Everyone's Resolve (Third Update)

"Ah! That's right. We're teammates. In that case, the next steps should be easy enough to figure out. We still don't have any news about Neji or Sasuke, but since Naruto has appeared in the Snow Ninja Village, Neji and Sasuke are probably there too. And this time, the Snow Ninja Village defeated Kirigakure head-on. Naruto is even going to announce that he's becoming the First Snow Shadow. Clearly, he intends to push the Snow Ninja Village into the position of the Sixth Great Ninja Village. The Mist Ninja have surrendered, and the Cloud Ninja haven't made a move. I heard earlier that the village was taking action, but it seems that was canceled. Before I left today, I also found out from my dad that the Fifth Hokage is planning to send an envoy to the Snow Ninja Village to attend Naruto's inauguration ceremony."

Shikamaru paused briefly, then continued.

"If I'm not mistaken, the envoy will probably be led by one of Kakashi-sensei, my dad, or Asuma. I'll talk to my dad and try to get included in the group. If we want to do something, we should find an opportunity to talk to Naruto and the others beforehand. That's the most important thing!"

Now that they had reached an agreement,

all that remained was to make a concrete plan.

If they wanted to bring Naruto and the others back,

the most direct and effective way was naturally to persuade the three of them.

And given the strength Naruto had displayed so far, if they could even persuade him to bring the Snow Ninja Village into the fold and make it part of Konoha, they wouldn't be treated as criminals. They'd be seen as heroes instead. It didn't matter what certain elders in the upper ranks thought. What mattered