"If you do this and fail, you'll be doomed."
Kurama had already reconciled his good and evil sides, and his mind was now in perfect sync with Naruto, making him a Perfect Jinchuriki.
Now, more than anything, Kurama wanted to know whether Naruto could succeed in taking the first step.
"Fail?"
"That's something only the weak need to worry about. Every step I take brings me closer to the finish line!"
Naruto's resolve was unshakable.
He left Uzushio Village and headed straight for the Land of Wind.
With a single turn, he covered an immense distance.
It wasn't the Body Flicker Technique from Kurama Mode.
It was simply the Kunai Naruto had given Orochimaru earlier.
It bore the Flying Thunder God Formula, so Naruto could reach Orochimaru faster once he arrived in Sunagakure.
The Land of Wind.
Sunagakure.
Orochimaru had successfully arrived.
He had replaced the Daimyo with ease—or, more accurately, turned him into a new vessel.
What delighted him even more was that his hands, which had been taken away by the Death God's seal, had been restored.
It had worked!
Naruto had accomplished with ease the miracle Orochimaru had failed to achieve despite all his suffering.
Now serving as the Daimyo, Orochimaru entered a high-level meeting in Sunagakure.
"Lord Daimyo! Gaara suddenly proposed at the Council of Advisors that Konoha be allowed to drill for oil. Grandma Chiyo is waiting for you to arrive."
A subordinate knelt respectfully as he spoke.
Orochimaru gave no reply.
He knew Naruto's guard had already passed on the message.
Getting Gaara to approve the oil drilling had worked.
The proposal had won support from Gaara's teacher and some supporters of the Fourth Kazekage.
Ever since the Konoha Crush Incident,
Sunagakure had lost its Kazekage and suffered heavy losses. It had already been forced to yield to Konoha's fury.
Now that even the One-Tail Jinchuriki felt this way, most of them naturally supported the proposal.
That left only one uncertainty: the Daimyo of the Land of Wind!
"Gaara, you still need more experience and training. Sunagakure's leadership is short-handed, and as a Jinchuriki, you have a responsibility to help. But this matter must have the Daimyo's approval."
Grandma Chiyo sat at the head of the room.
As far as she knew, the Daimyo had previously rejected the idea of drilling for oil.
"I agree."
Orochimaru entered the meeting room in the guise of the Daimyo.
"Konoha may drill for oil. This will be our compensation for the Konoha Crush Incident."
"Also,"
"I've decided to support Gaara becoming the Fifth Kazekage. We need to stabilize the situation as quickly as Konoha did!"
Orochimaru clapped his hands.
Grandma Chiyo frowned.
Strange.
Why did the Daimyo seem like a completely different person today?
If both the Daimyo and Gaara supported Naruto's proposal to drill for oil, there was no need to oppose it.
"Lord Daimyo, we can accept the compensation. Oil is a resource Konoha asked for, so all we need to do is cooperate with them."
"But Gaara still needs more training. I agree that the boy should succeed to the Kazekage's seat one day, but he'd be better prepared with further training. Otherwise, it'll be hard to win everyone's support."
Grandma Chiyo still intended to err on the side of caution.
"There's no time to waste. We have something important to announce, after all!"
Orochimaru smiled.
He turned toward the person behind him and clapped his hands.
"Our old friend is here, and he has something to say!"
The meeting room door opened.
Naruto, Konoha's Acting Hokage, stepped into the high-level meeting room in Sunagakure.
"Naruto!"
Gaara hadn't expected Naruto to arrive so quickly.
Kankuro and Temari also turned to look at Naruto.
Baki immediately stepped in front of Gaara, Kunai in hand.
He had witnessed Naruto's overwhelming power in Konoha.
If Naruto attacked while Sunagakure was so vulnerable, it would trigger a devastating war that could wipe the village off the map.
"I also support Gaara becoming Kazekage!"
Naruto entered the meeting.
Grandma Chiyo, already suspicious, sprang to her feet.
"You're the new Acting Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki!"
"I'm sorry, but you can't just barge in here. Sunagakure makes its own decisions!"
Ten puppets appeared in the meeting room at once.
"The Chikamatsu Ten Puppets!"
Grandma Chiyo felt this had reached the level of an invasion of Sunagakure.
"Long time no see, Gaara."
Naruto looked at Gaara, who had now regained consciousness, and reached out to him, chakra flowing from his body.
He was in Sage Mode Double, with Kurama's chakra cloak surrounding him.
The two powers hadn't fused. Instead, they were working side by side in a state of combat.
Either way, it was completely different from Gaara's state.
"Perfect Jinchuriki!"
Shukaku exclaimed. It had only been a short time, but the Nine-Tails had completely joined forces with Naruto!
"You've gotten stronger so quickly."
Since waking up, Gaara's appearance had changed, and he had developed a trusting rapport with Shukaku.
He was amazed to learn that Naruto had become a Perfect Jinchuriki.
"Not bad."
Naruto didn't even need to lift a finger.
The sand from Gaara's gourd had already blocked all of Grandma Chiyo's puppets, keeping them away from the two of them.
"I came here because I want you to do something."
That was the reason Naruto had come to Sunagakure.
"The oil? The Daimyo has already agreed."
Gaara wanted to make sweeping changes to Sunagakure, just as Naruto had done for Konoha.
He admired the young Hokage even more.
"No."
Naruto took out a wanted poster.
The person on it wore a cloak patterned with red clouds.
"I need you to declare war on Amegakure. A group of rogue ninja is hiding there, and I need the strength of every last one of them!"
The moment Naruto revealed the wanted poster,
Grandma Chiyo couldn't accept it and firmly refused.
"Absolutely not! Amegakure was once the village of Hanzo the Salamander, the Demigod of the Ninja World. After he died in secret, every village investigated, but all they could determine was that someone stronger had replaced him."
"After that, a mysterious mercenary group of ninja appeared in the Ninja World. Their members were shrouded in mystery, but every one of them was a rogue ninja from one of the villages."
"They carried out shady jobs for the major Ninja Villages, including assassinations and missions in ninja wars."
"Sunagakure is already in ruins. If we rashly declare war on Amegakure, and this mysterious Akatsuki is involved, Sunagakure will face utter destruction!"
Grandma Chiyo had only told them part of the story.
She knew about Akatsuki because nearly every major Ninja Village had hired them at some point.
"What are you trying to achieve?"
Gaara ignored Grandma Chiyo's alarm.
"Ambush a lucky group of them here. Whoever they are, I need to take their power!"
A Rasengan appeared in Naruto's palm.
Several more Rasengan appeared and quickly spun around it, forming a Planetary Rasengan.
"I'm going to form the Ninja World Alliance. Sunagakure is the first village Konoha wants to invite."
"Of all the minor Ninja Villages, Amegakure is the most powerful. In fact, judging by its true fighting strength, I think it's the strongest village right now."
"I'm going to end this chaotic era of Ninja Villages, where war keeps breaking out and never ends!"
Naruto had come alone to Sunagakure.
And he wanted to start a war that would consume the entire Ninja World!
Everyone in the meeting room except Orochimaru and Gaara was stunned.
"Are you insane? This is practically the start of the Fourth Ninja World War!"
Grandma Chiyo's eyes turned bloodshot as she prepared to stop him at any cost.
"I agree!"
Orochimaru couldn't agree more.
"I trust you."
Gaara met Naruto's gaze, his eyes full of conviction.
"Good."
Naruto gently caught the ten strings Grandma Chiyo used to control her puppets.
Ten minutes later.
Gaara was appointed Fifth Kazekage.
Sunagakure declared war on Amegakure.
Amegakure.
Deidara was furious. "Let me go blow them up! I can't take this anymore!"
"Sasori, you two handle this. Don't waste time."
Deva Path Pain didn't want to act so soon, either.
But there was no time to lose. They had to settle this in one decisive blow and show every Ninja Village how formidable Amegakure was!
"Understood."
Sasori turned away, hunched over.
"You're too slow. Get on my Clay Bird!"
Deidara took Sasori into the air.
He cracked his knuckles in midair and said,
"Just watch—I'll blow all of Sunagakure sky-high!"