After slaying the invading Jonin, Hiashi Hyuga immediately confirmed his identity and sent word to Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze.
The first to receive the news, however, was Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Upon hearing what had happened, he wasted no time. He dispatched messengers to notify Minato and led several dozen ANBU to surround the Cloud envoy delegation.
Sensing the situation had turned against them, the Cloud nin swiftly flipped the narrative.
"Lord Third Hokage, the Hyuga clan has killed one of our Cloud shinobi. Is Konoha declaring war?"
"Ahem, I heard that Jonin was attempting to kidnap the Hyuga clan's princess," Hiruzen replied calmly, sidestepping the accusation without addressing it directly.
While Hiruzen stayed composed, Hiashi was anything but. He was the one who had killed the invader. If the Cloud refused to admit their guilt and Konoha wanted to avoid war, the outcome was obvious.
Back and forth they went, spitting arguments at one another, yet getting nowhere.
The Cloud delegation adamantly claimed Hiashi was guilty of murder and demanded accountability—if not, then war it would be.
Amid the tense standoff, Minato finally arrived.
He had already learned what had happened en route, and since it was clearly the Cloud's fault, he saw no reason to back down. If they wanted war, Konoha wouldn't flinch.
"Yo, this is getting lively," Sora suddenly appeared, grinning. "If they want war, then let's give it to them!"
Turning to Minato and Hiruzen, he added, "Minato-nii, Third Hokage, let's start prepping for battle."
Sora's declaration stunned the Cloud envoy delegation. The negotiations hadn't even concluded, and they were already declaring war?
"Lord Hokage, please consider this carefully. War between villages is no child's game!"
One of the Cloud shinobi threw a side-eye at Sora, the meaning clear as day.
That was exactly what Sora wanted.
Swish! In a flash, Sora appeared behind the Cloud envoy. The shinobi who had glanced at him lay dead—decapitated on the spot.
Everyone froze, including Minato and Hiruzen. No one had expected Sora to actually strike—let alone deliver a killing blow with Raikiri.
By the time the Cloud nin reacted, the ANBU had already drawn their shuriken. Minato and Hiruzen stood ready to fight.
Overwhelmed, the Cloud nin dared not move a muscle.
This was Konoha. Against this many elites, they didn't stand a chance. Best to behave.
Still, they had to save face. "Very well! If this is Konoha's stance, we'll leave now. Prepare to face the wrath of the Hidden Cloud!"
With that, they stormed off, intent on returning with an army.
To them, this was Konoha spitting on their pride—an insult the Hidden Cloud could not forgive.
The ANBU looked to Minato, awaiting his order. But Sora was already blocking their path.
"Did I say you could leave?" he said coldly, Raikiri glowing once more in his hand.
The envoys' faces darkened even further.
They couldn't retaliate. Too many eyes were watching. Any move would get them killed instantly.
Still, they roared in protest. "What? Do you intend to kill diplomatic envoys?"
Even in the ninja world, there was a rule: Never kill a messenger during wartime. But was Sora the kind of person to care about rules?
Ever since arriving in this world, Sora had used whatever tactics necessary. Unless you were one of his own, he didn't play nice.
///
With Sora taking the lead, Konoha's ANBU moved in and bound the Cloud shinobi.
Then Sora, Minato, and Hiruzen returned to the Hokage office to sort things out.
Since it had been Sora's doing, they had to at least offer some kind of explanation.
Minato tapped his desk. "All right. Explain your thoughts."
Sora chuckled. "What's there to explain? They dared cause trouble in Konoha—they should've expected to pay for it." He paused, then added, "With our current strength, we don't have to fear the Hidden Cloud."
He counted off on his fingers: the Three Sannin, Minato, Kushina, Hiruzen, and himself—seven Kage-level shinobi.
And the Hidden Cloud? At best, they had the Fourth Raikage A and Killer B.
As for their other Jinchuriki, she was still a little girl—barely a Jonin-level threat.
When it came to numbers below Kage-level, Konoha held a clear advantage. Their economy was booming, with enough resources to train an army.
Now free from the Daimyō's economic suppression, Konoha boasted over thirty thousand shinobi—possibly closer to forty thousand.
The Hidden Cloud? They'd be lucky to have twenty thousand. Realistically, they might only have a little over ten.
Given this power disparity, Sora couldn't understand why Konoha should back down.
Why sacrifice their own for peace when they had overwhelming strength?
As Sora broke down the numbers, Hiashi was visibly delighted. If this were a different setting, he would've toasted Sora on the spot.
He was the first to speak up. "If war breaks out, the Hyuga clan will fight with everything we've got—we'll be on the front lines!"
Though there was fear, his rage burned stronger. Who gave them the nerve to try and kidnap his precious daughter?
Meanwhile, Fugaku Uchiha sat with his eyes closed, pretending not to hear. The others remained quiet, unreadable.
Worth noting: since Danzo had been removed from power earlier, the other two Hokage advisors were also dismissed, leaving no one to interrupt with nonsense.
After a moment, Hiruzen finally spoke. "Konoha may not fear the Cloud, but have you considered the other villages? What if they swoop in from behind?"
His voice remained calm, but the warning was stern.
Sora might be a genius—already stronger than himself—but he was still a child.
Privately sighing, Hiruzen resolved to clean up after him and treat this as a valuable lesson.
The future belonged to Sora, after all. No one could take that from him.
But Sora only smiled.
"That's an easy fix. You're just letting past experiences cloud your judgment."
Before anyone could question him, he continued.
"Me, Minato-nii, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Lord Hiashi, and Fugaku—we six will march into the Hidden Cloud."
He licked his lips, excitement flashing in his eyes.
"Five Kage-levels plus one elite Jonin—more than enough to wreak havoc. And with Minato's Flying Thunder God, they won't be able to stop us."
As he spoke, everyone's eyes lit up.
Of course! Who said war had to be fought with numbers? Why not crush them with elite force?
In the past, no one had dared try it, fearing Kage-levels could be swarmed and overwhelmed.
Just like the Third Raikage, who had died in such a way.
But with Minato's teleportation, who could trap them now?
Fugaku, however, stared at Sora in shock.
Five Kage-levels—and he'd included Fugaku. How did Sora know?
The others didn't seem to notice, but Fugaku heard it clearly.
As if sensing his gaze, Sora turned and gave him a dazzling smile—then ignored him.
Truthfully, Sora hadn't wanted to bring Hiashi. He wasn't even Kage-level and would only slow them down.
But since it was his daughter who had been targeted, it would've been awkward to exclude him.
Sora had drawn inspiration from the original story. Minato alone had ended a war for Konoha.
They weren't as strong as him, sure—but six elites could match six puppets, right?
Back then, Konoha was even stronger than the current Cloud. By comparison, this plan was guaranteed to succeed.
"I'm in," someone declared.
"Me too!"
"Count me in!"
In no time at all, everyone—except Fugaku—voiced their support.
Konoha's overwhelming strength would also serve to warn the other villages to tread carefully.
Sora turned to the one holdout.
"What about you, Lord Fugaku?"
Fugaku stared at Sora for a long moment… then nodded silently.
///
30+ advanced chapters on patreon.com/Emik01