Hoshiyomi had already done everything he could to prepare countermeasures as quickly as possible, but in the end, he was still one step too late. Inside Konoha, a plan to capture Nawaki was already quietly underway.
That very evening, after running errands all day for Hiruzen Sarutobi, Nawaki stretched and yawned as he walked out of the Hokage building. By now he was around fifteen or sixteen years old.
In just a few years, his height had shot up to about 1.7 meters. At a glance, he looked somewhat like an adult, though his personality was still as carefree and boisterous as ever:
"Man, that old Third is way too much. Makes me run around all day without even letting me rest for a bit. And back at the Academy there were actually people who dreamed about becoming his personal Anbu… They must've lost their minds.
Once big brother Hoshiyomi comes back, I definitely need to tell him about this. Helping out in the Hokage's office is way worse than just staying home and training on my own. Seriously… I wonder if Minato, after going to the battlefield, will come back even stronger than me."
Muttering his complaints under his breath, Nawaki made his way through the busier commercial streets. As he walked, the crowd gradually thinned, which didn't surprise him—this was the same route he always took back to the Senju compound. The clan's land was vast but sparsely populated, so the streets were usually deserted at night. After more than ten years of walking this path, Nawaki had long grown used to the quiet.
Originally, he was planning to do what he usually did: take a hot bath after getting home, then practice the new Water Release technique he had recently mastered. But as he passed a street corner, his ears twitched.
He thought he'd just faintly heard someone calling for help.
Immediately, he crouched low, listening carefully. After confirming it wasn't his imagination, Nawaki's expression changed.
Without a second thought, he rushed toward the source of the cry.
Following the voice, he soon stopped in front of a dim alley. Inside, he heard the weak call for help. Nawaki gritted his teeth, pulled out a kunai, and charged straight in.
After all, he was already a tokubetsu jōnin. Even if he couldn't defeat the enemy outright, at the very least he could hold out until reinforcements arrived.
Charging into the shadowy alley, Nawaki gripped his kunai tightly and shouted:
"Who's there? Stop right now!"
"Help me, I'm over here."
He ran toward the voice—but instead of finding a kidnapping scene or anything of the sort, what he saw in front of him was only a phonograph.
The moment he saw it, he realized something was wrong.
At the same time, a sharp gust of wind whistled from behind. Every hair on his body stood on end. Without hesitation, he swung his kunai backward to block.
Clang!
His kunai collided perfectly with another.
Glancing back, Nawaki saw his attacker: a figure dressed in black, face completely hidden behind a mask.
At first, seeing the mask, Nawaki assumed it was an Anbu ninja. But then he noticed the design etched onto it—and froze.
"You're… from Root? Why would you lure me here, what are you—"
Halfway through his words, Nawaki stiffened in place.
From the empty left eye hole of that mask, a glowing three-tomoe Sharingan stared back at him.
Not good!
Although he tried his best to disrupt his own chakra to break the illusion, Nawaki had underestimated his opponent's genjutsu skills and was stunned for a moment.
In that instant, the man landed a swift hand chop to the back of his neck. Once he was sure Nawaki was unconscious, the masked man removed his mask, revealing his true face.
The person was none other than Danzō himself.
Looking down at the unconscious Nawaki lying on the ground, Danzo muttered in a low voice:
""His speed, strength, and reflexes are all outstanding among his peers.Good thing I didn't send Root operatives for this mission—otherwise, ANBU patrols would've been alerted by now.
What a pity. Even though he had prepared to guard against genjutsu, in the face of Kagami's Sharingan illusions, it was still useless."
After this brief evaluation, Danzo wasted no more time. Hoisting Nawaki onto his shoulder, he used Body Flicker a few times and disappeared into the night.
...
Root Laboratory
No one knew how much time had passed before Nawaki slowly regained consciousness. The moment he opened his eyes, a shiver ran through him—partly because of the cold metallic surface beneath him, which felt deeply unsettling.
But more than that, it was the conversation he overheard that chilled him to the core.
"I've brought the boy. With him here, how confident are you in making progress with the Hashirama cell research?"
"How confident I am depends on his bloodline. If his cells are no different from ordinary Senju, then we…"
Peeking through barely opened eyes, Nawaki saw two men talking to each other. He didn't recognize the younger one.
But the older one—he knew all too well.
Shimura Danzo.
Hoshiyomi had warned him before that this man was dangerous, and now it was proven true: Danzō himself had kidnapped him.
No—worse. He hadn't sent anyone else. The one who captured him tonight had been Danzo himself. Nawaki was sure of it; he had just fought him. Even disguised, he could unmistakably sense Danzo's chakra. Anyone claiming otherwise, he'd swear on his life they were lying.
He had planned to eavesdrop longer and maybe catch more useful information. But Danzo noticed him almost immediately.
Fixing his sharp gaze on Nawaki, Danzo enunciated each word coldly:
"You were eavesdropping?"
"N-no," Nawaki instinctively denied. But then, realizing how stupid that sounded, he quickly changed his words:
"Danzō, I suggest you release me right now. I help out in the Hokage's office every single day. If I disappear, the Hokage will realize immediately tomorrow morning. My identity is special—he'll search every corner of Konoha to find me. If he discovers I'm here with you, your position as the Hokage's advisor will be finished."
Still too naive to grasp the true severity of the situation, Nawaki believed those words would at least scare Danzō into letting him go, or at least make him hesitate.
But to his shock, Danzo simply turned to the younger man and said:
"Since all you need are his blood and cells, I could just kill him and dispose of the body, couldn't I?"
Nawaki cursed inwardly, utterly stunned. Tonight's events were too surreal. Hoshiyomi had warned him that Danzō was no good, but never had he imagined that the stern, taciturn man who always stood beside the Third Hokage would reveal such ruthlessness—speaking so casually about killing him and erasing the evidence.
Just as Nawaki was desperately trying to think of a way to save himself, Hiruko hesitated and said,
"Better not, Lord Danzo. Experiments can run into unexpected problems at any time. Having a living, renewable source of material is much more reliable."
Seeing Nawaki's look of gratitude directed his way, Danzo suddenly smirked. He lightly patted Nawaki's cheek and said:
"Don't be too quick to thank him. What he's about to do to you… might just make you wish you were dead instead."