Observation Haki surged

No one knew how much time had passed.

Naruto struggled to pry open his heavy eyelids. A plain wooden tent roof swayed above him.

His wounds had been properly treated and bandaged, and the pain had subsided considerably.

He lifted his head and discovered that he was lying in a tent aboard a moving caravan.

Beside him stood a kindly old man with graying hair and a beard-the caravan's Elder, He Yan.

"You're awake, young Konoha ninja."

He Yan smiled faintly and spoke gently:

"You were lucky. The river below the cliff was swift, and our caravan happened to come across the two of you.

Any later, and the current would have swept you away."

"The two of us?"

Naruto's pupils contracted sharply. Every nerve in his body went taut, and he whipped his head around.

On the bed beside him lay Temujin, the boy he had fought and fallen off the cliff with. He was still unconscious.

In an instant, Naruto reached out and clamped his hand around Temujin's throat. The slightest pressure would end his life.

Temujin woke at that very moment. As his vision focused, he met Naruto's chilling gaze, his throat locked firmly in Naruto's grip.

The oppressive threat of death enveloped him. Temujin went rigid, not daring to move, and immediately abandoned any resistance.

"Stop!"

He Yan hurriedly intervened.

"You two mustn't fight."

Naruto's gaze remained cold, his fingers not loosening in the slightest. His voice was full of wariness.

"Old man..."

"This guy ambushed us in the mountains. This wasn't just a fight. He was trying to kill us."

Though the events he had experienced were still the same, Naruto's inner growth had taken a different course. An enemy was an enemy. Showing mercy to an enemy meant failing his companions.

"But since he's a patient you saved, I'll leave him alone for now!"

With that, Naruto released him. Temujin coughed twice and surveyed his surroundings warily.

He Yan paused at those words, then nodded appreciatively.

"I see... As expected of a Konoha ninja. You certainly have your principles."

Just then, Temujin's blanket shifted slightly.

A little fluffy, snow-white head poked out. It was the main objective of their mission-that fierce little ferret!

It nestled beside Temujin's pillow, completely unharmed, even rubbing against the boy's cheek.

Naruto looked astonished.

"That little guy's still alive? And it didn't run off?!"

He Yan shook his head helplessly and looked at Naruto, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

"I commissioned Konoha to return the ferret to my village."

"But you brought it here instead. Does that count as completing your mission?"

Naruto froze, his head buzzing.

Only then did it dawn on him. Could this old man be the client who had issued their C-Rank Mission?

"You... You're the client?!"

"Indeed. My name is He Yan."

"We're a caravan of wandering merchants. We travel between countries year-round without a fixed residence, so we could only commission Konoha from afar to send it back to our village."

"So you're homeless? Then why did you ask us to take this little guy back to a village?"

Naruto muttered to himself. He Yan stared at him. Homeless? They simply weren't living in the village right now.

"Hey!! Do you have any idea how to talk to people...? We're just out trading!"

Everyone in the tent fell silent for a while.

After a long pause, Temujin spoke quietly, his eyes fixed on Naruto.

"That power you possess... What is it?"

Temujin had returned to the Shinobi World from overseas and knew nothing of ninjas or chakra. That was why Naruto's Shadow Clone Technique had shocked him so much when he first encountered it.

Naruto could not be bothered to answer. His gaze was indifferent.

"I don't have to tell you."

Temujin was silent for a moment before speaking earnestly.

"If you tell me what your power is, I'll tell you why I ambushed you."

Naruto remained expressionless, showing no interest whatsoever.

"Everything we do is for the Ideal Country."

Temujin's voice was solemn, his eyes filled with obsession. This was his first encounter with such a power, and he hoped Naruto would join them.

"I can't explain the details just yet."

"If you're willing to join us and help us build a land without conflict, you'll learn the whole truth someday."

Naruto kept a straight face and answered coldly.

"Forget it.

I, Naruto, won't associate with someone like you, who attacks people without cause and hurts innocent bystanders."

By now, Naruto truly was no longer a reckless fool.

Back in Konoha, he regularly endured Miki Yūya's various forms of verbal bullying and witnessed the village's supposedly wholesome ways. At first, Naruto had also been a naive, hot-blooded boy.

But later, he realized that everyone seemed reasonably decent and hadn't done anything too terrible. Take Miki Yūya, for example-he was already pretty awful.

Whenever he saw Konohamaru, he would charge over without a word and beat him up, cursing as he went.

That sounded terrible, didn't it?

But compared with Temujin here, who charged at anyone he saw with his sword, intent on killing them, it was something else entirely.

So to many people, Miki Yūya seemed more like an ordinary person who had suffered and was still struggling, rather than an evil man.

The truly evil ones were people like this, who tried to kill without a word and casually took others' lives. Naruto could not forgive them.

Yet over the entire day that followed, Naruto deliberately observed him.

He found that Temujin did not seem wholly evil. He was stubborn, but certainly not brutal or bloodthirsty.

Still, Naruto could not understand why Temujin had attacked him. In the end, he could reach only one conclusion: there was something wrong with Temujin's head, and it was serious.

Early the next morning, He Yan hurried over to Naruto with a grave expression.

"Naruto, something's happened."

"Temujin stole my ferret."

Naruto looked indifferent, his eyes still bleary with sleep.

"Uncle He Yan, we've already completed the commission, haven't we? This has nothing to do with me anymore."

"How does it have nothing to do with you?!"

"I commissioned you Konoha ninjas to deliver it to my village, but you brought it here without permission!"

"Temujin stole the ferret because you mishandled the delivery. You have to get it back!"

"..."

Naruto was left speechless. That did seem true-but wait, there wasn't a single person in the village. How were they supposed to deliver it?

Still, since he was in the wrong, Naruto could only grit his teeth, get up, and follow the trail.

Deep in the mountains, Naruto caught up with Temujin without trouble.

Temujin showed no sign of panic at Naruto's arrival. Instead, he spoke calmly.

"I've already sent word to Lord Haido about you and your abilities."

"Naruto, since you've followed me here, you must be curious about our ideals."

"If you want to know everything, come with me."

Naruto considered it briefly.

He was already here, and Temujin really was acting strangely. Following him to gather some information wouldn't hurt.

"All right. I'll come with you."

He followed Temujin along the way and over a mountain.

A massive Mobile Fortress standing between the canyon walls came into view.

The Mobile Fortress looked utterly unlike anything built within the Shinobi World's existing architectural framework.

This was the headquarters these visitors from overseas had established in the Shinobi World.

Naruto followed him inside the fortress. As soon as he entered, he saw countless people in black armor patrolling back and forth.

He followed Temujin all the way to the hall, where a refined, composed middle-aged man stood quietly, looking warmly at Naruto as he entered.

"Welcome, Naruto."

Haido spoke slowly, his tone unhurried:

"I am Haido."

"Temujin has told me all about you through our communications."

"I never imagined there were people in this world with such marvelous powers."

He looked Naruto in the eye and asked solemnly:

"Naruto, would you join us and help us build the Ideal Country?"

Naruto furrowed his brow and immediately asked:

"What exactly is this Ideal Country you keep talking about?"

Haido gazed into the distance and slowly described his vision, his voice sincere and earnest.

"Oh? So you're curious about the Ideal Country too?

It's a nation that will put an end to war once and for all."

"A perfect world where the weak are no longer bullied and the innocent no longer suffer."

"Everyone here has experienced war firsthand, endured displacement, and tasted suffering."

"I spent years traveling to many places before I could gather this group of like-minded people."

After hearing Haido's words, Naruto did not believe a thing. His gaze was clear and resolute as he punctured the illusion outright:

"That's impossible."

"War can be ended, and bullying can be stopped."

"But natural disasters, disease, hunger, birth, aging, sickness, and death can never be eradicated."

"As long as suffering, regret, and misfortune remain in this world, a so-called perfect Ideal Country can never exist."

Naruto had once been an idealist too, but reality had long since shattered those vague, idealized dreams.

The Ideal Country Haido described could not exist.

Naruto's words left Haido momentarily stunned.

He looked at the young, immature Naruto before him, whose eyes were nevertheless clear, and a flicker of surprise crossed his gaze.

He had never expected this seemingly dim-witted boy to be smarter than Temujin.

After a moment, Haido slowly recovered and said:

"You're right. I've long been aware of those shortcomings."

"But there is something in this world that can eliminate hunger, cure illness, and end suffering."

Haido shifted his tone, his voice brimming with confidence:

"That is-the Gelel Stone."

"By harnessing the power of the Gelel Stone, we can create a truly perfect Ideal Country."

Naruto looked even more skeptical.

"Impossible."

"Lady Tsunade is the Shinobi World's foremost medical ninja. She has mastered the finest Medical Ninjutsu, and even she can't cure every illness or eliminate suffering."

"How could some Gelel Stone possibly have that kind of power?"

Tsunade's Medical Ninjutsu was the strongest in the Shinobi World. Everyone in Konoha acknowledged that. She had even managed to save Miki Yūya despite his terrible injuries.

Yet even Tsunade could do nothing about Miki Yūya's mental illness, so Naruto did not believe a word of it.

Seeing Naruto's disbelief, Haido smiled faintly.

"In that case, allow me to show you firsthand."

As his words fell, Temujin, standing beside him, understood his intent. He decisively raised his hand, and the Short Sword flashed!

Slash!

The sharp edge cut straight across his own palm, opening a wound deep enough to expose the bone. Blood gushed out.

Agonizing pain struck, but Temujin's expression did not change. He stood there quietly.

Haido raised his hand, and a strange energy slowly gathered in his palm.

A gentle glow gradually enveloped Temujin's hand.

In the next instant!

The torn flesh of Temujin's palm rapidly knitted together, scabbed over, shed the scab, and returned to normal.

In just a few seconds, the gruesome wound vanished completely, as though he had never been hurt!

It was a miraculous healing power, faster even than Tsunade's Medical Ninjutsu.

After finishing, Haido deliberately subdued his presence, pretending to be weakened and drained by the enormous effort.

Witnessing this extraordinary healing ability firsthand, Naruto's pupils contracted sharply. A figure flashed through his mind-

Miki Yūya.

His "dear friend," whose body was encased in plaster, whose bones were shattered, and whose injuries had remained unhealed for so long.

Even with Tsunade doing everything she could, she could only nurse him through a slow recovery, not heal him quickly.

Yet the Gelel Stone's power could heal wounds instantly.

Naruto's breath caught. He immediately spoke, his eyes utterly serious:

"Um... Haido!"

"If your Gelel Stone can completely heal my friend..."

"Then I, Naruto Uzumaki, can help you build this so-called Ideal Country!"

Whether he would actually help was another matter, but this power should be able to get Miki Yūya back on his feet. It might even cure his mental illness.

At Naruto's words, a hidden gleam of amusement flashed in Haido's eyes, though he kept his expression composed.

"Of course."

"As long as you're willing to join us, Naruto, your friend will be our comrade. I can heal him completely and rid him of all his injuries, illnesses, and suffering."

There was no time to waste. Naruto stopped hesitating and immediately formed hand seals.

"Summoning Technique!"

Whoosh!

Smoke billowed, and Gamabunta appeared.

Surprise flickered in Haido's and Temujin's eyes at the sight. This truly was a wondrous power they had never seen before.

Naruto addressed Gamabunta.

"Gamabunta, could you contact a Communication Toad from Mount Myōboku for me and have them go to Konoha?"

Back in Konoha, the Hyuga Clan had been having a hard time since Neji's defection, and Hinata had been grieving for a long while.

Shino Aburame and Kiba Inuzuka wanted to comfort Hinata, but neither knew how.

After racking his brains, Kiba could only look up at the sky.

"If only Akamaru were here."

"What happened to Akamaru?"

In a rare moment, Shino spoke up to ask.

"Akamaru's been keeping his newly sworn big brother company lately."

"Oh."

Shino gave a flat reply.

With all his fur shaved off, Akamaru got bullied whenever he appeared in the village. His treatment was much the same as that of Miki Yūya, who used a wheelchair.

Every time he was bullied, Akamaru retaliated by either pissing on people or shitting directly on their feet.

Whenever he was chased, he went to Miki Yūya instead of Kiba. After all, his "big brother" had broken every bone in his body for him. With his big brother protecting him, what did he have to fear?

The result was that both man and dog got bullied, with nowhere to run.

Thanks to Akamaru's knack for causing trouble, Miki Yūya had endured all sorts of bullying lately, to the point that his Observation Haki had developed enough for him to understand Akamaru's speech directly.

"Woof, woof, woof!!!"

Just as Miki Yūya left home, Akamaru's barking rang out in the distance again.

Miki Yūya's expression changed. Just then, a frog appeared before him.

"..."

"..."

The man and the frog exchanged a glance. Seeing the Konoha villagers charging toward them in the distance, the frog understood. They opened their mouth, swallowed Miki Yūya whole, and vanished on the spot.

"Finally... I finally got away. Fucking hell, Akainu, this isn't over, you damn mutt!!!"

Miki Yūya finally breathed a sigh of relief.