Kumogakure Kneels

The flagstones before the Konoha Gate cracked.

Naruto had forced the young Kumogakure ninja to his knees, twisting his right arm at an unnatural angle. His Forehead Protector pressed against the stone, and Lightning Release Chakra still raced wildly along his arm, but he could not break free of the Nine-Tails Chakra binding him.

The Konoha Gate fell silent.

The Kumogakure Delegation had arrived spoiling for a fight, immediately demanding to verify the Nine-Tails and reopen negotiations over compensation from the Hyuga.

But the first of them to strike had been brought to his knees in a single exchange.

The leader of the Kumogakure ninja went livid.

"Let him go."

Naruto looked at him.

"He attacked first."

"He's young and hotheaded."

Naruto glanced down at the kneeling ninja.

"Then young people must be pretty expendable in Kumogakure."

Lightning flashed in the leader's eyes.

His name was Darui. He was not the Darui of the future, but a Jonin captain in the Kumogakure Delegation and one of the Raikage's direct negotiators.

He knew exactly why they had come.

Konoha had been thrown into turmoil last night. The Hokage's standing had plummeted, Root had been destroyed, the Uchiha had been cleared, and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was behaving strangely.

Kumogakure had to seize this chance to put pressure on Konoha.

If they could force out proof that the Nine-Tails had lost control, so much the better.

If not, they could use the old Hyuga case to squeeze out more compensation.

But he had never expected the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to be neither out of control nor a weakness Konoha had hidden away.

The child had walked straight up to the gate.

And made the Nine-Tails appear as though it were a summoned beast.

Darui suppressed his anger.

"Is this how Konoha treats a delegation?"

Naruto shot back, "Is this how Kumogakure treats its hosts—by sending someone to attack them?"

Darui turned to the Third Hokage.

"Third Hokage, you're letting a child handle diplomacy?"

The Third Hokage's expression had grown much steadier.

Last night, Naruto had forced him to admit his mistakes, step down temporarily, and make old wrongs public.

That had been an internal matter.

Now that Kumogakure had come to provoke them, pushing Naruto aside would only make Konoha look weaker.

The Third Hokage said, "A Kumogakure ninja attacked a Konoha Ninja first. Konoha has every right to stop him."

Darui's gaze darkened.

"So Konoha has no intention of negotiating."

Jiraiya sneered. "Did you come here to negotiate?"

Hyuga Hiashi stepped forward.

He faced the Kumogakure Delegation, his Byakugan already active.

"Back then, a Kumogakure envoy broke into the Hyuga compound at night and kidnapped my daughter. I killed him. To avoid war, Konoha handed over Hizashi Hyuga's body."

He did not raise his voice, but everyone nearby heard him.

"And now you say the compensation wasn't enough."

Hiashi took another step forward.

"Then the Hyuga want to reopen negotiations too."

Darui frowned.

"What do you want to discuss?"

Hiashi's gaze was hard.

"Why Kumogakure kidnapped my daughter back then."

"Why a Kumogakure envoy was inside the Hyuga Main Family's inner courtyard."

"And who should pay for Hizashi Hyuga's death."

Among the Konoha crowd, the eyes of the Hyuga clan members reddened.

They had not dared say any of this back then.

The village had needed peace.

The Hyuga had needed to endure.

The branch family had needed to make a sacrifice.

But after all these years of enduring, Kumogakure had not backed down. They had come knocking again to demand more compensation.

Naruto held the kneeling Kumogakure ninja down and spoke. "Hear that?"

"You want to reopen negotiations."

"So does Konoha."

Darui fell silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled.

"Fine. In that case, let's settle this by ninja rules."

He looked at Naruto.

"You injured a member of the Kumogakure Delegation. You owe us an explanation."

Naruto lifted the kneeling ninja and threw him back to their feet.

The man clutched his broken arm, his face pale with pain.

"There's your explanation."

Darui's eyes turned cold.

The next instant, three Kumogakure ninja behind him charged at once.

This was no one-on-one fight.

They split into three paths—left, center, and right—their Lightning Release stimulating their bodies to incredible speed.

The one in the center went straight for Naruto, while the other two circled toward Hinata Hyuga and the crowd.

They meant to force Konoha to divide its attention.

Hyuga Hiashi's expression changed, and he immediately moved in front of Hinata.

But Naruto was faster.

Nine-Tails Chakra burst from the ground like three orange-red spears.

The ninja in the center took a strike through the shoulder and was pinned to a gatepost.

The one on the left had barely approached the Hyuga when a Chakra tail struck him across the waist. He flew sideways and smashed through a stone pillar by the road.

The one on the right was the most treacherous. He had a Lightning Release sealing needle hidden in his sleeve, and his target was not Hinata but the ordinary villagers behind Naruto.

Naruto appeared in front of him.

No wasted movement.

One punch shattered his chest armor.

The man coughed blood and flew backward. Before he could hit the ground, a Chakra arm caught him, dragged him back, and forced him to his knees beside the first Kumogakure ninja.

Four of them.

All kneeling before the Konoha Gate.

The smile vanished from Darui's face.

The expressions of Konoha's ninja changed too.

When Naruto had struck the Konoha High Command last night, their feelings had been complicated.

But watching him strike Kumogakure now felt entirely different.

These were outsiders.

This time, no one thought he had gone too far.

Some even felt a satisfaction they had not known in years.

Naruto looked at Darui.

"Still want to verify anything?"

Darui clenched his fists.

The remaining Kumogakure ninja behind him readied themselves for battle.

Jiraiya stepped forward, summoning smoke billowing around his feet.

The Third Hokage's hands formed Hand Seals inside his sleeves.

Hyuga Hiashi's Byakugan locked onto every enemy's Chakra pathways.

Uchiha Fugaku stood to one side, his Sharingan active.

Konoha had only just torn open its own wounds, yet in that moment, it formed a united front against an outside threat.

Darui saw it clearly.

Konoha was in turmoil.

But that turmoil had not left it weak.

It had left it angry.

The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki in particular handled things without regard for convention.

He was not afraid of war.

Darui drew a deep breath and raised a hand, signaling those behind him to stop.

"It seems the rumors were wrong."

He looked at the Third Hokage, then at Naruto.

"The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki has indeed not lost control."

Naruto said, "And the Hyuga compensation?"

Darui's face darkened.

"That's an old matter."

Naruto smiled.

"Weren't you the ones who just wanted to reopen it?"

Hyuga Hiashi stepped forward.

"The Hyuga demand that Kumogakure publicly admit to the kidnapping and restore dignity to Hizashi Hyuga's remains."

Darui did not answer at once.

He knew that agreeing would shatter the face Kumogakure had gained through threats back then.

But if they kept fighting, the delegation might not make it out of Konoha.

As the standoff dragged on, a Kumogakure messenger hawk flew in from the distant sky and landed on Darui's shoulder.

Darui took the message. After one glance, his expression changed sharply.

Naruto caught his reaction.

"More bad news?"

Darui looked up, his expression conflicted.

"Lord Raikage has received a report."

"Last night, Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki destroyed the Root Base with a Tailed Beast Bomb."

He paused.

"Lord Raikage is coming to Konoha in person."

The Raikage's arrival meant one thing—this conflict would no longer remain between Konoha and a delegation.