Bargaining from a Position of Strength

That posture, as if they were facing a great enemy.

It was the first time Chojuro had seen his Mizukage-sama in such a wretched state.

Chojuro could tell at a glance just how terrifyingly powerful the blond boy before him was. Forget about himself—even if all the Mist Ninja present attacked together, it would be difficult to hold the boy off for even a little while, let alone defeat him. Reality was simply that cruel. Even so, Chojuro felt no fear or hesitation. The Mizukage-sama was the pillar of their village, and the person he had sworn to protect at all costs. Even if he had to give his life here, he would make sure she escaped safely!

Chojuro had already prepared himself to die.

But just as he took up his fighting stance,

Naruto landed.

He showed no sign of pursuing them.

Instead, he simply canceled his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.

Within his range of perception,

Mei Terumi's chakra was clearly extremely faint, but at least she was still alive.

Naruto's white robe drifted lightly as he descended. His face remained calm, as if he didn't care that Chojuro was looking at him as though he were some peerless beast. His gaze stayed fixed on Mei Terumi behind him, who could barely get to her feet with the help of her guards.

"How about it? Can we have a proper talk now, Fifth Mizukage Mei Terumi?"

If Naruto had wanted to kill Mei Terumi,

he could have done it just now.

He wouldn't even have needed any other techniques.

A Big Ball Rasengan empowered by the Nine-Tails' chakra alone would have had a good chance of killing the Fifth Mizukage outright. In the end, though, Naruto still had to consider the Snow Ninja Village's overall interests. If he could annex