Shuh—
The crimson glow in the space vanished abruptly, signaling to everyone that Danzo had selected the wrong answer.
The crowd erupted in suppressed laughter and barely disguised schadenfreude, eyes locking onto Danzo's single glaring eye, now twitching with frustration as he glared daggers at the masked man who had submitted the previous answer.
All over the Ninja World, those watching the live broadcast couldn't help but crack up.
> "Hahaha! Does he think we're all like Konoha—stabbed in the back by our own advisors?"
> "Say what you want about our own Kage being grumpy, harsh on his kids, or tough on his underlings—at least he's dead and stays dead."
> "Lord Chiyo? No way she'd do that."
> "Sure, she was an advisor too, but unlike Konoha's fossils, she didn't try to micromanage everything."
> "Facts. Konoha's advisory council is soft. When Pain invaded, Tsunade wanted Naruto back earlier—who knows, maybe the village wouldn't have been nuked."
> "Still, it's a pity. If Chiyo-sama had become the Fifth Kazekage, we Sand Shinobi might be at a whole new level by now."
---
The purple light shimmered again, signaling the next round of answering had begun.
The Fourth Raikage—A—already had a strong suspicion.
There were only a few possibilities left. Sand had a limited pool of notable ninja at that time, especially with the stage narrowing.
If it wasn't Chiyo, then logically it must be Ebizō or Jōnin Maki—two figures who, while not top-tier powerhouses, held political and tactical importance in the village's structure.
Could it be Gaara?
Raikage Ai scoffed at the idea.
Back then, Gaara was still a Jinchūriki—an unstable weapon, not a leader. No village, not even idealistic Konoha, had ever placed a person Jinchūriki into a Kage position while still actively housing a tailed beast.
So, Ai eliminated him from the equation.
To Ai, Jōnin Maki was the best bet.
However, with the red team having just answered incorrectly, Ai now had the floor.
His voice, silent until now, erupted like thunder across the dimension.
The Fourth Raikage opened his eyes, his piercing gaze sweeping across the scene—especially focusing on Naruto Uzumaki, currently lounging atop Kurama like a winner in life, holding a girl's hand like it was his birthright.
He was conflicted.
He had originally been pleased to see Naruto express resentment toward Konoha—it opened an opportunity.
But this brat—he went and lay down like he was dead, only to pop back up like nothing had happened. Talk about mood swings.
Still, Ai saw something in Naruto.
As time dwindled on the answer timer, he spoke—not to the question, but to Naruto.
His words reverberated not just in the answering space, but through the entire Ninja World.
> "Oi, kid. Uzumaki. Looks to me like Konoha hasn't been treating you right... So why don't you come to Yunyin?"
---
For a moment, the universe stood still.
People blinked.
Jaws dropped.
Was the Raikage serious?
> "D-Did he just invite Naruto to defect—on a livestream???"
> "That's insane!"
> "No way Konoha lets him get away with this!"
But Ai wasn't finished.
His next words stunned the world into silence:
> "Join me, and I'll make you my personal, closed disciple.
In Yunyin, no one—no one—will ever look down on you again.
Killer Bee is a perfect Jinchūriki—he'll teach you the ways of the tailed beast.
And after Darui, the mantle of the Sixth Raikage...
Will be yours."
---
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Shockwaves of disbelief exploded across every screen, every village, every campfire where the Ninja World gathered to spectate.
Even in the answering space, people stared like they were seeing a tailed beast do stand-up comedy.
The offer was so absurdly generous, so unrealistically noble, that for a moment, people genuinely questioned if Ai was having a stroke.
But one look at his face told them—
> He wasn't joking.
---
The air grew tense.
Onoki—the Third Tsuchikage—tightened his fists, his small form practically shaking.
Originally, he had been amused. Naruto's anger at Konoha? Wonderful.
But Ai had taken it ten steps further.
He had offered not just asylum—but a future.
A future with power. Status. Leadership.
Even more shocking?
Peace.
> "If you agree," Ai said coolly, his voice slicing through the air,
"I will sign a binding treaty with Konoha. A non-aggression pact lasting 30 years.
On joint missions, Yunyin will always yield to Konoha.
As for the Nine-Tails? I don't need him. Let Killer Bee and Yugito live their natural lives—
You decide how the tailed beasts get transferred."
Even Jiraiya and Tsunade, standing protectively in front of Naruto, were shaken.
So were the Hyuga elders. The Uchiha specters. The other clan heads.
It was tempting.
Too tempting.
Ai glanced toward Konoha's dark underbelly—the ROOT stronghold.
There, Danzo and the two advisors sat, their gazes like cold steel, silently seething.
But Ai didn't falter.
He met all five of their judgmental eyes without blinking.
He didn't say a word.
He didn't need to.
---
After the mic-drop-level declaration, Ai calmly turned to Nagato and said, with the nonchalance of a man who just proposed war and marriage in the same breath:
> "As for the answer… I choose Sand Ninja's Jōnin Maki."
Purple dimmed. White light surged.
Wrong.
The answer passed to the white team.
But at that moment—no one gave a damn about the quiz.
Every eye was glued to the stage where Naruto stood.
Because the only thing anyone could think was:
> "WHY THE HELL ISN'T THIS HAPPENING TO ME!?"
---
Back in the real world, ninja everywhere were practically frothing.
> "Why Naruto?! Why not me?! What does he have that I don't?!"
> "I could be Raikage material too if I had a demon fox stuck inside me!"
> "Damn it, where were my parents during the sacrifice lottery!?"
Even Shimura Danzo, sitting among the red team, couldn't contain his thoughts.
The old fox was calculating.
The potential power. The political leverage. The unmatched future.
> "If Konoha accepts Ai's offer... We'll instantly dominate the Five Great Nations."
The temptation was too great.
Even the advisors, who had once considered Naruto an uncontrollable wild card, were now staring at him as if he were a priceless war asset.
Danzo licked his lips subconsciously.
If he could secure that deal…
Even he might consider betraying the village.
And if he—Shimura Danzo—could feel that way, what of others?
---
Because in the ninja world, when the right offer is made, and the stakes are high enough—
Loyalty is always negotiable.
PS :
JOIN MY PATREON TO READ ADVANCE CHAPTERS
We're already at Chapter 97 on Patreon!
▶ patreon.com/HACKDWORLD ◀