While Naruto was still weighing the feasibility of his plan...
The Hidden Cloud delegation decided to display their goodwill toward Konoha.
As they walked through the cheering crowds lining the streets...
They began shaking hands with the villagers.
The atmosphere instantly grew even more enthusiastic.
Naruto immediately joined the crowd.
When one of the Cloud shinobi reached him...
He didn’t overlook the child Naruto had disguised himself as.
The moment their hands touched...
A special seal was silently branded onto the envoy’s hand.
One...
Two...
Three.
Naruto successfully marked three Hidden Cloud shinobi.
Once the entire delegation had passed...
A faint smile appeared on his lips as he quietly slipped away from the crowd.
That night...
Just as history dictated...
The leader of the Hidden Cloud delegation attempted to kidnap Hinata Hyuga.
He was killed on the spot by Hiashi Hyuga’s Gentle Fist.
The Hidden Cloud representatives immediately demanded that Konoha hand over the murderer.
As for the kidnapping...
They refused to acknowledge it had ever happened.
The next morning...
Concerned that the Hidden Cloud might target the Nine-Tails’ Jinchūriki...
The ANBU informed Izumi about the previous night’s events.
After breakfast...
She looked at Naruto with a serious expression.
"Naruto..."
"The Hidden Cloud envoy tried to kidnap the Hyuga Clan’s young princess last night."
"He was killed by the Hyuga Clan Head."
"The village may be chaotic for the next few days."
"Don’t go outside, alright?"
The incident had become public knowledge.
The confrontation between Konoha and the Hidden Cloud had taken place openly in the streets.
Many villagers had witnessed it.
By morning...
The entire village was talking about it.
So Izumi didn’t bother hiding the truth.
"I know."
Naruto waved casually.
Inside the sealing space...
Kurama and Minato exchanged strange looks.
Only yesterday...
They had been discussing whether Naruto should assassinate an envoy.
Yet before Naruto even made a move...
The envoy had died anyway.
...Were they cursed?
Several days later...
Konoha reached an agreement with the Hyuga Clan.
To preserve the Main Family’s bloodline...
And prevent the Byakugan from falling into enemy hands...
Hizashi Hyuga, head of the Branch Family...
Would die in place of his older twin brother, Hiashi Hyuga.
His body was handed over to the Hidden Cloud delegation.
That afternoon...
Before countless cheering villagers...
Konoha and Kumogakure officially signed the peace treaty.
The war that had dragged on for years...
Finally came to an end.
Many villagers burst into tears of joy.
After the ceremony...
The Hidden Cloud delegation accepted Konoha’s invitation to a celebratory banquet.
That night...
One side celebrated with music, dancing, and laughter.
While elsewhere...
A grieving clan quietly held a funeral.
The contrast couldn’t have been more striking.
Meanwhile...
As they sat eating dinner...
Izumi rested her chin on one hand.
She stared blankly at the food in front of her without taking a single bite.
"I never imagined..."
"Konoha’s leadership would actually hand over the head of the Branch Family."
"Naruto..."
"Do you think it was worth it?"
(In this story, Hizashi and Hiashi are twins, and Hizashi takes the blame.)
Naruto calmly picked up a piece of braised sea bream.
After placing it into his mouth...
He replied with a question of his own.
"What do you think?"
Izumi slowly shook her head.
"I don’t know."
"When the peace treaty was signed..."
"The villagers were cheering."
"They looked so happy."
"But many of the shinobi standing beside me..."
"They kept their heads lowered."
"Their fists were clenched."
"They looked miserable."
"And even then..."
"Not one of them said a single word."
Naruto swallowed his food before speaking.
"If enduring humiliation means only one stranger dies..."
"And refusing means thousands could die..."
"Among them your friends..."
"Your family..."
"Or even yourself..."
"Then..."
"Do you think it’s worth it?"
Although his words sounded reasonable...
The faint sarcasm on his face was impossible to miss.
Some things...
Could never be endured forever.
Once you kept yielding...
Eventually...
You’d lose the courage to stand up at all.
"...Yeah."
"As long as it’s only one stranger..."
Izumi murmured softly.
Then she fell silent.
She understood the logic.
But...
She still couldn’t accept it.
This wasn’t the Konoha she’d imagined.
According to the village’s history books...
Konoha had emerged victorious in every Great Ninja War.
It had even fought against three or four nations at once.
In her mind...
Konoha was unquestionably the strongest Hidden Village.
Even if it wasn’t overly aggressive diplomatically...
It certainly wasn’t supposed to be bullied.
Yet the Hidden Cloud had attempted to kidnap the Hyuga heiress.
One of their shinobi had been killed.
And in order to preserve peace...
Konoha handed over the head of the Hyuga Branch Family.
Everything that had happened over the past few days...
Had shown her only one thing.
Weakness.
Late that night...
Naruto, who appeared to be asleep...
Suddenly opened his eyes.
Hidden beneath the blanket...
His hands formed a seal.
Shadow Clone Technique!
A clone appeared beneath the covers.
At the same instant...
The real Naruto vanished.
Elsewhere...
Inside one of Konoha’s guest houses...
The curtains of one room were tightly drawn.
The air reeked of alcohol.
Thunderous snores echoed through the room.
Suddenly...
An ANBU wearing a hideous demon mask appeared out of thin air.
After silently surveying the room...
He sneered inwardly.
His left hand clamped tightly over the Cloud shinobi’s mouth.
The kunai in his right hand plunged straight into the man’s heart.
Shhk!
"...Ugh!"
The envoy’s eyes bulged.
As the last traces of life faded from them...
He desperately tried to see who had killed him.
Konoha ANBU...
Impossible.
He couldn’t believe Konoha would assassinate him...
Immediately after signing a peace treaty.
What was Konoha planning?
Didn’t they fear starting another war?
...Wait.
Another war?
Just before death claimed him...
A terrifying realization flashed through his mind.
His face froze in horror.
Then...
He died.
His eyes remained wide open.
After killing the first envoy...
The masked ANBU frowned.
Activating a sensory technique...
He scanned the surroundings.
"He still managed to make a little noise..."
"Fortunately... no one noticed."
Satisfied...
He picked up the samurai sword resting beside the bed.
Then his figure vanished once more.
Second room.
The second Cloud shinobi was just as drunk.
The ANBU appeared upside down on the ceiling.
The blade flashed.
A cold crescent of steel swept downward.
Slash!
The envoy’s head separated cleanly from his body.
Blood sprayed across the white bedsheets.
Third room.
The ANBU carefully searched the room.
Soon...
He found exactly what he was looking for.
A storage scroll meant for transporting corpses.
His eyes lit up.
He pocketed the scroll.
The sword flashed once again.
The third envoy was beheaded.
With another hand seal...
Poof!
He transformed into the appearance of the dead Cloud shinobi.
Then he calmly opened the door and stepped into the hallway.
As he walked...
His sensory technique swept through the guest house.
"The occupied rooms match the number of Cloud envoys..."
His eyes narrowed.
The four ANBU assigned to monitor the delegation remained stationed outside the building...
One on each side.
Far enough away to avoid provoking diplomatic complaints.
Apparently...
No one had considered the possibility that someone could teleport directly inside.
Originally...
Naruto had only planned to kill the three shinobi he had marked.
But now...
A new thought crossed his mind.
"Since I’m already here..."
Ten minutes later...
The blanket on Naruto’s bed shifted ever so slightly.
At the same moment...
The raised covers slowly settled back down.
It looked as though the sleeping figure had simply rolled over in bed...
Or perhaps...
Nothing had changed at all.