High above, amidst the clouds, two enormous stone spheres floated in the air. Not far from them, a winged man in golden armor stood silently with a sword in hand.
As for Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, Uzumaki Kuming did not know how best to deal with them. One was his own nephew; the other was the son of his good brother. Killing them was obviously impossible. Even imprisoning them required careful consideration.
As things stood, there were not many outstanding talents among Konoha's younger generation, and even fewer capable of shouldering great responsibility. Uzumaki Kuming had originally intended for Naruto and Sasuke to gain sufficient experience through this war. Witnessing a real battlefield would allow the two young men to mature quickly.
The reason the Land of Lightning had still been able to organize effective resistance was also because Uzumaki Kuming had deliberately allowed it. Otherwise, he could have stormed into the Land of Lightning alone and destroyed Kumogakure long ago. From the very beginning, Kumogakure had been the training ground Uzumaki Kuming arranged for Naruto and Sasuke to make their names.
However, events developed beyond Uzumaki Kuming's expectations. After witnessing the cruelty of war, Naruto and Sasuke had not cast aside the innocence in their hearts. Instead, it had stirred their anti-war sentiments, and the two had actually joined forces against Uzumaki Kuming, the "original sin of war." That had completely derailed his plans.
"These two brats really never stop worrying me."
"They refuse to walk the path I laid out for them and insist on taking a different road."
Uzumaki Kuming looked at the two enormous stone spheres created by Chibaku Tensei and sighed inwardly.
"I'll take them back to Konoha and lock them up for now. I'll release them after I conquer the Land of Lightning.