The next day, early in the morning.
Naruto finished a set of basic Taijutsu warm-ups in the yard when the door was knocked.
An Anbu stood outside the door, relaying an emergency summons from Tsunade for him to head to the Hokage Office.
Naruto threw on a windbreaker and followed the Anbu toward the Hokage Building.
Pushing open the door to the Hokage Office, he saw that there were already quite a few people standing inside.
Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, Guy, and others.
Beside them were several ninjas whose names Naruto could recall.
Even Shikamaru was among them, his hands in his pockets as usual, with a troublesome expression on his face.
"Morning, everyone." Naruto took the initiative to greet them and closed the door behind him.
The gazes in the office turned in unison and everyone's expression faltered for a moment.
Shikamaru pulled his hands out of his pockets and scanned Naruto up and down several times.
"Naruto, what's going on? I haven't seen you for two days, why have you changed into this appearance?"
He knew Naruto had changed a lot during this period, but a change to this extent completely exceeded his expectations.
"How should I put this? My bloodline regressed to an ancestral state over the past two days, so I ended up looking like this. How about it, isn't it especially handsome?" Naruto raised his hand to brush the black hair from his forehead.
Upon hearing his words, a flash of realization crossed the faces of everyone present. Although Ancestral Bloodline Reversion was extremely rare, it was not without precedent.
However, a question simultaneously arose in the minds of the Jonin present.
Ancestral Bloodline Reversion for the Uzumaki clan should result in red hair, Naruto's head of black hair didn't seem to match the Uzumaki clan at all.
However, everyone standing here was sharp, and no one would press for details about someone else's private bloodline matters in this setting.
Tsunade spoke up, "Since everyone is here, I will announce the mission."
She picked up an intelligence scroll that had just been delivered from the table. "Kumogakure has, led by the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki Bee, brought an elite ninja force into the border of the Land of Fire."
"This standoff operation will be under the full responsibility of Naruto, with Kakashi, Shikamaru, Guy, and twenty Anbu accompanying him."
"Remember, this mission is led by Naruto. No matter what decision he makes, you must cooperate unconditionally."
"Do you understand?"
Upon hearing this, Kakashi, Guy, and Shikamaru nodded seriously at Tsunade to indicate they understood.
"The remaining Jonin will take their positions according to yesterday's meeting arrangements and monitor the movements of the other major nations."
"Yes, Hokage-sama." The other Jonin nodded.
"Kakashi, you all go prepare first. Naruto, stay behind."
Kakashi took Guy and Shikamaru out of the office first.
Soon, only Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Naruto remained in the office.
"Granny Tsunade, this arrangement of yours is really meant for me to go all out, huh." Naruto walked up to the desk.
Tsunade hadn't mentioned a single word to him beforehand about what she had just said in front of everyone.
"That's right."
Tsunade crossed her arms. "Although Kumogakure is making a big scene this time, according to intelligence, the forces they've sent to the border aren't actually that numerous."
"They probably don't truly intend to start an all-out war. No matter how reckless they are, it's impossible for them to truly disregard the life or death of their own Raikage."
"But they need a way to save face, a way to retreat that makes them feel like we aren't the ones making concessions."
"So, you take the Raikage's arm with you and negotiate first. If you can reach an agreement, have them bring the items to exchange for the person according to the previously determined compensation list."
"If you can't, you can have some fun with them. Let them know what a gap in strength really means, and this battle won't need to be fought naturally."
Jiraiya, leaning against the wall nearby, added, "The sealing scroll for the Raikage's arm and the compensation terms have both been handed over to Kakashi for safekeeping."
Tsunade said, "Naruto, the commotion from this standoff has already spread throughout the entire Ninja World. Every ninja village is watching the border. If you really have to fight, do it beautifully. Let everyone who wants to take advantage of Konoha during its reconstruction see clearly that even though the Third Hokage is gone, Konoha is not something they can touch."
Naruto nodded and pushed the door open to walk out of the Hokage Office.
He didn't need to pack anything in particular. His ninja tool pouch was well-stocked with Kunai and shuriken, and he was carrying the sealing scrolls and backup equipment with him.
He walked directly from the Hokage Building toward the gates of Konoha.
From afar, he could see Kakashi, Guy, and Shikamaru already waiting there. Twenty Anbu stood behind the three of them, all wearing identical cloaks and animal masks.
"Sorry for the wait."
Seeing Naruto approach, the twenty Anbu simultaneously bowed slightly in salute.
"Naruto, your formation this time is quite large. Twenty Anbu plus the three of us—Hokage-sama really intends for you to go and clash head-on with the Kumogakure army." Kakashi looked at Naruto, his eyes curving into crescents.
"We're just tagging along to back you up, the real commander is you, Naruto." Guy gave a thumbs up.
"What a drag. Why do I, someone who just got promoted to Chunin, have to come along on a mission of this level?" Shikamaru complained.
Naruto smiled and waved his hand at the group. "Let's go."
The group left the gates of Konoha and moved quickly along the main road leading to the border of the Land of Fire.
The twenty Anbu followed in a scattered formation, maintaining the perfect distance between each other.
"Shikamaru, how come you were called along this time?" Naruto turned his head to look at Shikamaru.
Shikamaru shrugged, looking helpless. "My old man said I should get more exposure to missions of this level to broaden my horizons. He kept saying I'd need it sooner or later, but he clearly just thought it was a drag and didn't want to come himself."
He winked at Naruto and lowered his voice. "Actually, Hokage-sama specifically requested me. She probably thinks I'm still somewhat useful for strategic analysis."
Naruto nodded.
Shikamaru's intelligence was in a league of its own among the new generation of Konoha. Allowing him to get early exposure to this semi-war-level standoff involving major power games would indeed benefit his growth.
Moreover, Shikamaru's Shadow Sewing Jutsu and Shadow Imitation Technique could play an unexpected role at critical moments during such high-intensity standoffs.
Kakashi walked behind, watching Naruto.
Before the Land of Waves mission, Naruto couldn't even control his Chakra well. Now, he was commanding twenty Anbu, personally appointed by the Hokage to be fully responsible for the standoff mission against Kumogakure.
This growth trajectory couldn't be matched by a second person in the entire history of Konoha.
Kakashi recalled the first time he met Naruto. At that time, he thought the future of Team 7 would be carried by Sasuke, with Naruto and Sakura following behind and growing slowly.
Yet now, Naruto had reached a height where he, as his teacher, had to look up to see him clearly.
He had already learned about Naruto's current strength and the Ninjutsu he had learned from Tsunade. Precisely because of this, Kakashi felt such complex emotions.
He hadn't really taught Naruto anything. The Rasengan was taught by Jiraiya, the Flying Thunder God Technique was legacy left by Minato, and the Light Release and those powerful Ninjutsu were figured out by Naruto himself.
As the Jonin squad leader, from start to finish, he had only taught Naruto tree-climbing and water-walking.
Naruto slowed his pace, walking side-by-side with Kakashi. "Kakashi-sensei, what are you thinking about? You aren't even reading Icha Icha Paradise."
Kakashi shook his head. "It's nothing, just remembering some things from the past. Back in the Land of Waves, you weren't even stable with your Chakra control. Thinking about it now, it feels like it happened just yesterday."
Naruto said, "Kakashi-sensei, without you teaching me tree-climbing and water-walking in the Land of Waves, I wouldn't even be able to manage the most basic Chakra control."
"Everything that followed started from that moment, moving upward step by step. What you taught me wasn't just tree-climbing and water-walking, you taught me what a Ninja should look like."
Kakashi smiled.
***
40 Advanced Chapters on
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