Chapter 10: Reaction

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Ay stood amidst the rubble in his office, his chest heaving with barely controlled fury.

His eyes blazed with an intensity that could rival a lightning storm, and his fists were clenched tightly, the veins on his one un-mangled forearm bulging.

He stepped over the debris, his boots crunching on the shattered remains of the wall.

"Alphabet!" Ay's voice thundered through the room, echoing off the damaged walls. The masked shinobi snapped to attention, their bodies rigid and alert. "Go out and put the village on lockdown. I don't want this news spreading beyond these walls."

The Alphabet, the Anbu equivalent of Konoha, hidden within the shadows of the room hesitated for a split second, barely perceptible but noticeable enough to Ay.

His eyes narrowed, and he took a threatening step forward. "Now!" he barked, his voice a dangerous growl. "Naruto has just killed 600 of our elite assassins. This cannot leave the village. Do you understand?"

They nodded in unison, their movements sharp and precise.

Without another word, they disappeared in a blur of motion, their figures blending seamlessly with the shadows as they left the room to carry out his orders.

Ay turned back to the shattered wall, his mind racing with thoughts of the massacre.

Six hundred of his best assassins, wiped out in a single confrontation with Naruto.

'What the fuck is up with that kid!?'

The Raikage's hands trembled slightly as he thought about the implications. If word got out, their enemies would see them as weakened, vulnerable.

It could lead to attacks, invasions, and the collapse of the power he had worked so hard to build.

He needed a plan. Something to contain the fallout and ensure that Kumo remained strong. Ay's eyes flickered with a deadly resolve.

He would find Naruto, and would make him pay for what he had done. But for now, he had to secure his village and prevent any further damage.

'How the hell do I deal with that yellow headed bastard now? Will he even believe it? If I was in his place, I wouldn't,' Ay thought of Minato.

He believed that with Naruto in his palms, no matter how crazy Minato is, he would have taken a step back to ensure the safety of his child.

Ay's palm moved to his back. 'There is also that god-forsaken mark he has put on me!'

Minato in the years after Naruto was born has improved his Flying Raijin a lot. He has managed to make the mark unobservable.

'I don't know how much time I have before Minato loses his cool. I need to find where the mark is on me and remove it asap.'

Ay then turned towards Mabui and said, "Get the fuinjutsu specialists. Minato has put a Flying Thunder God mark on me, I need to get it removed."

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As Hiruzen read the letter sent by their spy in Kumo, Minato clenched his fists in frustration.

"This is obviously a lie," Minato declared.

"Yes," Hiruzen agreed. "It looks like Ay doesn't care what happens to him."

Minato slowly rose from his chair. "I guess this means he's declaring war."

Hiruzen eyed Minato. He never expected to see such anger on Minato's face.

Feeling the stress weighing on him, Hiruzen thought of Jiraiya. "Ah, right. Minato, we can have Jiraiya confirm what's going on there."

Minato shook his head. "I don't think he can. You know what he's investigating."

"I understand how sensitive his investigation is," Hiruzen acknowledged. "But this situation is more important. We can't risk a war."

Minato sighed. "I know my son is a genius beyond measure, and he's very strong. But 600 assassins? No matter how I try to think of it, I can't see how that happened."

Hiruzen nodded. "I understand what you mean. We know how dominant the Uzumaki gene is in him. There's a chance it could be related to the Uzumaki bloodline. The story is so unbelievable that I don't think Kumo, despite their rather insignificant intelligence, would decide this was the best message to relay to us when they clearly understand what's at stake."

Minato sighed deeply. "Lord Third, I hope you're around to guide me some more. It seems that when my family is involved, I tend to think less clearly."

"Don't worry," Hiruzen reassured him. "I've been there. I know how it feels. At times like these, we should rely on the people around us to help during our darkest days."

Minato thought about how Kushina may be taking the news, knowing that even he was struggling with it.

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In Iwagakure, the atmosphere in the office was tense. Clan leaders and top jonin sat around a large round table, their faces solemn and filled with worry.

Kitsuchi broke the heavy silence. "Damn, I can't believe that father died!"

Deidara scoffed, his tone dripping with disdain. "Of course, only an idiot would challenge perhaps the strongest man in the world at the moment. Perhaps the old man had truly gone senile. Who even convinced him to join in this battle?"

Kitsuchi angrily rose from his chair, slamming his palms on the table. "Silence, Deidara! You will not belittle father in his death! Have some respect!"

Deidara rolled his eyes but stayed quiet. Internally, he was pleased. 'The old fool is finally dead. Now, who will stand in my way to create the most wonderful art this world has ever seen?'

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Kitsuchi turned to the clan leaders and jonin. "Now, how shall we proceed? War is out of the question! Our village and the Daimyo cannot support it at all! Our only choice is to submit to whatever Konoha asks for."

The jonin immediately began to protest. Daiki, a 60-year-old war veteran jonin and an old friend of Onoki, rose from his seat. "Lord Kitsuchi, I'm afraid doing that will greatly upset the villagers and further lower our value in the Daimyo's eyes. This will also greatly decrease our respect in the world."

Kitsuchi understood that Daiki was speaking for the protesting jonin. Narrowing his eyes, he asked, "What are you suggesting then, Lord Daiki?"

"It's simple. We wait," Daiki replied. "Based on the news circulating, it's easy to see that the first village Konoha will retaliate against is Kumogakure. Let us wait and see how far that will go, and then we will proceed accordingly."

Kitsuchi carefully considered Daiki's words and then nodded in agreement. "Very well. We wait."

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Kurotsuchi, within the building that housed the Stone Monument, polished the stone as her grandfather had always instructed her. Tears streamed down her face, but she continued the ritual, as if her actions could somehow bring him back.

"You polish that stone well, Kurotsuchi! When I come back, I will inspect it properly. I will punish you if I don't find it shining like a star! Hahahahah!" Her grandfather's boisterous laugh echoed in her mind, a bittersweet memory.

She scrubbed harder, her hands raw and bleeding from her relentless effort.

She had been at it ever since she heard the news of his death. "Liars! Liars, all of them! Grandpa said he'd come back... if I clean this well enough, he will come back... he will be back... I'm sure of it..."

Death, war, jealousy, and hate.

Conflicts are mostly the result of these four things.

People fight all the time, believing they are on the right side, believing they are justified.

They call the world cruel to rationalize their actions.

It's not that they don't realize they are contributing to the world's cruelty. They do realize it.

But they have been pulled into an endless cycle of hatred, unable to escape even if they wanted to.

They are forced.

And it only breeds more death.

More war.

More jealousy.

More...hate.

This pulls the newer generation into the meaningless fight, as it always has.

The only ones who truly lose are the innocent children.

They are drawn into this cycle without understanding why, without a chance to consider if they want to be part of it.

They are painted with the colors of the world, forcefully.

They are painted with the colors of hate.

They are the ones who suffer without knowing the reason.

But by the time they understand the reason, a new generation will have already been pulled into the cycle.

So, who should we blame?

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A/N:

Next chapter Naruto is going to make a BIG decision regarding his future. I have also not put every reaction in one chapter. They will be spread out and shown when the people are directly involved with the story line, you will know what I mean in the future.

Shout out to BigBowser! You were my motivation to write this chapter!!