The Wind Whistle Came from Afar

The next day.

The High-level Meeting arrived as scheduled, Naruto forced his way in, shoving aside anyone who tried to stop him.

"Don't touch me. I am the patriarch of the Uzumaki Clan and am qualified to attend High-level Meeting."

"Why did you come here without being notified?" someone complained.

"Yeah, nobody notified me." Naruto turned to look at the person, a smile suddenly appearing on his face. "That was your mistake, what does it have to do with me?"

"Get out!" The person looked somewhat unfamiliar.

"Okay, let me out, and I'll be at your door tonight!" Naruto didn't recognize the guy, so he immediately increased his intensity and stared at him as he continued.

"If you don't believe me, you can try it and see."

Are you threatening me?

"Yeah, so what?" Naruto stared down at him, blocking the doorway so that no one could get in or out. "What do you want to say? Go and file a complaint against me."

"If it weren't for Kakashi-sensei's sake, I would have burned your house down tonight, believe it or not?"

Then, he looked around with a fierce aura and roared.

"What are you looking at! If it's difficult, then don't do it. If you won't let me participate, then let's postpone the High-level Meeting for another time."

Upon hearing this, the man who had been so arrogant just moments before fell silent. The ruthless fear the cunning, and the cunning fear the reckless; this man had no ties to anyone, and if he said he'd get rid of him, he really would.

Besides, he was well aware of the overwhelming power Naruto possessed; even if Naruto retaliated, he wouldn't be able to do anything to that guy even with evidence. A powerful background can crush someone with sheer force.

Naruto's lips curled into a smile as he walked in openly, even deliberately bumping into the man's shoulder. Kindness is often taken advantage of; even without this persona, he'd still be a scoundrel.

These people never seem to understand the difference between the two kings; they need him, not the other way around. Frankly, he could have easily stayed out of Konohagakure.

The sky is the limit, birds can fly freely, and there are plenty of beautiful flowers to be found everywhere. The last remaining connections he had were only those close to him.

The spacious conference room, with its floor-to-ceiling windows backlit by the sunlight, had all the senior executives seated around a long wooden table. They were spaced some distance apart, and the windows were all open, instantly flooding the room with light.

Kakashi arrived later and immediately sensed something was off as he entered, glancing around suspiciously. It wasn't until he saw Naruto sitting there that he understood what was going on.

He calmly walked to the head seat, sat down, and lazily glanced around before speaking.

"Now that everyone's here, let's begin."

The meeting didn't get straight to the point, but started with some trivial matters. Naruto was dozing off in his seat, and Kakashi wasn't much better off.

About an hour later, just as Naruto was about to slip away to relieve himself, the group in the conference room suddenly stirred. A few seconds of eerie silence followed, then an unfamiliar executive stood up.

"Regarding Rin Nohara, we have received several reports, one of which is illegal detention, and the other is that her identity is unknown."

Kakashi's expression changed immediately upon hearing this, but he still suppressed his emotions and listened to the person finish speaking. Naruto, however, was not so patient and immediately retorted.

"You wrote the report yourselves, didn't you? Trying to frame me?"

The man stopped, his face obscured by the light. He simply turned to look at Naruto and spoke somewhat mechanically.

"We are following procedures and we did receive a report."

"Whatever." Naruto waved his hand impatiently, signaling him to continue reading. There was no need to argue with a tool who was just reading a script.

"According to the records, Rin Nohara belonged to the Minato's Team and died in a mission twenty years ago." The man put down the documents and glanced around.

"In other words, Rin Nohara died twenty years ago, and the Medical Unit still has her autopsy report. But just recently, Rin Nohara came back to life."

"People cannot be brought back to life, but memories can be transferred, so we have reason to suspect that Rin Nohara is an imposter."

As soon as the words were spoken, the conference room fell into complete silence; you could almost hear a pin drop.

The man kept glancing towards Kakashi and Naruto's seats, his body stiff, as if afraid that one of them would slam the table and stand up.

But as time passed, neither of them seemed to make a move.

Gradually, the higher-ups relaxed. They thought that perhaps Naruto wasn't so unreasonable after all, and perhaps Kakashi had been persuaded.

After all, even the Hokage has to prioritize the village's interests, so this information is genuine. He had to painstakingly dig out that autopsy report over several days; it was incredibly difficult.

The silence didn't last long. Just as Kakashi was about to speak, Naruto slammed his hand on the table first.

Bang!

Almost everyone's eyes were on Naruto's position, and Kakashi also turned his head. He probably knew why Naruto had insisted on participating in the High-level Meeting.

"If you say it's fake, then it's fake. How can you be so sure that the dead can't be brought back to life?"

"That's just the way it is, it's obvious."

"Then I think you're already dead, and what you're doing here is just an imposter?" Naruto said calmly, seizing on the flaws in the other person's words.

"At least I have no death record, don't twist the facts."

Who is distorting the facts?

"You!"

"You're twisting the facts. Who told you to produce this autopsy report? Who are you trying to disgust?" Naruto was a master of Talk no Jutsu, and he led the person into a trap with just a few words.

The man was about to speak when a sudden realization struck him, and he stopped himself in his tracks, thinking to himself, "It seems so."

He glanced in Naruto's direction and saw that the guy had swallowed back his words after realizing he was about to speak, looking regretful. The man felt a chill run down his spine, thinking to himself, "That Naruto Uzumaki is truly disgusting."

The clichés are one after another; if you actually say them out loud, you'll be doomed.

How should I put it? Rin Nohara was, after all, the Fourth Hokage's top disciple. Of the entire class, only Kakashi survived, having died for the village.

Kakashi, all his important friends and family members have died, leaving him as the only survivor.

Now, in order to prove that Rin Nohara could not have been resurrected and must be an imposter, he dug up Rin Nohara's autopsy report from twenty years ago, which is somewhat insane.

Konohagakure Tenten chants the Will of Fire, the spirit of those who sacrificed themselves to become spring mud to nourish the flowers. Now, a man has been dead for twenty years, yet he died for the village, and they've dug up his autopsy report.

Naruto was absolutely right. Who are you trying to disgust?

"What do you mean, 'you'?"

The man was speechless; what else could he say? Finally, another high-ranking official stepped forward, a bearded Naruto. Naruto glanced at him, not recognizing him.

"The matter of Rin Nohara is indeed strange, and we can't just let it go so easily. Doing so would be irresponsible to the village, so we must treat it with caution."

"So what do you want?"

"We're just proposing a plan; the final decision rests with a vote by higher-ups." The bearded man's voice was upright and righteous.

"Rin Nohara is under close scrutiny, and her travel is temporarily restricted."

Kakashi frowned and looked at the person.

"Life imprisonment?"

"Lord Hokage still had that patriotic expression. "This is for the benefit of the village. Once Rin Nohara clears her name, the matter can be resolved immediately."

"Besides, there are differences between this kind of imprisonment and that kind of imprisonment; it's just that you can't go too far."

"How many people agree?" Naruto suddenly asked.

This was already the voting stage, though it wasn't really a vote, just a simple show of hands. There weren't many people sitting there, and none of the clan leaders from the Ino-Shika-Cho were present.

Neji Hyuga did arrive, sitting silently in the middle seat, and didn't react when his hand was raised. He seemed to be just there to make an appearance, completely uninterested in the drama unfolding around them.

As a result, the vote by show of hands was almost overwhelming. Apart from those who sided with the Hokage, some neutral individuals abstained from voting, and the rest all raised their hands in agreement.

The results are in, but—

Kakashi fell silent for no apparent reason, and even Naruto remained strangely quiet. The bearded man was initially quite pleased with himself, but as the silence dragged on for too long, he began to feel uneasy.

The entire High-level Meeting seemed to be stuck, like a river frozen on an ice field. There wasn't a sound, only the biting cold wind blowing, and everyone was silent as if trembling with fear.

A bad feeling welled up inside him, and the bearded man's eyelids twitched.

Sure enough, the conference room door was pushed open.

Just like six years ago, Tsunade pushed open the door, and the blinding Nikko mercilessly streamed in. Now it was Sakura's turn, but she wasn't there to cause trouble.

With a bang, she casually tossed the two files onto the table.

"Here is Rin Nohara's medical report, which I prepared myself." Sakura paused deliberately as she said this, observing the expressions of the higher-ups.

Most people's facial expressions remained unchanged, still indifferent and composed, like paper dolls.

"I guarantee with my career that Rin Nohara's body is absolutely fine and has not been replaced." She said, pointing to another file.

"The other document is my resignation letter. I can only take one document back today."

"If you all feel that I, as Head of Medical Department, have engaged in fraudulent practices, I am free to resign, and you can choose someone else. If you wish to compromise, then I only have one thing to say."

"I can't do it anymore!"

The High-level Meeting room fell silent again. Sakura's words were like a hammer blow, leaving everyone with no way out. Originally, they had intended to use Rin Nohara's matter to suppress Kakashi, but they hadn't expected it to lead to even more trouble.

If Sakura leaves the Medical Department Medical Department, it won't necessarily shut down immediately. However, Konohagakure's Medical Ninjutsu will stagnate, and its overall strength will decline.

The meeting room was filled with an anxious atmosphere, and no one knew what to say.

At this moment, Naruto broke the silence.

"I brought her back. Since you think Rin Nohara is problematic, then I must be problematic too. I'll give up my title as the head of the Uzumaki Clan. By the way, let me say this."

"Konoha no longer has any Jinchuriki of the Tailed Beasts. They might have had some before, but they don't anymore. Do you understand what I mean? From now on, there will only be Naruto Uzumaki, no more Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."

"Other ninja villages might have them, but the power of the Tailed Beast won't appear in Konohagakure. It has nothing to do with the village. Is that clear enough?"

"The Will of Fire that the Third Hokage upheld is now going to be destroyed by your hands! Ignoring heroes and doubting comrades, isn't this a betrayal of the Third Hokage?"

"Is this your Will of Fire, or the Silver Will given to you by those nobles of the Land of Fire?"

Naruto stood up, his face clearly showing his displeasure. "I'm not playing these games of intrigue with you anymore." He turned and walked out of the conference room.

Sakura followed behind and walked out, taking Rin Nohara's medical report with her and leaving behind her resignation letter.

"I've wanted to quit for a long time, so this is a good opportunity to quit." She followed behind Naruto and whispered, "Now it's great, I can do what I want, hehe."

"What do you want to do?" Naruto suddenly came to his senses and looked at her, his eyes slightly lowered and his face somewhat cold.

Sakura was already used to his expression. She knew that he was thinking about something while talking to her, and that he wasn't expressing any emotion; he was just asking a simple question.

"Lots." She smiled slyly.

In the High-level Meeting room, Kakashi sat in his seat, calmly observing everyone present.

"Is there anything else you'd like to add?"

He was too calm, as calm as an outsider, seemingly unconcerned about Rin Nohara. He was simply fulfilling his duties Hokage, asking for the opinions of those present.

"Okay, no objections. Then the vote from before counts."

"Sixth Hokage, wait a minute." A high-ranking official suddenly stood up, scratched his head, and said somewhat stiffly, "I think the previous proposal might have been a bit biased. Let's discuss it again."

"Okay, let's discuss it some more." Kakashi rubbed his temples.

"That's roughly what happened. Kakashi is probably still in the meeting room." Naruto looked at Rin Nohara across the table and explained the whole story.

He was indeed helping Kakashi, but he wasn't planning on chasing after him to feed him. Kakashi and Rin Nohara's relationship was their private matter, and Naruto didn't want to get involved.

Taking this opportunity, he also smoothly completed his semi-disconnection from the village.

Although he can't completely sever ties, Naruto is now even freer than Tsunade. He's laid his cards on the table, so there shouldn't be any problem with him living in other villages from now on.

"If we hadn't disrupted the High-level Meeting beforehand, Kakashi might have resigned to save you. Well, based on my understanding of him, he would most likely have done so."

Rin Nohara lowered her head, clutching her skirt tightly, lost in thought.

Naruto didn't linger long; after saying what he needed to say, he left immediately. Walking back along Konohagakure Street, he happened to see several high-ranking officials heading in his direction.

He paused for a moment, then turned and ducked around the corner.

The closer the footsteps got, the clearer their voices became.

"Naruto Uzumaki is far too arrogant. The village has treated him well, and sometimes he should reflect on his own behavior. He's been disliked for so many years; has he ever thought about the village's future?"

Naruto hid around the corner, his lips twitching involuntarily.

When those people passed by, he walked straight out and slapped each of them, giving them a severe beating.

"I'm looking for your mother!"