Naruto: Fooling the Ninja World, I'm Hailed as a Savior

Buzz buzz!

The tent windows began to gently vibrate and glow faintly. The water in the cups on the table rippled in layers. This vibration seemed to come from a very distant place, but it still woke the ninjas in other tents across the Konoha camp, who emerged cautiously with their weapons, brows furrowed.

"What's going on?"

"Is it an earthquake?"

Hearing footsteps outside the tent, Hyuga Kawa also had the three puppets pick up their weapons and go out. He created a shadow clone, dressed it in the dead ninja's clothes, and followed the three out. As for himself, he remained inside the tent.

A moment later, the vibration gradually subsided. Hyuga Kawa felt an invisible connection forming in his mind. A three-dimensional structural map of a five-layered underground palace appeared in his mind. Although it felt vast, its interior was still empty. However, if he wished, he could directly enter the underground palace from anywhere within a kilometer of it.

"This underground palace should withstand a strong assault, right?" Hyuga Kawa thought to himself. "Otherwise, even if I got a stripped-down version of a space-time ninjutsu, spending these three thousand points would be a bit of a loss." He planned to use this underground palace ruin as bait; it couldn't be easily broken by others. But Hyuga Kawa couldn't test it now, so he could only try to trust the system's conscience.

Just then, his eyes subtly shifted. He looked out of the tent, sensing that all eight Root ninjas in the camp, including his shadow clone and the three puppets, were gathering in the same direction.

"It seems Aburame Ryoma has arrived and, as I expected, is gathering the Root ninjas," Hyuga Kawa realized. With that, everything was in place. All that remained was for the show to begin.

Hyuga Kawa turned into a black shadow, vanishing into the darkness of the rainy night, stealthily heading towards the Land of Hot Water. He would wait in the underground palace in advance. Waiting for the Hidden Cloud and Konoha to "dig" him out.

And then…

Hyuga Kawa subtly lifted his head, looking at the full moon obscured by dark clouds.

"Since Otsutsuki Toneri could control that gigantic Tenseigan, I should be able to borrow it too."

A pleasant, light chuckle mingled with the wind and rain, scattering into the night.

Meanwhile, at the port of the Land of Hot Water, over a dozen Hidden Cloud ninjas stood silently in the rain. Behind them, the yellow lamps of the hot spring inn, serving as their contact point, flickered. Strong winds surged in through various gaps, making the lamps sway wildly, causing their black shadows to drag and waver on the ground.

The leader had short purple hair, wore a black tight-fitting combat uniform, layered with a white Hidden Cloud flak jacket, and a yellow scarf around his neck.

"Lord Toroi," a Hidden Cloud ninja body-flickered behind him and reported, "We haven't found any anomalies. It should just be a normal earthquake."

Boom!

A thunderstorm erupted at that moment, lightning illuminating the night sky with a stark white.

"A normal earthquake, huh…"

Toroi murmured, looking up. Large raindrops, thrown by the wind, lashed down. Thick dark clouds overhead obscured the moonlight, only the white python-like lightning illuminating the gaps in the clouds.

Unaccountably, he felt a stifling unease in his chest, as if it foreshadowed an impending disaster, as if the ominous clouds above were pressing down on them. He always trusted his instincts. Already distrustful of Konoha, his vigilance heightened even further. However, as the agreed-upon time drew nearer, a faint impatience arose in his heart.

Just as Toroi was lost in thought, the Hidden Cloud ninja beside him suddenly looked up and said grimly, "They're here!"

In the distance, over a dozen figures in black raincoats could be seen swiftly moving across the water's surface, heading towards them. Toroi put his hand to his mouth and blew a sharp whistle. Upon hearing an identical sound in the distance, he immediately confirmed their identity.

Moments later, the Hidden Cloud ninjas standing on the port shore, aided by the warm yellow light emanating from behind them, saw the Konoha group led by Akimichi Doto.

"Sorry, the weather's not great, we're a bit late…"

Akimichi Doto glanced at the Hidden Cloud group, then scratched his head somewhat awkwardly, apologizing.

"Come inside to make the exchange."

But before he could finish, Toroi interrupted him, cutting off his words. With that, Toroi and the Hidden Cloud ninjas turned and walked into the hot spring inn behind them.

"So impatient?"

Akimichi Doto muttered under his breath, then gave a meaningful glance to Hyuga Kawa behind him, before leading his group to quickly follow them into the inn. This inn was sponsored by the Hidden Cloud Village. Its lobby was large, capable of accommodating over thirty people from the Hidden Cloud and Konoha.

The Konoha ninjas subtly looked at Hyuga Kawa in their group. Seeing him nod imperceptibly, they sighed in relief.

"The weather tonight is terrible," Toroi suddenly stopped, turned to Akimichi Doto, and said coldly.

"..." Understanding his meaning, Akimichi Doto decisively took a step back and shrugged. "Alright, alright, let's get this over with quickly."

A barking dog doesn't bite. Since the other party was acting so aggressively from the start, it wasn't too late to reveal their hand when things actually came to blows. The moment he saw Toroi's face, he had already recognized his identity. Toroi, a Hidden Cloud jōnin, skilled in using the Magnet Release bloodline limit.

The Fourth Raikage actually sent him over. Had he detected something unusual?

"If a fight breaks out, I wonder if I can protect that Hyuga kid," Akimichi Doto sighed inwardly. "The Third Hokage really gave me a troublesome mission."

"Where's the item?" Toroi asked bluntly.

Akimichi Doto slightly tilted his head. Hyuga Kawa stepped forward from behind him, giving Toroi a cold glance before pulling a scroll from his robes.

Bang!

A dark brown coffin appeared before them, exuding a sense of deathly stillness under the warm yellow hanging lamps, making the already oppressive atmosphere even colder.

"Just as expected."

Seeing this, Toroi frowned deeply but said nothing. On the way, he had already received a message from the village, knowing that the Daimyō had miscommunicated the message, which was why Konoha had seized on the verbal error and handed over a "corpse" — it was not unexpected. However, as long as the corpse was Hyuga Hiashi, it still held high value.

"Step back," Toroi said coldly. "We need to 'inspect the goods'."

The remark of calling the "corpse" "goods" seemed to touch a nerve in Hyuga Kawa, a hint of anger appearing in his eyes as he looked at Toroi. But just as he was about to say something, Akimichi Doto raised a hand to stop him, actively stepping back to give Toroi space.

Toroi walked to the side of the coffin, a strangely shaped shuriken sliding from his sleeve. He inserted it along the sealed edge of the coffin lid.

Crack.

The moment the coffin opened, the black night sky was abruptly painted incandescent by lightning. The dazzling flash cast everyone's shadows long and ghostly across the hall floor.

"..."

Behind Akimichi Doto, Aburame Ryoma stared intently at Toroi's expression, but unexpectedly, a surprising look appeared on his face. Anger, shock, and fear mingled on his features.

Why this reaction?

A sudden doubt arose in Aburame Ryoma's mind. Then he saw Toroi suddenly lift his head, opening his mouth in a shocked and enraged expression.

Boom!

The thunder, following the lightning, arrived just after.

"Retreat!" Toroi's angry shout was drowned out.

Akimichi Doto, who was closest, heard an unusually familiar sizzling sound, and his pupils abruptly constricted.

Explosive tags? How is that possible?!

The next moment, before anyone could react, a deafening roar, far more terrifying than thunder, enveloped heaven and earth! Blinding white light erupted before them, engulfing everyone directly!

BOOM!!