Intercepting the Spatial Challenge, the Blood-Red Black Feather in Sasuke's Eyes
In the wind and snow, a blinding Yellow Flash ripped through the deep night.
Boom!
Naruto landed heavily on the roof tiles of the west warehouse like a falling meteor. The bricks beneath his feet cracked instantly, and the violent Yang Release Chakra evaporated all the surrounding snow.
On the rooftop, the acrid smell of the Chidori still lingered in the air. Kakashi remained in a half-squatting position, a few wisps of turbulent blue electricity still clinging to his right palm. Not far away, Sasuke knelt on one knee, his left hand tightly covering his eyes, a glaring trail of blood winding between his fingers.
The surroundings were empty. The extremely cold spatial fluctuations had completely dissipated.
"They got away?" Naruto dispelled the golden light around him, his sharp gaze sweeping across his surroundings.
"Half a second too late." Kakashi stood up, flicking the snow off his hands, his voice low and hoarse. "The spatial Uzumaki closed the moment the Chidori pierced his afterimage. That guy wasn't planning on fighting to the death; he was just there to set things off."
Sasuke didn't speak. He slowly released his grip, and his newly awakened Six-Pointed Star Mangekyō Sharingan gleamed with an eerie red light in the darkness. His gaze was fixed on a beam in front of him that had been charred by Lightning Release.
Naruto followed his gaze. A three-inch-long black metal nail was stuck in the crack of the beam. The head of the nail was clearly engraved with the Akatsuki's iconic red cloud pattern.
"Not only did he set it on fire, he also left a challenge." Naruto stepped forward, pinched the metal nail between two fingers, and pulled it out forcefully.
The moment the fingertip touched him, an extremely subtle spatial Coordinates Chakra surged through his fingertip. Naruto snorted coldly, flicked his wrist, and directly shoved it into a sealing scroll.
"He's testing us." Kakashi's eyes flashed with seriousness as he watched Naruto's actions. "He's testing the defenses of the venue, and more importantly, he's testing whether these Kage, each with their own ulterior motives, can actually sit at the same table and cooperate."
Naruto didn't reply immediately, but instead glanced at Sasuke's tightly clenched right hand.
A small section of black feather, unburned by the lightning, peeked out from inside Sasuke's fist.
"You saw him?" Naruto asked only three words.
"No." Sasuke's voice was as cold as ice, with a barely perceptible tremor. "But he was nearby. The Genjutsu image of that Crow blocked the Masked Man's fatal blow."
Naruto patted him on the shoulder and turned to look in the direction of the main grain depot. The air raid sirens there had stopped, and the night exuded a sense of tranquility after the disaster.
"Let's go. We've wrapped up here, let's go see how those old foxes' act went."
Outside the gate of the No. 3 main grain warehouse, the cold wind was still biting, but the atmosphere had undergone a dramatic change.
More than thirty civilians from the Land of Iron, supporting each other, stumbled out of the underground passage. Their faces still bore traces of tears, but when they looked at the ninjas around them wearing different Forehead Protector, their eyes no longer held only fear, but also genuine gratitude.
A little girl, about five or six years old, clutching a half-sack of blackened wheat tightly in her arms, Earth Flow the Kurotsuchi and bowed deeply.
"Thank you... thank you, Ninja Sister."
Kurotsuchi paused for a moment, then scratched her messy short hair somewhat awkwardly. Her red shorts were covered in black ash and mud, and her hands were covered in blisters from the intense Rock Plate Hardening she had been using.
"Alright, alright, hurry home and warm yourself by the fire. You're freezing like an ice cave." Kurotsuchi turned her head away, her tone a little stiff, but she still took out a piece of hard candy, a specialty of Iwagakure, from her ninja tool bag and stuffed it into the little girl's hand.
Ōnoki hovered in mid-air, taking in the entire scene.
Surprisingly, the Third Tsuchikage, known for his foul temper, refrained from uttering any sarcastic remarks. He slowly landed on the ground, his cane tapping on the snow, and looked at Kurotsuchi's mangled hands before letting out a cold snort.
"You've made a complete mess of Iwagakure's face. You've turned it into a mud monkey."
Kurotsuchi rolled his eyes without hesitation, chin held high. "Of course, I'm not some old man who just stands by and watches. Besides, without me, this mud monkey, this batch of grain would be gone today."
For once, Ōnoki didn't get angry. He stared at his granddaughter for a few seconds, then squeezed out four words through his nose. "Not bad."
Kurotsuchi's eyes lit up, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up, but he deliberately put on a stern face and snorted coldly.
Not far away, Karin adjusted her glasses Hinata and Tenten helped her clean the dust off her clothes. The three Hidden Leaf girls and Kurotsuchi exchanged glances a few meters apart.
No words were spoken, but the previous tension had quietly melted away somewhat in their tacit understanding as they worked side by side to break the deadlock.
"It seems the wind in these snow-capped mountains isn't as cold as the rumors say."
A deep, resonant voice rang out. Mifune, the general of the Land of Iron, clad in heavy samurai armor, Earth Flow the center of the plaza.
Two rows of fully armed warriors followed behind him, the torchlight illuminating his solemn face.
Raikage A stood to Mifune's right with his arms crossed. His azure Lightning Release Chakra had been subdued, but the violent pressure he exuded was still terrifying.
Mifune glanced around, his gaze sweeping over the civilians before finally settling on Naruto, Kakashi, and Sasuke as they approached.
"Gentlemen," Mifune said, his hand on his sword hilt, his voice resolute and clear, echoing throughout the snow-covered Fortress City, "I think you all understand what happened tonight. Someone doesn't want us to sit down and talk. Someone wants to use the lives of the common people of the Land of Iron, and your winter rations, to exchange for an internal strife that collapses without a fight."
All around was silent, save for the howling of the wind and snow.
"But they miscalculated." Mifune drew half a katana, its cold light gleaming. "The sword of the Land of Iron will never be pointed at those who protect our food and people. I hereby declare that the Five Kage Summit will proceed as scheduled tomorrow morning! The Land of Iron will absolutely not abandon its neutrality due to threats from any petty villain!"
Raikage A snorted coldly, his fists cracking as he clenched them. "You cowardly coward. Tomorrow, if anyone dares to utter the word 'retreat' in front of me, I'll be the first to twist their head off!"
"Quite a temper," Ōnoki retorted coolly, floating in mid-air. "I just wonder if someone's brain will be as sharp as their muscles when they sit at the table tomorrow."
"Old ghost, do you want to fight?!"
"Come on! You think you can scare me, you brute!"
Watching these two old men, whose combined age is nearly two hundred, start their usual banter again, Naruto's lips curled into a mocking smile.
He strode into the center of the arena and casually tossed the scroll sealed with black metal nails toward Mifune.
"General of the Land of Iron, keep this safe."
Mifune reached out and caught it, frowning slightly. "What's this?"
Naruto stopped, his golden hair flying wildly in the cold wind. "A challenge left by the Akatsuki. Obito ran two raids tonight, leaving a stake in the west warehouse and planting a bomb in the east main grain depot. Kakashi-sensei was right, he was testing this defense line, and also testing us."
Naruto's gaze was like a knife, sweeping across everyone present before finally settling on the Raikage and Ōnoki's faces.
"He wanted to see if we were mad dogs who would bite each other in fear of a few Explosive Tag, or smart people who could use their brains a little, sit down, and decide life and death according to the rules."
The Raikage and Ōnoki stopped arguing at the same time, their expressions turning grim.
"Rules? You brat, you're pretty arrogant." Ōnoki narrowed his eyes. "What kind of rules do you want to set?"
Naruto chuckled, and a surge of undisguised, powerful Yang Release Chakra erupted from his body. That pure power pushed away all the wind and snow within a ten-meter radius, creating an absolute vacuum.
"We'll talk at the table tomorrow." Naruto turned around, waving his hand behind his back. "I'll just give you one piece of advice. Anyone who continues to use the lives of Jinchūriki, Kekkei Genkai ninja, and ordinary people as bargaining chips will become the mortal enemy of the Uzumaki Clan. Everyone, have a good night's sleep tonight."
After saying that, he led Team 7 and Karin and the others, disappearing into the snowstorm without looking back.
Night deepened.
The devastated Land of Iron Fortress City finally enjoyed a brief period of peace. Samurai intensified their patrols, and the damaged buildings were quickly repaired with the help of Earth Release ninjas.
The snow-capped peaks in the distance.
Obito, wearing a tiger-skin mask, stood against Obito wind. Beneath his feet was the already stiff corpse of a sentry from the Land of Iron.
Black Zetsu slowly emerged from the snowdrift below, his yin-yang face appearing particularly eerie in the moonlight.
"It failed." Black Zetsu chuckled hoarsely. "Not only did we fail to blow up the granary, but we also stirred up a sense of shared hatred among those who were suspicious of each other. That Naruto Uzumaki kid is much more troublesome than we thought."
Obito ignored Black Zetsu's taunts, a chilling red glint flashing in his only right eye.
"They were just scraps used to test their quality anyway." Obito's voice was broken in the wind. "Whether the granary is blown up or not, the result is the same. My goal has been achieved."
He raised his right hand, toying with a black metal nail in his palm that was exactly the same as the Naruto had confiscated.
"The Coordinates have been set, and the stage has been erected." Obito clenched his fist, crushing the metal nails to pieces. "The day the talks begin tomorrow will be the day the Five Great Nations recognize reality."
The snow fell even harder.
The next morning, the first pale rays of sunlight pierced through the thick clouds and shone on the tallest meeting tower in the Land of Iron.
The long table is ready; the battle is about to begin.
Everyone knew that the real enemy had already taken their place at the poker table.
A storm concerning the life and death of the Shinobi World has been completely ignited.