Naruto: Limitless Potential System Chapter 6 6: Kintsuchi

The streets of Iwagakure were livelier than Kyoshin had imagined.

Houses built against the mountains lined both sides of the stone-paved roads. The gray-white rock buildings reflected a warm glow beneath the setting sun.

People wore earthy yellow and dark brown clothes, blending naturally into the village's color palette.

Kyoshin carried the supplies he had just bought as he walked back to his new ho.

A cloth bag filled with vegetables and dried food hung from his left hand, while his right carried training equipnt.

The shuriken and kunai were wrapped in thick cloth, and the ten-kilogram weights were tied around his waist.

After returning ho and setting everything down, Kyoshin began organizing.

He sorted and stored the food separately, then placed the training equipnt in the corner of the bedroom.

The shuriken and kunai were cleaned carefully, and the steel wire was neatly coiled.

The ten-kilogram weights would not be needed for now, but they had to be prepared in advance.

Outside the window, the sky gradually darkened, and the lights of Iwagakure lit up one after another.

Kyoshin stepped out of the house and headed straight for the Tsuchikage's office.

Konoha would not let this go so easily.

A man like Danzo would definitely use every resource available to investigate.

Even though Iwagakure was remote, it was not absolutely safe.

He needed to hide himself more thoroughly.

The Tsuchikage building was Iwagakure's landmark structure.

Compared to the Hokage building, it was rougher and heavier, like a mountain rising directly from the ground.

The guards at the entrance recognized Kyoshin and nodded as they let him pass.

Onoki's office was on the top floor.

When Kyoshin knocked, a familiar voice ca from inside.

"Co in."

After entering, he saw the Third Tsuchikage seated behind a broad stone desk.

"Kyoshin." Onoki looked up. "Coming here this late, what is it?"

Kyoshin walked to the desk. "Lord Tsuchikage, as long as I'm still alive, Konoha won't rest easy."

Onoki set down the pen in his hand. "Hmm. I already considered that long ago."

He pulled a docunt from the drawer and pushed it toward Kyoshin.

"This is a confidentiality plan I prepared in advance," Onoki said. "It includes establishing a new identity, guidelines for daily behavior, and contingency plans for possible risks. Take a look."

Kyoshin untied the ribbon and unfolded the scroll.

The plan was far more detailed than he had expected.

Every section had been carefully thought out. It was obviously the work of a seasoned veteran like Onoki.

Onoki noticed his surprise. "A child like you ca to Iwagakure. Naturally, I had to think everything through."

"There's one more thing. I ca up with a temporary new na for you."

"Kintsuchi. What do you think?"

The na was simple, even a little rustic.

But it fit Iwagakure's naming customs, especially the naming tradition of Onoki's line. It sounded exactly like the na of soone born and raised locally.

Kyoshin thought for a mont.

Among people his age, he could already be considered exceptional, but looking at the ninja world as a whole, he was still terribly weak.

Changing his na really would avoid a lot of trouble.

"I'll leave everything to Lord Tsuchikage's arrangents."

"Hahaha, Kintsuchi, huh? From now on, don't call Lord Tsuchikage anymore. That sounds too distant. You're Iwagakure's future, just like Kurotsuchi. Just call Grandpa... hmm? Call Grandpa Onoki instead."

Halfway through speaking, he suddenly seed to think of sothing and changed his wording on the spot.

———

At the sa ti, inside the Root organization's base in Konoha, Shimura Danzo stood in a dim underground chamber while three Root mbers knelt before him.

"According to intelligence analysis, the target's most likely escape route leads toward the Land of Earth," Danzo's voice echoed through the stone room. "Iwagakure is remote, easy to hide in, and its relationship with Konoha is delicate."

"Iwagakure is not so small nation. That old man Onoki will never allow Konoha ninja to enter freely."

He walked to the desk and picked up a pen and sheet of paper.

The pen scratched softly across the page, every word carefully chosen.

The letter was a formal diplomatic docunt addressed to the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki.

The wording was polite, but the intent was obvious.

In his capacity as a mber of Konoha's council of elders and the person in charge of ANBU training operations, Danzo requested permission for a squad to enter the Land of Earth.

The stated reason was to search for a genin who had gone missing during a mission.

No na was written, but anyone aware of the situation would understand who it referred to.

After finishing the letter, Danzo stamped it with his seal.

He placed the paper into an envelope and sealed it with wax.

"Deliver this to Iwagakure personally and hand it directly to the Third Tsuchikage," Danzo said as he handed the envelope to a black-clad ninja.

"Rember, your attitude must be respectful, but your stance must remain firm. This is the Third Hokage's will."

The three Root mbers lowered their heads at the sa ti.

"Yes, sir."

Three days later, inside the Tsuchikage's office in Iwagakure.

Onoki sat behind his desk holding the letter delivered from Konoha.

The ssenger still stood in the middle of the room in a respectful posture, though his gaze carried an unquestionable resolve.

"Danzo?" After reading it, Onoki placed the letter on the desk. "Since when did he have the qualifications to represent Konoha in diplomatic negotiations?"

The ssenger raised his head. "Lord Danzo is an important mber of Konoha's council of elders and has the authority to handle matters like this."

"And this is only a normal request for cross-border cooperation. Konoha has no other intentions."

"No other intentions?" Onoki stood up. Though short in stature, the pressure radiating from him made the air in the entire room grow heavy. "I have no interest in the sses your Konoha creates."

"What, does Konoha think it's the police of the ninja world? You co whenever you please?"

"If Sarutobi Hiruzen truly wants to enter the Land of Earth for a search, then let him bring enough sincerity and say it to my face personally, instead of sending soone hiding in the shadows to test Iwagakure's bottom line."

Onoki narrowed his weathered eyes. "If you trespass without permission, I don't mind fighting another ten or twenty years!"

Although his tone was harsh, the focus of Onoki's words never once centered on that so-called "genin."

From a diplomatic standpoint, he showed absolutely no sign that he knew anything about Kyoshin's existence.

He was simply trying to squeeze so benefits out of Konoha while the opportunity presented itself.

The ssenger fell silent for a mont before finally bowing and leaving.

After the office door closed, Onoki walked to the window.

He looked out over Iwagakure. The gray-white buildings appeared solid and unshakable beneath the sunlight.

"Hiruzen, so you've finally reached this point too," Onoki muttered quietly. "Not even sparing a child. Is this the Will of Fire your Konoha speaks of?"

He shook his head and stopped thinking about it.

Turning around, he returned to the desk and continued processing docunts.

One of them was a follow-up placent report regarding the new villager, "Kintsuchi."

Onoki picked up the report and read it carefully.

Kintsuchi, the child whose na he had personally chosen, was slowly integrating into Iwagakure.

Though still sowhat unfamiliar with things, he was already trying hard to adapt.

If you were going to put on an act, you had to do it properly. Kintsuchi was treated no differently from the other Iwagakure ninja.

All the necessary records and identification docunts had been prepared without exception.

After reading the report, Onoki nodded in satisfaction, his heart full of anticipation for the future.

'Konoha, oh Konoha. Who could have imagined that in just a few short years, you would fall this far?'

'To think you would hand over your sharpest sword so willingly.'