Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 25 Contradictions

When Naruto arrived at the base, none of the Sengoku trio were there; instead, he was greeted by the distraught Uchiha clan leader.

Although no one said it aloud, everyone generally agreed in their hearts that the leaders below the chief were the three from the Warring States period, and that the rankings below them were indistinguishable. After all, although the Uchiha clan still outwardly acknowledged Fugaku as their clan leader, the massacre of their clan was bound to create a rift in their hearts, and the Senju clan and Fugaku were from different eras, so they would not truly submit to him.

"What's going on here?" Naruto landed in his Golden Wheel form and immediately saw the tense standoff.

"Lord Kinlun." Most people in the base respected their leader who had proposed this groundbreaking theory. Even the most hot-tempered troublemaker in the Senju clan calmly bowed before launching into a tirade: "This morning, Lord Hashirama and Lord Tobirama were neither at their posts nor at their residences. I went to inquire with the Uchiha clan head, but he said Lord Izuna was also missing, and he's come to the Senju clan demanding an explanation!"

"That's not what I said, is it?" Fugaku's brows furrowed deeply, clearly showing his anger. "I clearly said, 'Lord Izuna isn't at the base either; he's probably out with the First and Second Hokage.'"

The young man from the Thousand Hands immediately shouted, "Doesn't that mean you're coming to the Thousand Hands to demand an explanation?"

"Enough!" Naruto shouted, stopping the two from arguing. "You two haven't been arguing all day, have you? I remember your name is Kazuki, and you're a member of the Construction Department. Where's Qiao Hua? Have her report the situation."

Qiao Hua was one of the two vice ministers of the Ministry of Construction. Some of the Ministry's staff were stationed in Xinxiang, while others were stationed at the base, hence the two vice ministers were located in two different places.

Kazuki's voice was a little softer, but he still said confidently, "Lord Qiao Hua is looking for the clan leader. Who knows if it's an Uchiha conspiracy?"

"Stop spouting nonsense! We even suspect that the Senju brothers kidnapped Lord Izuna!" Someone from the Uchiha side couldn't hold back and cursed. In fact, the two sides were already at the point of preparing for a fight before they arrived, but Naruto's arrival made them a little more restrained.

Naruto glanced helplessly at Fugaku, trying to comfort him with his eyes, before turning away and becoming cold and sharp.

"Those three were renowned figures during the Warring States period, and we never restricted their freedom; they could go wherever they wanted. But what about you? You all look tall and strong, but are you still immature? Can't you survive a day without your parents? Have you finished your work today? Have you made plans for tomorrow? Are you so idle and have nothing better to do than eat?"

Naruto was genuinely angry. He hadn't grown up in a large clan, but rather in a collective system, so he couldn't understand the mindset of those who felt the sky was falling just because their clan leader was gone. Konoha could quickly recover without him, but this place was in chaos after just one day without their leader—what could they possibly accomplish? Furthermore, the blood feud between the Senju and Uchiha clans hadn't changed much since the village's founding; their paranoia was practically incurable! All three of them were Edo Tensei; so what if they went out to fight? Even if there were a jutsu that could counter Edo Tensei, the people who should be worried were others. The aftershocks of their fight could shatter a city!

After being angrily rebuked by their leader and intimidated by Naruto's chakra pressure, the two clans dared not say another word, but their eyes were still filled with rejection.

"Since you're so eager to fight, fine. But go somewhere else, on the sea. That way, you won't have to repair the terrain afterward." Naruto pointed to the area in front of him and said, "Those who want to fight, step forward. Don't be cowards."

The hot-blooded youths couldn't stand such provocation, and a large group of them immediately stood up, clearly divided into two sides, exchanging glares even though their verbal exchanges had stopped. Naruto wasn't going to tolerate them; he used Earth Release to encircle both clans, not caring whether they were comfortable huddled together, and then teleported the earth ball away.

Fugaku hesitated throughout, but ultimately decided against offering any advice. After all, it was the first time he had ever seen Naruto scold someone, and perhaps letting them fight it out would be a good way to vent their frustrations.

Where did you send them?

"That isolated island over in the Land of Water is in chaos right now, so I can't really control it." Naruto withdrew his hand expressionlessly, then thought for a moment and created a shadow clone to keep an eye on it, lest he accidentally throw a few into the sea. He then looked at the remaining Senju members and said, "Where's Qiao Hua? Call her over."

After the two sides reluctantly sat down amicably, Naruto revealed the whereabouts of the Sengoku trio. He genuinely hadn't expected that none of the three would return. He had finished his official business late and didn't want to bother anyone further. Besides, the three had gone out to run private errands, so he couldn't just blurt things out, which led to today's misunderstanding.

"Qiao Hua, the person in this world who could threaten Uncle Hashirama is dead. Please remember that." Naruto said coldly and ruthlessly, "Your performance today was terrible. You're given a major demerit and temporarily suspended from duty pending investigation. Your affairs will be temporarily handled by Uchiha Xiangyun. Any objections?"

"Yes... Lord Jinlun." Knowing he was in the wrong, Qiao Hua dared not utter a word of dissent. Moreover, Xiangyun was indeed a talented individual; she was the one who drew the current design plans for the base. They all admired this rare Uchiha from the Construction Department.

"You also need to write a self-criticism of more than a thousand words, carefully analyze what you did wrong, and read it to me at the work meeting next week."

"Ah??!" A shy young woman screamed.

Naruto pretended not to hear and continued, "As for those who got into the fight, they should write a report when they get back, analyzing the combat capabilities of both sides in this battle."

"Practice makes perfect. I believe this will lay a solid foundation for our future operations."

"Go and finish today's work! Meeting adjourned!"

"Hey Tobirama, where are you guys?" Naruto had to check in with the others after the meeting. Even though he could sense that the three of them were still in Tanabata Street, he still had to ask as a formality.

"...Still in Tanabata Street. Has something happened at the base?"

The tone was quite calm; was it planned?

Nothing serious, I just dumped a bunch of people on a deserted island to fight.

〖oh.〗

[Also, I've suspended Qiao Hua and replaced her with Xiang Yun. Remember to formally announce the appointment when she returns.]

"Hmm, good taste."

So what exactly are you guys doing in Tanabata Street?

[Tsuna is being pestered by the current Raikage, who insists she heal the Cloud Village ninjas. Hmph, these barbarians have no sense of humility whatsoever when asking for help! Big Brother, worried Tsuna might get taken advantage of, insisted on staying to keep an eye on things, but Izuna and I, fearing he'd cause trouble, had no choice but to go along.]

When discussing the changes at the base, Tobirama remained calm and composed throughout. However, his tone noticeably wavered when he mentioned Tsunade, indicating he truly disliked Kumogakure. Indeed, the Second Hokage apparently died in an attack by rogue Kumogakure ninja; isn't it understandable that he disliked them?

"Then you can continue. By the way, teach me the art of mind-to-body transmission."

The scroll is in cabinet number 17 in the laboratory.

With the communication cut off, Naruto immediately went to Tobirama's laboratory, using space-time ninjutsu to bypass the seal and retrieve the contents. Then, he returned to his office, summoned Fugaku to prepare a complete incident report, and began to read the secret scroll.

Sigh, another busy and fulfilling day.