Seeing that Naruto and Uchiha Hikari, after forcing Killer Bee to lose an arm, still showed no intention of further attacking or breaking into the Village, but just stood calmly on the spot, the Fourth Raikage, despite the raging fire in his heart, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He immediately growled at Yugito, who was supporting Killer Bee, "Yugito, take Bee to the Medical Unit first, hurry!"
"But, Raikage-sama, you..."
Yugito looked at the Fourth Raikage with worry, then cast a wary glance at Naruto and Uchiha Hikari opposite them.
"Go, quickly!"
The Fourth Raikage commanded with unquestionable authority, his voice even deeper from suppressing his rage.
He knew Killer Bee's injuries needed immediate attention.
If the enemy truly planned to wait until the designated time to attack, they would need Killer Bee to participate in the battle in a few hours.
Yugito gritted her teeth, no longer hesitating, and supported the pale-faced Killer Bee, turning into a blue blur as she sped toward the Village's medical facilities.
After sending the two away, the Fourth Raikage finally refocused all his attention on Naruto.
His single eye stared fixedly at Naruto, like a tiger ready to devour its prey, and he asked word by word, "Hokage of Hidden Leaf Village!"
"What exactly is the meaning of this?!"
The Fourth Raikage's voice suppressed wild rage and confusion, "Issuing a challenge, bringing troops to our gates, and then suddenly attacking my brother, yet now you stand still? What do you want?!"
The Fourth Raikage tried to understand Naruto's intent: Was it a negotiation? Or pure military conquest?
Although they were both among the Five Great Ninja Villages, the Hidden Cloud Village's strength was not comparable to the other three.
It would be difficult for Hidden Leaf Village to conquer the Hidden Cloud Village, let alone when the enemy had only brought two people.
However, before Naruto could answer, Uchiha Hikari, who had been standing quietly beside him, spoke coldly once more.
"If you aren't going to fight, stop talking nonsense."
She tilted her head slightly, sweeping a glance at the Fourth Raikage from the corner of her eye.
Her gaze was bone-chillingly cold.
"Otherwise," her voice devoid of any inflection, "the next thing I burn will be your head."
A naked threat, unmasked killing intent.
The Fourth Raikage's breath hitched, and the veins on his forehead bulged again.
As the dignified Fourth Raikage, when had he ever received such ruthless threats and contempt?
And it came from a girl who looked so young!
Just as the Fourth Raikage was about to lose control of his rage and prepare to test the enemy's strength, Naruto chuckled softly, reached out, and took Uchiha Hikari's hand.
"Don't panic yet."
Naruto said to Uchiha Hikari, his tone gentle and soothing, but his gaze remained on the Fourth Raikage.
"I want to have a talk... with that Raikage."
Naruto's gaze circled the Fourth Raikage, seemingly searching for an appropriate title, before finally settling on just "Raikage".
Watching Naruto play the "good cop," the Fourth Raikage's vigilance did not decrease; instead, it reached its peak.
A smiling tiger!
The Fourth Raikage defined Naruto almost immediately.
On the surface, he was all smiles, appearing gentle and easy to talk to, even "soothing" the vicious girl beside him.
But in reality, he was the most dangerous and unfathomable one.
According to known intelligence, as the perfect Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tailed, Uzumaki Naruto's strength was definitely not weaker than Killer Bee's.
It might even be a level higher!
Moreover, he was so young yet already Hidden Leaf Village's Sixth Hokage, having taken down Hidden Stone Village and Hidden Sand Village in succession...
The power and methods represented behind this were certainly not ordinary.
The Fourth Raikage knew very clearly that he absolutely could not engage in a Tailed Beast-level battle with such a monster at the gates of the Hidden Cloud Village!
The destruction to the Village would be catastrophic!
It might even affect the civilians who hadn't been fully evacuated yet!
Therefore, despite being filled with extreme grievance and rage, the Fourth Raikage forcibly suppressed the urge to attack immediately and prepared to hear what Naruto wanted to "talk" about.
However, Naruto's next words completely tore through the thin veil of their apparent "standoff," revealing the cold, bloody old debts and irreconcilable hatred underneath.
Naruto put away the faint smile on his face, his blue eyes becoming serious and sharp.
He looked at the Fourth Raikage, his voice not loud, yet it clearly spread across the clearing: "Raikage."
"Don't bother with any nonsense like 'the Hidden Cloud Village never provoked Hidden Leaf Village'."
War is an extension of politics, an opportunity for the reshuffling of interests, and it requires legitimacy.
It needs a justifiable reason to reduce the hatred of the people.
The people are the cornerstone of a nation; regardless of unification, the power of the masses needs to be united.
He held up a finger: "First, when your father, the Third Raikage, was in power, he sent people to infiltrate Hidden Leaf Village to attempt to kidnap my mother, Uzumaki Kushina.
That time, if my father hadn't intervened, you would have almost succeeded."
"Second, when you were in power."
Naruto held up a second finger.
"You assigned peace negotiation envoys to carry out a spy mission and almost captured the eldest daughter of the Hyuga Clan, Hyuga Hinata."
Naruto paused, his gaze fixed on the Fourth Raikage: "And the eldest daughter of the Hyuga Clan is my girlfriend."
"So," Naruto's voice fell like ice, "the hatred between Hidden Leaf Village and the Hidden Cloud Village, or rather, the hatred between me and you, between our fathers and yours... was forged long ago."
Shifting the hatred between Villages into hatred between families to avoid the people in the occupied territories from uniting in common hatred.
After all, the Hidden Cloud Village was different from the other ninja Villages; the skin color of the people here was different from other nations.
There were many internal factions.
The Fourth Raikage's expression grew uglier with Naruto's words.
He certainly knew about these old debts; some he had even personally planned or tacitly approved.
But having them brought up so bluntly, with such strong personal emotion, changed the nature of the situation entirely.
This was no longer just a conflict of interest between Villages.
This was a private vendetta.
Conflicts of interest between Villages could be negotiated, but private vendettas could only be repaid with blood.
This time, Uzumaki Naruto blocking the gate of the Hidden Cloud Village was a reckoning for what he and his father had done.
Naruto didn't give the Fourth Raikage much time to digest or refute, and he said finally: "I am giving you four hours, not for you to bargain with me or reminisce about the past.
It is for you to evacuate the civilians."
"War has nothing to do with them."
Naruto's tone rarely carried such an unquestionable, commanding note.
"So, hurry and do the last thing you can do for this Village as the Raikage.
Fulfill your duty, and then... prepare for war."
Even with the Fourth Raikage's temperament, honed by countless storms and a thick skin, he nearly couldn't hold it together after hearing Naruto's ruthless "reckoning of old debts" and "ultimatum."
His face turned pale and blue, his muscles twitched slightly, and his chest heaved violently.
Grievance!
Rage!
But mixed with a hint of indescribable absurdity and... helplessness?
How could this kid be so unlucky?
No... looking at it now, it was the Hidden Cloud Village that was unlucky!
Of all things, the two failed kidnapping attempts back then—one targeted his mother, and one targeted his girlfriend!
This hatred was cultivated with such precision and ruthlessness!
Putting himself in those shoes, if the Fourth Raikage had experienced such things, he would definitely have twisted the other person's head off.
Otherwise, he might as well go find a river and be a turtle!
However, as the Raikage, at such a time, at the gate of his own Village, facing the enemy's aggressive posturing... even if he lost the battle, he couldn't lose his stance!
"Arrogant!"
The Fourth Raikage suddenly let out an earth-shattering roar.
The sound waves swept out like a physical force, shaking the surrounding rocks until they rattled.
The Lightning Release Chakra around his body surged wildly as if out of control, and blue electric snakes danced, making him appear like a god of thunder descending upon the world.
"If you want to fight, then let's fight!"
The Fourth Raikage's eyes were bloodshot, staring fixedly at Naruto, as if he wanted to tear him apart with his gaze.
"Why bring up those old, dusty debts?"
"The Ninja World is defined by the weak being the prey of the strong.
Haven't you in Hidden Leaf Village done similar things in the past?"
The Fourth Raikage tried to use this "everyone is the same" argument to blur the focus and defend the Hidden Cloud Village's final dignity.
Naruto only felt at this moment: Who brought the circus mascot here?
Whether Hidden Leaf Village had done such things, Naruto didn't know, but the First Hokage definitely hadn't, the Second Hokage likely hadn't because Hidden Leaf Village didn't have Kekkei Genkais from other Villages, the Third Hokage with his cowardly nature definitely hadn't, and the Fourth, Fifth, and he himself as the Sixth Hokage had short terms and definitely hadn't.
That left only one person who could have done it.
There is always only one truth, and the culprit is Danzo Shimura!
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