Chapter 382: You Really Don't Act Like a Cloud Ninja
December 27th, Year 49 of Konoha.
The weather was neither good nor particularly bad.
Snowflakes drifted endlessly through the sky, blanketing Konoha in a thick layer of silver.
Kei stood at the gates of the village with Ayaka beside him. Behind them were the four squad captains and a number of members from the Military Police Force.
They were here to receive the special envoy from Kumogakure.
To be honest, Kei had no interest whatsoever in coming.
But courtesy demanded it—and more importantly, this was a direct assignment from Namikaze Minato. Whether he liked it or not, he had to be present.
That said, the reception this time was nothing like the extravagance recorded in the original history.
Back then, Konoha had just lost its Fourth Hokage.
That devastating blow had crushed morale so thoroughly that even veteran shinobi lost confidence.
After a series of conflicts and heavy casualties, Konoha accepted Kumogakure's so-called "olive branch."
That was when the "grand celebration" Neji would later speak of took place.
A celebration so absurd that shinobi from jōnin to genin—perhaps even the Hokage himself—were all in attendance.
It said everything about how fearful and exhausted Konoha had been at the time.
They had celebrated peace that came like alms.
Under the Third Hokage's overly conservative policies, Konoha had nearly lost its edge.
To be fair, his choices back then weren't entirely wrong.
But what followed afterward laid the groundwork for his eventual isolation—and his lonely death.
"They're here."
Ayaka's quiet voice pulled Kei out of his thoughts.
He looked up.
Sure enough, a group of Kumogakure shinobi was approaching.
At the front was a man in his early thirties.
Plain.
Unremarkable.
Borderline ugly.
Yet this was a man who had secretly gone to meet the Third Hokage alone—a mission that practically required accepting one's own death in advance.
In that sense, Kei had to admit—
He respected the man's resolve.
"Tch… fine."
Kei shook his head lightly.
"I'll just treat this as escorting a corpse to its grave."
He crossed his arms and remained where he was, showing no intention of stepping forward to greet them.
Why would he?
A group of dead men had no right to be welcomed.
Moments later, the Kumogakure delegation reached the gates.
The instant they stopped, their gazes all shifted—not to Kei—
But to the man standing behind him.
Uchiha Ryū.
The one who had killed Toroi.
That single act had made Ryū's name infamous.
"Jōnin Uchiha Ryū," the envoy said with a light smile, his tone deliberately casual.
"What a coincidence. I didn't expect you to be part of the reception team."
Kei watched them with mild amusement.
If this wasn't intentional—
He would eat his own eyes.
He didn't respond.
Instead, he remained standing quietly where he was.
Ayaka's expression was almost identical to Kei's.
Were these people genuinely childish—or did they really believe they could stir something up here?
Uchiha Ryū lifted his head indifferently and glanced at them once.
The look in his eyes was the same one used to measure corpses.
It swept across each of them in turn.
Then he turned his gaze forward again, as if they weren't even worth another glance.
"Tch… is this Konoha's attitude?"
Atsubi sounded slightly surprised, though his tone remained frivolous.
"So? Do you people actually want to talk or not?"
"Go back."
A gentle voice suddenly sounded beside him.
The speaker was Kei.
Kei glanced at Atsubi calmly, then shook his head.
"Someone like you has no right to enter Konoha. Everyone—let's go back."
"Yes!"
All members of the Military Police responded in unison, immediately forming ranks and waiting for Kei to leave first.
Kei didn't hesitate for even a second.
He turned around and began to walk away.
This wasn't posturing.
He genuinely had the confidence to do so.
In this conflict, Konoha had clearly come out ahead.
The side hoping to ease tensions through negotiation was Kumogakure—not Konoha.
No matter how things truly stood behind the scenes, on the surface Konoha was the dominant party.
They had already shown adequate diplomatic courtesy.
If the weaker side failed to recognize that—
Then Kei had no intention of lowering himself to save their pride.
The anxious one wouldn't be him.
It would be Atsubi.
The man was clever, yes—but his mindset was completely wrong.
Dangerously so.
What lurked in the shadows was never comparable to what stood openly in the light.
Kei shook his head faintly, a hint of disappointment flickering through him.
So Kumogakure's plan was clear—but couldn't they at least have sent someone more presentable?
"Are you Kei—the legendary head of the Military Police?"
Atsubi's voice rang out again just as Kei was about to leave.
"Arrogant, just as expected. But are you really leaving? Locking an envoy outside your gates—is that Konoha's stance?"
"Envoy?"
Kei turned around and looked at him in confusion, then glanced at Ayaka beside him.
"Ayaka, do you see an envoy here?"
"No."
Ayaka immediately understood his meaning.
She shook her head calmly, her voice icy.
"All I hear is barking. Perhaps a vicious dog."
"Kei, don't go too far."
Atsubi's expression darkened.
"Do you really want Kumogakure and Konoha to go to full war?"
That sentence caused every member of the Military Police to tense.
Kei turned back once more.
His gaze swept over Atsubi slowly—yet the look in his eyes was no different from someone staring at an idiot.
It infuriated Atsubi.
He knew perfectly well that he was taking a risk.
Provoking the Military Police on first contact.
Aggressively confronting Kei, the man in charge of their reception.
It was reckless.
But he had chosen to do it anyway.
On the surface, Kumogakure had suffered a minor loss—but what the world saw was restraint.
They had requested peace talks, projecting an image of responsibility and goodwill.
It was political theater—an attempt to reshape Kumogakure's image.
Atsubi despised that approach.
Kumogakure earned its reputation through strength—not empty gestures.
More importantly, he was testing Konoha.
Specifically—the Third Hokage's faction.
He didn't know what the Third Hokage had done after their previous meeting.
He believed there was a chance that man would betray Konoha for power.
Even if that failed, it still planted a seed of discord.
Now, by provoking Kei, he could observe Konoha's internal balance.
Kei was firmly aligned with the Fourth Hokage—naturally at odds with the Third.
If Kei reacted with extreme firmness, there were only two explanations:
Either the Third Hokage had failed completely and was being crushed—
Or he had defected, enraging Kei and causing this reaction.
And if the Third Hokage had truly succeeded?
Then the man greeting him today would have been his sworn enemy.
Of course, Atsubi also considered another possibility—
That Kei had been deliberately sent to clash with him.
To use the conflict as an excuse to eliminate him.
But Atsubi quickly dismissed that idea.
Kei's absolute disregard made one thing clear—
He didn't even see them as a threat.
"Too far? Full war?"
Kei smiled softly, his voice growing gentler by the second.
"Are you making decisions on the Raikage's behalf?"
He tilted his head slightly.
"So you're not on the same side as him? What—are you planning to follow the example of the Gold and Silver Brothers and assassinate your own Raikage?"
"You—!"
Atsubi's face changed instantly.
He never expected Kei to be this unrestrained.
Had Kei obtained his background information and deliberately chosen those words?
Atsubi was at odds with the Raikage.
That was precisely why he had been selected for this near-suicidal mission.
The shinobi accompanying him—all loyalists of the Raikage—knew that perfectly well.
Kei's casual remark had shoved him into an extremely dangerous position.
Even Kei himself might not have realized just how lethal that sentence was.
"Oh?" Kei folded his arms, utterly composed.
"Did I hit a nerve?"
His gentle tone felt colder than ice.
"You claim to be a special envoy, yet everything you've done is dragging Kumogakure closer to war.
Don't forget—you already lost in the Land of Iron.
Don't forget—it was you who came seeking negotiations.
Your behavior is pushing the Raikage into an abyss, rendering all his efforts meaningless."
"I—"
Atsubi frowned deeply.
But before he could respond, Kei interrupted him again.
"So tell me—are you here to provoke us, venting your dissatisfaction with the Raikage's decisions?"
Or—
"Are you actually planning to remove a Raikage who doesn't align with your interests?"
Kei's gaze was calm, merciless.
"So here's my advice: clean up your internal mess first.
Then decide whether you want peace—or more conflict."
He paused briefly, then added flatly:
"You really don't act like a Cloud ninja."