The Arrival
In the tranquil office of the Hokage in Konoha, the setting sun's rays illuminated the windows of the Third Hokage Hiruzen's desk.
He sat there, wearing the Hokage's robe, holding a smoking pipe in his hand, appearing relaxed.
The office filled with thin smoke contrasted with the setting sun outside the window.
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps broke the tranquility.
A masked ANBU member entered, half kneeling on the ground, and said in a low and respectful voice, "Hokage-sama, an envoy from Amegakure has arrived at the gates of Konoha."
Hiruzen frowned slightly upon hearing this. He put down his pipe and looked towards the ANBU member. "The people from Amegakure are here." He said.
"Is the Amekage here?"
The ANBU member shook his head and continued, "The Amekage is not here; it's Demigod Hanzo who has come."
Hiruzen had a surprised expression on his face, and his wrinkles seemed to merge at this moment.
He picked up his pipe again, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled a puff of smoke to calm his mind. After a moment, he said, "Hanzo? As the top combat force of Amegakure, he has actually come here in person?"
He was quite surprised by the news.
After all, Hanzo, as the top expert in Amegakure, rarely dealt with matters personally.
Hiruzen took a deep breath, determination gleaming in his eyes.
He put down his pipe, stood up, walked to the window, and looked towards the gates of Konoha in the distance.
He turned to the ANBU member and said, "It seems that Amegakure is sure to win this alliance."
The ANBU member nodded and said nothing more. He knew that the Third Hokage had made his decision.
Hiruzen turned around again and looked at the ANBU member. "It's up to you to bring them to Konoha, Kakashi. Remember what needs to be done and what shouldn't be done."
Kakashi, this name was very popular in Konoha, everyone knew it whenever mentioned.
His fame came from his heroic appearance in the Kannabi Bridge Battle during the Third Great Ninja War. In that battle, with his strength, he managed to hold off many Kirigakure ninjas and made a great contribution to the end of the war in Konoha and the entire ninja world.
After the war, he joined Konoha's ANBU and became one of the Third Hokage's close followers.
In the ANBU, he directly obeyed the orders of the Third Hokage, performed various secret tasks, and contributed to the security and stability of Konoha.
At present, Kakashi had become a shining star in Konoha.
Upon hearing Hiruzen's words, Kakashi, with no expression behind his mask, nodded, his voice low and firm. "Yes, Hokage-sama."
With Kakashi's departure, the Hokage's office became quiet again.
Hiruzen sat back in his chair, picked up his pipe, and took a deep drag.
＊＊＊
Night fell, and the stars adorned the gates of Konoha.
Satoru stood outside the gate, gazing at this strongest ninja village.
He noticed that the whole of Konoha was shrouded in a faint barrier. This must be a protective measure set by Konoha to defend against foreign enemies. If anyone dared to forcefully breach it, the barrier would be activated immediately, blocking the invasion while informing the village's ninjas of the attackers' movements so they could prepare to respond.
In contrast, Amegakure's protection was very rough.
Hanzo stood beside him, his face already grim.
He came to Konoha directly this time, hoping to form an alliance with Konoha. However, since he stepped into the gates of Konoha, he felt the indifference from Konoha.
"Is this Konoha's attitude? Making us wait here for several hours?" Hanzo's voice contained a hint of anger.
He looked around and saw two Konoha guard ninjas standing in front of the door with expressionless faces, indifferent to their arrival.
The guarding ninjas glanced at each other and said calmly, "We have informed the Third Hokage. I'm sure there will be news soon."
Although their attitude was respectful, they did not lose the majesty of Konoha.
When Hanzo heard this, his expression became even more grim.
He did not expect to be ignored at the gates of Konoha when he came here himself.
It seemed that the trip to Konoha this time did not go as smoothly as he had hoped.
Satoru stood beside him and silently observed all this.
"It seems that Konoha is not welcoming us." Satoru said softly, sarcasm in his voice.
He had interacted with Minato and had a very good impression of him. He initially thought that Konoha would be an open and tolerant place, but now it seemed that their arrogance and indifference made them inaccessible.
When the guarding ninjas heard this, they turned to Satoru and said in a harsh tone, "Who are you? It's not your turn to interfere in anything we do in Konoha."
Their attitude indicated that things in Konoha were not something he could comment on as he pleased.
Being scolded like this, Satoru couldn't help but be a little surprised. He didn't expect the ninjas in Konoha to be so arrogant and rude, which greatly reduced his liking for Konoha.
Was this Konoha? Truly arrogant.
"I apologize for being late."
At this moment, a white-haired boy appeared at the gates of Konoha.