Envoys from Kumogakure

In the blink of an eye, a week had passed.

Sarutobi Biwako's funeral had concluded, and Konoha had swiftly returned to its usual rhythm. Aside from the occasional household with white mourning cloth hung outside, there was barely a sign anything had happened at all.

"Kakashi, what's the situation?" Nara Kazuki crouched on a tree branch, glancing at his comrade beside him.

The past few days, Kazuki had been studying ninjutsu under Hiruzen Sarutobi, but after three days of instruction, Hiruzen had to leave for other matters. So Kazuki resumed his own rigorous training schedule—until today, when Kakashi notified him of an ANBU mission.

"Nin from Kumogakure are coming to the village to sign some kind of treaty," Kakashi said, his tone laced with irritation.

Though officially described as a treaty signing, everyone knew what it really was: Kumogakure had caught wind of Konoha's recent instability and was coming to sniff out weaknesses—maybe even exploit them. Kumo had always believed they should be the number one Hidden Village, not Konoha.

"Greedy mongrels," Kazuki muttered.

He remembered this arc from the anime—Kumo had sent a delegation under the guise of diplomacy and tried to kidnap Hinata. When they were caught, Hiashi Hyūga killed the would-be kidnapper. Kumo demanded compensation, and Konoha caved by offering Hizashi, Hiashi's twin, to die in his brother's place.

It became one of the biggest black marks on Hiruzen's record as Hokage. Many believed he was far too soft—to the point of sacrificing his own villagers just to preserve peace.

But this time, Minato Namikaze was alive. Uzumaki Kushina was alive. Kazuki figured things would turn out differently.

"Captain," Byakko arrived at that moment.

"Yeah. We're deploying. Our squad and two others are heading to the border of the Land of Fire to 'escort' the Kumo delegates," Kakashi's tone sharpened.

Kazuki said nothing more.

He'd love to rack up a few kills and boost his chakra pool, but technically this was a diplomatic mission. The Kumo team were official envoys—hard to justify a strike under those circumstances.

He followed Kakashi to the Fire Country border. When they arrived, several Kumo shinobi were already waiting, visibly impatient, shouting at Konoha's border patrol.

The Konoha guards stared back with cold, hostile eyes.

"Come on, start a fight already…" Kazuki muttered internally. If things went south, he could get a kill or two and level up a bit. He really regretted not being isekai'd into the Third Shinobi World War era—his power growth would've been way faster.

But alas, no fight broke out.

Kazuki's team was assigned to monitor and protect the delegation, which turned into hours of dull observation.

Chin in hand, Kazuki sighed. The Kumo shinobi were surprisingly disciplined—clearly here just to gather intel, not provoke conflict.

Kazuki silently hoped they'd at least try to kidnap Hinata. Then he'd have a real excuse to take action. And with Minato still around, Kumo wouldn't dare declare open war.

High-tier combat power could decide wars.

The Fourth Great Ninja War would prove that in spades—if not for Naruto and Sasuke, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki would've turned the entire world into White Zetsu.

Bored, Kazuki went back to training his ninjutsu. Byakko twitched at his antics, but by now he was used to Kazuki's "eccentric" behavior and said nothing.

Kakashi, on the other hand, was watching carefully.

He noticed Kazuki was practicing the Hatake Sword Style—and his technique had noticeably improved. There was also a strange new rhythm to his movements. His speed was faster, and it looked like his strikes were now infused with elemental chakra.

"Akashika, ever thought about buying a real shinobi blade?" Kakashi asked in a low voice.

Kazuki paused, glancing at his own weapon.

It was a basic sword—nothing special, barely sharp enough for civilians. Against a skilled enemy with better gear, it would be a liability.

"How much does a good one cost?" Kazuki asked.

He had money now, and hoarding it wasn't doing much. He always carried ten explosive tags on him for practice, tossing them when bored. A better weapon seemed like a worthy investment.

"A standard blade? Around 50,000 ryō. Higher-end ones go up from there," Kakashi replied, showing Kazuki his own. It had cost 70,000 ryō and conducted chakra smoothly.

Kazuki was tempted.

He'd only started practicing the Hatake style casually, but after unlocking his "Windwalker" skill, he realized this could become a powerful close-range option.

A shinobi couldn't just spam ninjutsu. A real jōnin needed to be competent in both ninjutsu and taijutsu.

Even Madara Uchiha, for all his overwhelming power, was deadly in close combat—he'd wiped out entire units with nothing but hand-to-hand before ever casting a jutsu.

Kazuki hadn't trained in the Eight Gates, and his taijutsu foundation was thin.

Time to change that.

"I'll take a look once we're back," Kazuki said, noting it mentally. For now, he resumed his role watching the Kumo delegation—until they finally arrived in Konoha.

Minato didn't greet them.

Instead, Nara Shikaku took the lead.

Kazuki's expression twitched when he saw his clan head.

The Kumo shinobi were immediately obnoxious, insisting they'd only speak to the Hokage.

Shikaku's expression darkened. He threw back a few barbed remarks.

Just as the situation seemed ready to erupt—Kazuki's fingers already itching to earn some chakra—the Kumo envoy leader stepped in, smoothed things over with a few calm words, and the group was escorted to the Hokage Tower.

Kazuki clicked his tongue.

Boring.

He wanted blood on the leaves.

But remembering what Kumo had done in the original timeline, Kazuki's anticipation flared again.

What if they still tried to kidnap Hinata this time?

If so…

Kazuki rubbed his hands together.

That'd be perfect. Because Minato Namikaze was not the type to compromise.