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Chapter 85 – "sure, my knight...."
🕑 Added 2025-07-06 01:24:40 +0000 UTCChapter 85 – "sure, my knight...."
The Hokage Tower stood quiet under the noon sun. A veil of tension hovered just beneath its polished walls, unnoticed by civilians but unmistakable to those who moved through the tower’s upper halls.
In the audience chamber, Tsunade sat poised on the raised platform, the official Hokage seat behind her, though she refused to use it today. At her side stood Shizune, ever watchful. But it was the figure standing at Tsunade’s left hand that caught the diplomat’s attention most.
Hajime.
He stood tall, impossibly tall, at 2.2 meters, his shadow long even in the carefully lit hall. No armor now. Just a dark high-collared coat with crimson lining and reinforced mesh beneath, tailored but severe, his hands clasped behind his back in perfect stillness. His silver eyes gleamed under the light, calm but unreadable.
The door opened with deliberate slowness.
Cee, the Hidden Cloud’s diplomat and trusted assistant of the Raikage, stepped forward with three escorts in formal Kumogakure dress. They bowed shallowly, just enough for protocol, then straightened. Cee’s polite smile was offset by the faint sharpness in his eyes.
“Tsunade-dono,” he greeted. “I bring word from the Raikage. We extend peace, and our hopes that the unrest within your village has been quelled.”
Tsunade inclined her head. “Konoha appreciates the concern of our allies.”
They both knew the game.
Cee’s expression twitched slightly. “We also regret the incident at the border several days ago. Our patrols, I’m told, may have strayed during a routine maneuver.”
Tsunade’s lips curved faintly. “Stray too far into the wrong woods and you risk finding wolves.”
Cee’s eye flicked sideways, just briefly, to Hajime.
“Forgive me for asking, but is this your new apprentice?” he asked, feigning mild curiosity. “I heard the Hokage had taken on a medical ninja. But…”
He tilted his head slightly. “He doesn’t look the part.”
Tsunade didn’t smile. “He’s exactly the part. And more.”
Cee gave a shallow chuckle. “Kumogakure has heard... of your apprentice, heard that Tsunade Apprentice Killed the Traitor Danzo” He paused, especially highlighting the Traitor“We assumed it was an ANBU unit. But now I wonder.”
Tsunade’s eyes narrowed just slightly, but her tone remained cordial. “Konoha handles its traitors thoroughly. Let that be your only answer.”
The diplomat studied Hajime again, who hadn’t moved an inch since they entered. Hajime’s eyes were not hostile, but they were cold, like something watching a threat, not a guest.
“If Konoha’s medical ninja are this formidable, perhaps we’ll send our wounded here for training,” Cee offered with a small smile.
“You’ll have none left,” Tsunade said flatly.
The silence that followed was brief, but heavy.
Cee bowed again. “I will carry your words to the Raikage. May peace remain between us.”
He turned and left with his guards, their steps quicker than when they arrived.
The chamber remained still for a long moment. Shizune exhaled quietly.
Tsunade glanced sideways at Hajime. “You scared him.”
“I didn’t do anything,” Hajime replied.
“You don’t have to,” she said, and stood.
At the same time, hundreds of kilometers to the northeast
Border Forest – Between Land of Fire and Land of Lightning
Toroi, the magnetic release shinobi and hardened veteran of Kumogakure, stood atop a ridgeline overlooking the narrow forest valley. His squad of elite operatives crouched behind him, cloaked with chakra suppression seals. They were not here for war, but for provocation. The Raikage had made the goal simple: push the Leaf. See who responds. Test their steel.
A flicker.
A bird chirp halted.
Movement.
Then nothing.
Toroi frowned, raising his hand.
A moment later, a kunai embedded itself in the tree behind him—paper tag stuck to the handle.
“Contact!” one of his squad whispered.
A blur swept through the trees. The sound of air slicing followed.
Kakashi Hatake landed on a low branch across the ridge, Sharingan glowing beneath his hitai-ate.
“To cross the border without notice is one thing,” Kakashi said lightly, “but planting traps in neutral territory? That’s rude, even for Kumo.”
Toroi didn’t flinch. “The Raikage has sent no war order.”
“Then you’re off the leash,” Kakashi said. “Good. Easier to handle.”
The clash came quickly.
Kakashi, Yugao, and two other elite jonin burst into the clearing. Steel rang against steel. Wind-style jutsu hissed against magnetic repulsion. Kunai spun midair, deflected by Toroi’s technique, but Kakashi was faster. A barrage of shadow clones forced Toroi to backpedal.
Yugao pinned one Kumo shinobi against a rock outcropping with a spinning kick. Another was knocked unconscious by Kakashi’s lightning clone.
Within minutes, Toroi’s team was retreating.
“This is enough,” Toroi called. “We got what we came for.”
He vanished into the trees.
Back in Konoha
The diplomat returned to his inn, sent his messenger bird, and began drafting a false account. Konoha would appear too aggressive. Toroi would claim self-defense. The story would reach the Raikage clean, just as planned.
But as night fell, another figure stood in the Hokage Tower.
Hajime stood before the window of Tsunade’s office, the stars casting silver over the tiled roofs of the Hidden Leaf.
“They will try again,” Tsunade said. “Kumo doesn’t bluff twice.”
Hajime turned his gaze toward the dark north.
“I’ll go this time,” Hajime said. “Let me handle it.”
Tsunade’s gaze lingered on him, then smiled, then said
"sure, my knight...."
End Of Chapter 85 – "sure, my knight...."
