"Exactly. That was what he said."
Ōnoki nodded.
"Grandfather, do you think those words were a provocation?"
Kurotsuchi thought for a moment before asking.
Ōnoki nodded and sighed.
"It is still too early to speculate on what those words mean. If he said the same thing when leaving every Ninja Village, then it would be both a provocation and a warning. We will need to verify that with the other Ninja Villages."
"But what if Naruto Uzumaki left those same words behind after leaving every Ninja Village?" Kurotsuchi asked.
Ōnoki stood up and paced to the bedside. He looked out the window before turning back. "If that is really the case, then this is serious. Naruto Uzumaki is placing the choice in our hands."
"What a deeply calculating fellow." Ōnoki sat back down on the cushion atop the tatami mat and sighed.
Ōnoki's words made Kurotsuchi understand Naruto Uzumaki's intentions as well. She said in agreement, "Who would have thought that, at such a young age, he would harbor such deep schemes? First, he used friendly sparring as an excuse to make friends and defeated everyone. Then he left behind an ambiguous sentence for us to ponder. Finally, he put the choice in our hands."
"Grandfather, isn't he afraid that we might choose the other option? No matter how powerful he is, he is only one person. Could he really destroy our entire Stone Village by himself?"
Kurotsuchi was somewhat unconvinced.
"One person? Heh..." Ōnoki casually picked up a document beside him. "Take a look at this intelligence report."
Kurotsuchi took it and opened it. Her expression changed drastically, and her eyes widened as she looked at her grandfather, the Tsuchikage. "Is he really that strong? He killed Karatachi Yagura and defeated more than three thousand Mist Ninja by himself?"