Aftermath

Izumo and the others raced through Konoha's streets like gusts of wind. They first found the parents of several of their friends and briefly explained what had happened. The parents were frantic with worry and hurried to the duty room at the Konoha Gate.

Izumo, meanwhile, rushed straight to the Hokage Building to see Hiruzen Sarutobi.

He burst into the Hokage Office, not even stopping to catch his breath. "Lord Hokage, some Cloud Village ninja attacked Menma and the other children. They're at the duty room by the Konoha Gate now. Menma says he has something important to report."

Hiruzen furrowed his brow, a surge of worry and anger rising within him. He stood, put on his Hokage cloak, and said, "We'll go at once."

At the duty room by the Konoha Gate, Izumo was still doing his best to comfort the crying children. Their parents arrived one after another. Seeing that their children were safe, they first breathed a sigh of relief. But when they saw the tear tracks on their faces and how dejected they looked, their hearts ached.

Naruto flung himself into Kushina's arms and burst into tears. "Mom, Yota... Yota saved us, and then the spider..." Kushina gently patted his back, grief and tenderness filling her eyes.

Menma sat off to one side, silently watching the scroll that sealed the Cloud ninja's bodies. He knew this incident would stir up a storm between Konoha and Kumogakure.

Before long, Hiruzen arrived at the duty room. His presence quieted the room, which had been noisy moments before. Everyone looked up at Lord Hokage.

"Menma, tell me exactly what happened," Hiruzen said, his voice calm and grave.

Menma stood and began recounting the whole chain of events. He told Hiruzen how they had sneaked out of the village, been attacked by Cloud ninja in the forest, and how Yota had sacrificed himself. He also described their fight with the Cloud ninja, leaving nothing out.

Hiruzen's expression turned solemn. Cloud ninja had attacked Konoha's children near the village. It was a serious provocation.

"Grandpa Hokage, we didn't mean to leave the village. It was all my fault. I was the one who suggested exploring outside," Naruto said, lowering his head in shame.

"Now isn't the time to decide who's at fault," Hiruzen said. "We have to discuss this with Kumogakure."

Hiruzen then summoned Konoha's senior ninja, including Kakashi and Might Guy, to discuss how to handle the incident.

Over in Kumogakure, the three defeated ninja had been gone for a long time, which had drawn the attention of the village leadership. They began investigating where the three had gone and discovered that the last place they had been seen was in a forest near Konoha.

When Fourth Raikage A heard the news, he furrowed his brow. He knew that if this was mishandled, it could spark a war between the two villages. Kumogakure and Iwagakure were already on the brink of conflict, and Konoha's involvement would put them under even greater pressure.

In Konoha, Hiruzen decided to first send an envoy to Kumogakure to convey Konoha's position. He demanded a reasonable explanation for the incident and an apology for the attack on Konoha's children.

Kakashi volunteered to serve as the envoy. Carrying the evidence Menma had provided—the scroll containing the Cloud ninja's bodies—he set out for Kumogakure.

Kakashi was given a cold reception in Kumogakure. The Cloud ninja regarded him with hostility, believing Konoha had killed their comrades.

Kakashi stayed calm. In the Kumogakure conference room, in front of the village leadership, he unsealed the scroll and displayed the bodies of the three ninja. He then gave a detailed account of what had happened.

After hearing him out, Fourth Raikage A fell into thought. He didn't want to believe his ninja would attack Konoha's children, but with the evidence right before him, he had no choice but to reconsider the incident.

After a heated discussion, Kumogakure decided to send an envoy to Konoha to investigate the truth together.

Konoha welcomed Kumogakure's envoy. The two sides held talks in a secure conference room in Konoha. Hiruzen led Konoha's representatives, with Kakashi, Might Guy, and other elite ninja in attendance.

Fourth Raikage A led Kumogakure's delegation, which included several ninja skilled in diplomacy and intelligence analysis.

The atmosphere was tense from the very start. Hiruzen said gravely, "Your village's ninja attacked our children near Konoha. This is a serious violation of the principle of peaceful coexistence between ninja villages. They not only put our children's lives in grave danger but also trampled on Konoha's dignity."

The Raikage frowned. "Lord Hokage, so far, all we've seen is evidence provided by your side. The bodies do belong to Cloud ninja, but we still don't know the full story. We can't conclude that we were at fault based on this alone."

Kakashi spoke up. "Lord Raikage, the children who were there were innocent. It's hard to justify your ninja attacking them, isn't it? These children are Konoha's future. Their lives are precious."

A Kumogakure ninja retorted, "Our ninja wouldn't attack anyone without a reason. There may have been a misunderstanding. Perhaps they mistook your children for enemies."

Might Guy slapped the table and stood up. "What kind of misunderstanding would make them attack so viciously? Those children came close to losing their lives. If they hadn't been capable themselves, they'd be dead by now. That can't be explained away as a simple misunderstanding."

The Kumogakure envoys fell silent for a moment. Then the Raikage said, "We also want to learn the truth. If our ninja were at fault, we won't shirk our responsibility, but we need to investigate further."

The two sides began reviewing the events in detail: when and how the children had left the village, what had happened after they encountered the spider, and when the Cloud ninja had appeared.

During the discussion, Konoha also provided details from the children's account of the battle, including the jutsu the Cloud ninja had used and what they had said to one another.

One of the Kumogakure ninja raised some questions, asking whether the children might have provoked them first. Everyone turned to Naruto, Menma, and Shikamaru, who had been victims of the attack and were also attending the meeting.

Hearing the question, Naruto stood up angrily. "We were just playing in the forest. When we ran into danger, we defended ourselves. Why would we provoke your ninja?"

Shikamaru added, "Before they attacked us, we didn't even know they were Cloud ninja. And Yota sacrificed himself to protect us. Doesn't that make things clear?"

Menma shrugged helplessly and said, "The truth is, you Cloud ninja resent our father, the Fourth Hokage. The last Shinobi World War dealt Kumogakure a heavy blow, after all. They probably saw that my brother and I looked like him, so they attacked us."

As the talks continued, the Kumogakure ninja gradually realized that their side bore a great deal of responsibility.

A Kumogakure intelligence analyst said, "Based on what we know so far, the fact that our ninja were near Konoha is suspicious in itself. And judging by the children's accounts and the traces of the battle, they may well have attacked deliberately."

The Raikage's expression darkened when he heard this. He knew that if it was true, Kumogakure's reputation in the Shinobi World would suffer badly.

After lengthy negotiations and a thorough examination of the evidence, Kumogakure had no choice but to admit that their ninja had been seriously at fault. They also had to consider the possibility that Iwagakure and Konoha might join forces to attack them.

Fourth Raikage A stood and offered Konoha a solemn apology. "Lord Hokage, after a thorough investigation and analysis, we've found that our ninja were indeed seriously at fault. Kumogakure is willing to accept responsibility. We'll punish the families of those three ninja severely and provide Konoha with adequate compensation."

Hiruzen nodded. "Konoha accepts your apology. But we hope this never happens again. Ninja villages may compete with one another, but peaceful coexistence is the only way forward."

Raikage A breathed a sigh of relief and agreed. "You're right, Lord Hokage. We'll strengthen the management and training of our ninja to prevent anything like this from happening again."

Konoha accepted Kumogakure's apology. The incident seemed to have been laid to rest, but the wounds it left in the children's hearts would not heal so easily.

After going through this, Naruto and his friends grew more mature and resilient. They understood how precious peace was, and that they needed to keep growing stronger so they could better protect Konoha and everything they held dear.

They were often seen training hard at Konoha's training grounds. Naruto worked even harder at the Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu and Rasengan, vowing to become a ninja as powerful as his father.

His friends also trained hard in the areas where they excelled. They knew that only by becoming stronger could they better protect themselves and those around them when faced with danger again.

Sitting on a wooden post and watching everyone train, Menma smiled, finally at peace. He took out a scrap of Yota's clothing, which slowly dissolved into particles.

Menma had also realized how serious the danger was. After all, this was the world of Naruto, where creatures like spiders, centipedes, and snakes could become summoning beasts—and grow enormous.

If Yota hadn't given up his soul to take that spider down with him, the outcome would have been unthinkable. Thinking of that, Menma clenched his fists and looked at Naruto in the distance.