Chapter 150:
Hokage's Office.
The dim light of dusk streamed through the window, falling in scattered rays across Naruto's back as he hunched over his computer, busily working.
"Naruto, I'm heading out."
"Ah, see you tomorrow, Shikamaru," Naruto nodded without turning.
"Don't overwork yourself, Naruto." Shikamaru waved with a smile, brushing past Sasuke, who happened to be walking into the Hokage's Office.
"What brings you here, Sasuke?"
"It's the latest intel from Itachi. Apparently, a wandering samurai from the Land of Water has made contact with S.H.I.E.L.D."
"The Land of Water? Sasuke, are you saying..." Naruto looked at Sasuke.
Sasuke gave a slight nod. "If I remember correctly, the daimyō of the Land of Water once struck a deal with S.H.I.E.L.D. involving the Hulk."
"The daimyō of the Land of Water, huh..."
Naruto felt a bit of a headache coming on.
Although ninja were far more powerful than daimyō in terms of combat capability, when it came to governing a country, the daimyō were far more experienced. After all, ninja were merely the military arm of a nation.
No matter how highly trained or well-equipped a military is, it doesn't attack or sanction other countries on its own initiative—those actions always require orders.
"…Looks like this matter will have to be handled through direct negotiations by our own daimyō," Naruto said after some thought.
That said, Naruto would still need to discuss it with Shikamaru. If they weren't careful, this could potentially trigger another Great Ninja War.
Despite the current friendly relations among the Five Great Nations, the villages still ultimately answered to their respective daimyō. If a particularly unreasonable daimyō insisted on going to war, the village would have no choice but to comply—meaning the next Great Ninja War could break out at any time.
"By the way, Sasuke, how's Shuyu's special training going?"
"…Shuyu is a genius. His abilities at his current age already far surpass where we were back then."
"Really? That's good to hear."
As far as Naruto was concerned, the more powerful ninja the village had, the better—especially in sensitive times like these.
Although the ninja world currently looked peaceful on the surface, war could erupt at any moment. The daimyō of the Land of Water's recent actions had stirred unease—even Naruto, who was usually slow to notice such things, could sense that something was off.
Standing in front of his house, Boruto hesitated for a long time before finally pressing the doorbell. He could already imagine Hinata's thunderous reaction when she saw him.
"Mama, it's Big Brother—he's back!"
It was Himawari who opened the door.
The moment she saw Boruto, she dove into his arms.
Patting Himawari's head, Boruto looked toward the entryway, where Hinata had walked out and said, "Mom, I'm home."
"Mm. I'm glad you're back." Hinata nodded gently. Missions were a regular part of ninja life, so she was more concerned about the dangers Boruto might face while out on one. When she saw him full of energy earlier that afternoon, even sparring with Naruto, she had already felt reassured. "You two come in. And Boruto, go change your clothes—we're about to eat."
After finally prying Himawari off him, Boruto went back to his room, changed into a clean outfit, and carefully folded his worn Akatsuki cloak together with his scratched-out Leaf forehead protector.
"Big Brother! Dinner!"
Himawari peeked her head into Boruto's room after opening the door.
"I know, I'm coming."
...
Early the next morning, Boruto—dressed in new clothes and wearing a brand-new Leaf forehead protector—hurried toward the village gate.
"Sorry, I'm late." He scratched his pineapple-like hair with an embarrassed grin.
"Honestly! Even after going through special training, you still haven't kicked the habit of being late," Sarada said, arms crossed, staring at him.
"C'mon, Sarada, forgive me just this once?" Boruto clasped his hands together in a pleading gesture.
"Let's go. The thunder train's about to leave," Shuyu interjected.
The thunder train station they needed was located outside the Hidden Leaf Village, not within it.
The three of them squeezed into a packed train car.
Their destination was the border of the Land of Fire. If they relied solely on running, it would take too long and drain too much stamina, so they opted to ride the thunder train instead.
Sarada still had a home mortgage to help pay off, Boruto had been tricked out of his allowance by some shady Jar Merchant, and Shuyu's guardian Shunhi never gave him any allowance at all—so, naturally, they couldn't afford first-class tickets.
"Hey! There are some empty seats over there!"
"Don't run in the train car, you idiot!" Sarada grabbed Boruto and scolded him.
The three of them made their way toward the empty seats.
"You're..."
There was only one man sitting in the two rows of empty seats facing each other. Sarada frowned—he looked oddly familiar.
"Byakugan Killer—Ao. After the Fourth Great Ninja War, he became the bodyguard of the Land of Water's daimyō," Shuyu answered for her. Of course, there were things Itachi hadn't mentioned.
For example, Ao had once accompanied the Land of Water's daimyō during a transaction with S.H.I.E.L.D. involving the Hulk.
"You look…"
Boruto stared at Ao's half-human, half-machine body.
"Hey! That's really rude!" Sarada quickly reprimanded him.
After glancing at the forehead protectors on the three of them, Ao said, "So you're little brats from the Hidden Leaf Village. This body? I ended up like this because of the last Great Ninja War. I'm only alive thanks to scientific ninja tools."
"You're riding this thunder train to go where?" Shuyu asked. "As the daimyō's bodyguard, I assume you're not allowed to just travel around freely."
"You're a cautious one, huh? Too bad you were born in the wrong era. If you'd grown up in mine, you'd have become an outstanding shinobi." Ao didn't take offense to Shuyu's probing—he actually praised him. "There's something interesting at the Fire Country border. I'm going to check it out. I'm guessing your mission is the same as mine. But tell me—didn't the Leaf already send a team out to investigate? Don't tell me… something happened to them?"
Gathering and analyzing intel was a basic skill for any ninja.
Shuyu didn't answer, instead countering with, "Shouldn't this kind of investigation be handled by Mist shinobi?"
"Heh. Sometimes, kid, curiosity isn't such a good thing—especially for young Leaf ninja."
The moment Ao finished speaking, the three tomoe of the Sharingan appeared in Shuyu's eyes.
Anyone capable of striking a deal with S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn't be a decent person. That's what Itachi had assumed from the start—so he was desperate to figure out why Ao was here.
After all, this mission wasn't just his; Sarada was right beside him.
"Hey, Shuyu." Sarada tugged at his sleeve, glancing around nervously. "This is a thunder train, and you said yourself this guy's the daimyō's bodyguard. Don't get so worked up—you'll cause trouble for the village."
"…Yeah, I get it."
Shuyu gave a small nod. It was only because the train was crowded and Sarada was with him that he was holding back.
After all, since when did Itachi ever "ask questions" to extract intel?
He always just used a genjutsu.
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