The Herald of War Arrives

There was a tense, almost palpable tension in the Hokage Office. Tsunade sat behind her desk, her hands clasped under her chin, her long golden hair gleaming metallically in the morning light. Jiraiya stood by the window, his gaze occasionally drifting to the streets of Konoha outside, his usually half-closed eyes now sharp as an eagle's. Kakashi sat in a chair in the corner, his copy of * Make-Out Paradise * unusually unopened, the spine unconsciously gripped in his hand. Shikaku Nara stood before the tactical map, his fingers slowly tracing the borders of the Five Great Nations, his brow furrowed into a deep frown.

Uzumaki Naruto was the only one who couldn't sit still. He paced back and forth in the room, his golden hair swaying with his movements, his azure eyes filled with anxiety.

"When exactly is that 'sake' arriving?" Naruto asked for the third time, his voice tinged with unease. "Pervy Sage, you say he's one of us, but he's clearly from Akatsuki— "

Before the words were even finished, the air rippled.

There was no sound of air being torn apart, no light effects from Hand Seals, and not even a noticeable gathering of Chakra. It was as if, in a still image, the colors in a certain corner suddenly rearranged and reconstructed, and then a figure "grew" out from those colors.

Crimson robes and black cloud pattern, with several specially made Kunai hanging at his waist. The Akatsuki's "Sake" appeared without warning in the center of the office, less than three meters away from Naruto.

"Enemy attack--!" Naruto's reaction was astonishingly fast. Golden Chakra erupted from his body instantly, and four tails, like tangible flames, rose around him. He assumed a fighting stance, his right hand already forming the prototype of Rasengan--

"Naruto, stop!" Jiraiya's voice was faster and more resolute than Naruto's. A hand rested on Naruto's shoulder, the Senjutsu Chakra gently but forcefully suppressing the Nine-Tails' rampage. "They're on our side."

Naruto was stunned. He looked at Jiraiya, then at the Akatsuki member in the red-cloud-patterned black robe, his eyes practically overflowing with confusion. "Our own people?" "The Akatsuki?" How could these two words be put together?

But Jiraiya's expression left no room for doubt. Tsunade, Kakashi, Shikaku —everyone watched this scene calmly, clearly already aware of it.

"Jiu" ignored Naruto's hostility. He didn't even glance at Naruto, but simply raised his hands and began Hand Seals. They weren't the seals for offensive Ninjutsu, but rather a complex sequence of Barrier Ninjutsu. Pale blue Chakra curtains rose from the four corners of the office, quickly closing and isolating the entire space from the outside world.

"A triple barrier: soundproof, anti-sensory, and anti-spying," Shikaku commented softly. "Very professional."

After the barrier was completed, "Sake"—Hyuga Neji Hyuga Tsunade, nodding slightly. "Lady Tsunade. I apologize for being late."

"It's alright." Tsunade's voice was steady, but her fingers gripping the pen tightened slightly. "Is there any important information?"

"Yes." Neji paused, then spoke in a deliberately casual, weather-reporting tone, "First of all, I have some good news to share."

Good news. The word seemed so abrupt in the current context that everyone in the office paused for a moment.

"What good news?" Tsunade's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible anticipation—no wonder, since yesterday Neji had brought nothing but bad news that kept people up all night, such as "Obito obtained the Rinnegan," "a hundred thousand White Zetsu army," and "war could break out at any moment." Any good news was like a straw to a drowning person.

Neji's lips curled slightly. "Obito Uchiha entrusted me to formally declare war on the Five Great Shinobi Villages on his behalf."

Silence.

Then, Tsunade abruptly stood up, the chair scraping loudly on the floor. "A declaration of war?! You call that good news?!"

"In a way, yes," Neji replied calmly. "Because declaring war means the war is postponed. Obito wanted a 'formal' and 'ceremonial' opening. This meant he wouldn't launch an attack immediately, but would wait until the news of the declaration of war spread throughout the Shinobi World, until fear fermented, and until the Five Great Shinobi Villages reacted before he would officially take action."

He looked around at everyone. "This gives us valuable time. At least... a week, maybe longer."

Shikaku was the first to grasp the logic. His eyes lit up, and he tapped his fingers on the tactical map. "Shikaku, you mean, Obito is going to declare war on the entire Shinobi World, not just Konoha?"

"That's right." Neji nodded. "His exact words were: 'Send the final message of the Eye of the Moon Plan to the Five Great Shinobi Villages —either submit to the peace in the dream, or be destroyed in the war of reality.'"

Jiraiya let out a short, cold laugh, "Such arrogance. Does he think he's invincible?"

"Given his current strength, saying that isn't an exaggeration," Neji stated bluntly. " With the Rinnegan, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, and 100,000 White Zetsu... he certainly has the right to say such a thing."

This news caused the temperature in the office to drop even further. This was a military force powerful enough to overturn the entire Shinobi World.

But Shikaku's thoughts had already jumped to the next step. "So Obito wants the Five Great Shinobi Villages to unite against him? Is he so confident in himself that he believes he can win even if the entire Shinobi World joins forces?"

"From what I know of him, yes," Neji said. "After obtaining the Rinnegan, his mentality changed significantly. Before, he hid behind the scenes, manipulating everything with schemes and calculations. Now... he's more inclined to crush everything with absolute power."

Tsunade slowly sat back in her chair, a complex light flickering in her eyes. "So, Konoha still has a chance to unite with other ninja villages? If they could forge an alliance of the Five Great Shinobi Villages..."

"Theoretically feasible," Neji didn't deny it, "But in reality..."

Kakashi picked up the conversation, his voice low and deep. "Even if the Kumogakure faces the Akatsuki's declaration of war, it will not choose to cooperate with the Konoha. Fourth Raikage A..." He paused, not finishing his sentence, but the meaning was already clear.

Naruto was completely confused. He looked at Kakashi, then at the others, and finally couldn't help but ask, "Why doesn't Kumogakure want to cooperate with us? Isn't Akatsuki everyone's enemy?"

The atmosphere in the office instantly became awkward. Jiraiya coughed, trying to change the subject, but Neji had already spoken.

"Because Sasuke Uchiha recently attacked Kumogakure, took the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki Killer B, and in the battle, caused the Fourth Raikage to lose his left hand forever." Neji's voice was devoid of any emotion, as if stating a fact unrelated to himself. "For the Raikage, the hatred between Sasuke Uchiha and the Akatsuki is probably just as deep."

Naruto opened his mouth, but couldn't speak. Sasuke... attacked Cloud Village? Seriously injured the Raikage? He knew nothing about these things. A complex emotion welled up inside him—worry, confusion, and a hint of... disappointment that he himself didn't even realize?

Jiraiya tactfully changed the subject. "Sake, didn't you want to ask Naruto about his mastery of the Nine-Tails' power yesterday?" He patted Naruto on the shoulder, "That kid has been trying hard to communicate with the Nine-Tails, but the results... aren't ideal."

Neji turned to Naruto. Through the special Byakugan behind his mask, Chakra could see the immense and violent chakra within Naruto's body, as well as the pair of scarlet eyes deep within the seal. Nine-Tails was indeed observing the outside world, and... it seemed to be observing him.

Logically speaking, Sasuke already possessed the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, Naruto, from the same era, should have mastered the Nine-Tails -Tails' power as well. Neji wondered, could it be that without Killer B's guidance, his progress had stalled? That shouldn't be the case; Naruto is the protagonist, mastering the Nine-Tails' power should be a natural progression...

He suddenly remembered a key point from the original story: Naruto truly began to reconcile with Nine-Tails) after confronting his dark side at the Waterfall of Truth. Before that, the catalyst that prompted him to make his decision was...

What was it again? Neji tried to recall. Was it the Eight-Tails' guidance? No, that was the method. What truly instilled in Naruto the determination to "master this power" was seeing his comrades injured? Was it the approaching war? Or...?

He looked into Naruto's clear blue eyes, still carrying the spirit of youth, and suddenly understood.

He lacks a sense of crisis. A real sense of crisis, one that would allow him to abandon all his concerns and confront the darkness within his heart.

In the original story, the approaching Fourth Shinobi World War, Sasuke's "fall," and the expectations of his comrades—these pressures combined to force Naruto to overcome the darkness at the Waterfall of Truth. Now, although Obito has obtained the Rinnegan and the shadow of war looms large, these threats are not yet "personally" tangible to Naruto.

He still clung to the naive idea that "we can solve this together." He still believed in the optimism that "there's always a way." He hadn't yet been driven to the brink of despair.

The office was silent. Tsunade, Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Shikaku were all waiting for Neji's response—they desperately needed "alcohol" as a source of information, so they dared not interrupt his thoughts.

After a long silence, Neji finally spoke. His voice came through the mask, carrying a strange, timeless quality:

"Uzumaki Naruto"

Naruto instinctively straightened up. Those eyes... even through the glasses, he could feel that this "Sake" was looking at him very intently.

"Hatred, loathing, despair, pain—these are all necessary trials on the path of life," Neji said slowly, each word like a stone thrown into a deep pool, echoing in the quiet office. "You can understand them, sympathize with them, even feel their pain. But you must always remember: understanding is not for the sake of agreement, and sympathy is not for the sake of wallowing in it."

He took a step forward. Naruto didn't back down, but his body was visibly tense.

"If you can't even understand the power within yourself, if you can't even communicate with the beast you've sealed away for over a decade..." Neji's voice was soft, yet it struck Naruto like a hammer blow, "Then how will you understand this complex and contradictory ninja world? How will you resolve the hatred that has accumulated for hundreds of years, a hatred deeper than the hatred of the Tailed Beast?"

Naruto's eyes widened. These words... these words seemed to have struck right into his heart. He had indeed been trying to communicate with Nine-Tails, using various methods: reasoning, discussing ideals, and even foolishly trying to "make friends." But Nine-Tails always responded with sneers and mockery. He thought it was because he hadn't tried hard enough, or that his methods were wrong.

But now, the words about "alcohol" made him realize: perhaps the problem wasn't the method, but... attitude?

He had been trying to "persuade" the Nine-Tails, trying to "influence" Nine-Tails, trying to make Nine-Tails understand the kindness and beauty of humanity. But he never truly tried to understand where the Nine-Tails' hatred came from, why it had lasted for hundreds of years, or why it was so deep.

Understand, not persuade; empathize, not influence.

Deep within Naruto's body, sealed away, the Nine-Tails' Red Eye narrowed slightly. It looked at the man through Naruto's vision, at those eyes hidden behind the lenses, eyes that felt strangely familiar to it.

Hyuga Clan... Neji. Nine-Tails recognized the fluctuation of that Chakra. Although it was deliberately concealed and the frequency was changed, it could not mistake that pure, yet complex and contradictory essence.

But Nine-Tails didn't tell Naruto. It just observed silently, wanting to see what tricks this Hyuga Clan brat was up to.

The others in the office also fell into deep thought. Tsunade, seeing Naruto's enlightened expression, suddenly realized that "Sake's" words might be more valuable than any training. Jiraiya stroked his chin, his opinion of "Sake" rising even higher. Kakashi, meanwhile, thought of Obito —if someone had said something like that to Obito back then, would the outcome have been different?

Shikaku was the first to snap out of his reverie. Seeing Neji seemingly preparing to leave, he immediately spoke up, "Sake, have you decided on the order in which we declare war on the other four great ninja villages?"

Neji turned to look at him. "Not yet. Does Shikaku- senpai have any suggestions?"

"Kumogakure, Iwagakure, Kirigakure, Sunagakure," Shikaku recited the four names without hesitation. "Finally, we'll formally declare war on Konoha."

This order is significant. Cloud Village the deepest hostility towards Konoha, followed by Iwagakure, then Mist Village neutral, and Sand Village is relatively friendly. Declaring war in this order is tantamount to directing the most dangerous "firepower" towards Konoha's enemies first.

It's an undisguised act of using someone else to do one's dirty work, but it's also the strategy that best serves Konoha's interests.

Neji's lips curled slightly beneath the mask. As expected of Shikaku Nara, he always managed to make the most rational, and ruthless, choices.

"I'll consider it." He neither promised nor refused.

He walked to the center of the office, formed a hand Hand Seals, and dispelled the barrier. The sounds from the outside world flooded in again—the shouts from the training ground in the distance, the hawking of vendors on the street, and the whistling of the wind blowing through the Hokage Rock.

Before activating the Flying Thunder God, Neji glanced at Naruto one last time. The boy was looking down, his brows furrowed, clearly still processing what he had just heard.

The seed has been planted. Neji thought to himself, as for when it will sprout... that's up to you, Naruto.

Space distorted, and his figure vanished from the spot.

Silence filled the office for a long time. Finally, Naruto raised his head, a newfound determination burning in his deep blue eyes.

"Pervy Sage, I want you and Captain Yamato to try it with me one more time."