Chapter 598: If You Understand, Applaud

"Mo—Lady Hokage, please forgive them. Orochimaru forced them into this too. Right now, we should be working together and dealing with Orochimaru first."

Naruto stepped forward to plead on their behalf.

"Naruto, I remember you saying your dream is to become Hokage."

Kushina didn't answer him directly.

"So tell me. If you were Hokage and something like this happened, how would you deal with them?"

"You say I should forgive them, but what exactly does that mean?"

"How much should I forgive?"

The moment Kushina made the question specific, Naruto's head began to hurt.

He genuinely had never thought about it that deeply.

How much forgiveness was enough?

Should they simply be let off completely?

That didn't seem quite right either.

Back at the Academy, Iruka-sensei had punished him just for skipping class.

These people had done something far more serious.

Surely they couldn't walk away without any consequences at all.

Then—

An idea flashed through Naruto's mind.

"Lady Hokage, I don't think they should be punished at all."

Everyone stared at him.

Naruto continued confidently.

"Actually, I think they should be rewarded."

"First, once they were discovered, they didn't run away or fight back. That proves they were conflicted inside, had reasons for what they did, and knew they were wrong."

"If you forgive them, then the next time someone ends up in a similar situation, they won't desperately resist either. They'll know they can admit their mistake peacefully."

"Second, if even people who betrayed you are rewarded, then won't the people who stayed loyal to you become even more devoted?"

Naruto finished his explanation with the confidence of someone who had just displayed world-shaking political wisdom.

At that moment, the Kushina inside Engraved Tsukuyomi and the real Kushina watching from outside reached exactly the same conclusion.

Naruto was beyond saving.

What did he mean by—

"Then the next people who betray you won't resist"?

Why was he already assuming there would be a next group of traitors?

Wasn't this basically like abolishing harsh punishment for serious crimes in the hope that criminals might be slightly nicer to their victims?

At first glance, it seemed to lack logic.

On closer inspection—

It still lacked logic.

Wouldn't that approach simply encourage people?

Someone who had never intended to betray you might look at the complete lack of consequences and think:

'Well, if there's a chance, why wouldn't I try?'

And the second part—

"If traitors get rewarded, loyal people will become even more devoted."

—was somehow even worse.

Naruto was only one step away from adding:

"If you understand, applaud."

Wouldn't loyal people see that and immediately have their mentality shattered?

They might start betraying you too.

Liu Bang had once rewarded Yong Chi to stabilize his followers, but Yong Chi had actually rendered military service.

The reward had been for merit, while communicating that past grievances would be set aside.

He hadn't been rewarded for betraying Liu Bang.

What exactly had these people accomplished?

Why should they not only be forgiven but rewarded?

At most, Kakashi had produced one video as supposed evidence of redeeming themselves through service.

"Naruto, you've gone too far!"

Rock Lee glared at him angrily, fists clenched.

"That's right, Naruto!"

Neji also stared at him furiously.

"We might have bullied you before, but that doesn't mean you should use this opportunity to take revenge on us!"

"Huh?"

Naruto looked completely lost.

"I'm not! I'm trying to help you guys!"

"Naruto…"

Kakashi sighed.

"Are you pretending to be stupid, or are you actually stupid?"

"Wasn't that whole speech obviously sarcasm?"

"You were clearly telling Lady Hokage that she should punish us severely as an example to everyone else."

"I—"

"So that's what you meant."

Kushina slammed one hand onto the desk.

"Fine. Then we'll do it your way."

She knew perfectly well that wasn't what Naruto meant.

But his argument had irritated her so thoroughly that she felt obligated to irritate him back.

"I…"

Naruto's face turned red.

He desperately wanted to explain that he had been completely sincere.

Unfortunately, Kakashi had only given him two options:

Pretending to be stupid.

Or—

Actually stupid.

Naruto couldn't exactly admit to the second one.

"However, we're short on manpower right now."

Kushina's expression became serious.

"So I'll give all of you one chance."

"If you expose Orochimaru's conspiracy and completely uncover his plan, then I'll let this incident go."

"But remember this."

"This is your final chance."

"If anything like this happens again, there will be no forgiveness."

Everyone immediately relaxed.

They were just preparing to leave and earn redemption when Naruto suddenly stepped forward again.

Every expression in the room tensed.

'Please, Naruto.'

'Stop talking.'

"Actually…"

Naruto hesitated.

"I know something that might be important."

Everyone froze.

"What?"

Neji reacted first.

"Naruto, you have information?"

Then realization struck him.

"Of course! You've had huge numbers of shadow clones scattered throughout the village for days, and some of them have even been wandering outside Konoha!"

"No one could possibly know more than you!"

"Naruto, hurry up and tell us!"

At this point, Naruto's shadow-clone network had practically turned him into a T0 intelligence-gathering version of Jiraiya.

"Well…"

Naruto still looked uncertain.

"I saw Orochimaru, the Pervy Sage, and the son of the Fire Daimyō…"

"They came out of the Fire Temple together."

The room fell silent.

Naruto had finally revealed the crucial intelligence he had discovered.

The reason he had hesitated was obvious.

If he said this aloud, then Jiraiya would become suspicious too.

As for the Fire Daimyō's son, Naruto hadn't recognized him at first.

He had only ever seen black-and-white smiling photographs of the Fire Daimyō's family in newspaper obituaries, and he certainly hadn't memorized their faces.

The only reason Naruto eventually identified the man was because Orochimaru and Jiraiya had personally addressed him as heir and young lord.

Naruto had even needed to look those words up in a dictionary before understanding what they meant.

"…"

Kushina's expression darkened immediately.

Knock. Knock.

"Lady Hokage…"

Shizune's voice came quietly from outside the office.

"The Fire Daimyō is here to see you."

"He says he wants to discuss the allocation of funding."

Kushina's expression suddenly relaxed.

"Perfect timing."

She smiled.

"Invite the Daimyō in."

A moment later, the Fire Daimyō entered the office with his son—

Ikkyū Madoka, the man who would eventually succeed him as Daimyō during the Boruto era.

The moment he saw how many people were standing inside, he stopped in surprise.

"Hokage… why are there so many people in here?"

"Lord Daimyō."

Kushina smiled pleasantly.

"Did you know your heir is plotting treason?"

She casually waved one hand.

An ANBU wearing a mask appeared behind Ikkyū and instantly restrained him.

Both father and son went pale.

"Now then."

Kushina turned her gaze toward the Daimyō.

"Why don't you tell me exactly what you, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru were plotting at the Fire Temple?"

The Daimyō swallowed.

"Hokage, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I truly don't know anything."

Inside, however, he had already made up his mind.

No matter what happened—

He would never admit it.

He had deliberately sent his son to handle the negotiations in the first place precisely as insurance against something going wrong.

Better safe than sorry.

And now it seemed that precaution had been entirely justified.

Of course, that didn't mean his son was unimportant to him.

It simply meant—

His son wasn't as important as he was.