Confrontation

Two Anbu suddenly appeared before the two of them.

"Uzumaki Naruto, leave at once!"

One of the Anbu said coldly.

Uzumaki Naruto looked blankly at them: "Um, why?"

"Obey orders!"

The Anbu said coldly, his gaze falling upon Hōzuki Mangetsu.

Hōzuki Mangetsu raised his hands high and laughed: "Don't misunderstand, I was just teaching this child a ninjutsu."

The two Anbu remained silent.

They had already observed carefully just now; Hōzuki Mangetsu had no other suspicious actions toward the Nine-Tails jinchuriki.

"Why would you teach a B-rank ninjutsu to a child?"

One Anbu stared intently at Hōzuki Mangetsu.

Shadow Clone was a B-rank ninjutsu created by the Second Hokage; to master it successfully, one needed to be at least a Chunin.

Naruto was still just a child, and Hōzuki Mangetsu teaching him such a relatively advanced ninjutsu left the Anbu somewhat puzzled.

Oh, that!

Hōzuki Mangetsu shrugged and said: "I just feel he is quite suited for this technique!"

The two Anbu observed carefully for a while, and finding nothing unusual, they slowly nodded.

"Lord Hokage requests your presence!"

The reason they had revealed themselves was because they had received orders from the Hokage.

Please, lead the way!

Hōzuki Mangetsu said easily.

He knew that the upper echelons of Konoha had finally reached an agreement, which was why Sarutobi Hiruzen was willing to meet him.

"Mister!"

Naruto still wanted to say something, but was stopped by the Anbu.

"Naruto, leave quickly!"

His tone was somewhat displeased.

The Anbu had no fondness for this troublemaking child.

Hōzuki Mangetsu smiled slightly and followed the two Anbu away.

The Anbu were already displeased with him interacting with the Nine-Tails; since that was the case, it would be inconvenient for him to do anything further.

Naruto, who was naturally thick-skinned, suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable in his heart.

He had finally met someone who didn't dislike him, only for them to be separated after just a brief moment.

"Mister, thank you!"

He suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs.

Hōzuki Mangetsu suddenly turned his head and smiled: "Uzumaki Naruto, you will definitely become an amazing ninja."

Naruto's body trembled, and as he watched Hōzuki Mangetsu's receding figure, two lines of tears suddenly flowed down.

Finally, there was someone willing to acknowledge him.

He must work hard to become Hokage.

Meanwhile, Hōzuki Mangetsu was led by the two Anbu to the Hokage Building.

Another Anbu blocked Hōzuki Mangetsu's path.

"Hand over your ninja tools and scrolls; we will keep them safe for you."

Hōzuki Mangetsu smiled slightly and handed over the items on his person.

It seemed that last night's events had once again rattled Konoha, as the security measures had become even stricter.

Only after all of this was done was Hōzuki Mangetsu brought into the Hokage's office.

"Kirigakure Jonin Hōzuki Mangetsu greets Lord Third Hokage!"

Hōzuki Mangetsu bowed slightly.

"So it is the genius youth of the Hozuki Clan; please, sit!"

The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, set down the scroll in his hand and revealed a smile.

Hōzuki Mangetsu sat down, neither servile nor overbearing.

At this moment, he represented his village and his country, so he naturally could not be casual.

"Is the Fourth Mizukage doing well? I haven't seen him in a very long time. The last time I saw him, he was still just a child."

Sarutobi Hiruzen said unhurriedly.

Hōzuki Mangetsu curled his lip slightly, quite unimpressed by such vapid words from Sarutobi Hiruzen.

The Third Shinobi World War had ended, and the five great shinobi villages had returned to a state of calm, yet the wounds had not healed; in private, everyone was still locked in endless strife and intrigue.

"Thanks to the Third Hokage's blessing, the Fourth Mizukage is doing quite well."

Hōzuki Mangetsu coughed once and immediately shifted the topic: "Third Hokage, this humble one has come this time for the sake of the five comrades from our village who died in Konoha."

His expression darkened as he said, "Five of our village's shinobi were scouting near the border when they were inexplicably struck down by Konoha's hand. I wonder if the Third Hokage can provide our village with an explanation."

By coming here, Hōzuki Mangetsu was representing the village to hold them accountable.

If he could make Konoha pay a price this time, it would be of great benefit to Hōzuki Mangetsu's future reputation.

Although Hōzuki Mangetsu knew these five Mist Ninja had died at the hands of Orochimaru, they had died within Konoha's borders, which made it impossible for Konoha to clear its name.

"First, I express my regrets regarding the deaths of these five Hidden Mist shinobi. Our Konoha is currently investigating this matter with full effort, and I believe we will have results before long."

Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen said, his expression unchanging.

Although he did not know why these five Hidden Mist shinobi had been caught up in this, their bodies had been discovered within Konoha's territory; on this point alone, Konoha could not shirk its responsibility.

An investigation?

Hōzuki Mangetsu sneered: "How long will the investigation take? If Konoha investigates for a year, are we in the Hidden Mist expected to wait for you for a year?"

Insolent!

A voice suddenly sounded from outside the door.

The door was pushed open, and the figure of Danzo walked in slowly. His cane tapped lightly against the floor as he said: "How could your Hidden Mist shinobi appear on Konoha's territory? I suspect they were attempting to infiltrate Konoha to steal intelligence, and were thus attacked and killed by unidentified parties. I should be the one asking the Fourth Mizukage what he intended to scout for by sending these shinobi to Konoha."

Danzo was a typical Hawk, consistently adopting a hardline stance in both diplomacy and internal village affairs.

He had always been dissatisfied with Sarutobi Hiruzen's weakness.

"This must be Lord Danzo, the person in charge of Root!"

Hōzuki Mangetsu cast a sidelong glance at Danzo.

Danzo was an underestimated character in the plot.

Through Orochimaru's modifications, he already possessed the power of the Senju and Uchiha, and had seized the Sharingan of the strongest genjutsu user, Uchiha Shisui.

Since he could become a high-ranking official of the village, Danzo's intelligence, emotional quotient, and strength would not be weak; even if he didn't quite measure up to Sarutobi Hiruzen, he shouldn't be far behind.

Later on, having obtained the power of the Uchiha and Senju along with Shisui's Sharingan, he was definitely an existence at the Super Kage level.

It was just a pity that in his first battle, he ran into the third-tier boss Obito and the second young master.

Both of those were cheaters, so it was only logical that Danzo was killed.

But at this moment, Danzo had not yet obtained Shisui's Sharingan, so Hōzuki Mangetsu did not need to worry about him using genjutsu on himself.

"Lord Danzo, are you implying that our village is wantonly provoking a war?"

Hōzuki Mangetsu asked unceremoniously.

Danzo sneered and said: "That is exactly the case. We in Konoha intend to hold you accountable."

No matter the time, he was always hardline.

Is that so?

Hōzuki Mangetsu slowly stood up and said word by word: "Since that is the case, there is nothing left to say. I shall return immediately to tell the Mizukage to prepare for war. Five of our Hidden Mist people have died, and now we are being framed by Konoha, accused of provoking a war. This is truly outrageous."

He let out a cold laugh and said: "The Land of Water may be small, but it is not something to be bullied at will."