Naruto looked at Fourth Raikage, whose hair and hair were spread out in front of him like an enraged lion, and spoke calmly.
"Since you admit it yourself, 'Shinobi World is the law of the jungle'..."
Naruto raised his chin slightly. At this moment, his face no longer had the usual warmth, only a kind of calm and unquestionable look from a bird's eye view remained.
"So, now."
His eyes swept over Ai's Lightning Release Armor, which symbolized Kumogakure's highest military force, and then looked over his shoulder to the huge Shinobi Village built against the mountain behind him, which was currently in some kind of panic and commotion due to the emergency evacuation order.
"I am strong."
"Kumogakure This piece of meat should be eaten by me."
The weak eat the strong, jungle Law.
This is the logic Ai himself just used to defend himself.
Now, Naruto returns this logic intact and in a stronger and more straightforward way.
There is no moral condemnation, no historical tracing, and even no more emotional rendering.
There is only the coldest and most realistic comparison of forces and announcement of results.
Ai's breathing was heavy and his face was ashen.
He felt an unprecedented sense of humiliation and powerlessness clenching his heart.
The other party didn't even bother to engage in any form of debate or negotiation with him, and just used his own words to conclude everything that was about to happen.
But we really can't fight now. Kumogakure will suffer too much loss if we fight.
Naruto didn't seem to care about Ai's reaction at this moment. He turned sideways slightly and looked inside Kumogakure again.
With his excellent Sensing ability, he can clearly "see" everything happening in the village:
Frightened but orderly civilians poured out of their homes, carrying simple luggage and dragging their families with them, and hurriedly moved along the designated route.
Genin, who maintains order and guides the direction, has a nervous and decisive look on his face.
Deeper, there are fighting Ninjas who are urgently gathering, distributing weapons and supplies, and building a final line of defense.
The crowd was like a frightened ant colony, scurrying hastily but tenaciously in the face of a huge crisis.
Looking at these ordinary people who had nothing to do with the war but were destined to be involved in it, the coldness in Naruto's eyes melted slightly, but he soon regained his determination.
He turned his head again and looked at Ai, who was still glaring at him. His tone softened a little, but still contained an unchangeable determination:
"I don't intend to harm civilians."
These words made Ai's tense nerves and muscles relax slightly.
Naruto did not give him much time to think and continued:
"So, wait until the crowd is evacuated before I fight you."
His eyes met Ai's again, and there was no provocation or contempt in them.
"Before this,"
Naruto raised one hand slightly, indicating that Ai could continue his work.
"Do what you have to do and seize the time."
After saying that, Naruto no longer looked at Ai, but turned around, walked to a relatively flat piece of Rock next to it, and actually sat down so casually, leaning against Rock with his back, and closed his eyes slightly, as if he wanted to take a nap.
Only his even breathing and still upright sitting posture showed that he had not relaxed his vigilance.
Uchiha Hikari is sitting next to Naruto, like a silent patron saint.
Her eyes swept across Ai, then in the direction of Kumogakure in the distance, and finally landed on Naruto. Only then did the coldness in her eyes melt away with a hint of warmth.
She also relaxed her stance, but the faint, dangerous aura around her never dissipated.
What is left for Ai and Kumogakure is an enemy with Rock's back, a girl who is silently guarding, and... a countdown to destruction that seems to be ticking in every Kumogakure Ninja's heart and is approaching.
Not harming civilians may be the last bit of "mercy" and "principle" Naruto Uzumaki retains in this doomed bloody conquest.
But this just highlights his unshakable confidence and ruthlessness:
He is absolutely sure that he can defeat all the resistance forces of Kumogakure head-on, including the Fourth Raikage in front of him who is famous for his bravery.
Ai stood there, clenching his fists so hard that his nails almost dug into his palms.
He looked at Naruto who seemed to be really resting, and then looked back at the village that was still being evacuated in a hurry...
A strong sense of sadness and powerlessness, mixed with a burning unwillingness and fighting spirit, collided fiercely in his chest.
Time passes minute by minute.
Kumogakure At the door, one side is the hunter waiting, and the other side is the prey who is forced to make final preparations.
This war, determined by the balance of old grudges and today's power, is unavoidable.
And the moment the last civilian leaves the battlefield area...
That's when the thunder and flames come.
On a steep cliff a few kilometers away from the gate of Kumogakure, several figures stood silently like vultures perched in the shadows, looking into the distance into the area that was about to become a battlefield.
It is the remaining members of Akatsuki headed by Obito Uchiha:
Hidan was carrying his iconic Bloody Triple-Bladed Scythe with a bored look on his face, muttering in a low voice:
"It's so boring that you just watch it like this?"
"Lord Jashin hates waiting the most. What he longs for is the hot spurting blood and the painful and pious wails!"
"No Sacrifice, no ceremony, what is this? Sightseeing? Baga Ya Road!"
His fanatical talk about "Evil God" seemed particularly abrupt on the empty mountain cliff, and also had a kind of neurotic comedy.
However, the other members didn't even bother to give him a look, as if he was just an annoying buzzing fly.
Their attention was focused on the three figures in the distance that were blurred by the distance: Naruto and Raikage A, who were facing each other, and Uchiha Hikari, who was standing quietly aside.
In order not to be noticed immediately by Naruto Uzumaki, whose Sensing ability may be extremely terrifying, they deliberately chose this far enough observation point, and could only rely on their excellent eyesight to capture the general outline and dynamics.
The silence lasted for a moment, with only the sound of the wind and Hidan's irritating low complaints as background sounds.
Finally, Xie's slightly dull and cold voice that had been transformed by Puppet sounded. He seemed to completely ignore Hidan and opened another topic:
"Speaking of which..."
Xie controlled Hiruko, turned his head slightly, and "looked" at the blond figure in the distance.
"This guy really doesn't intend to harm civilians, and he specifically gives an evacuation time?"
He paused, with a hint of exploration and playfulness in his tone that was barely noticeable:
"If I remember correctly the information about his childhood provided by Black Zetsu.
When Naruto Uzumaki was a child, he was often ostracized, isolated, and even blatantly bullied in Konoha, right?"
"How can someone who grew up in such an environment still have such 'kindness' towards the civilians of an enemy country?
It's... interesting."
You can't tell whether it's appreciation, sarcasm, or pure analysis in Scorpion's words.