Hokage's Office.
The door was tightly shut. Faint conversation drifted from inside, carrying an unfriendly tone.
"Lord Hokage, I'll say this again—we only came to participate in the Chunin Ninja Exams. As for your claim that we kidnapped Konoha ninja, that is complete nonsense!"
"And Princess Tsunade of your village killed one of our Chunin during the Chunin Ninja Exams. The evidence is conclusive, and you must give us an explanation!"
A gruff voice came through the crack in the door, carrying the unmistakable air of, "If you don't agree today, don't even think about leaving work."
"Either a life for a life, or compensate us with a ninja possessing a bloodline limit, and we'll let this matter go."
"Mm... I've already looked into this matter..." Hiruzen Sarutobi was nearly furious enough to laugh. It was his first time seeing someone so shameless!
He even suspected that the other party had accepted this mission without knowing the full story.
That level of brazenness did not seem like something one could fake.
"Tsunade pursued your team for a reason..."
"We were just participating in the competition normally, and we got chased down when we left?! What kind of reason is that? Lord Hokage, don't try to brush us off!"
"I absolutely have no intention of brushing you off..." There was a trace of exhaustion in Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice. "If you keep acting like this, we can't negotiate..."
"We can't negotiate?!" The other man slammed a hand on the table. "Then let's not—"
Knock, knock, knock.
Three knocks interrupted the sentence before it could be finished.
Like a helpless old man, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately said, "Come in."
The door opened, and Mirai Uzumaki walked in, followed by a little girl with a brown ponytail.
Yugito poked half her head out and timidly