The Heavens: From Naruto to sign in

"My blade's sharp enough to peel fruit."

The meaning behind the words was unmistakable.

Tension crackled in the Hokage's office. It felt like one wrong move would set off an explosion.

And just as it was about to boil over—

Bang!

The office doors flew open.

Uzumaki Naruto rushed in like a whirlwind, completely unaware of the tense atmosphere. The moment he saw Yoruha, he grinned from ear to ear and shouted:

"Ah! Yoruha, I knew you'd be here! I heard you completed an S-rank mission!"

Then, as if proudly rehearsing his lines, he continued:

"Uncle Hiashi, Uncle Yamanaka, Uncle Nara, Uncle Akimichi, Uncle Aburame, and Uncle Inuzuka—everyone's coming together to throw a celebration for you!"

Only after he finished did Naruto finally notice the stiff expressions in the room.

He scratched the back of his head awkwardly and chuckled.

"Ah... sorry, Grandpa Third. Did I interrupt something? Were you about to give Yoruha a reward or something? Hehehe, so lucky~!"

The silence that followed was deafening.

Naruto's clumsy innocence, however, had diffused the boiling pressure in the room.

The Third Hokage let out a long sigh and walked over to pat Danzo and Mitokado Homura on the shoulders.

"Let's drop it."

"Yoruha has a point. If anything, this situation has highlighted a loophole in Konoha's mission system. We can't punish someone for exposing that."

"Absolutely not!"

"They must be punished!" Homura snapped. "Hiruzen, are you losing your mind?"

"Have you gone soft?"

Hearing the rising protests from his old comrades, Sarutobi Hiruzen's face darkened.

Boom.

The aura of the Hokage surged.

"I said it's over—and that's final!" he barked, voice booming through the room. "Don't forget who I am. I'm the Hokage of Konoha!"

You wrinkled old relics...

Do you think I'm senile?

Did you forget the six major clans already made their stance on Yoruha very clear?

You think you can gang up on the boy and make him hand over a measly bounty?

Ten million ryō?

What's that to Konoha?

Money's the easiest thing to earn in this village.

I'm not interested in this petty power play.

So drop it.

End of story.

Outside the Hokage Building.

Naruto followed Yoruha like a tail, face glowing with excitement.

"Yoruha, how'd I do in there just now?" he asked eagerly. "Uncle Shikaku wrote those lines for me. I totally nailed it, right? Didn't sound fake at all, did it?"

Yoruha chuckled.

"You've improved a lot. You really are someone who's destined to become Hokage one day."

"Hahaha! I knew it!" Naruto beamed. "I'm a genius!"

Anko walked silently beside Yoruha, her expression a mix of pride and concern.

"Yoruha," she said finally, "you really saved us this time... but you've also made enemies. You've pissed off Danzo and both elders. Things won't be easy from here."

Even though they'd kept their bounty…

Just looking at how hostile those elders were had her deeply worried.

If she could choose again…

She might've just given up the reward altogether.

Yoruha turned to her, gave a casual shrug, and smiled.

"It's fine. We've got money now. Worst case, I just get assigned to D-rank missions from now on."

"In Konoha, it's not like I rely on them for anything anyway."

Anko burst out laughing.

She couldn't argue with that.

As long as he stayed inside the village, even Danzo couldn't risk doing something reckless against Yoruha.

But…

Could they still go on missions together?

"Actually," she said, her voice quieter now, "based on your performance during the Wave Country mission, Hokage-sama has decided you'll be assigned solo missions from now on."

She paused.

"My temporary role as your team leader... is over."

A long sigh escaped her lips.

When she said those three words—it's over—her heart clenched with a strange, complicated emotion.

It shouldn't have felt like this.

He was just some annoying kid…

But why did it feel so hard to say goodbye?