Naruto :Madam, You Don’t Want Anything To Happen To Sasuke, Right?

In addition, Orochimaru was deeply wary of the Mangekyō Sharingan.

He had long understood the power of the ordinary Sharingan.

But the Mangekyō Sharingan—an eye whispered about in ancient records and legends—remained an enigma to him.

Even though he had prepared thoroughly for this encounter, the uncertainty gnawed at him. There was always the risk that Uchiha Haru might see through something critical.

As the saying goes: fewer complications mean fewer problems. So, better to withdraw while he still could.

"The Fourth Kazekage harbors ill intentions toward us."

"I don't like him."

It was Uzumaki Karin who broke the silence after Orochimaru left.

And this wasn't some baseless instinct or a woman's intuition. This was a real ability.

The Uzumaki clan had long been renowned for their exceptional sensory perception, particularly their ability to read chakra with pinpoint accuracy—able to distinguish hostility, bloodlust, or deception in an instant.

That ability was one of the main reasons why, when she first met Uchiha Haru in the Land of Grass, she had chosen to follow him without hesitation.

As his trusted teammates, Chojuro and Kimimaro were already very familiar with Karin's capabilities.

So the moment she spoke, their gazes turned cold and sharp—directed squarely at the shinobi from Sunagakure.

Ao, the Byakugan user from Kirigakure, however, remained indifferent.

The relationships between the Five Great Nations were layered and ambiguous. None truly respected the others, yet none underestimated them either.

To harbor malice?

That was practically expected.

It showed the other side regarded you as a threat—an equal, not someone beneath them. That kind of recognition was a twisted compliment in the world of shinobi diplomacy.

He looked at the three rising stars of Kirigakure and smiled.

"Don't worry. With Minister Haru here, there won't be any problems."

Kimimaro, Karin, and Chojuro all nodded silently.

Their confidence in Uchiha Haru's strength was absolute.

Even if the opponent was the Fourth Kazekage, he was nothing compared to the one they revered.

"Let's go."

Uchiha Haru said calmly, offering no further comment on Karin's observation.

In the original timeline, as he remembered it, both Kimimaro and Karin had been handpicked by Orochimaru to be taken away and used as tools.

But because of his presence in this world, much had changed.

For instance, Kimimaro's illness had been cured, and Karin had become the Jinchūriki of the Six-Tails—Saiken.

Their destinies had shifted dramatically.

But perhaps precisely because of that, some echoes of their original fates still resonated faintly.

Maybe that was what Karin had sensed—an undercurrent of hostility that remained inevitable.

The shinobi from the Hidden Mist followed those from the Hidden Sand into the Hidden Leaf Village.

At the main gate, Konoha's shinobi had already lined up to receive them.

Kimimaro, Karin, and Chojuro headed toward their assigned resting quarters under the guidance of Ao.

Uchiha Haru, meanwhile, followed a Konoha messenger toward the Hokage's office.

In this Chunin Exam, each team leader was essentially the diplomatic representative of their respective village—symbols of that village's strength, pride, and authority.

Konoha, as the host, naturally had to give a proper reception to guests of that level.

So it was no surprise that Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, would appear in person.

As Haru walked through the streets of Konoha, he felt a strange emotion.

This was the village where he had spent over ten years of his life.

Now, returning as a foreigner, he felt like a ghost wandering through old memories.

The villagers of Konoha, seeing him again, were stirred by complex emotions.

Some glared with barely concealed resentment.

To them, Haru was a traitor.

He had once belonged to Konoha. He had been part of its strongest clan—the Uchiha. But he had turned his back on them, vanished with the others, and reemerged as a major figure in Kirigakure.

Now he dared to return, walking their streets as if nothing had changed.

Others, however, were more thoughtful.

After all, the Uchiha had been the backbone of the village's security force for generations.

Their founder, Uchiha Madara, was one of the two men who had created Konoha alongside Senju Hashirama.

No matter how much bitterness lingered, their roots were intertwined.

Even if the Uchiha no longer belonged to Konoha, their reappearance still stirred something in the hearts of the villagers.

"Brother Haru!"

A bright, youthful voice rang out from the crowd.

Uchiha Haru turned toward it.

He spotted a young girl—no more than ten years old—pushing through the crowd with flushed cheeks and eager eyes.

The moment he saw the white pupils, he recognized her immediately.

Hyuga Hinata.

Daughter of the Hyuga Clan's head.

It had been years since he last saw her.

Once a timid little girl who clung behind her father's robes, she had grown considerably.

Taller. More mature. Her childishness had faded, but she remained as delicate and lovely as ever.

Still shy, though.

When she realized Haru had turned and was looking at her, she immediately lowered her head, her face turning bright red.

Her fingers nervously clenched the hem of her sleeve as she struggled to meet his eyes again.

But by the time she mustered the courage to look up—

He was already gone.

Hinata couldn't help but curse herself for being useless.

Day after day, the person Uchiha Haru longed for stood right in front of him, yet in the end, she still backed off.

Among the crowd watching Uchiha Haru, aside from Hinata, there was another boy who looked to be around the same age.

He wore the standard dark attire of the Uchiha clan—high collar, fan crest on his back—and his facial features faintly resembled Uchiha Mikoto.

But their temperaments couldn't be more different.

Uchiha Mikoto was warm and gentle.

This boy, on the other hand, radiated a cold and detached aura.

He stared blankly at Haru's retreating figure, his expression unreadable, saying nothing. No one knew what was going through his mind.

Had the crowd been thinner, Haru might have noticed him.

If he had, he would've immediately recognized who that boy was.

Uchiha Sasuke—the son Uchiha Mikoto cherished deeply.

Uchiha Haru arrived at the Hokage's office.

In the past ten years, he had stepped into this room more than once. But this time, the circumstances were vastly different.

Once, he had come here as a subordinate.

Now, he stood as a guest.

He and the Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure walked into the Hokage's office side by side.

The delegates from Iwagakure and Kumogakure had already arrived. Representing Iwagakure was Kurotsuchi's father, Akatsuchi, sent by the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki.

Uchiha Haru had heard of Akatsuchi, though they had never crossed paths.

As for the envoy from Kumogakure—Samui—that was a different matter.

Not only had they met, but she had once been his prisoner.

Only after the Hidden Cloud paid a hefty ransom had they secured her release.

So when Haru entered, Akatsuchi nodded to him respectfully.

Before the meeting, his father, Ōnoki, had instructed him to observe Uchiha Haru carefully.

In the shifting power dynamics of the ninja world, Konoha—once the leading village—was waning, though still formidable.

Sunagakure and Konoha shared a strong alliance rooted in years of cooperation.

Kumogakure, meanwhile, grew increasingly ambitious, seeking to usurp Konoha's dominant position.

Iwagakure, however, lacked the strength to stand alone against either force.

They needed allies.

Just as Konoha had Sunagakure, Iwagakure needed a reliable force by its side.

In the past, Kirigakure had been dismissed as chaotic and fractured.

But now, since the Uchiha clan's integration into the Hidden Mist, the village had undergone a dramatic transformation.

Kirigakure was no longer the blood-soaked mist of old.

Now, with its newfound stability and Uchiha leadership, it was a potential powerhouse—and a suitable ally for Iwagakure.

Still, Akatsuchi had to see for himself if Uchiha Haru was truly as formidable as the rumors claimed.

Samui, meanwhile, wore a carefully neutral expression. But inwardly, discomfort stirred.

She could still recall vividly the terror she felt under Uchiha Haru's control.

"You've arrived."

The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, greeted the Fourth Kazekage and Uchiha Haru with his trademark warm, grandfatherly smile.

But behind that mask was a seasoned manipulator—a man who would do anything to secure his goals.

The Fourth Kazekage nodded in polite acknowledgment.

Uchiha Haru, however, gave the Hokage a cool glance, then silently walked past him and took a seat without offering a single word.

He didn't give Hiruzen the slightest shred of respect.

Akatsuchi's eyes flickered with surprise.

He hadn't expected Uchiha Haru to be so brazen. To treat Sarutobi Hiruzen—the Hokage—with such open disregard.

Samui, though momentarily surprised, recovered quickly.

This was Uchiha Haru.

He had once belonged to a clan with no future, no home, and yet he had dared to demand ransom from the Hidden Cloud.

Now that he led Kirigakure's resurgence, such arrogance no longer seemed out of place.

A faint trace of irritation flickered across Hiruzen's face, but he quickly composed himself.

He was, after all, the longest-serving Hokage in Konoha's history. If nothing else, he knew how to maintain appearances.

After ushering the Fourth Kazekage to his seat, Hiruzen returned to the central position reserved for the host.

"We welcome the envoys of all major shinobi villages to Konoha for this year's Chūnin Exams. As your host, I, Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, express my sincerest gratitude."

"Furthermore, I hope the young shinobi representing each village demonstrate their utmost potential in the exams."

His words were polite, rehearsed, and about as dull as one would expect.

Akatsuchi from Iwagakure, Samui from Kumogakure, and Orochimaru—masquerading as the Fourth Kazekage—responded with the usual diplomatic pleasantries.

Uchiha Haru said nothing.

He detested this charade of courtesy—the kind where everyone said one thing and thought another.

Once the formal greetings were done, the real negotiations began.

Akatsuchi from the Rock Village decided to provoke the first shot.

"Mr. Haru," he began, "there's a rumor that on your journey to Kirigakure in the Land of Water, you engaged the Hidden Cloud's Eight-Tails Jinchūriki in battle."

"Is this true or not?"

As he spoke, he shot a sidelong glance at Samui, whose jaw tightened subtly.

Had the Fourth Raikage been present, Akatsuchi would never have dared mention such a thing.

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This Week Bonus Chapter - 200 Power stones

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