Kurotsuchi folded her arms and frowned. "Grandpa, what if the future Fourth Raikage really does think that way?"
"After all, the Fourth Shinobi World War could have changed him."
"You're still too young, Kurotsuchi." Ōnoki shook his head. His hawklike gaze turned to the images of Kumogakure on the Canopy Screen.
"Look at what they're doing in the future—pouring resources into military technology, locking down their village, setting up shadowy organizations like the Assassination Squad and the Counterintelligence Squad..."
His voice grew cold, edged with the certainty of a man who had seen through it all.
"Where in any of that do you see the slightest sign of a sincere desire for peace? Their ambitions couldn't be more obvious! All that talk of 'letting go of hatred' is just pretty words meant to lull the other nations into complacency."
Ōnoki's gaze deepened, as though he could see through the Crystal Ball to the decades of tangled grievances and blood debts between the Five Great Nations.
"Besides, some hatreds have soaked into the earth and stained history red. How could a few pretty words ever make them disappear?"
Silence fell over the office. Only Ōnoki's grave question seemed to linger in the air.
At Konoha Hospital, the smell of disinfectant filled the air.
Naruto slowly opened his heavy eyelids and squinted against the harsh sunlight.
A sharp pain in his chest and abdomen made him draw a sudden breath.
"You're awake?" a steady woman's voice said beside him.
Naruto turned his head. The Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, stood by his bed with her arms folded, her expression stern.
"Granny Tsunade?"
"You got lucky, kid." Tsunade stepped closer and checked the thick bandages around his chest and abdomen. "If Sasuke's blade had struck just a few centimeters higher and pierced your heart or