Naruto: I'm really not an evil scientist!

"Kakashi, aren't you and Guy on good terms...? Why would he specifically save such a terrifying technique for you?" Kakashi was speechless.

"Now is not the time to talk about these things... The most important thing now is to bring Princess Fenghua back to Konoha."

"That stormy sea...should we take his body back with us?"

Kakashi looked at the increasingly violent blizzard in the sky, then at the roaring sea, and finally made a decision.

"Let's go first. Whether he lives or dies doesn't really matter anymore... Maybe the Hokage would prefer him to live." Shisui didn't quite understand why Kakashi said that, but he knew that Kakashi always understood the Fifth Hokage best.

So he didn't say much. After cleaning up all the snow ninjas, he joined the others and flew towards Konoha together.

...At the same time, Hiruko silently withdrew his illusion, and his slightly eerie pupils returned to normal.

"You really spoil them," the snake that had been clinging to Hiruko's shoulder remarked. "Not only have you been following them all this way, but you've also helped them adjust the difficulty... If a real fight broke out, Snow Ninja and Wind Flower Raging Waves wouldn't be so weak, would they?"

"You really want Kakashi to be the next Hokage, not your own child?"

"Who knows? I just like children." After giving Orochimaru a perfunctory reply, Hiruko spurred his flying eagle and quickly flew towards Konoha.

Although both are flying eagles, Hiruko's is, after all, a more powerful version.

So when he calmly returned to the Hokage's office and even had a cup of tea, Kakashi arrived late with Kazahana Hayayuki.

Kazayuki, with her daughter by her side, was helped to the ground by the Konoha ninjas.

Hiruko noticed that Fuuka Hayase was not wearing shoes.

I don’t know when he got lost. Maybe he was too nervous and didn’t even change his clothes while on the boat. Now he seems to be severely frostbitten.

On the way back, Kakashi had eaten a few military ration pills and felt much better.

Hiruko gave him a look, signaling him to treat Kazahana Hayase first.

But Feng Hua Zao Xue gave Kakashi an almost pleading look.

Kakashi looked helplessly at Hiruko.

Hiruko chuckled, took off his coat, and, feigning surprise and enthusiasm, walked towards Kazeka Shoyuki.

"Your Highness, what brings you here... Oh, oh, oh? What happened to your foot... Come, please come in, please come in..."

"Thank you so much, Hokage. If it weren't for your help, I would have almost been killed by my brother... I am truly grateful to you..."

Feng Hua Zaoxue almost knelt down before Bei Liuhu, but Bei Liuhu dared not accept and quickly told him to get up.

He then draped his coat over Hayayuki Kazahana, and the two chatted and laughed warmly as they walked into the Hokage's office building.

This scene was captured by reporters around the Hokage Building.

—The sudden appearance of so many aircraft from Konoha earlier naturally attracted attention.

The reporters, initially filled with curiosity, did not disperse immediately.

Now that they have seen the ruler of the Land of Snow, Kazahana Hayayuki, personally visit them, they are all excited to pick up their cameras, ready to go back and embellish their reports.

Chapter 296

Watching Hiruko and Kazaka Sayuki walk into the Hokage Building together, Kakashi knew that their discussion would take a long time, so he first dismissed the onlookers and then decided to go to the hospital—he was still puzzled by the sudden disappearance of his chakra.

After receiving the order, everyone dispersed, except for Shisui, who remained cautious and pulled Kakashi aside to ask, "Kakashi, what exactly happened between the Hokage and Lady Fuuka just now?"

"What do you think was the deeper meaning behind the Fifth Hokage's action of helping Princess Fuka up?" Kakashi asked in return.

"Naturally, it's because Fuuka Naoto put pressure on Princess Fuuka Sayayuki, and after we rescued her, Fuuka Sayayuki was grateful, which is why she acted this way." Shisui, having experienced the whole incident, naturally thought so.

"Is that really the case...? Is there another possibility that the Fifth Hokage forced Princess Kazahana Hayayuki to come to Konoha barefoot in the snow to surrender?" Kakashi offered a different perspective.

Upon hearing this, Zhi Shui was speechless for a moment.

"This...is unlikely...what's the point of doing this?" Shisui asked doubtfully.

"For him personally, apart from enduring the cold for a little longer, there really wasn't much difference."

But for the Land of Snow, this was their last line of defense.

After Kakashi finished speaking, he put his hands behind his head and walked towards the hospital. "How Hayayuki Kazaka will describe it depends entirely on the Fifth Hokage's attitude towards him... He's pretty lucky."

"But wouldn't that be a betrayal of our promise? We traveled thousands of miles to save him, and now we're going to abandon him... What kind of behavior is that?"

"Yes, but they are just ordinary people. They just want to live. When faced with life and death, they can't afford to gamble on whether you are a good person or a bad person... Zhi Shui, welcome to the real world."

Upon hearing this, Shisui frowned, his expression grave, and he remained silent for a long time, as if a thousand words were stuck in his throat...

Soon after, Konoha's flight squad returned at lightning speed, far exceeding the plans of the representatives of Kijin and Iwagakure.

They not only returned quickly, but they even brought back the beauty of nature.

Upon seeing this, the two representatives' faces instantly turned extremely ugly, and they remained silent like two statues, not uttering a single word.

It's not that they don't know how to appreciate quality; quite the opposite, they know it all too well.

Although they hadn't witnessed the Eagle Squad's battle firsthand, they knew that the Snow Village wasn't a powerful ninja village.

The sheer terrifying mobility displayed by the Flying Eagle Squad was enough to put them on high alert, making them feel like they were facing a formidable enemy.

It should be noted that the two sides would receive the intelligence within half an hour at most, and they were quite confident in this regard.

However, they had only just sent the intelligence back and the ninja village headquarters had just mobilized the ninjas when they returned with Kazahana Hayate.

Admittedly, this time it was the Hokage's Guard that was dispatched, which is the most elite group in Konoha's combat force, but the speed at which they were able to do it... is truly astonishing!

As the saying goes, "In the world of martial arts, speed is the only way to break through defenses."

The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, established his formidable reputation solely through his speed.

With the Hokage's guard moving so swiftly, how could one not feel apprehensive? Given Hiruko's personality, since the Hokage's guard has access to such advanced equipment, he will definitely try every means to equip all the ninjas of Konoha with it.

When it comes to spending money on his subordinates, Hiryuhu has never disappointed.

No, in fact, not everyone needs to be equipped with such gear.

The mere fact that Konoha can form such a highly mobile special combat force is enough to strike fear into the hearts of its opponents.

Imagine, the enemy's main force only arrived at the front line last night, seemingly ready for a decisive battle.

But when they woke up early in the morning, the enemy had already circled around to the ninja village's headquarters and launched a massive bombardment... For anyone with even a basic understanding of military strategy, such a huge advantage in mobility was undoubtedly a nightmare.

How to break?

There's no way to break it.

This doesn't even take into account the significant increase in the effective reconnaissance range of the reconnaissance ninjas after the increase in individual soldier speed.

You should know that the Hyuga lineage's reconnaissance capabilities are renowned throughout the ninja world!

"Unless we imitate Konoha and develop these individual flying machines... but that would require a lot of money..."

Although it was just a fleeting glimpse, it didn't prevent the two representatives from discerning many key insights.

They have confirmed that these individual flying devices consume ninja chakra.

In other words, not only do they need the aircraft itself, but they also need some kind of unique ninjutsu to help them fly.

Theoretically speaking, if Konoha can develop this kind of ninjutsu, they can too.

However, the issue of funding is like a mountain standing in their way.

Thanks to the millet war, the economies of the four major ninja villages have finally recovered considerably.

However, compared to Konoha, it is still far inferior.

During the Fourth Shinobi World War, Konoha never saw this new equipment used.

In other words, they must have been developing it for a short time.

If Konoha is struggling like this, how long will it take them to develop it? Even if they do develop it, what if the other side makes further progress? — Konoha's funding is definitely much greater than theirs. Even if all other conditions remain the same, they are still stronger than the two villages.

This first-mover advantage is ruthless.

If you're running at the same speed, and someone else has already run 30 meters ahead of you, how can you catch up as the one who's behind? Unless...

“We need further cooperation!” “Whether it’s in terms of funding or technology…” the two representatives said in unison.

In their view, if the two ninja villages studied separately, they would never be able to catch up with Konoha.

However, if both sides work together on the research, both sides can save a lot of effort and achieve higher efficiency.

"No, mere imitation is not enough; we need more power... Let's apply to the village elders to share our secret techniques!" Bloodline limits are unavoidable, but secret techniques are essentially research results, so they can naturally be shared.

However, during the ninja village era, no one would have thought of doing that.

The more secret techniques one possesses, the greater one's advantage.

The ninjas weren't unaware of the downsides of hoarding their possessions, but when faced with life and death, who cared about such things?

But for the same reason... Konoha is practically flying into the sky, are they just going to do nothing and watch them defeat them? But such a big matter is not something two diplomats can decide.

Even if diplomats have the power to make decisions on the spot... "The elders will not agree!"

You know the situation in our village... They only use excuses to attack us..."

"And what about our village? Lord Huangtu was appointed in a time of crisis, and his prestige was already insufficient... But even so, we must try our best! I will try to contact Konoha and see if they will allow me to see Lord Onoki, and you..."

“I know what to do!” The two diplomats knew how difficult the work ahead would be, but now that things had come to this, no matter how difficult it was, they had no choice… to change.

Or—die!

Finally, in the interlude at the end of the book, we can finally plant grass dumplings.

Despite some setbacks, Kazaka Hayate still managed to arrive in Konoha.

Most importantly, he is willing to cooperate.

If he's willing to cooperate, then there's no problem.

As for the little tricks that Kazaka Sayasu used during their first meeting, Hiruko not only didn't care, but was actually quite pleased.

In his view, the most troublesome people in the world are those who have no job, no income, no worries, no relatives, and no future; these guys are truly invincible.

No one can impose any restrictions on them, because they have nothing to begin with.

But Feng Huazaoxue is clearly not that kind of person.

As a ruler, he was actually quite unsuccessful.

Despite having secured the legitimacy, he was never able to suppress his younger brother, who eventually orchestrated a coup, and the country was even thrust into the game of great power rivalry.