Konoha: Naruto of Sekiro

Crackle!

The sound of burning firewood became the sole melody under the night sky.

Everyone else had drifted off to sleep. Sasori, on watch, was still pondering the earlier question.

Defend rigidly? Or take the offensive? If I were the Third Hokage, perhaps I would choose to take the offensive? He sensed the others' breathing gradually steadying. Sasori took out a small vial from his pouch. After confirming the wind direction was favorable, he slowly uncapped it.

A colorless, odorless gas gently wafted outwards.

The Third Kazekage and his three companions, breathing smoothly, slowly inhaled the gas through their nasal passages and into their bodies.

The gas passed through their tracheas, deep into their bronchi and alveoli, gradually reacting with the moisture of their mucous membranes. Under the powerful irritation and corrosion, their lung tissues began to suffer widespread pulmonary edema.

"Ugh!!"

The bodies of the four immediately began to twitch to varying degrees.

The Third Kazekage snapped his eyes open. He stared at the red-haired youth by the campfire, his eyes filled with disbelief. His fingers twitched, about to mobilize the chakra within his body.

"This poison gas is specially made," Sasori said softly, as if seeing through his intent. "You won't be able to summon your chakra."

"Wh-why?" The Third Kazekage's voice was filled with regret and incomprehension.

If you just follow the established path, the position of Fourth Kazekage will be yours sooner or later. What good does killing me do you? Sasori seemed to read his thoughts and asked:

"Lord Third, do you yearn for eternity?"

Bang!

From the outside in, the wooden door, like a delicate, utterly defenseless young girl, was violently thrown open…

"Is something wrong?" Behind the desk, Naruto poked his head out inquisitively and asked.

He had been engrossed in researching the Flying Thunder God Technique recently. If it weren't for his shadow clones, he would have lost all contact with the outside world.

"Sunagakure launched a sudden attack on the Land of Fire last night!" Konan quickly stated her purpose for coming.

"What's their reason?" Naruto slowly closed the scroll and asked.

"Konoha assassinated the Third Kazekage," Konan said.

"And Konoha's explanation?" Naruto stood up and stretched languidly.

"They say they weren't the ones who killed him."

"Truly identical," Naruto thought to himself upon hearing this.

To be honest, the cause of the Third Great Shinobi World War had always been an unsolved mystery. Even up until the time he transmigrated, no one knew who had actually killed the Third Kazekage.

Although Sunagakure had repeatedly claimed that they launched the war entirely because Konoha had murdered their Third Kazekage and that all their actions were for self-preservation…

Anyone with discerning eyes could see that Sunagakure was merely trying to divert internal conflicts.

After all, why would Konoha kill their Third Kazekage out of the blue? There was simply no reason.

"Nagato and Yahiko are already waiting for you."

"Let's go."

Nagato watched Yahiko pace back and forth in the room and couldn't help but advise, "Yahiko, take a break first. What's happened has happened; worrying won't do any good."

"Sigh." Yahiko sighed, looking up at the ceiling. He knew, of course, that his anxiety was useless.

But every time he thought about how Amegakure had just signed a mutual assistance treaty with Konoha and was smoothly on the path to development, only to be faced with war, a headache pulsed through him.

"Look on the bright side. Right now, it's just a border conflict between Konoha and Sunagakure. It might not necessarily affect the Land of Rain," Nagato consoled, though he too knew his comfort wasn't very realistic.

"Let's prepare for war first," Yahiko said, kneading his temples where a dull ache throbbed.

"The Land of Wind and the Land of Earth?" Nagato asked.

"…And the Land of Fire," Yahiko said after some thought.

"An alliance treaty is ultimately just a treaty. There are no eternally binding treaties in this world; interests are the foundation of everything," Yahiko explained, seeing Nagato's slight confusion.

"I understand." Nagato nodded slightly. He was in charge of Amegakure's military forces.

Originally, he and Naruto were supposed to manage it together, but for some reason, Naruto had adamantly refused the position.

"Be a bit more tactful with your actions…" "I know." Having spent some time in Amegakure's political dyeing vat, Nagato was no longer the naive rabbit he once was; he understood the ins and outs.

"Yahiko, what are your thoughts?" Naruto asked, pushing the door open and entering.

"Focus on defense, let's observe for a while first." Seeing him, Yahiko felt a sense of relief. As long as Naruto and Nagato were here, with their strength, Amegakure would surely survive this crisis.

"At this stage, it's just a small-scale conflict between Konoha and Sunagakure. Before Iwagakure enters the fray, the Land of Rain most likely won't be affected."

Moreover, based on the experiences of the First and Second Great Shinobi Wars, even if the three great nations used the Land of Rain as a battlefield, they wouldn't attack Amegakure immediately, unless Amegakure planted its flag and took a side right at the start of the war.

However, what worried Yahiko most was the fear that Konoha would immediately expose their alliance, making Amegakure the target of concentrated fire from the outset.

If the Third Great Shinobi World War truly began, Konoha was destined to be the primary target. Since Amegakure had signed an alliance treaty with Konoha at such a time, they had to be prepared to take a beating alongside Konoha.

As far as Iwagakure and Sunagakure were concerned, they wouldn't care if you had genuinely allied with Konoha or not. If there was even the slightest possibility, you had to be brought down.

Iwagakure and Sunagakure's stance was: We don't care if you're a fence-sitter. But since you've decided to throw in your lot with Konoha, then sorry, for the future of the shinobi world, your Amegakure must disappear.

"It's good that you have your own judgment." Naruto nodded slightly. In such situations, indecisiveness often led to a quicker demise.

"By the way, when you're calculating combat strength, try to leave me out of it as much as possible."

Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan: "???"

"Remember the story I told you?"

"…The one about Rouran?" Just as Yahiko and Nagato were scratching their heads, Konan suddenly asked. Perhaps it was a woman's intuition, but she had felt something was off about Naruto's state when he told that story.

"Yes." Naruto nodded.

"Are you really from the future?" Konan asked in disbelief.

"Rather than having traveled from the future, I lean more towards the parallel world hypothesis," Naruto said.

"You think you'll cross back again?" Nagato asked.

"It's highly possible." Naruto nodded. "My ability to operate in this world is most likely supported by the Dragon Vein's energy."

"But just like a person's chakra, it will eventually run out. When that energy is depleted, perhaps that's when I'll have to go back."

Perhaps it was because the seal was released and he had established a deeper connection with Kurama, that his strength had further improved.

He always had an inexplicable premonition about things closely related to himself.

Coupled with the fact that Rouran had declined during the Third Great Shinobi World War, combining these two points led him to say the above.

"You said, should we go and guard the Dragon Vein energy now?" Yahiko suddenly interjected. "I remember in the story, you and that Suna ninja only came to this world after releasing a seal."

"Assuming, and this is just an assumption."

"Assuming we don't let the Dragon Vein chakra be sealed, would you be able to stay in this world permanently?"

Hearing this, Nagato and Konan's eyes lit up.

"Perhaps." But then Naruto shook his head again. "But it's not realistic. Rouran is located on the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind."

"Now that those two sides are at war again, if Amegakure ninja brazenly appear in Rouran, what do you think Konoha and Sunagakure will think?"

"And I imagine the Queen of Rouran wouldn't agree to Amegakure ninja being permanently stationed in her country either."

"Then you or Nagato…" Yahiko suddenly closed his mouth. His suggestion was complete nonsense.

If either Naruto or Nagato were to be permanently stationed in Rouran, for Amegakure, the result would be no different from Naruto returning to his original world.

"Rather than wasting time on this, it's better to think more about how to squeeze out my remaining labor value before I go back," Naruto said reassuringly.

Even if they could really prevent it, so what? Was he really going to stay in this world for a lifetime? Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan exchanged glances. They understood this principle as well, and Naruto had already done so much for Amegakure and Akatsuki.

But for Amegakure, Naruto's combat strength was truly too important…

Yet, for the sake of Naruto's combat strength, were they to force him to stay in a different world?

They couldn't bring themselves to engage in such moral coercion.