"What's wrong, Naruto?"
Natsuri noticed the change in Naruto's expression and asked softly.
Natsuri, who was always impudent, often acted wildly even in front of Tomoki.
However, on such a solemn occasion, she was still very reserved, and her voice was extremely low, only audible to those close beside her.
Sasuke also heard Natsuri's question and looked over.
With both parents alive and his clan prospering daily, Sasuke was no longer the hateful, envious person from the original story.
Although Naruto was much stronger than Sasuke, and among the three, only Sasuke was eliminated in the preliminary rounds, which always annoyed him when he thought about it.
Sasuke's annoyance was clear in his actions and words, but when it came to his companions, Sasuke genuinely cared.
In the original story, Sasuke, burdened by a deep-seated hatred, didn't hesitate to shield Naruto from an attack when he saw Naruto in danger against Haku, not once considering who would avenge him if he died.
With Tomoki's intervention, Sasuke now fully embodied the nature of his Rinnegan talent, showing an unparalleled emphasis on bonds.
Facing Natsuri and Sasuke's gazes, Naruto also whispered.
"I don't know why, but the Land of Water Daimyo gives me a very bad feeling. Should I tell Teacher?"
"Are you sure? Before we came here, Brother told us very seriously to follow the rules!"
"That's right, Teacher also gave us an official mission. We just need to watch."
Reminded by the two, Naruto had no choice but to give up.
"Actually, I'm not sure unless I activate that mode and confirm it carefully."
"Then let's not. Activating Chakra in this kind of setting could easily lead to misunderstandings."
"That's right, you don't want to cause trouble, do you, Naruto?"
Ultimately, with two against one, Naruto chose to remain silent.
Truth is often in the hands of the few.
However, for the rest of the time, Naruto remained distracted, and unable to control his expressions, he almost had "I have something on my mind but can't say it" written all over his face.
Tomoki was extremely attentive to the three little ones, and when he looked back once, he happened to see Naruto's sour face.
Keeping it in mind, Tomoki continued to greet the attendees without a change in expression.
However, Tomoki also secretly mused that the Land of Water Daimyo didn't seem very enthusiastic.
Subsequently, the Land of Wind and the Land of Lightning also arrived, leading to inevitable pleasantries and formalities, with a lot of time wasted on meaningless flattery.
This was Tomoki's duty as Hokage, something he had to do, and Tomoki himself was not averse to such things.
The more things there are that are meaningless to survival, the more they reflect the level of civilization's development.
So Tomoki not only didn't reject it but even enjoyed it.
Rather than being revered through power, Tomoki enjoyed building bridges with people through communication. If he could choose his own title, compared to being called the Ninja God, I would rather everyone call me the King of PY.
Since Hiruzen Sarutobi left Konoha, Tomoki finally met his match, seeing so many outstanding individuals.
Everyone is so good at talking, and they all say such nice things!
After the Land of Lightning Daimyo and Tomoki met like long-lost friends, and then reluctantly parted ways with Tomoki and the Land of Fire Daimyo to go to his residence.
Less than ten minutes later, the Land of Earth team, which arrived last and had been waiting outside for a long time, entered Konoha.
When everyone in the team appeared and walked in front of Tomoki, a sudden surge of immense Chakra instantly created a tense atmosphere.
The source was quickly identified: it was Naruto, who was now stunned and at a loss in the corner.
"Hahaha, it seems the Daimyo's impressive demeanor has completely captivated my disciple, making him uncontrollably excited. Please do not take offense, Your Excellency; the children from our small Village haven't seen much of the world."
Tomoki quickly smoothed things over, simultaneously making a swift hand gesture to tell Konoha's Ninja to relax and not be nervous.
As Konoha's side was the first to disperse their aura, the people in the Land of Earth team also slowly reined theirs in.
"Is that the Hokage's disciple? He also looks quite spirited. Please rest assured, since it's a misunderstanding, it's nothing to worry about."
To be honest, the Land of Earth Daimyo was actually panicking just now, but thankfully it was just a false alarm.
At this moment, a torrent of silent curses was directed at Tomoki, but he showed no expression on his face.
Konoha was indeed as Ōnoki's letter described: ignorant of rules and fond of playing petty, undignified tricks.
The embarrassed Tomoki, the resentful Land of Earth Daimyo, and the Land of Fire Daimyo, who was in a good mood seeing Tomoki's blunder.
The Land of Fire Daimyo, who was watching the show, was already quiet. When he finally spoke, he only subtly fanned the flames. The three of them hastily concluded their conversation in an awkward atmosphere.
Looking at the sky, it was probably past 10 o'clock. Tomoki and the Land of Fire Daimyo exchanged a few pleasantries.
After agreeing on the time for the afternoon's attendance, they also bid each other farewell.
In the afternoon, it was the turn of the smaller nations' teams, which also required the Fire Daimyo's presence. With Tomoki's command, the Konoha team also disbanded, and they all left in twos and threes.
Tomoki also came over to the three little ones.
"Naruto, what exactly happened earlier?"
"Teacher, the Land of Water Daimyo from earlier, and many people in the Land of Earth team, I feel... I feel they are not good people!"
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