A Targeted Response (Third Update)

At the Snow Ninja Village, in the central district, inside the leader's office.

Less than an hour after Naruto gave the order, everyone had arrived at his office at nearly the same time—except Yakumo, who was still at Kazahana Castle keeping Kazahana Koyuki company. Karin, Neji, Fushimi, Taizan, Hoshichi, and Sakura were all there.

"Whoosh!"

Inside the office.

At the head of the room.

A flash of golden light.

Naruto's tall, slender figure appeared before them.

"Naruto!"

"Naruto-kun."

"Lord Naruto!"

Everyone called out to him in their own way.

Hoshichi and Sakura, who had served as Naruto's bodyguards before taking up other posts, rose the moment he appeared and bowed to him. Only after Naruto waved them off did they sit back down.

"You should all know why I called you here today, right? After two years of probing and provocation, it seems Kirigakure has finally had enough. It's time for us to take appropriate action."

Naruto sat upright in his seat, leaning forward slightly with his hands clasped on the table. His gaze passed over Neji, Karin, Sakura, Taizan, Fushimi, Hoshichi, and Utakata before he spoke in a steady voice.

"Until now, the competition had been limited to conventional methods. Now they've suddenly increased their forces. Either they've run out of patience, or they've realized they can't take back what they've lost and are planning to settle things once and for all. Whatever the reason, it looks like a fight is inevitable."

Compared with the others, Taizan knew more about the situation because he was responsible for this area. As Naruto finished speaking, the bearded man, one of the Snow Ninja Village's senior officials, shook his head and said solemnly, "The great villages were arrogant before. They assumed small villages like ours couldn't compare to them, and they cared