Not until she was back in her quarters did Samui's mind clear from its fog.
It even felt like a dream, impossible to grasp what had happened that night.
Everything had gone far beyond her first assumptions.
The only thing etched into her memory was that pair of eyes—aloof, god-like, looking down at her in utter indifference.
They belonged to Aizen Yūsuke.
Until today, even Samui herself would have found it hard to imagine someone who, on first meeting, could make her feel such uncontrollable fear.
What terrified her more was that it was all real.
"Creak…"
"
A faint door-squeak sounded inside the room.
Several people on full alert sprang to their feet and stared warily toward the entrance.
Only when they saw it was Samui did they exhale in unison.
Darui's exposure had clearly caught them off guard; the entire Cloud envoy squad had stayed on edge all night.
"Samui!"
Chief envoy Kōwai rose from the bedside, accidentally bumping the wounded Darui's arm and drawing a low groan.
The sound snapped Samui out of her daze. Noticing her comrades' taut faces, she asked quickly, "Darui's hurt?"
"Yes."
Kōwai's brows were locked. "The Anbu guard was far stronger than expected—they must have anticipated we'd move."
"No surprise."
"The key intel is probably all stored in that base."
"Darui had barely entered Anbu when several Hyuga picked him up. One of them used Lightning Release—must have been Kakashi Hatake."
"Fortunately it's just arm and shoulder; his life's not in danger."
Only then did Kōwai remember to ask, "How did your side go?"
"I…"
Samui almost blurted out everything—how Aizen had captured her, the dread crushing her heart, that man's unimaginable ambition—just to ease the weight on her chest.
But the words stopped at her lips.
True to her name, she was calm and utterly rational.
"My mission went fine—basically complete."
She paused, sounding almost regretful. "But Aizen spotted me. I only managed to grab two items on my way out—both Hollow-related."
"He keeps two bodyguards; security's tight. Missed it by a hair."
"—Sorry."
With that final word she lowered her head, guilt flickering across her face.
Aizen Yūsuke's ambition was simply too vast.
Apart from Lord Raikage, no one could be allowed even a hint of it.
After all, it involved toppling the Hokage—and even the daimyo and noble system.
On that score Samui dared take no risks.
Kōwai, missing the turmoil in her eyes, brightened and slapped her shoulder. "Good—excellent!"
"No need to apologize!"
"With this mission done, you're a hero of Kumogakure even if we didn't nab Aizen Sōsuke!"
"Our objective is essentially achieved."
Excitement crept into his voice.
Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi had feared, Kōwai had come to Konoha ready to die to force the Village to hand over its secrets.
Having used the tactic once, he knew Konoha would be on high alert and had prepared for both of them to fail.
But Samui's success thrilled him.
Who wants to die if the job can be finished alive?
As for the benefits now in their mouths, Konoha could forget about ever retrieving them.
Still, to keep the Village from desperate retaliation, he had to wrap up negotiations tomorrow and head home.
Every extra day in Konoha increased the danger.
Despite the obstacles, his mood only grew more eager.
Only Darui, bandaged arm and shoulder, watched Samui by candlelight, a faint frown on his face.
As if sensing something.
Lazy as he seemed, Darui was a candidate for Raikage and had his own strengths.
Yet what could someone like Samui possibly hide?
He wondered, unsure.
Next morning.
Ignoring all protocol, the Cloud envoy demanded an audience with the Third Hokage at dawn, throwing the Hokage Building into chaos and drawing angry stares from Konoha Ninja.
Everyone knew last night's riot was tied to the Cloud envoys, yet without proof the Leaf shinobi had to hold their tongues.
Their attitude toward the envoy was naturally frosty.
Kōwai, oblivious, kept shouting and playing the haughty noble—his arrogance beyond reason.
Under his clamoring, the sleepless Hiruzen Sarutobi had no choice but to head for the council chamber early.
But contrary to every Konoha Ninja's expectation…
Hiruzen appeared without a trace of anger, his smile even warm.
The reason was simple.
Cloud's probe last night had failed.
From here on, he would control the board.
A fine plan.
Since Cloud had gained neither intel nor seals, they would linger in Konoha for another chance—or let their envoy die at the right moment.
But Hiruzen was ready for either outcome.
Dead or alive, he could give Cloud a suitable answer.
He hadn't grown timid; surely A the Younger didn't think he could be cowed again by rattling the war saber?
Thinking so, Hiruzen's warm smile carried a three-part chill.
Yet the moment both parties entered the chamber, the Cloud envoy slammed the table and rose, seizing the initiative with righteous fury: "Is this how Konoha treats its guests?!"
"Outrageous!"
"Our special envoy has only been in Konoha for one day, and last night a serious explosion occurred—right next to the inn where we're staying?"
"Even worse, someone actually broke into our quarters last night!"
"If our escorting Ninja hadn't fought to the death to protect me, I'd be a corpse by now!"
"Just how far has Konoha's internal security fallen—from the days of the Second Hokage to this sorry state?"
"Truly..."
As he spoke, Kowai's face still carried lingering fear, looking every bit the pompous, cowardly noble lords they so often encountered.
Hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression froze; he sensed something was off but couldn't quite place it, and instinctively furrowed his brow.
Next to him, Danzo Shimura—lacking two-thirds of Hiruzen's cunning—was far quicker to lose his composure.
Almost the instant the Cloud special envoy opened his mouth, Danzo cursed aloud: "Bastard!"
"You're the thief crying thief!"
"Do you really think we've discovered nothing?"
"The Hyuga Ninja under my command have confirmed: last night's attacker on the Anbu base was one of your Cloud delegation!"
"If not for the dignity of the nation and the Daimyo, I'd have Root surround your entire envoy right now and see how you explain the wounds on your Ninja's body!"
"That's merely Konoha's one-sided claim, hardly credible," Kowai retorted righteously, pointing at Danzo's nose. "Besides, I've already stated we were attacked last night—our escort fought desperately and was injured!"
"What? Does Konoha still want to inspect the wounds?"
"After your examination, will you claim it was Konoha Ninja who tried to assassinate us envoys?"
"Kumo's army has long been massed at the border—let's see if Konoha can bear the crime of starting a war!"
Only moments ago he'd acted terrified of assassination, yet now, facing Konoha's top brass, the Cloud envoy puffed up again, staring Danzo down without fear.
Danzo's face flared with rage; he slammed the table and half rose.
"Enough, Danzo."
In the end, Hiruzen spoke up in time, gazing calmly at the Cloud envoy. "We will investigate last night's incident thoroughly."
"Perhaps the envoy might set this topic aside for now and return to our original agenda."
Hearing that, the envoy who'd just sat down stood once more, resolute. "Our conditions remain unchanged; Konoha may only accept or refuse."
"Those were the Raikage's final instructions before I left—there is no room for adjustment."
"Third Hokage, I urge you to consider carefully."
"Once you reach a decision, please inform me promptly—if these terms cannot be met, I see no reason to remain in this dangerous Village."
As he spoke, Kowai's eyes seemed ready to roll into the ceiling, too disdainful to waste another word on these "lowly" Ninja.
Watching his manner, Hiruzen's unease only deepened.
Events were slipping beyond his control.
With that tone set, the meeting ended as expected—both sides parted in discord.
Before departing, the Cloud envoy loudly voiced his dissatisfaction and demanded immediate return to the Land of Lightning, his mix of arrogance and cowardice blatant for all to see.
Hiruzen was left with a lingering, ominous suspicion.
Shortly after both sides left...
An Anbu suddenly appeared beside Hiruzen and whispered a few urgent words.
Hiruzen's face changed drastically; he couldn't help exclaiming, "What?!"
"What's happened?"
Hearing his cry, Danzo spun around.
After the entire negotiation, even the slowest mind would sense something was wrong.
Hiruzen stared grimly in the direction the Cloud envoy had gone and muttered, "Aizen Yūsuke just sent word: multiple critical documents have been stolen from his office—including an invention he's still developing."
He paused, then added, "...related to Hollows."
Danzo's eyes bulged in disbelief. "Damn it!"
"What the hell was your Anbu doing?!"
Hiruzen gave him a heavy look and said nothing.
Only then did Danzo realize: last night, to guard against a possible attack on the Cloud envoy, most Anbu had been watching the inn, later drawn away by the disturbance at the Anbu base.
The ones actually free inside the Village had been his own Root.
Though their duties were nominally external, Root often meddled in internal affairs.
Realizing this, Danzo's tone shifted sharply: "Those Cloud envoys..."
"They haven't gone far—seal off their inn at once! I'll lead Root to search them."
"We can't let them take those documents back!"
If Kumo sought to eradicate Hollows at the Root, all his plans for the Ninja future would collapse.
"No."
Yet the moment he spoke, Hiruzen raised a hand to halt everyone.
Danzo spun toward him, glaring. "At a time like this, you—"
Before he could finish, Hiruzen said, "We cannot act within the Land of Fire."
Looking Danzo dead in the eye, Hiruzen stated slowly, "Under no circumstances can we give Kumo a pretext for war."
"Danzo."
"We still need time."
"For the younger generation—and for Naruto."
"6
"
Danzo's fists clenched, yet he could find no words to retort.
Between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning lay only the Land of Hot Springs—a straight-line distance of barely a hundred kilometers.
Compared with the vast border of the Land of Fire, resisting Cloud infiltration while ensuring the annihilation of the envoy within that short stretch was far harder.
Yet Hiruzen was not wrong.
They had won the Third Ninja World War, but the victory had been too costly.
"Damn it...
"
In the end, he reluctantly accepted the decision.
Once the Cloud envoy delegation departed Konoha...
Swift orders followed one after another as figures trailed them at a distance, advancing toward the border to form a vast net around the envoy traveling the main road.