Uzumaki Opens the Door

Hidden Leaf, the next morning.

The old residential area in the east of the village.

The sky was just beginning to lighten, and the fog had not yet dissipated.

Naruto stood in front of a dilapidated warehouse, hands in his pockets, looking up at a crooked wooden sign—half of the words "Former Site of Tanaka Trading Company" were missing.

Two-thirds of the wall collapsed, revealing a yard filled with weeds.

The roof tiles were shattered as if someone had hit them with a hammer, and pieces of plaster were falling off the walls, raising dust whenever the wind blew.

Standing behind him, Bai held a thick stack of land deeds and construction drawings, and asked softly, "Naruto, are you really going to build a house here?"

She looked up at the rickety wooden beams.

"It's too far from the village center, too close to the outer streets, and..." she paused, "There are better open spaces north of Hidden Leaf."

Naruto didn't turn around.

"The more broken, the better."

His voice was calm.

"The Uzumaki Clan started from scratch, so no one can say we relied on anyone's charity."

Her white eyelashes trembled slightly.

She looked down at the land deed in her hand, which bore the red seal of the Hokage and was marked "a total of twelve abandoned warehouses and surrounding residences in the East Third Street Hidden Leaf".

This place was once a gathering place for war orphans.

In the early days of Hidden Leaf's founding, this place served as a warehouse for the merchant guild. Later, when war broke out, the merchants fled, and the orphans moved in to take shelter from the rain.

Later, Hidden Leaf established an orphanage, and this place was completely abandoned.

Nobody wants it.

No one would be interested.

But Naruto chose this place anyway.

Bai pursed her lips.

She didn't ask any more questions.

He simply put the land deed away and turned to walk towards the courtyard gate.

"I'll go and call the craftsmen over."

The words had barely left his mouth.

"No need to call!"

A cheerful female voice came from the street corner.

Tenten, carrying a huge roll of blueprints, followed by five or six craftsmen from the ninja tool shop, he strode over.

She threw the blueprints on the ground, put her hands on her hips, and her eyes lit up.

"Sealed doors, storage vaults, training grounds, underground chambers, defensive barriers—I've got it all arranged for you!"

Naruto turned his head to look at her.

"So fast?"

"Nonsense!"

I took pictures of the blueprints Tenten.

"You mentioned building a house the night before last, and I finished the drawings yesterday."

She squatted down, spread out the blueprints, and pointed to the dense markings on them.

"Look, the main building has three floors, plus one basement level, with reinforced outer walls and three sealed doors inside."

"The training ground is on the west side, the underground secret room is directly beneath the main building, and the storage rooms are scattered in the four corners."

"Besides--"

She pointed to a complex array of runes in the center of the drawing.

"This is a modification I made based on the 'Divine Spirit-Gathering Array' you mentioned last time. I added a three-layer filtering structure to make the Chakra flow more stable."

Naruto crouched down and took a few glances.

"Well done."

I've been smiling Tenten.

Of course.

She stood up and dusted off her hands.

"The project will take about a month to complete, but if you're in a hurry, I can get my Shadow Clone to help, and it can be finished in half a month."

Naruto shook his head.

"No rush. Take your time building it."

Tenten was stunned for a moment.

"Didn't you say you were going to fight at the border in three days? Aren't you afraid something will happen before you even finish building your home?"

Naruto stood up and glanced at the Hokage Rock in the distance.

"Come back and stay here after the fight is over."

He turned and walked into the courtyard.

"Let's lay the foundation first, and then we'll take our time with the rest."

Tenten pursed her lips, but still urged the craftsmen to get to work.

In the courtyard.

Karin squatted in front of a pile of rocks, holding a yellowed scroll in her hands.

The scroll was covered with densely packed Sealing Jutsu, and although the edges were badly worn, the central Uzumaki Crest was still clearly visible.

Her hands were trembling.

This is the old-style Sealing Jutsu structure of the Uzumaki Clan.

She had seen it before.

In the dungeon of Kusagakure, there is a tattered ancient book with this kind of pattern drawn on it.

But that book had long been locked up by the higher-ups of the Grass Ninja. She only managed to glimpse it through a crack in the door on the way to "donate blood."

Now, the complete scroll was laid out before her.

Karin's eyes reddened.

Naruto walked over to her and squatted down.

"Can you understand it?"

Karin looked up, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I... I can understand a little bit."

Her voice trembled.

"This is... the basic structure of the Uzumaki Clan's 'Four Symbols Seal,' and below that is a variant of the 'Eight Trigrams Seal'..."

She pointed to a rune on the scroll.

"This is used to lock the flow of Chakra; if modified, it could become a security lock for a storage room."

Naruto didn't say anything.

He simply pushed the scroll in front of her.

"Keep it if you can understand it."

He stood up and dusted off his pants.

"From now on, you'll be in charge of the sealed vault here."

Karin was stunned.

She looked up at Naruto's retreating figure, opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

After a while.

She gripped the scroll tightly, her voice trembling.

"I... I will protect this place."

She gritted her teeth.

"Whoever dares to touch me, I'll bite them to death first."

Naruto didn't turn around.

He simply raised his hand and waved.

"That's good."

Noon.

At the entrance of the courtyard.

A group of people walked from the street corner.

The leader was a tall woman in a dark blue uniform, with short blond hair, a cold face, and a short knife at her waist.

Two young people, a man and a woman, were following behind her, both wearing uniforms.

The man carried a giant sword on his back, and the woman held a sealed scroll.

The three people walked to the gate of the courtyard and stopped.

The blonde woman looked up at the new wooden sign hanging by the door.

"Uzumaki Estate"

Three words.

The carving is very casual, as if it were done with Kunai.

She frowned.

"This is Naruto Uzumaki's new home?"

The man behind him stroked his chin.

"It looks... pretty run-down."

The woman gave him a cold glance.

"Shut up."

She stepped over the threshold and into the courtyard.

In the courtyard, the craftsmen were demolishing an old wall, with Tenten directing them with blueprints in hand, while Bai took notes on the sidelines.

The blonde woman glanced around, her gaze settling on the figure standing in the center of the courtyard.

Naruto was squatting on the ground, drawing something in the mud with his finger.

She walked over.

"Naruto Uzumaki"

The voice wasn't loud, but it was cold.

Naruto didn't look up.

"What's up?"

The blonde woman stopped three meters behind him.

"Kumogakure, Samui."

She paused for a moment.

"I have come to Hidden Leaf on the orders of Lord Raikage for business exchanges."

Naruto's finger stopped.

He raised his head, turned his face, and glanced at her.

"Business communication?"

Samui remained expressionless.

"Yes."

Naruto stood up and dusted off his hands.

Turn around.

Azure eyes met Samui's cold, grey eyes.

The air was silent for three seconds.

Naruto smiled.

This is not sarcasm.

It's the kind of smile that sees through everything, but is too lazy to say it out loud.

"Business communication."

He put his hands in his pockets and took a step forward.

"So, the footprints you left outside my wall last night were also part of business communication?"

Samui's pupils contracted slightly.

She did not deny it.

He simply said calmly, "That was an accident."

"Oh."

Naruto took another step forward.

"An accidental Lightning Release burn mark was left, and a metal fragment from the Land of Lightning Guild was accidentally dropped."

His voice remained calm.

"Your Hidden Cloud has had quite a few unexpected incidents."

Samui's hand rested on the hilt of the knife.

The two teammates behind her also instantly went on high alert.

The atmosphere instantly became tense.

Tenten, she stopped what she was doing, put down her pen, and Karin looked up.

All eyes were focused on the center of the courtyard.

Naruto did not go any further.

He simply tilted his head and looked at Samui.

"Say what Hidden Cloud wants."

His tone was casual.

"Whether it's a test or a provocation, I don't care."

He paused for a moment.

"But next time you send someone to sneak into my neighborhood—"

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"Remember to bring several coffins."

The words had barely left his mouth.

Samui's fingers tightened around the hilt of the knife.

But she did not draw her sword.

He only stared at Naruto for a few seconds.

Then let go.

"Lord Raikage wishes to see you."

Her voice was calm.

"Three days later, at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning."

Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Perfect."

He turned around and squatted back down, drawing seal patterns on the mud with his fingers.

"Tell you, Raikage, I want to see him too."

Samui didn't say anything.

He turned and left.

She stopped when she reached the gate of the courtyard.

"Naruto Uzumaki"

Naruto didn't look up.

"Um?"

Samui turned around and glanced at him.

"You are not a pawn of Hidden Leaf."

She paused for a moment.

"But don't become a pawn of the Uzumaki Clan."

After saying that, she left with her two teammates.

The courtyard returned to quiet.

Tenten walked over and asked in a low voice, "What does she mean?"

Naruto stood up and clapped his hands.

"A reminder not to be held hostage by my family."

He glanced at the mud on his hands.

"A rather interesting woman."

Evening.

Hokage Tower.

Tsunade sat behind her desk, looking at the intelligence scroll in front of her.

Kakashi stood to the side, hands in his pockets.

"The Hidden Cloud Caravan entered the village today."

His voice was calm.

"Samui went straight to the Uzumaki Estate."

Tsunade rubbed her temples.

What did she say?

"A challenge."

Kakashi paused for a moment.

"Three days later, at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning."

Tsunade stopped.

"Naruto agreed?"

"Um."

The office was silent for a few seconds.

Tsunade sighed.

"This kid..."

She looked up at the window.

The setting sun bathed Hokage Rock in a golden-red hue.

"The Raikage is not Orochimaru."

Her voice was deep.

"He will bring the entire Lightning Release unit of Kumogakure."

Kakashi didn't say anything.

I was just looking out the window.

In the distance, towards the old residential area to the east of the village.

A brand new flag is slowly rising.

On the deep blue fabric, golden Uzumaki Crest unfurled in the wind.

There is no Hidden Leaf) symbol.

Only Uzumaki.

Tsunade looked at the flag.

There was a long silence.

"The situation in Hidden Leaf has changed."

She said in a low voice.

"And he was the one who lifted it up."

Night fell.

Uzumaki Estate.

Naruto stood in the center of the yard, looking at the newly erected flagpole.

The flags fluttered in the wind.

Haku walked to his side and asked softly, "Naruto, are we really going to the border?"

Naruto did not answer.

He simply raised his hand and pointed to the Uzumaki Crest on the flag.

"This symbol must be seen by the entire Shinobi World."

He turned and walked into the house.

"The Raikage will do it for me in three days."

Bai stood still.

Look at that flag.

The golden coat of arms gleamed coldly in the moonlight.

Like a sleeping giant, it opened its eyes.