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"What?" The fat noble looked at the pair of things in Naruto's hands in disbelief. "What proof do you have that you’re a high-ranking official of Konoha?"

"Proof? Are you stupid?" Naruto finally bared his fangs, delivering a kick that sent a Shinobi flying. His chest caved in instantly, and his breath became faint.

This savage display stunned everyone present. The Shinobi of the Intelligence Department generally didn’t carry out overly dangerous missions, nor did they resort to excessive violence.

However, Ino remained unfazed. She wasn’t some sheltered flower. Back in the day, she had fought alongside Shikamaru and Choji, experiencing life-and-death situations. What surprised her more was Naruto’s strict adherence to procedural justice.

Although it was somewhat forceful, his words reminded Ino of a crucial fact… Shinobi Villages are military organizations. Nobles may have power, but they are not without fear.

The Hokage stands on equal footing with the Daimyo, and if the Hokage’s family is particularly powerful, their influence can surpass that of the Daimyo’s. Konoha's law enforcement authority isn’t confined to its own village.

Even within the Land of Fire, under special circumstances and with approval from high-level officials, a Shinobi has the right to take unrestricted action against anyone.

One of the conditions triggering these special circumstances is a Shinobi committing murder or hiring another Shinobi to do so. In fact, this group of nobles are also quite afraid of Konoha’s presence.

Seeing Naruto effortlessly knocked out the people he had brought, the fat noble finally snapped back to his senses. But before he could react, Naruto was already in front of him.

"W-What are you trying to do?” The fat noble shrank back.

Hearing this, Naruto turned to look for Yamafuji, only to realize the man had chickened out. Kicking a thug and kicking a noble were two entirely different matters, with a world of difference.

At moments like this, it became painfully clear how crucial it was to have loyal subordinates who obey orders without question. In the past, Naruto never understood why villains liked to parade around with a bunch of lackeys.

Now, he got it. Even if the lackeys weren’t particularly strong, they would still step up when needed. If he had to handle even the grunt work himself, his prestige would take a hit.

With no other choice, Naruto had to act himself and kicked the fat noble down.

With a loud thud, the noble’s face split open and blood gushing from his nose. He screamed, writhing on the ground like a bloated pig trying to crawl away.

"You actually dare lay hands on a noble?! You lunatic! You trash! I will..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Naruto kicked him again, though he held back slightly this time. He continued his relentless beating, his kicks growing fiercer with every insult, sending blood splattering everywhere.

Glancing around, Naruto noticed that everyone was frozen in shock. He then bent down and grabbed the pig-like noble by the collar, hoisting him up.

A cold glint flickered in his eyes, and he said in a cold voice, "You fat pig, don't talk nonsense. It was you who was trying to assassinate a fragile high-ranking official of Konoha like me. How dare you turn it around and slander the impartial Konoha’s leaderships?"

As he spoke, he slapped him in the face, slapping him several times until the fat noble could no longer utter a word.

"You want proof? I’ll tell you—I am the proof!"

With a casual motion, he tossed the fat noble onto the ground, then grabbed a napkin from the table to wipe his hands. He used his eyes to stop Ino from approaching, then turned to the fat noble and said, "There’s no way you orchestrated something this complicated on your own. There must be an accomplice behind the scenes. Are you going to confess, or do I have to extract the truth out of you myself?"

"Damn it! Enwa… Enwa-sama will stand up for me!"

"Oh? So Enwa ordered you to manipulate the Shinobi into committing murder, attempting to kill the Shinobi of the Intelligence Department and eliminate a high-ranking Konoha official?" Naruto nodded, "Very good, we have your testimony."

"I never said that!" The fat noble shouted.

Smack!

Naruto delivered a fierce slap, momentarily knocking the fat noble senseless. When he came to his senses, he found himself staring into Naruto’s cold, merciless eyes, and a chill ran down his spine.

A horrifying realization struck him… Naruto would genuinely beat him to death. And if he truly couldn’t be held accountable…

"I-I’ll talk! I’ll talk!"

In the end, the fat noble was carried out, looking extremely miserable.

After the commotion, the people from the Intelligence Department looked at each other in bewilderment, and soon left the wrecked barbecue restaurant. As for the damages and bill, such expenses were mere pocket change for the well-funded Intelligence Department.

Back at camp, the atmosphere remained tense.

While Naruto's approach to procedural justice was undeniably aggressive, but he had just beaten a noble half to death. He was probably the only one completely unfazed by it.

Inside the Intelligence Department’s camp, Ino had her own private office. At that moment, Naruto sat quietly in a chair, watching as Ino paced back and forth.

"You’ve caused trouble." She said.

"Calm down, Ino. It’s fine." Naruto reassured her, "Everything was done by the book. It was an act of absolute justice. I don’t even know why you’re worried."

"I'm worried about you, obviously." Ino shot him a glare and stopped pacing, "What if those nobles band together to put pressure on the village?"

"Well, then Kakashi will have a headache, Shikaku-sama will have a headache, and Yamanaka-sama will probably be heartbroken to learn that his daughter faced difficulties and didn’t come to him for help." Naruto shrugged.

"You…!" Ino was exasperated, ‘Even now, he had the nerve to joke.’

"Do you even understand how arrogant those nobles are? What if..."

"Oh, then let them come." Naruto replied lightly.

Ino took a deep breath. Looking at his nonchalant expression, she opened her mouth but didn't know what to say. She wasn’t even sure what she was worried about, and she only felt that an overwhelming sense of pressure loomed over her.

She didn’t know how to handle this situation. Maybe it could be used to force the nobles into making concessions, but there was also a high chance it would provoke their furious retaliation.

‘Maybe I should tell Dad about this and listen to his advice.’

After all, they were dealing with nobles, not Shinobi. In the realm of political power struggles, ordinary Shinobi had limited room to maneuver. This was a completely unfair battlefield.

The reason Naruto can attack the fat noble without restraint just now is only because he adhered to procedural justice. However, this grudge would undoubtedly be held against the Intelligence Department, making their project even harder to execute.

But the problem was… even if they swallowed their pride today, the project still wouldn’t succeed. The nobles were simply too greedy, and dealing with them was an utter nightmare.

‘Then, what was I afraid of? The situation was already hopeless… was I expecting those damn nobles to suddenly grow a conscience?’

Ino raised her head, looked at Naruto, then took a deep breath and said, "You're right. It’s all those nobles’ fault!"

"Yeah, it's all because of those damn nobles." Naruto looked at Ino, "If they hadn't interfered, the communications project in the capital would’ve already been implemented."

"But the nobles are powerful, with countless people under their command." She sighed, "What should we do? Fight them head-on?"