Chapter 177:
As long as he bowed his head and apologized, everyone could be happy. There was nothing shameful about it—everyone would understand Naruto, and perhaps even thank him for the sacrifice he made for both the daimyō mansion and Konoha.
However, Naruto's next words shocked everyone awake.
"Haha~"
After a moment of silence, Naruto suddenly laughed. He raised his middle finger directly at the daimyō and mocked:
"Since you're not benevolent, don't blame me for being unrighteous."
"I'm stronger than you—so what I say goes. My words are fact."
"This is the reality you have to accept. Get used to it!"
Since the daimyō refused to let go of the matter, Naruto started playing dirty too, bringing out the ninja world's true unspoken rule: might makes right!
Naruto's choice was crystal clear.
He would rather let both the daimyō mansion and Konoha fall into trouble than allow the world to think 'Sakyo' was someone who killed innocents indiscriminately.
After all—if he apologized on 'Sakyo's' behalf, wouldn't that mean 'Sakyo' was really wrong, and 'Sakyo' shouldn't have killed Mizunaka?
And crucially—Sakyo was completely taking the blame for someone else.
The one who killed Mizunaka wasn't Sakyo—it was Little Black.
If Naruto apologized in Sakyo's name, wouldn't Sakyo be forced to carry this huge black pot for no reason?
What a joke! Naruto would never allow that to happen!
Damn it! Sakyo had nothing to do with the entire incident from beginning to end—she was completely an outsider.
Why should she carry such a massive black pot just because of that idiot Mizunaka's lolicon tendencies, or for the idiot daimyō mansion's face, or for the idiot Konoha village's authority?
This wasn't "eating two bowls of cold noodles but only paying for one." This was about Sakyo's reputation.
If Naruto apologized on 'Sakyo's' behalf, Sakyo would carry the blame. Wouldn't she become the indiscriminate killer in everyone's eyes?
At that time, Uchiha Itachi—Sakyo's only blood relative in the world, currently on a mission with Akatsuki, who possessed the true Will of Fire and didn't know the full story—how would he view Sakyo?
Her classmates who spent every day with 'Sasuke' but didn't know the real events—how would they view Sakyo?
Haruno Sakura, who had always madly pursued 'Sasuke'—once she learned Sakyo's true gender and faced this huge black pot on Sakyo's back—how would she view Sakyo?
"Fuck! Why the hell should I?!"
Thinking that a simple bow from him would bring such massive consequences to Sakyo, Naruto became furious.
He completely exploded, pointing at the daimyō and unleashing a nonstop barrage—leaving zero face for the daimyō.
The words he spat were filthier than sewage sludge. Many people suspected Naruto must have specially studied cursing materials—how else could he roast someone so viciously…
Up on the platform, the ANBU Commander was listening with absolute delight.
In truth, he had long disliked the daimyō—for a very simple reason: he shared an experience not too different from Naruto's.
But back then, the ANBU Commander was just a young man in his early twenties—seen by outsiders as an inexperienced brat.
At that time, he chose a different answer from Naruto.
Now, seeing Naruto decisively make the opposite choice, the ANBU Commander felt a slight surge of excitement, a rush of hot blood rising in his chest.
But… Naruto was cursing way too harshly. Everyone looked at him strangely. They were all old and experienced—yet they couldn't fathom how Naruto's vocabulary was so rich.
Some of the filthy terms they had literally never heard before… Was this talent? Was this the descendant of Minato? Truly powerful!
After a full ten minutes, under everyone's stunned gazes, Naruto finally let out a long breath and stopped.
Throat dry and tongue parched, Naruto noticed the shocked faces all around him and couldn't help feeling a little smug.
You wanna go against me? How exactly are you gonna do that!
In his previous life, Naruto had been baptized by the internet. His roasting skills weren't top-tier, but they weren't weak either.
How dare the daimyō try to go against Naruto?
After a long silence, when everyone's eyes turned to the daimyō, he opened his mouth—but not a single word came out.
Finally, the daimyō could only wave his hand and say: "To… to… to actually utter such filthy and vulgar language, you…"
Naruto: "What? I can't curse you?"
Daimyō: "I!! I have never seen such vulgar…"
Naruto: "What? I can't curse you?"
Daimyō: "…"
Off to the side, Sarutobi Hiruzen watched the daimyō and Naruto arguing and shook his head slightly.
The daimyō wasn't a good person, and Naruto was even less of one—one was willing to be cursed by Naruto, the other was willing to curse.
If this continued, they wouldn't finish even by nightfall.
Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced at the ANBU Commander. The ANBU Commander nodded slightly, indicating he understood.
Plan B!
Originally, Plan A was to bring Naruto back and ask if he was willing to apologize.
But now—looking at Naruto's attitude and his passion for roasting the daimyō—there was no turning back.
Therefore—Plan B activated!
Plan B came from Nara Shikaku, also Konoha's top strategist. This matter wasn't huge but wasn't small—Sarutobi Hiruzen had naturally asked for his input on how to break the deadlock.
The ANBU Commander made a gesture toward the shadows. The ANBU member in the dark saw it and vanished.
Thirty seconds later, the grand hall doors were violently pushed open.
Bang~
A powerful gust of wind suddenly blew into the hall. Everyone's gazes turned toward the entrance.
Naruto did the same.
And Naruto's expression looked like he had seen a ghost.
Danzō???
It was actually that old bastard Danzō???
He was still alive??!
No! Wait!!
Danzō was definitely dead!
Naruto was 100% certain of that!
So the Danzō in front of him… was probably someone pretending to be him!
Naruto calmed down and didn't speak first.
Under everyone's gaze, Shimura Danzō walked forward with two squads of cold Root ninja behind him.
His face was expressionless, but the ruthless glint in his eyes still made the daimyō's back run cold.
Shimura Danzō was different from Sarutobi Hiruzen!
As Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen naturally had to maintain his public image.
But Danzō could be called Konoha's shadow.
Face? Image? None of that mattered.
This was why, over the years, Danzō's methods in the ninja world had made almost anyone who heard of them turn pale!
Ruthless, cold, insane…
Every word that could be used to describe a villain fit Danzō perfectly.
Sarutobi Hiruzen pretended to be stern and said to Danzō: "Danzō! Didn't I tell you not to interfere with village matters during this period?"
Thud~
Danzō stopped, raised his cane, and slammed it hard into the ground, creating a small crater. His voice was gloomy as he sneered:
"Hmph!!!"
"This matter is very easy to resolve. Just announce to the outside world that the person Mizunaka humiliated was not an Uchiha clan member. At the same time, Konoha apologizes, and the daimyō mansion pays 1 billion ryō in compensation!"
"This way, both the daimyō mansion's reputation is preserved, and the 1 billion ryō can shut up the other ninja villages."
"This proposal—who agrees, who opposes??"
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