Five days passed in the blink of an eye.
Konoha held a welcoming ceremony for the Kumogakure ninja delegation.
Amidst this warm welcome, the Kumogakure ninja delegation made their way toward the Hokage Building.
The Hokage, Minato Namikaze, greeted them personally.
After some polite small talk, they proceeded to the meeting room to discuss pressing matters.
Meanwhile, back in Konoha,
Shindai finally reunited with Naruto and Hinata.
Shindai said to Hinata, "Hinata, please take off your ring and give it to me for a moment."
"Okay."
Hinata obediently took off her ring and handed it to Shindai.
Shindai inserted a small round chip into the ring and then returned it to Hinata. "Here, put it back on and keep it on even while you're asleep."
"I know."
Seeing Hinata put the ring on, Shindai felt relieved.
The round chip embedded by Shindai functioned as a Tracking Device. As long as Hinata kept wearing the ring, there would be no fear of losing her.
After showing Naruto and Hinata around for some fun activities, Shindai sent Hinata home.
Then Shindai whispered to Naruto, "Tonight when it gets dark, sneak out quietly. I'll show you something exciting."
Naruto asked curiously, "What are we going to do?"
Shindai replied mysteriously, "You'll find out soon enough. Right now, come with me to the Scientific Research Division to prepare a little first."
Shindai took Naruto to the Scientific Research Division. After greeting Kabuto, who was present, he entered his private research lab.
From a shelf inside the lab, Shindai retrieved a high-tech-looking mechanical arm guard.
"This," he explained, "is a Ninja-Ware I've been researching—it's currently still in the testing phase."
"What's Ninja-Ware?" Naruto asked. "What does that mean?"
As he modified the arm guard, Shindai began explaining to Naruto. "As you already know, ninjutsu requires chakra to be released. Even jutsu scrolls require chakra to activate.
This Ninja-Ware stores chakra via a specialized capacitor device. Once it detects a jutsu scroll, it can automatically activate the technique sealed inside that scroll.
In other words, as long as you know how to operate this device, even if you don't have chakra yourself, you can still unleash the techniques stored within these scrolls."
Naruto's eyes immediately lit up with excitement. "So you're saying, if I wear this arm guard, I can become a proper ninja too?"
Shindai could easily tell what Naruto was thinking just from the way he was positioning himself. So he immediately knew what was going through Naruto's mind.
Dashing Naruto's hopes slightly, Shindai added a warning, "Don't get any wild ideas. This is just a tool—it doesn't reflect your actual strength. The chakra capacitor has its limits. Also, I haven't yet figured out how to miniaturize jutsu scrolls properly. The more powerful the technique, the larger the size of its corresponding scroll. Therefore, the number of usable techniques remains extremely limited."
This arm guard is just an ornamental addition. If you think it'll make you a real ninja, you're delusional. Originally I planned to use it on my Puppet, but... Anyway, that's beside the point now."
Shindai resized the arm guard to perfectly fit Naruto's arm.
"This time I'll let you play with it temporarily. Inside this arm guard are three jutsu scrolls, each containing one of these techniques: [Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique], [Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique], and [Lightning Release: Thunderbolt Technique]. These are all relatively low-level techniques, so naturally their power is weaker too.
On the arm guard there are red, green, and blue buttons, corresponding to Fire Release, Wind Release, and Lightning Release respectively. Simply pressing the button will automatically release the technique. Let me make this clear first—I'm only letting you borrow it temporarily; it's not yours."
Naruto was practically bouncing with excitement and blurted out, "I understand, Shindai nii-san! Just give it to me already!"
Shindai handed the arm guard over to Naruto, who eagerly put it on his right arm.
Shindai reminded him, "Remember, don't press them unless absolutely necessary... Holy crap! Are you serious?! What were you thinking?!"
Naruto had already pressed the red button. The arm guard automatically activated the [Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique], unleashing a straight stream of flame.
Shindai rolled aside to dodge the fire attack.
Quickly using a Water Release jutsu scroll to extinguish the flames, Shindai glared darkly at Naruto.
Realizing he'd messed up, Naruto lowered his head and stayed silent.
The next second, a bump formed on Naruto's head.
Naruto rubbed his head with a pitiful expression, looking longingly at the arm guard that Shindai had taken back, pleading, "Shindai nii-san, I promise I won't press randomly again. Can I please have it back?"
Even though he'd caused trouble, the feeling of just releasing a ninjutsu technique had been amazing!
Shindai immediately refused, "Impossible! I barely hesitated for a moment before you went and caused chaos! This is Orochimaru-sama's territory. If something serious happens, I'll end up as a test subject! It's confiscated now. I'll give it back when you really need it!"
Naruto pouted, "Then when can I use it again?"
"If everything goes smoothly, tonight should be fine. Alright, let's go home."
Shindai took Naruto back home.
...
Inside the Hokage Building.
Minato Namikaze's negotiations with the shinobi from Kumogakure proceeded very smoothly.
Originally Minato had expected Kumogakure to propose some harsh conditions, yet none came at all.
Everything went so smoothly that Minato and others couldn't help suspecting whether those really were shinobi from Kumogakure.
Although discussions went well, they couldn't finish all the business in just one day.
"Please rest at a Konoha inn for tonight. Tomorrow, we shall continue discussing the specifics of our alliance."
Minato assigned two shinobi to escort these Kumogakure shinobi to their inn.
After the Kumogakure ninjas left, Minato Namikaze and the other Konoha leaders remained in the meeting room.
Minato said seriously, "For some reason, I feel like something's off."
Shikaku Nara agreed, "Yeah. They've agreed to almost everything we proposed but have barely made any demands of their own. It's almost like..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi finished for Shikaku, "Like the attitude of a defeated side."
Yamanaka Inoichi frowned, "Does this mean they're plotting some kind of scheme?"
Homura Mitokado asked puzzledly, "But since the message from Kumogakure arrived, there has been no visible movement inside the village. What kind of conspiracy could they possibly be plotting?"
After a moment of contemplation, Minato spoke quietly, "If there truly is a conspiracy, they will make their move sooner or later. We must stay alert until then. Until they make their move, we cannot act either. Shikaku, take a team of Anbu and maintain surveillance beyond the borders of Konoha Village. Inoichi, notify Clan Leader Fugaku to step up patrols around Konoha."
Both Shikaku Nara and Yamanaka Inoichi responded with a simultaneous "Yes."
Night descended in silence.
With Shindai's approval, Naruto slipped out of the house quietly. At the doorstep, Shindai was already waiting by the doorstep.
Shindai whispered, "Did you avoid waking Sister Kushina and Minato?"
"No. I was really quiet sneaking out. Dad wasn't home, and Mom was still asleep."
"Alright, let's go!"
Shindai and Naruto left, making their way toward the Hyuga clan compound.
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