Chapter 303: Underestimated

Naruto controlled the gold dust, bypassing Hidden Stone Village’s sensory barrier in the most unpretentious way possible.

That was by flying beyond their sensory range.

They silently arrived at a high altitude directly above Hidden Stone Village’s Tsuchikage Building.

The view here was vast, enough to overlook the entire Hidden Stone Village.

Below were the busy Hidden Stone Village villagers and Ninjas who were still unaware of the impending disaster, and in the distance were continuous rocky mountains and fortifications.

Naruto stood at the edge of the gold dust, looking down at the iconic building below, his face showing no particular expression.

He casually took a scroll from his bosom, untied the string, and like throwing away a piece of scrap paper, he casually tossed the scroll toward the roof of the Tsuchikage Building below.

The scroll tumbled in the air, tracing an arc, and with a "clack," it landed neither lightly nor heavily on the flat roof of the Tsuchikage Building.

Almost the instant the scroll touched the ground.

"Who is it?"

"Who’s there?"

Several sharp shouts rang out from various parts of the building.

From the roof, windows, and even nearby buildings, dozens of elite Hidden Stone Village Ninjas instantly emerged!

They reacted extremely quickly, instantly assuming battle formations with Kunai, Shuriken, and Exploding Tagss ready. Chakra fluctuations surged one after another as they warily and angrily locked onto the golden cloud and the figures upon it high in the sky.

At the same time, the heavy window of the Tsuchikage’s office was pushed open by an invisible force with a "bang."

A short figure slowly "floated" out of the window as if defying gravity; it was precisely the Third Hokage Tsuchikage, Onoki.

Onoki flew to a height roughly level with Naruto’s gold dust platform, immediately locking onto the blonde youth, the girl in the white cloak, and... Kurotsuchi, who was bound by gold dust and unconscious!

Upon seeing Naruto and Hikari, Onoki already had a guess; so young, with blonde hair, it was likely that absurd Sixth Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto.

However, could he or the young girl beside him actually control gold dust?

But when he clearly saw his precious granddaughter, Kurotsuchi, lying on the gold dust cloud, Onoki’s gaze instantly became sharp.

A chill mixed with fury, heartache, and a deep sense of powerlessness instantly swept through his entire body.

"Your Excellency is Hidden Leaf Village’s Sixth Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto?"

Onoki’s voice was terrifyingly low.

Naruto nodded casually, acknowledging his identity, even carrying a slight, relaxed smile on his face.

Without waiting for Onoki’s questions or angry rebukes regarding Kurotsuchi to burst forth, Naruto spoke of his own accord, his tone as calm as if he were stating a weather forecast:

"The challenge has already been delivered."

He pointed at the scroll on the roof below.

"The Grass Ninja Village is a small Village with too few Ninjas compared to civilians, so I gave them five hours to evacuate the civilians."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Hidden Stone Village below, which was starting to become restless due to the high-level confrontation, and continued:

"Hidden Stone Village is a great Village with many Ninjas; your organizational skills should be stronger. So... I’ll give you four hours."

"In four hours, I will launch... an indiscriminate attack on this place."

He used Chakra to spread his voice throughout the area, carrying a cold, decisive tone that brooked no argument.

In four hours... an indiscriminate attack?

Hearing this, the surrounding Hidden Stone Village Ninjas all changed expression, some showing anger, others disbelief.

This kid... is too arrogant!

Two people dared to break into the heart of one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, take the Tsuchikage’s granddaughter hostage, and even have the audacity to set a time limit and declare an indiscriminate attack?

Who did he think he was!

Just a mere Hokage; they had killed a Raikage before.

Onoki was also trembling with rage, but he forcibly suppressed the urge to act immediately.

If the opponent dared to come like this, they must have something to rely on, and Kurotsuchi was still in their hands...

He took a deep breath, trying to lead the battlefield in a direction favorable to himself, and said in a heavy voice:

"Hmph, if you have the ability, let’s fight outside the Village. I will definitely let you know the power of the Tsuchikage!"

"Heh, if you have the ability, let’s have a grand battle right here, so the people of Hidden Stone Village know the Tsuchikage isn’t just a hollow title."

Naruto would not fall for that trap.

He was currently directly above the enemy’s nest; the geographical advantage was on his side.

If the two sides fought here, regardless of the outcome, it would be Hidden Stone Village that suffered the losses.

Buildings, facilities, and even personnel who didn’t have time to evacuate...

How terrifying was the destructive power of Onoki’s Dust Release?

That was a fearsome Kekkei Tōta capable of separating matter into an atomic state.

If it were used above Hidden Stone Village, Naruto was confident he could easily dodge it using the Flying Thunder God.

But for Onoki, if even one Dust Release went astray or the Village below was caught in the aftershocks of the battle, Hidden Stone Village definitely wouldn’t be able to "stomach it."

"You!"

Onoki was momentarily speechless, his face flushing red.

He naturally knew he absolutely could not fight in the Village; that was his bottom line.

Even if most civilians could be evacuated in four hours, the Village’s own infrastructure, fortifications, Ninja Academy textbooks, Ninjutsu scrolls accumulated over generations, research data...

These were all Hidden Stone Village’s precious treasures and Foundation; once caught in the flames of war, the losses would be immeasurable.

More importantly, the opponent was a Perfect Jinchuriki with unfathomable strength.

Since he dared to sneak into his home to deliver a challenge, it meant he was confident in causing massive destruction here, and might even truly have the ability to heavily damage or even destroy Hidden Stone Village’s core.

Even if they took him down, the damage to Hidden Stone Village would be unavoidable.

What could be done?

He could only admit defeat for now.

Onoki didn’t dare speak anymore.

Even watching his granddaughter in the opponent’s hands, what could he do?

Acting now would cause maximum damage to Hidden Stone Village; as the Third Hokage Tsuchikage, Onoki could not allow that scene to happen.

But with his granddaughter in the opponent’s hands, as a grandfather, how could he not be in agony?

Responsibility and family, protecting the big picture and saving a loved one—these two equally heavy emotions now turned into the most cruel noose, tightly winding around Onoki’s heart.

Time passed minute by minute in the suffocating silence and confrontation.

The Hidden Stone Village Ninjas below were extremely anxious but didn’t dare act rashly.

Naruto watched the people of Hidden Stone Village below who were plunged into a deathly silence, and Onoki, whose face was ashen and chest heaving violently yet remained silent. Time seemed to freeze, with only the sound of the wind whistling through the rocky crevices.

After waiting for a moment and seeing no sign of civilian evacuation below, with the Hidden Stone Village Ninjas still maintaining their battle stances and staring at him tensely, and Onoki merely glaring at him without giving any orders, a look that seemed surprised but was actually full of irony appeared on Naruto’s face.

He raised both hands and slowly, crisply, began to clap.

"Clap, clap, clap."

The applause sounded particularly piercing in the silent high altitude, clearly reaching everyone’s ears.

"It seems... I have underestimated Hidden Stone Village."

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