Sai and Maki returned to the room and found Naruto seated on the bed, looking dazed. They couldn't help feeling concerned.
"Wait, what exactly happened just now?" Naruto muttered, frowning deeply. "That old man… he intentionally made me contradict myself."
Suddenly, as if struck by realization, he snapped his head up and said to Sai and Maki,
"That's right, there's something I must tell Danzo!"
His eyes hardened with determination:
"Tell him it was Madara who orchestrated the Uchiha clan's destruction behind the scenes. He helped Itachi and even controlled the Akatsuki organization. That's all I know."
"Which Madara are you talking about, Naruto-senpai?" Sai asked, puzzled. Meanwhile, Maki stepped forward and carefully removed the support frame from his arm.
"Just Madara!" Naruto replied, as he deactivated his Sharingan.
***
In Konoha Village, inside the Hokage Tower.
Tsunade sat at her desk, listening as Kakashi reported on the mission to support Naruto.
All things considered, the mission had been moderately successful. However, Naruto specifically asked Kakashi to inform her that he wouldn't be returning to Konoha for now.
This unsettled Tsunade. And when she heard about Sakura's performance during the mission, her mood darkened further.
"You hesitated out of fear while your teammate was injured and actually tried to reason with the enemy?" Tsunade stared at her apprentice bitterly, her tone sharp.
Sakura didn't meet her gaze, lowering her head as she spoke:
"I'm sorry, Lady Tsunade… Sorry—Tayuya. I thought I could do it… but I was terrified. He just felt too dark, I..."
As she recalled the moment, part of her wanted to deny it was truly Sasuke. Yet soon after, she remembered her own vow—never to run away again, to become stronger!
Yet in this mission, she had still been a burden.
Tsunade shook her head helplessly. "Sakura, what's going on with you? You completely lost your fighting spirit this time. Haven't you been doing well lately? In your current state, I can't send you out on missions anymore. If your resolve is this weak, you won't be so lucky next time. Alright, you two may go now. Kakashi, stay. There's something else I need to ask you."
The others nodded and left the Hokage Office.
"About Naruto's two companions…" Kakashi began. "You've probably already investigated them, right? Can you tell me a bit more about them?"
Shizune stepped forward and placed two files on Tsunade's desk—the first one detailing Sai's background.
"This boy is named Sai, no surname. Recommended by Danzo, he graduated from the Ninja Academy at nine and became a Chunin by ten. He has always worked directly under Danzo, and all the missions we assigned him were filtered through Danzo beforehand. Several months ago, at Danzo's request, he joined Naruto's team. They've worked together seamlessly and formed a strong rapport, so we allowed them to continue working together."
"In fact," Shizune added, "when Naruto initially requested to form his own team, he specifically asked for Sai to be included. He seems to have complete faith in Sai."
The file noted his peculiar personality—always expressionless.
Shizune then opened the second file, which contained information on Maki.
"This girl is named Maki, also without a surname. She's fifteen this year, one year younger than Naruto and two years younger than Sai. She graduated from the Ninja Academy at eleven, in the same class as Naruto. However, according to our knowledge, they've never interacted before—never carried out missions together, or even spoken to each other."
Shizune explained, clearly puzzled about why Maki had appeared by Naruto's side. "Two years ago, she passed the Chunin Exams, left her original team, and since then has rarely taken part in missions… until now."
"I've already investigated them," Tsunade said. "They're both orphans, raised from childhood by Danzo and trained under his guidance."
"Can we trust them?" Kakashi asked the question that concerned him most.
"Based on what you've described, they seem completely loyal to Naruto. Without orders from Danzo, they wouldn't take action recklessly," Tsunade replied calmly. "So the real issue isn't whether we can trust them, but rather—do you trust Naruto?"
Kakashi nodded without hesitation.
"In that case, there's no problem," Tsunade said. "The fact that they see you as one of their own shows you're trustworthy. After all, you're not only Naruto's teacher, but also his friend."
"And I even helped him complete his Lightning Nature Transformation training," Kakashi added with a smile, his voice tinged with nostalgia. "The [Lightning Release: Rasengan] he finally mastered was truly incredible! I wish I could do something like that too! But Naruto has always been creating miracles, hasn't he? [Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu] is just amazing!"
Tsunade shook her head with a smile. "Alright, let's wait for Naruto's report first. Once he settles in, we'll discuss our next move. Things are looking promising—I've already sent Danzo to Kumogakure to see if we can sign a treaty with Mei Terumi as soon as possible. All thanks to Naruto's efforts, so naturally, I—as Hokage—have to make full use of it. We'll go look for Naruto once Danzo completes his mission."
"There's no need, Lady Tsunade," Jiraiya suddenly appeared at the window, grinning. "He's already told us where he's headed next."
"We?" Tsunade picked up on the key word sharply in his sentence.
Jiraiya smiled and nodded. He slowly held up his hand and began counting with his fingers: "One, two…"
Just then, someone knocked on the office door.
Tamako peeked inside from the doorway, looking unhappy as she spoke to Jiraiya.
"Lord Jiraiya, I can't leap that high! You could've at least helped me reach the Hokage's Office. That's so rude."
As she spoke, she stepped into the room and shut the door behind her. "I even agreed to your request and let you stay at Naruto's place."
Jiraiya scratched his head awkwardly. At this moment, Tsunade asked,
"You say you know where Naruto is headed next?"
Jiraiya nodded.
Tamako gave a respectful bow to Tsunade and continued.
"Naruto has almost completely recovered from his last battle and is ready to head to the next destination—Kumogakure."
"I'm sorry I couldn't tell you his schedule earlier, but he made me promise to keep it confidential. My loyalty will always be to Naruto-sama above all else, Lady Hokage."
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