"I know it well."
As the train passed through the long tunnel, the surrounding scenery began to change.
The white snowfields gradually disappeared and were replaced by lush forests. The air at Land of Fire was moist and warm, with the fragrance of earth.
But this familiar smell seems to be mixed with a trace of fire that is not easy to detect at this moment. Yakumi.
"Naruto." Sasuke suddenly opened his eyes, "Do you feel it?"
"Ah." Naruto stood up and looked forward.
In an extremely distant place, in the direction of Konoha, an unsettling Chakra Wave movement is faintly coming. It is not hostility, but a deeper and darker silence.
Like the calm before the storm.
"It seems that someone knows that we are coming back." Naruto clenched his fists, "They are preparing a welcome ceremony for us."
The rhythm of the wheels hitting the rails is getting faster and faster, as if counting down to the coming storm.
Leaf's door remains calm.
The two gatekeepers Chunin were chatting boredly about last night's TV series, until two figures suddenly appeared in front of them. There was no smoke from Body Flicker Technique, but the pressure of walking step by step made the two Chunin shut their mouths instantly and stood at attention reflexively.
"Fire...Lord Hokage! Sasuke-sama!"
Naruto nodded, without the usual greetings, and walked straight towards Hokage Building without stopping. The coat on his body still carried the unique coldness of the north, and passers-by looked sideways wherever he passed.
"The atmosphere is not right." Sasuke whispered.
It's really not right.
Although people are still coming and going on the streets, in those invisible corners, the aura of Anbu is twice as dense as usual. On the roofs and among the treetops, countless pairs of eyes are staring at every corner of the village.
Pushing open the door of Hokage's Office, Shikamaru was buried in a pile of scrolls, and the cigarette butts in the ashtray piled up into a hill. When he heard the door ring, he raised his head, and his eyes, which were always half asleep, were filled with bloodshot eyes.
"Back." Shikamaru didn't talk nonsense and directly threw a scroll to Naruto, "Look at this."
Naruto caught the scroll and unfolded it. It was an emergency report, and the red stamp on it was extremely dazzling.
"Last night, Scientific Ninja Tools Unit's third warehouse was stolen." Shikamaru rubbed his temples, his voice hoarse, "There was no intrusion alarm, the door locks were intact, and the surveillance video was replaced with a looping screen. It was not discovered until a routine inspection this morning."
"What was lost?" Sasuke asked.
"Biological samples." Shikamaru stood up, walked to the window and closed the curtains, "To be precise, they are the remains of White Zetsu recovered from the Fourth Great Ninja War battlefield, and... part of the unprocessed Hashirama Cells."
Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other.
This is completely consistent with the "body" they encountered in Land of Snow. The vitality of White Zetsu, coupled with the adaptability of Hashirama Cells, and combined with the Black Oil technology, can create a perfect war weapon.
"Where are the Fang Zhu people?" Naruto asked.
"In Interrogation Room." Shikamaru sighed, "Ibiki personally interrogated it. But that guy... doesn't know anything. Yamanaka Clan read his memory, and his memory was blank during that time."
"Another illusion?" Sasuke sneered, "Under the nose of Leaf, he controlled the chief scientist and evacuated the heavily guarded warehouse. Apart from Code who can freely travel through space, I can't think of another person."
"No, it's not just Code." Shikamaru turned around, his eyes became extremely sharp, "The defensive barrier of the warehouse is against external intrusion. If someone can take away things silently, it means he opened it from the inside."
"You mean there's a mole?" Naruto frowned.
"And the level is very high." Shikamaru pointed to a map on the table, which was exactly the one Naruto saw in Land of Snow. It marked the abandoned stronghold that received the signal. "This stronghold is "destroyed" in the file. The person who signed the confirmation is Utatane Koharu from the advisory group."
The air instantly dropped to freezing point.
When it comes to the advisory group, the nature of the matter changes. It is no longer a simple enemy attack, but a political struggle or even a precursor to a coup.
"That old woman..." Naruto clenched his fists, "What does she want to do? Resurrection Danzo?"
"Don't be impulsive." Sasuke pressed Naruto's shoulders, "If you question her now, you will only alert the enemy. Since that stronghold is still receiving signals, it means that it is operating there."
"I want to go there." Naruto said.
"No." Shikamaru interrupted him, "You are Hokage. People in the village are in panic now, and you must take charge. If there is really a problem with the advisory group, as soon as you leave, there will be chaos in the village."
"I'll go." Sasuke straightened the damaged cloak, "This kind of dirty work is what I should do."
"I'll go too."
A voice came from the door. Sai leaned against the door frame, with that everlasting fake smile on his face, but his eyes were as cold as ice.
"That stronghold used to be Root's training center. I am familiar with the structure there better than anyone else." Sai walked in, "Besides, if high-level betrayal is really involved, Anbu needs to clean up the door."
Naruto looked at Sai, then at Sasuke.
"Okay." Naruto nodded, "Sasuke, Sai, I'll leave that stronghold to you. No matter what's inside, I want to live. I want to know who is pushing Leaf into the fire pit."
"What if the other party resists?" Sai asked.
"As long as you can breathe and speak." Naruto's eyes turned cold, which was a decision that had been settled after countless battles. "In addition, Shikamaru, seal the village. From now on, any entry or exit must be approved by me personally. Even the envoy of the daimyo cannot."
"It's so troublesome." Although Shikamaru complained, the corner of his mouth curled up, "This is what Hokage should be like."
Sasuke and Sai disappear from the window.
Naruto walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked at the peaceful village below. The setting sun stretched Hokage Rock's shadow very long, covering half of the village.
"Whether it's the shell or the advisory group..." Naruto whispered to himself, pressing his palms on the glass, Chakra shook slightly, "No one can touch my home."
At the same time, deep in the forest two hundred kilometers away from Leaf.
A huge gate disguised as a rock slowly opened. In the darkness, countless pairs of red mechanical eyes lit up.
In front of the "newly created soldiers" lined up in a square formation, a figure wearing a cloak was looking at the data pad in his hand. What was displayed on the data pad was the battle video of Naruto and Sasuke in Land of Snow.
"Although it is a semi-finished product, it can force Uchiha Sasuke to use its full strength, and the data collection is almost complete."
The figure took off his hood, revealing a wrinkled face. But in those eyes, there was a fanatical light that did not belong to an old man.
"The age of ninjas is over." He murmured to himself, "Next comes the age of gods and machines."
Behind him, in the huge Culture Tank, a clone with golden hair was floating in the green liquid, with the black core embedded in its chest.
That face is exactly the same as Naruto when he was young.