"What's the point of doing all this?"
Ringo Yuuri followed Naruto through the streets of Kirigakure, her confusion growing with every step.
She noticed something strange — Naruto wasn't targeting key military sites or secret bases. Instead, he was talking with the ordinary villagers.
He asked about their lives — food, clothing, shelter, and transport.
At first, his armored presence made people nervous. With Ringo Yuuri, one of the village's top ninja, by his side, the villagers trembled and stammered as if being interrogated.
But Naruto softened his voice. There was something about it — warm, reassuring, almost magical. Slowly, the villagers relaxed and began speaking from the heart.
Life was hard, they said, but at least they still had enough to eat. They were barely getting by.
"If only there were fewer fights between ninjas…"
The moment someone said that, they froze. Realizing what they'd just spoken aloud, they glanced nervously at Ringo Yuuri and fell silent.
Naruto gently reassured them before moving on.
Watching the villagers hurry away, Ringo Yuuri couldn't hold back her question anymore.
"Doesn't Kirigakure care about its own people?" Naruto asked suddenly.
The question caught her off guard. She didn't know how to answer.
Since joining the Ninja Academy, she had devoted herself entirely to training. She rarely interacted with civilians — they had always been like the background scenery of the shinobi world.
"You Sand Shinobi are the same, aren't you?" Naruto turned to Aoiha. "Always focused on missions and politics, but never on the people you protect?"
Aoiha froze.
As a hero of Sunagakure, she'd always concerned herself with village affairs and her students — never the common folk. When she thought about it, she couldn't even remember the last time she'd noticed them.
"I heard Kirigakure was once called the Village Hidden in the Bloody Mist," Naruto continued. "Years ago, there was a case where a student killed all his classmates — only he survived. That was how the Bloody Mist began… wasn't it?"
Ringo Yuuri fell silent. She knew the story. The village had been in turmoil, but in the end, the truth was buried.
"Have you ever thought about the families behind those students?" Naruto said quietly. "Their parents, their friends — they cried, they grieved, they hated. That kind of hatred doesn't just disappear. One day, it will explode."
"This world is messed up."
"The Five Great Villages treat ninjas like tools — disposable soldiers. They say it's our 'fate as shinobi.' What a joke."
"Ninjas are people too. They feel pain, fear, sorrow. They don't want to kill their comrades just because some mission says so."
He paused, then continued, "Kirigakure has hunter-nin, doesn't it? Ninjas who hunt down their own allies. Tell me — how does it feel to kill your comrade for the sake of the village? Do they tell themselves it's necessary? Or do they think… this world is so rotten, it deserves to burn?"
Naruto spoke softly, but his words cut deep.
Ringo Yuuri and Aoiha followed in silence, each word shaking their beliefs. It was as if Naruto had opened a door they didn't even know existed — showing them a side of the world they had never seen.
In a dark corner, Hoshigaki Kisame looked up slightly. His shark-like eyes flickered with a strange emotion.
"Kirigakure is isolated overseas," Naruto said suddenly. "Why do you even bother waging wars with the mainland? Is it for revenge? For profit? Or do you just fight because you don't know what else to do?"
He turned to Aoiha next. "And Sunagakure — your village is the weakest of the Five. Why keep starting wars you can't win? The strong prey on the weak, not the other way around."
Both women were speechless.
After a long pause, Ringo Yuuri stammered, "It's probably… to compete for mission commissions. If we lose reputation, fewer clients hire us, the village grows poorer, and ninjas can't survive…"
Naruto sighed. "So it all comes down to money. In the end, the entire ninja system is broken — ninjas are forced to fight just to earn a living. Ridiculous."
"Why not do business instead? You have unique abilities — you could trade, transport goods, build ships, run commerce. With ninjas' skills, you'd make far more profit than by risking your life for mission pay."
"Why choose to live in constant bloodshed?"
He clenched his fist. "This world is wrong. It needs to change."
He spoke with conviction, his voice firm and calm.
"…Something wrong with the world?"
In the Mizukage's office, Yagura murmured the words under his breath.
Every powerful ninja in Kirigakure was gathered there, reading through a report — a transcript of Naruto's words.
Hoshigaki Kisame had sent it.
He remembered hearing those words himself, each one hitting like a thunderclap.
That boy — that blond shinobi — was like a beacon shining through the fog, a lighthouse cutting through the darkness. For the first time, Kisame saw a path forward… and rediscovered a reason to live.
"Behind every ninja, there are parents and loved ones…"
His gaze dimmed.
Years ago, in an attempt to change the Bloody Mist, he had slaughtered his entire class. The village had praised it as reform, but now he realized how twisted that was.
He'd been such a fool.
"Ninjas doing business… merchants?" Terumi Mei muttered, then suddenly smiled. "That's… brilliant."
She could already see it — the future of Kirigakure.
Relying on mission fees had always been a dead end. When missions ran dry, so did the village's life. Why couldn't ninjas do more than fight? Why couldn't they build? Trade? Create?
"It's genius. Revolutionary," she said, her eyes burning with determination.
"It's all so true… deafeningly true," Yagura said softly.
"Send my command — from this day forward, Kirigakure will begin full reform. We will no longer treat our ninjas as tools or disposable weapons. The cruelty of the past ends now."
On Yagura's young face was a rare calm — the calm of a man seeking redemption.
Freed from the Sharingan's control, he had finally decided to atone.
And it would start today — with the rebirth of Kirigakure, the Village Hidden in the Mist.
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