Faced with the blond boy's provocation, Temari had to fight the urge to smack him across the face with her fan.
Remembering Baki's instructions, she gritted her teeth and said, "Naruto Uzumaki, do the higher-ups in Konoha know you're doing this? You're endangering the alliance between our villages."
"Well, that's unfortunate," Naruto said with a light laugh, stepping onto a rock to look down at her. "Because right now, the highest authority in Konoha is me."
"What!"
"Honestly," Naruto said, patting his forehead. He jumped down from the defensive wall and stood before Temari. "I am the Fifth Hokage of Konoha. Understand now?"
Temari's first thought was disbelief. "What kind of joke is this? How could Konoha let a thirteen-year-old genin become the Fifth Hokage!"
"Gaara can be the Kazekage, so why can't I be the Hokage?"
"That's different..." Temari's words were tinged with bitterness.
How could Konoha be the same as the Sand Village? The Sand truly had no successor, but Konoha was brimming with talent. No matter how you looked at it, it shouldn't be the turn of a thirteen-year-old genin, right? Even if this genin was incredibly strong...
Not wanting to expose her village's internal problems, Temari changed the subject. "What is your purpose for coming to the Sand Village?"
"The people of the Sand Village are impoverished. This village can't even secure missions and has to snatch them from its allies..." Naruto spread his hands, and his words made every Sand ninja's face darken. His next sentence, however, made their expressions change drastically. "So I think a village like this has no reason to continue to exist."
"...You bastard!" Kankuro angrily threw the puppet from his back.
Temari quickly reached out to stop her impulsive brother, her face calm. "Naruto Uzumaki, stop this provocative nonsense. If Konoha sent you to hold us accountable..."
"Do I really need to spell it out?" Naruto's eyes flashed as he suddenly kicked Kankuro in the chest, sending him flying back into several Sand ninjas behind him.
"I came here to destroy the entire Sand Village!"
The boy's loud voice instantly echoed throughout the area. A golden chakra cloak erupted around his body, and nine giant, golden tails materialized behind him. A massive chakra fist smashed into the ground.
Naruto approached Temari with a fierce expression. He looked down at the sweating kunoichi and said coldly, "Now, do you understand?"
"Defend!" Temari shrieked, grabbing the large folding fan from her back to knock the boy away.
A giant chakra hand slapped her and sent her flying.
The other Sand ninjas frantically drew their swords and kunai, charging toward Naruto.
"Roar!" Naruto let out a fierce roar, and the force of his chakra sent them all flying. In just a few seconds, all the Sand ninjas sent to meet him were down.
Naruto scanned the battlefield and began walking towards the Sand Village. Gaara was taking too long to arrive, and he couldn't resist the temptation to personally deal with a major ninja village.
The first ninja village to vanish.
His footprints marked the sand. His battlefield would begin here.
The sound of a signal flare reached Naruto's ears. When he looked up, a red firework had already bloomed in the sky. He turned and saw Temari struggling to sit up. It was she who had fired the warning signal.
A giant chakra hand suddenly shot out and dragged Temari over.
Naruto controlled the hand to grip her by the neck, lifting her entire body off the ground. His eyes narrowed slightly. "Your actions will only cause more people in the Sand Village to die."
"Someone in the Sand Village will stop you..." Temari's face remained stubborn.
Naruto couldn't help but chuckle. "Who would that be? Gaara? Or Granny Chiyo?"
"You!"
"A ninja village that can only survive by clinging to Konoha's back... besides acting like a tail-wagging dog begging for scraps, you also want to betray your master?" Naruto recalled the future he knew, a time when Gaara was already dead. Instigated by outsiders, the Sand Village had abandoned its alliance during Konoha's most desperate hour and attacked the Land of Fire, nearly bringing disaster upon Konoha.
"You bastard!"
"Don't worry, I won't kill you." Naruto threw her to the ground, stepped over her body, and left her with a sentence that made a cold sweat break out across her skin. "In the Sand Village, you're the only one who has a chance to survive."
"What are you going to do!"
"You bastard!"
"Konoha will become the enemy of the entire ninja world!"
"Naruto Uzumaki! Are you crazy!"
Temari watched his departing figure in despair, grabbing handfuls of sand in a panic. She was terrified by his words.
However, the blond boy paid her no attention, simply walking step by step, firmly, towards the village with its distinct desert architecture.
"Enemy attack!"
Inside the Sand Village, the ninja on duty put down his binoculars and roared, urging the village's shinobi to gather and resist the invasion.
"How many are there?"
"One..." The on-duty ninja's cheeks were slick with sweat as he mumbled, "That guy has already defeated two full squads and is heading towards the village! Go report to Jonin Baki! No, go report to Lord Gaara!"
"Only one person? Then arrange a squad of ANBU..."
Boom!
A loud explosion shattered the tranquility of the village. The main street of the Sand Village was destroyed in an instant. Because no enemy had ever been able to attack the Sand Village before it could surrender, this was the first time it had ever encountered a direct assault.
A giant chakra hand suddenly extended, tightly gripping the neck of a Sand ninja. The blond boy said coldly, "Where is Gaara?"
"Go to hell!" The ninja stabbed down fiercely with a kunai.
Crack!
The Sand ninja who tried to resist was instantly broken, his body thrown to the ground like a rag doll.
Dense waves of shuriken were met by a storm-like wind style jutsu. "Wind Style: Spiral Hurricane!"
A tornado stirred up sand and dust, blowing away a swarm of approaching Sand ninjas. A short figure walked out of the sandstorm, stepping towards the highest point of the village, where the Kazekage's office stood.
"Bastard, who do you think you are, daring to break into our village! We are one of the Five Great Ninja Villages!"
"Kill him!"
"Send someone to organize an evacuation!"
"Quickly deploy the defense forces!"
A series of noisy shouts reached Naruto's ears, making him subconsciously stick a finger in one. He suddenly shot up and landed on a high tower.
Inside his mind, the Nine-Tails' expression was a bit unpleasant. "Naruto, end this quickly! Just use that move! Anyway, besides Gaara and Temari, there aren't any innocent people here..."
"Okay."
A pitch-black orb formed in Naruto's palm. Chakra continuously gathered and twisted within it, and a white, star-like ring emerged around the projectile.
Under the horrified gaze of a group of Sand ninjas, the orb, exuding a terrifying aura, was lightly tossed down by the blond boy.
A dazzling light blinded their eyes. In an instant, the sound of a massive explosion rang in everyone's ears. The endless shockwave instantly destroyed nearly half of the Sand Village's buildings. The Sand ninjas who had tried to approach Naruto were either dead or heavily injured.
-----
Bonus:
Temari: You know, I'm actually really envious of you.
Sakura: Envious of me? (⊙_⊙)? You like Sasuke too?
Temari: No... I like your summoning jutsu.
Sakura: Oh, right, Katsuyu is really strong.
Temari: I'm not talking about the slug...
Sakura: I don't have any other summoning animals!
Temari: I'm talking about Naruto. When you're in trouble, you just shout "Naruto!" When you're in danger, you just think his name, and he'll pop up to save you.
Sakura: You could try yelling for Shikamaru, or Gaara...
Temari: I don't dare.
Sakura: Huh?
Temari: Because the one attacking the Sand Village is Naruto. If I call for them, I'd just be sending them to their deaths.