In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy

The moment the female Jonin's body fell to the ground, Team 10 and Team 8 had also arrived. The two Sunagakure's Jonin were dumbfounded and stopped with the group of Chunin and Genin. The two sides faced each other like this.

The three Sunagakure's siblings were still buried underground in the valley. If this dragged on, they'd likely die from suffocation.

"She's dead?" Shikamaru was also surprised. Team 10 had never done any missions with Naruto, so he didn't know that Naruto had this kind of skill.

Choji narrowed his eyes and looked serious. As for Team 3, Lee, Neji, and Tenten, they were unfazed. They had seen Naruto use this tactic before when they were on missions. It was the classic feint that never failed.

Sometimes it was a Rasengan in his hand, sometimes Lava Release, but it always worked wonders.

The female Jonin from Sunagakure failed due to a lack of information and underestimating her opponent. Now, the once lively female Jonin is now lying there in a disfigured state.

Ino wasn't too surprised by this either. She had long known Naruto was much stronger than the average Genin. Otherwise, she and Naruto would have died during that encounter with Itachi.

It is said that one should look at a man with new eyes after three days of absence. It has been almost a year since the Itachi incident, so it is not surprising that Naruto's strength has grown rapidly.

Naruto was much stronger than her—stronger than most people, in fact. This is a fact that Ino had long been aware of.

But in their usual interactions, his perpetually lazy demeanor made it easy to forget this. Ino had even automatically overlooked these things, seeing Naruto just as Naruto, not as a Jinchuriki of a Biju.

But to say she was unaffected would be a lie. After all, seeing a Genin who usually stood before her in such a casual, unserious manner suddenly kill a Jonin on the spot… it was jarring.

It felt like getting used to a goofy scoundrel, only to suddenly see him wielding a knife to slay a monster. It was unsettling.

Still, Ino had to force herself to confront this side of Naruto, because that was the complete him. The one who would hand out flowers was him, and so was the monster who could kill and set things ablaze.

'The most important thing now is to complete the mission and bring the three Sunagakure's siblings back.' Ino shook her head and was ready to use her Ninjutsu at any time.

Sakura stood in the distance and watched quietly, her eyes staring at the valley in the distance. She was contemplating the feasibility of completing their mission, as they had already entered the territory of the Land of Wind.

As a Medical-nin, her primary duty wasn't fighting but healing her teammates and ensuring survival.

"Are they still alive?" Shino asked. His Kikaichu slowly circled around the Sunagakure's group and flew into the valley.

"They're underground in the valley, still alive." Hinata said, her Byakugan active as Chakra flowed to her eyes, "They're in coffins. We'll have to remove the fallen rocks and dig them out."

"That's too difficult." Kiba muttered quietly, "The whole valley has collapsed. How do we even dig them out?"

"Maybe Naruto has a way, after all, it's his Ninjutsu." Shino said.

"I've never seen a Ninjutsu like that. It's too..." Kiba trailed off, a bit speechless, "It could be a Space-Time Ninjutsu. Anyway, where did he even learn something like that?"

Hinata glanced at Naruto from the corner of her eye, her cheeks slightly reddened.

Naruto, standing at the forefront, had no time to care about anything else. He was currently engaged in a verbal duel with the two Sunagakure's Jonin.

"What's the meaning of this, Konoha Shinobi? This is within the territory of our Land of Wind." The short Sunagakure's Jonin fumed, frustrated that Naruto had not only escaped his grasp, but also taken down one of his teammates.

"What nonsense are you spouting? I don't understand a word, you shorty." Naruto said in a roguish manner, "What do you mean your Land of Wind? This area is a gray zone. I was just passing by and got ambushed by you."

"If this isn't settled, I'm going to start fighting."

Threats, a blatant, naked threat.

"Nonsense! You trespassed into our territory in the Land of Wind! Open your eyes and take a good look at where you are?" The short Jonin was nearly shouting, his frustration evident.

The brown-faced Sunagakure's Jonin said nothing. His eyes looked over the Konoha's Genin with a cold gleam in his eyes.

"What's the rush? Why are you so worked up?" Naruto's face darkened. Without even needing Shikamaru's guidance, he took control of the negotiation naturally, "Since our opinions differ, why don't we kill a few more?!"

"Brat, do you think you can win?" The brown-faced Sand Jonin with a flat, shovel-like face drew the short sword from his back, glaring coldly at Naruto as murderous intent radiated from him.

At his words, the tension between the two sides escalated instantly.

"Naruto, don't be impulsive." Shikamaru urged, trying to think more comprehensively, with more considerations in mind. "Let's first..."

Mid-sentence, Shikamaru stopped abruptly as he saw Naruto untie his forehead protector and toss it to the ground. His golden hair fell loose. He then looked at Shikamaru solemnly and said, "I am no longer a Konoha's Shinobi."

Thick, swirling Biju Chakra surrounded him, and his blue eyes are filled with determination, "No one can give in unless one side suffers massive losses."

"Naruto, you..." Shikamaru stared at the discarded forehead protector in a daze for a long while. He had never seen Naruto act like this before.

"Tsunade-sama said that no matter what I do, she'll cover for me." Naruto pulled out a dozen disposable Flying Thunder God kunai that he had prepared. His gaze locked on the thirty or so Sunagakure's Shinobi ahead, and he lowered his voice, "We don't have time. When the fight breaks out, you should focus on ensuring none of them escape."

"Even so, this is pushing it too far." Shikamaru had already begun to compromise, with cold sweat forming on his forehead. He didn't want to resolve this by such extreme measures.

"Damn, that can't be..." The brown-faced Sunagakure's Jonin with the shovel-shaped face stared at Naruto's golden hair, his pupils widening as if recalling something.

"What is it?" The short Jonin glanced sideways at his companion, but kept most of his attention on Naruto, watching as Naruto pulled out a pile of kunai.

"It's that technique!" The brown-faced Sunagakure's Jonin gulped audibly, "Kunai, blond hair, that monster… Wasn't he supposed to be dead? The Yellow Flash of Konoha."

Konoha had two famous color-coded Shinobi. The White Fang, which sword cut through everything, and the Yellow Flash, which was faster than lightning.

"What Yellow Flash? What nonsense are you talking about!" The short Jonin grumbled impatiently, "I don't get it. Can't you just speak plainly?"

The brown-faced Sunagakure's Jonin said no more, blinking rapidly as the image of the boy before him overlapped with the figure he once saw on the battlefield.

'This was crazy.' Cold sweat dripped from his forehead, 'Could such an absurd situation really happen? It had to be a coincidence! That Ninjutsu couldn't be replicated.'

'Unless… unless…'

Naruto threw out the more than a dozen kunai, and the Kyubi's Chakra burned slowly. He could no longer use Biju Transformation, and if he was injured, it would take longer for him to heal.

'But even so, if it was just to take down these Sunagakure's Shinobi…' Naruto raised his eyes.

"Watch out for those kunai!" The brown-faced Sunagakure's Jonin's pupils widened as he shouted.

However, it was already too late.

These people had no idea what the true significance of the Yellow Flash meant.