At those words, Lucci was utterly stunned. His eyes widened as he stared at Naruto as though he were looking at an idiot.
He had lived for a thousand years and seen the greedy, the insane, and the domineering, but never anyone this naive.
Lucci froze for several seconds before bursting into laughter, his face full of mockery.
"Friendly exchanges?"
"Naruto Uzumaki, is there something wrong with your head?"
"Do you seriously think we Celestial Dragons would care for the wretched ruin the shinobi world has become?"
His smile faded, and his gaze turned cold and pragmatic. Every word cut deep.
"Let me tell you the truth. The reason we're willing to return to this abandoned shinobi world..."
"Has nothing to do with valuing your land or resources."
"All we need is a breeding farm to raise expendable stock and cultivate living cannonballs!"
"To us, the shinobi world has only ever been a place to breed slaves and bloodlines, a tool to supply ammunition for our cannons!"
"And you actually want to discuss exchanges between our worlds, to deal with us as equals? Utterly laughable!"
The blunt, cruel, naked truth slammed into the hearts of everyone present.
In an instant, overwhelming humiliation and rage welled up inside every shinobi.
The home they had risked their lives to protect, where generations of their people had lived, had never been a world in the eyes of the Celestial Dragons.
It was nothing more than-a breeding farm for expendable stock!
Across the ruined plains of the Land of Rain, fierce winds howled, sweeping up rubble and dust.
After hearing Lucci's outrageously arrogant insults, Naruto did not roar in fury. Instead, he fell quiet for two seconds.
Then the corners of his mouth slowly lifted into a cold smile. Every trace of the gentleness