The moment those words fell, the hall erupted in an uproar.
Mei Terumī, representing the Hidden Mist Village, slammed the table and stood up, glaring furiously at Naruto.
"What exactly do you Leaf shinobi mean by this?"
"You damned Nine-Tails brat! You—!" The Fourth Raikage roared in anger, raising his hand to smash the table again—only to slap empty air, as the table in front of him had already been pounded flat earlier.
"At a time like this, you're still clinging to grudges between villages?"
Compared to the fiery reactions of the Mist and Cloud leaders, Ōnoki only chuckled softly, sitting back to watch the spectacle unfold.
Interesting. This Nine-Tails brat is truly interesting.
Go on, fight. The more chaos, the better.
"Easy for you to say, Raikage," Naruto cast him a calm glance. "After all, it isn't your Cloud Village's bloodline limit that was stolen."
"Impudent!" The Fourth Raikage's moustache bristled with fury. "Do you even realize you're speaking to Kage right now? You're far too arrogant!"
"Don't flatter yourself, Raikage." Naruto's voice remained flat, dismissive. His gaze shifted toward the Mist's side.
"Since you refuse to hand it over, we'll simply take it ourselves."
As soon as the words left his mouth, a white blur shot forward at incredible speed, its target none other than Ao.
It was Neji, who had long been impatient ever since discovering that Ao's right eye was a Byakugan.
Naruto did not move. Matters of the Hyūga were for the Hyūga to settle.
"So fast!"
Among those present, aside from Ōnoki, only the Fourth Raikage could clearly track Neji's movements.
Mei Terumī, still a step below the other Kage in sheer battle sense at this point in her career, reacted too late. By the time she moved, Neji was already in front of Ao, his left hand reaching for Ao's right eye.
But just before his fingers touched the eyeball—less than a centimeter away—two sealing talismans flared to life near Ao's ear. The paper charms moved as if alive, forming a transparent barrier over the Byakugan.
A barrier?
That brief instant of hesitation gave Chōjūrō, standing beside Ao, the chance to respond. He swung the Twin Swords: Hiramekarei, cleaving down at Neji.
Chōjūrō had only recently begun making a name for himself, groomed by the Mizukage as the successor to one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. But having just inherited the blades, he was far from mastering them. Facing a taijutsu genius like Neji, he was utterly outclassed. Within only two exchanges, Neji sent him flying with a single kick.
That delay, however, was enough for Mei Terumī's attack to arrive.
Taking a deep breath, she puffed up her cheeks and spewed forth a sticky, highly corrosive liquid straight at Neji.
"Lava Release: Dissolving Monster Jutsu!"
"Rotation!"
Neji spun like a high-speed top, unleashing the Hyūga's ultimate defense. The torrent of acid was flung back.
One against two—and still Neji held the upper hand.
"You insolent Nine-Tails brat!" The Fourth Raikage bellowed, furious beyond reason. Blue arcs of lightning chakra burst from his body as he transformed into a living thunderbolt, charging straight for Naruto.
His two bodyguards leapt forward as well, though their speed was a step behind.
A flash of cold steel intercepted first.
Sasuke's Sharingan flared crimson, predicting the Raikage's trajectory in advance. With a casual yet precise motion, he drew his blade in a single stroke, slicing directly across the Raikage's path.
If the Raikage pressed his attack, he would be cut.
Yet relying on his Lightning Release Armor's formidable defense, the Raikage chose not to evade—intending to take the blow head-on.
But he had overestimated his defense, and underestimated the power of the blade in Sasuke's hand.
What looked like a simple swing was, in truth, a strike held in readiness, released at the perfect moment.
Strike before the enemy moves—
Cut the foe before the foe can react!
By choosing to endure the slash, the Raikage had already lost.
The blade cleaved through the Lightning Armor as though it were paper. A crimson line instantly appeared across the Raikage's body, and the sheer cutting aura alone wounded him before the blade could even connect.
Had it landed fully, it would have been fatal.
This was—Iai Slash, a decisive strike in a single draw!
The Raikage, once hailed as the shinobi second only to the Yellow Flash in speed, still possessed lightning-fast reflexes. The instant his armor was breached, he sacrificed his mechanical arm, raising it to block. Somehow, the mysterious alloy withstood the stroke for a heartbeat—just enough to divert the blade and allow him to escape being cleaved in two.
His life was spared, but his right arm was severed once more—first torn off by Naruto, and now cut away by Sasuke.
"That was Iaido Slash!"
Mifune, who had until now sat calmly and stoically, suddenly rose to his feet, eyes locked on Sasuke's blade.
The general of the Land of Iron was a master of this very technique.
Though the boy's form has yet to reach its true peak, the speed and power already rival my own… Has Konoha's younger generation grown this terrifying?
No—it was not Konoha's youth as a whole. It was just these three.
"Raikage-sama!!"
C, along with Darui's substitute Kamo, quickly moved to shield the Raikage, glaring at Sasuke with murderous intent—but not daring to advance.
Defeating the Raikage in a single exchange—the shock of it was overwhelming.
The truth was that Sasuke was not yet strong enough to kill the Raikage so easily. The Raikage's downfall lay in underestimating him.
Sasuke's youth was deceptive.
No—Naruto, Sasuke, and Neji's very age itself was deceptive.
"Raikage, this matter is between us and the Mist. What business is it of the Cloud?"
Naruto remained seated, unmoving. He rubbed his fingers together, leaning slightly forward, his head tilted back just enough to look down at the Raikage from above.
The light cast half his face in shadow, leaving the other half illuminated.
"Aren't you meddling a bit too much?"
You act high and mighty, as though the shinobi world made you its police.
"But before you interfere in other people's affairs—did you ever stop to consider whether you even have the strength to back it up?"
To intervene with strength is called upholding justice.
To intervene without it is called courting humiliation.
The Raikage rose shakily to his feet. His body now bore not only his seven old scars, but also a fresh, long gash. Shooting Sasuke a wary glance, he fixed his gaze firmly on Naruto.
"What exactly is it that you want?"
"What do I want?" Naruto spoke slowly, deliberately, his words heavy with meaning.
"Raikage, I told you from the very beginning."
"The Byakugan was always the Hyūga clan's. It belongs to Konoha."
"All we seek is to reclaim what was rightfully ours to begin with."
As he spoke, Naruto's expression grew gradually more fervent, his tone taking on a fanatical edge.
"This… is the will of our great Fifth Hokage, Danzō-sama."
PS1: A bit of useless trivia—Iai Slash first appeared back in the Wave Country arc, used by one of Gato's lackeys. It was just there to highlight Zabuza's overwhelming strength. Logically, that should've made it a throwaway, common technique. But Kishimoto must have forgotten, because he later gave Mifune the same signature move.
PS2: About the Cloud Village's overbearing nature—it's not just me saying it. At the Five Kage Summit, Ōnoki himself mentioned how the Cloud was constantly expanding its territory and collecting secret techniques. And how do you think they "collected" those? Certainly not by paying for them.