What Matsushita Yugou had not expected was that this woman called Kushina Uzumaki didn't seem flustered in the least, and was looking at Matsushita Yugou with the kind of eyes one reserves for a corpse.

"You damn woman! What kind of look is that?! You think I won't use a kunai to carve up your face?! Doesn't matter — all we need is your bloodline anyway!

Keh keh keh keh keh keh keh keh keh... As long as we drag you back to Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning, our village will have the blood of the Uzumaki Clan!"

Naruto Uzumaki shot to his feet.

"You bastard! Let my mom go!"

Naruto had only recently learned that Kumogakure had tried to kidnap his mother years ago, and that when he was small they had even tried to abduct his future wife, and now here they were again today.

Still trying to kidnap his mother!

Damn Kumogakure! Absolutely unforgivable!

It wasn't just Naruto who stood up. The Konoha 12 rose to their feet as well, every single one of them fixing Matsushita Yugou with that same dead-eyed stare.

But strangely, hashirama senju and madara uchiha hadn't moved at all. They sat quietly in their seats.

madara uchiha watched the Land of Lightning ninja jumping up and down with a calm, cold gaze.

The air pressure around hashirama senju, though, had dropped to a dangerous low.

The Hidden Leaf Village had finally gotten this lively today.

Everyone had finally gathered together like this today.

Children and elders alike, all of them sharing in the warmth and joy.

madara uchiha had been smiling so much today.

And these miserable bastards had to come along and ruin the mood for him and madara.

Kumogakure!

Unforgivable!

madara uchiha raised an eyebrow and glanced at hashirama senju beside him, whose mood had clearly plummeted, and knew at once that this big idiot had gotten angry. So madara reached out and patted hashirama senju on the shoulder.

"Hashirama... don't let a bunch of little rats spoil our mood. Those kids will handle something this small just fine.

The most important thing today is the concert. And as for after the concert, why don't we take a little trip to the Land of Lightning together?"

hashirama senju said nothing. He only nodded once.

Meanwhile, Matsushita Yugou still thought the Hidden Leaf ninja had been cowed into submission. Hadn't that woman called Kushina Uzumaki not dared to move a muscle?!

And those two over there, that so-called hashirama senju and madara uchiha, just sitting there like a pair of old tortoises!

The more Matsushita Yugou thought about it, the more the arrogance swelled.

The Hidden Leaf Village?

A bunch of trash, just as expected!

Then Matsushita Yugou's eyes lit up at the sight of a black-haired woman sitting beside Kushina Uzumaki.

This woman looked pretty good too.

And on her clothing, that looked like the Uchiha Clan crest!

Could this woman actually be from the Uchiha Clan?!

Keh keh keh keh keh keh...

What an unexpected bonus today!

Not only was there a chance to capture two from the Uzumaki Clan and one from the Senju, but on top of the four girls up on stage, there was actually an Uchiha Clan woman here too!

"Keh ha ha ha ha ha ha... Everyone in the Hidden Leaf Village, listen up! This woman called Kushina Uzumaki and this woman from the Uchiha Clan — from today onward, they both belong to Kumogakure!

That's right! And not just the four up on stage, hand over Mito Uzumaki and Tsunade to me as well!

Keh keh keh keh keh keh keh keh keh keh..."

The entire venue fell utterly silent.

Tens of thousands of people. You could have heard a pin drop.

Not a single person had expected a ninja from Kumogakure to be this outrageously brazen.

Not only demanding Kushina Uzumaki and Mikoto Uchiha, but even daring to set sights on Mito Uzumaki.

Did this person not know who Mito Uzumaki's husband was?!

Had Kumogakure gone completely insane?!

In an instant, every face in the venue broke into an extraordinarily dangerous smile.

WHOOSH WHOOSH!

Two kunai flew onto the stage, and Tobirama Senju and Izuna Uchiha activated the Flying Thunder God Technique simultaneously!

"Susanoo!"

"Flying Raijin Slice!"

Watanabe Yuzhu up on stage hadn't even figured out what was happening yet when the world began spinning wildly, and at the same time caught sight of a headless body.

Why did that body look so familiar?!

Oh... isn't that my body?!

But where is my head?

Ah, my head has flown off!

On the other side, Sakumo Hatake and Shisui Uchiha and the other powerful figures moved in the same instant. The handful of Kumogakure ninja and spies didn't even have room to resist before every last one had their head cut off.

In a flash, the entire venue was left with only Matsushita Yugou standing.

A cold sweat trickled down Matsushita Yugou's forehead. With a hard gulp, Matsushita Yugou swallowed heavily.

"Damn you! How dare you Hidden Leaf ninja lay hands on our Land of Lightning people?! Just you wait! Just wait! Our Kumogakure will make you pay! Our Raikage-sama will never let this go! Even if you offer up every one of these women to compensate us, we will still start a war!"

Matsushita Yugou was growing flustered, gripping the kunai tighter, though not worried about dying, because right now Kushina Uzumaki and this Uchiha Clan woman were both firmly in hand.

These two women were hostages!

And then Kushina Uzumaki spoke, voice soft and unhurried.

"minato namikaze... what are you still waiting for? This person's breath stinks so bad it's killing me!"

"I know, dear... please don't get angry, sweetheart — you'll get wrinkles if you do..."

Matsushita Yugou froze.

minato namikaze, that name was known. The name of the Fourth Hokage!

But why had minato namikaze's voice just come from directly behind?!

Matsushita Yugou instinctively turned to look.

And with just that one look...

There was only an enormous Rasengan.

HUM!

BOOM!

Matsushita Yugou demonstrated with life itself what it means to look once and explode.

Hirofumi Ito stepped onto the stage, eyes half-narrowed, already changed into the Fifth Hokage's haori.

He reached out one hand and gently drew Ino Yamanaka into his arms.

"Scared?"

Ino Yamanaka shook her head against his chest.

"No... with you here, and so many seniors here, I just don't believe there's anything in the Shinobi World that could hurt me."

Hirofumi Ito lowered his head and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.

➤ Next: Declaration of War!

Chapter 244 - Declaration of War!

Hirofumi Ito's sudden kiss hit without warning.

Ino Yamanaka's face went scarlet on the spot.

There were so many seniors present. Tens of thousands of spectators in the crowd. And he had just kissed her in front of all of them...

So embarrassing!

After pressing that kiss to Ino's forehead, Hirofumi swept his gaze across the entire crowd. Every Hidden Leaf ninja in the venue turned to look at him.

Honestly, Hirofumi hadn't expected Kumogakure to be this bold.

Not only had they sent ninja to attack the Hidden Leaf Village, they had actually tried to abduct its women.

Heh. He'd been too busy running concerts to bother with them, and now they'd gone and delivered themselves right to his door?

They actually dared go after his woman.

Damn it all. Fourth Raikage, you just painted yourself into a corner.

"Everyone!" His voice rang out across the venue. "An unpleasant little interruption just occurred. But rest assured — it's been dealt with.

Kumogakure of the Land of Lightning harbors wolfish ambitions and attempted to attack our Hidden Leaf Village. That cannot be let go!

The concert continues as scheduled. Enjoy yourselves, have a great time.

Tomorrow — we march on the Land of Lightning!"

That was it. Just a few sentences, nothing more.

Those few sentences set the entire crowd on fire.

Even ordinary civilians were shouting that they wanted to march to the front. Everyone had seen perfectly clearly what those Land of Lightning intruders had just tried to do.

Those bastards tried to abduct the women of our Hidden Leaf Village?!

Unforgivable.

They cannot be let off!

On the other side of the grounds, Kakuzu was furious.

Those damned Land of Lightning ninja had almost ruined the money-making operation.

The concert had only just hit the halfway mark. Every wasted minute was gleaming silver ryo bleeding out the door!

Damn the Land of Lightning.

Damn Kumogakure!

Kakuzu snatched up the walkie-talkie.

"Hidan, do you copy? Hidan, do you copy?!"

"Security team captain Hidan copies, over!"

Kakuzu stood there, walkie-talkie in hand, face dark as a thundercloud.

"Hidan! Strip every merchant and wealthy man who came from the Land of Lightning bare and throw them out — right now! Confiscate every last thing they're carrying! You copy?!"

"Hidan copies, over!"

The merchants who had traveled from the Land of Lightning to the Hidden Leaf Village were suffering a completely undeserved disaster. They couldn't have known Kumogakure would suddenly and inexplicably pick a fight with Konoha. Now every valuable they owned was being confiscated, and every piece of clothing stripped off their backs, right down to the last scrap of cloth.

Not a single strip left.

Meanwhile, Hirofumi swiftly issued a Hokage document. It went out to the entire Shinobi World at once.

"Kumogakure of the Land of Lightning has dispatched ninja to attack the Leaf.

Gravely disrupting the peace and stability of the Hidden Leaf Village.

The Hidden Leaf Village of the Land of Fire hereby declares war on Kumogakure of the Land of Lightning, effective immediately!"

The message spread in an instant.

---

The small hours of the morning.

Kumogakure, Land of Lightning.

The Raikage's office.

BANG!

The Fourth Raikage stared at the document, issued under the seal of the Fifth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village, and drove a fist into the desk hard enough to shake the room.

"The Hidden Leaf Village! The sheer arrogance!

They actually dare to declare war on our Kumogakure?!

How dare they?!"

Nearby, Mabui's expression had gone grave.

"Fourth Raikage... it appears Matsushita Yugou and the others have failed. What no one expected was that the Hidden Leaf Village would actually have the nerve to declare war on us..."

The Fourth Raikage let out a cold laugh.

"Heh heh... so the Hidden Leaf Village really has changed Hokage. The name on this document is the Fifth Hokage, after all.

Hirofumi Ito?! Heh heh... never even heard of this person!

I genuinely want to know, who gave this nobody the guts to declare war on our Kumogakure?!

Mabui!"

"Fourth Raikage!"

"Put the word out immediately. Kumogakure of the Land of Lightning declares war on the Hidden Leaf Village of the Land of Fire. All ninja move to the border at once. And notify Killer B, tomorrow we march on the Hidden Leaf Village!

Heh heh... so the Hidden Leaf Village wants to declare war on us? I want to see exactly what kind of face they make when our ninja appear at their gates tomorrow morning.

Will this so-called Fifth Hokage, Hirofumi Ito, drop to his knees and beg for mercy?!"

"Yes! Fourth Raikage!"

The Land of Lightning's forces moved fast. The entire ninja corps pushed out toward the Hidden Leaf Village at speed.

Across the Shinobi World, every major faction caught the scent of the coming storm.

---

Sunagakure, Land of Wind.

Ebizo arrived at the Kazekage's office for the second time that night.

"Kazekage-sama!"

"Something else happened?"

Rasa looked up with a puzzled expression.

"Kazekage-sama! The Hidden Leaf Village of the Land of Fire has declared war on Kumogakure, and Kumogakure has declared war right back. Their ninja are already moving toward the Hidden Leaf Village!"

Rasa went still for a moment. Ebizo held out the Hokage document, Hirofumi Ito's declaration of war against Kumogakure, right there in black and white.

"Both sides have truly declared war?!"

"That's right, Kazekage-sama... what should Sunagakure do?!"

Rasa extended one hand and tapped the desk slowly.

Thoughts turned inward.

The Hidden Leaf Village's sudden change of Hokage had always been strange. And this Hirofumi Ito, Rasa had never heard that name before either.

But the change of Hokage was now confirmed. Which meant the rest of the reports... weren't those very possibly true as well?

The claims that legendary figures from past generations, all the previous Hokage, had been brought back to life.

If any of that was real...

The Hidden Leaf Village's strength would be something terrifying beyond measure. Never mind Kumogakure alone, even all four of the other great nations combined might not be enough to match them.

So what was the right move?

Fish in troubled waters while the war played out... or...

Rasa's eyes narrowed.

Rasa was no fool. If the reports were true, the smart play was to latch onto the strongest side before it was too late.

"Ebizo!"

"Kazekage-sama!"

"Notify everyone immediately. Sunagakure enters a state of war readiness."

"Kazekage-sama, what exactly do you mean by...?"

"Sunagakure of the Land of Wind and the Hidden Leaf Village of the Land of Fire have always been allies. We cannot stand by while Kumogakure attacks them. First thing tomorrow morning, I will personally lead the troops to the Hidden Leaf Village!"

"Yes! Kazekage-sama!"

➤ Next: Did You Take the Wrong Medicine?