"Naruto! Hurry up and apologize!" Sakura urged anxiously.
"I… I know I was wrong… but it's because you slandered our village. Konoha isn't backward or foolish at all. Everyone loves the village and contributes their strength to it…"
Naruto apologized softly, still defending himself with a hint of reluctance.
"Hmph! I'm not slandering the ninja village era at all—it was a trash era. Let me ask you! In your era, could ordinary people, like the ones here, have high-quality clothes to wear, eat fresh fruits, vegetables, and meat every day?"
"Could everyone live in houses this beautiful? Could everyone be happy?" Kankuro asked heavily.
"That… probably not… but everyone's working hard… I'm sure in the future, it'll happen…" Naruto still wanted to say something.
Kankuro continued: "Everyone's working hard? Calling you foolish is still too generous. What are you working hard for? A bunch of ninja who only know how to fight and kill."
"You don't know how to farm. This guy named Yamato, who wields Wood Release, doesn't even know how to use it—truly pathetic."
"Do you know Earth Release can build roads? That Lightning Release and Wind Release can generate electricity? That powerful Yin Release can create something from nothing? That Yang Release can heal all diseases and injuries?"
"Ninja efficiency is clearly a hundred times higher than ordinary people, yet you still let ordinary people do the work and farming—how laughable!"
"…"
Naruto fell silent at those words, stunned.
He was right—why had he never thought about these issues before?
Why did ninja only keep completing missions and not get involved in production?
They wielded such incredible power.
"I must admit, Kankuro-sama's words make a lot of sense. When we return, we'll definitely do our best to help ordinary people and make the village better." Yamato interjected at that moment.
"Hmph! A bunch of rotten things—if there's no fundamental change, the ninja village era will never rise." Kankuro sneered.
At this moment, the figure in the projection, known as the Shinobi Emperor, wasn't really listening to the conversation between Kankuro and Naruto. Instead, he was lost in thought.
He never expected that after forty-seven years of crossing into the Naruto world and transforming it beyond recognition, Ryuji would still have the chance to see the innocent Naruto from the original story.
This was truly a joke from the heavens.
Senju Ryuji recalled Naruto Shippuden the Movie: The Lost Tower from his previous life.
In that movie, only Naruto and Yamato time-traveled, and the timeline was about twenty years ago, when Minato was still young and unmarried!
How could it be like what he saw before him—bringing Sakura and Sai, temporary Team 7 members, and time-traveling to his world?
But… this might be an opportunity!
Ryuji considered his current situation.
Though he relied on the Sage Body of the Senju clan, along with the martial talent and knowledge inherited from his initial crossing, giving him immense power to defeat the Sage of the Six Paths 22 years ago and unify the ninja world, he always considered the Otsutsuki clan his true enemy!
Though he hadn't watched the unenjoyable Boruto anime, having seen Naruto, he often came across it in short videos.
This made him aware that the Otsutsuki clan was a space-faring race, and even the mother of the Sage of the Six Paths, Kaguya, seemed to be merely a servant.
Though Ryuji hadn't yet unsealed Kaguya, he knew how formidable they were.
Every member of that space-faring race had power no less than the Sage of the Six Paths, perhaps even vaguely surpassing him.
One of them, named Otsutsuki Isshiki, apparently defeated adult Naruto and Sasuke, despite the duo having beaten Kaguya.
And… Ryuji had heard there was also an Otsutsuki God in that race, capable of destroying planets in the blink of an eye. Even with his current power, he couldn't achieve that…
Thus, while continuously striving to strengthen himself, Ryuji also worked to bolster the entire ninja world's power, hoping they could one day stand together against the Otsutsuki clan.
To that end, in recent years, he even planned to counterattack other Naruto dimensions to further enhance his strength.
But it was too difficult. The risks of space-time travel were far greater than imagined, and locking onto a space-time anchor point was extremely challenging.
This delayed his initial plan until now.
But he never expected… that now, the temporary Team 7 from the original Naruto story would time-travel entirely to his world!
Perhaps, this was an opportunity!
An opportunity to counterattack!
Ryuji's eyes glinted.
Seeing Naruto speechless, he slowly spoke:
"Alright, Kankuro, no need to talk too much with them. People from the ninja village era are blindly loyal. Without being awakened, mere words won't work."
"I've long been clear on this. And I didn't come to watch you argue about this issue."
"My apologies, Your Majesty!" Kankuro said with a regretful expression.
"No need to apologize; it's not your fault. Bring them all here. I think I need to have a proper talk with them in person." Ryuji said.
"As you wish, Shinobi Emperor!"
Kankuro bowed.
"By the way, did you capture someone named Mukade?" Ryuji asked again.
"Indeed, one was caught." Kankuro nodded.
"Bring him along with them."
After Ryuji finished speaking, the projection slowly faded.
Before completely disappearing, he still gave a sharp glance at Naruto and his three teammates.
Though he could rely on his power to travel thousands of miles in an instant and appear before the four, he felt it unnecessary.
Because it wasn't just him who wanted to meet these four—other high-ranking officials in the imperial capital did too.
And… he also needed time to inform the other officials.
What kind of sparks would arise from the meeting between the modified Naruto characters and the original story's Naruto team? Just thinking about it made him a bit impatient…
"Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, Yamato, Sai. As you heard, I will next send you and the one named Mukade to the Imperial Capital of the Land of Fire to face His Majesty directly. He will decide your fate." Kankuro said.
"Can't we just touch the Ryuumyaku for a moment? Maybe that way we could return immediately and not trouble you?" Yamato asked cautiously.
"That's impossible. Outsiders have no right to touch the Ryuumyaku."
Kankuro glanced coldly at Yamato.
Four giant mechanical arms extended, grabbing the four in their hands and departing.
"What even is this thing? How can it fly?"
Naruto sat on a leather sofa, staring in awe below, watching the ground and buildings grow distant through the 'glass.'
"This is a vortex airship, with a maximum speed of five thousand kilometers per hour. You could say it's the best for household travel. Want a bottle of carbonated drink?"
Kankuro's voice sounded.