"About an hour ago, sir. Ryoma left Konoha an hour before I departed!"
"An hour…"
Murakami's blood ran cold. He suddenly recalled the three black shadows he had glimpsed earlier — and his heart sank.
"Why are you only telling me now?!"
"Apologies, sir! The intelligence was heavily guarded inside Konoha. Our informants barely managed to smuggle it out—"
Murakami exhaled shakily, then barked, "Fine! Return to your post."
As the spy vanished, Murakami turned toward Sunagakure, dread knotting in his gut.
"If those three shadows were really them…"
His face paled. "Then we're already in trouble."
Ryoma, Hatake Sakumo, and Minato braved the wind and sand, crossing the barren desert until at last they reached the border camp outside Sunagakure.
With Ryoma's current power, that wasteland was nothing to him. After an hour of hard running the three stood at Sunagakure's outskirts — a true blitzkrieg. They had moved so fast the village hadn't even noticed.
Then the border sentries finally spotted them and closed in.
Nearly fifty guards surrounded the three intruders. Behind those lines, Sunagakure had tens of thousands of shinobi within mobilization range.
A cold mechanical voice — the system — spoke inside Ryoma's head.
[Option 1: Infiltrate Sunagakure, assassinate the Fourth Wind Shadow and plunge the village into chaos.
Reward: S-class character card — Three Wind Shadows.]
[Option 2: Kill (>1,000). Answer violence with violence; make the enemy fear you.
Reward: S-class character card — Thousand Hands.]
[Option 3: Break into Sunagakure, coerce submission by force.
Reward: Tenfold increase in Six Paths fusion speed.]
The choice appeared like a god's command.
Ryoma scanned the situation. Option 2 and Option 3 could be accomplished together — and the arithmetic of slaughter was, grimly, simple: fifty guards now meant twenty such waves to reach a thousand.
"Identify yourselves!" the lead jōnin barked, face hard as stone.
Hatake Sakumo and Minato tensed. For a heartbeat the three men seemed uncertain — then Ryoma smiled, small and unnerving.
"We are shinobi of Konoha," he said.
No sooner had the words left his lips than the earth itself answered. Roots and vines erupted from the sand, snaking through the camp like living ropes. In an instant, the fifty Sunagakure guards were dragged under the yellow dust — motionless, buried beneath a sudden thicket of wood.
The shock was total. Not a single alarm bell had a chance to sound.
Hatake Sakumo swallowed hard, still staring at the impossible carnage.
"Can one man do this so quickly?" he whispered.
Ryoma stepped forward, voice calm and cold.
"We go straight in. Kill until they fear us. Kill until they surrender."
Hatake Sakumo's eyes glinted with an old, terrible light. Minato, beside him, set his jaw — both men ready to follow where Ryoma would lead.
...
TN:
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