As soon as the match began, Temari unleashed Kamaitachi no Jutsu, her fan slicing the air with deadly precision. But this time, Elias didn't bother with theatrics. Aloofness had worked once—but repetition breeds boredom, and he knew the crowd craved something more spectacular!
So instead of standing still, he activated the three ascending levels of martial flow Naruto had demonstrated in past battles.
Chōjitae! Gessō Kodō! Usagi Chōbaku!
His movements blurred into dance—acrobatic, fluid, controlled chaos—dodging razor-sharp wind blades as if gravity were a suggestion. But he wasn't moving at full speed. Not yet.
What changed was the cloak around him—thick, writhing, crimson chakra that pulsed with menace. It was something more than what Naruto had previously shown, something new and undeniable. It wasn't just a power-up. It was a declaration!
He had to be seen as Konoha's Jinchūriki. That illusion had to remain intact—for now. Any crack in the image could shatter his established identity.
He didn't rush the victory either. He allowed Temari to attack again and again, launching wind scythes that carved trenches into the stone floor. He twisted and flipped through them like a flame in a storm, never quite touching the ground. When she escalated to Daikamaitachi no Jutsu, the entire arena trembled under the force of her offense!
Then Elias kicked off the arena wall, launching himself high into the air, and spiraled past the daimyos' viewing platform—his chakra cloak flaring like phoenix fire!
Both daimyos recoiled, startled and pale, as Temari's next wave of attacks spiraled toward them! Shouts of panic echoed among the nobles!
But before disaster could strike, Hiruzen's guards flared into motion, summoning a wall of solid rock that shattered the wind in a thunderclap! Dust exploded in every direction as cries turned into cheers!
The crowd was on its feet! He was a spectacle, a storm of spectacular crimson!
Temari gritted her teeth. Her brow furrowed as desperation gleamed in her eyes!
With a scream of defiance, she slammed her fan into the ground and summoned her trump card:
"Kuchiyose: Kirikiri Mai!!"
The ground cracked open, and from the swirling dust emerged Kamatari, the one-eyed weasel armed with a massive curved sickle. The wind turned feral. Whirlwinds surged across the field. Shards of stone and chakra-filled debris sliced through the air like shrapnel!
The crowd screamed as the walls trembled and the ANBU overwhelmed by the growing collateral damage had to work thrice as hard to prevent any life loss!
Elias narrowed his eyes. He could end this right now. He had the power. He could erase Temari from existence with a flick of his will, but that would ruin the script.
His true target was on sight but he had to execute the hunt well. He could not risk things spiral out of control.
And then, without warning, the entire battlefield froze as something darker than death slithered through the air!
A bloodthirsty aura surged outward, heavy as iron and sharp as razors. It slammed into every living soul in the arena. Some civilians collapsed, unconscious. Others clutched their stomachs, vomiting in terror! The daimyos eyes were filled with terror and they were not faring any better than the rest of the audience.
Temari staggered, fan trembling in her hand.
Then — a flash of red.
A massive claw, cloaked in the Nine-Tails' fury, tore through the air like divine judgment and maimed Kamatari's chest while passing through!
There was no time to scream nor react, it was brutal as death came from above!
The weasel's dismembered and broken body exploded in a geyser of blood and chakra, its scythe spinning away into the dust.
The air filled with the scent of iron and scorched wind.
The arena went silent.
Temari stood frozen, eyes wide, mouth open—but no sound came out of it.
She had just watched her only summon, her lifelong battle companion, be ripped apart in a single moment! Blood still rained in slow motion, crimson drops falling like cursed petals!
Her knees buckled.
The battlefield had changed.
This was not a match between Genin, she was facing a monster!
The referee, Shiranui Genma, struggled to his feet and raised his voice—still trembling with adrenaline.
"The winner… is Uzumaki Naruto!"
Even the elite shinobi had been shaken to the core by the bloodthirsty aura of the Nine-Tailed Fox. Some still knelt in shock, sweat pouring down their faces while others simply stared in silence.
Elias had given the doubting audience exactly what they needed—undeniable proof that he was who he claimed to be… and a real reason to fear him!
From across the stadium, he felt Orochimaru's gaze like a cold dagger in the back of his neck. Slowly, he turned and smiled directly at him.A silent, deliberate smile and the Sannin visibly flinched.
Hiruzen was already issuing orders. More medical-nin were summoned from the hospital to treat the dozens of spectators who had collapsed or gone into shock. The Third Hokage then called for a three-hour intermission to allow the audience to recover.
As Hiruzen excused himself from the stands, a masked ANBU approached Naruto.
"Lord Hokage wishes to see you, at his office."
Before the operative could even blink, Elias flickered out of sight.
In a heartbeat, he stood before the Hokage's door. He raised his hand to knock—but a calm voice called out first.
"Come in, Naruto."
He entered.
Hiruzen sat behind his desk, fingers steepled, face as unreadable as ever. Danzo stood at his side, arms folded, like a shadow that had crawled out of the past.
"Lord Hokage!" Naruto said, kneeling respectfully, like any obedient genin would.
But inside, Elias was smirking.'To think my performance actually dragged that dusty old corpse from the archives of history… Impressive, even for me!'
Hiruzen spoke gravely.
"You've done what no one has ever achieved. You returned from the edge of death, displayed martial skill far exceeding even our most seasoned jonin, and showed control over the Bijū no one before in Konoha's history could! You possess a power that surpasses much of our elite."
The old Hokage leaned forward slightly.
"And so, we present you with a reward and choice. Not an order—a path. You will be directly promoted to Jonin as there is no point making you waste your time as a Chunin. You may join the ANBU, and serve in the shadows under my direct command… Or you may enter Root, and walk a darker path under Danzō's leadership. Decide carefully."
Elias hadn't expected this turn of events.His original plan was simple: snatch the Ichibi's core, vanish like the wind, and maybe kill the king on the way out for good measure.
But now?
Now the stars had aligned.
He wanted to laugh—not like Naruto, but like the Emperor would, with madness in his lungs and fire behind his eyes, and maybe some lightning at his fingertips. But this wasn't the time. Not yet. He restrained himself.
Before him were two doors: one, a sinking wooden vessel barely afloat under sentiment and legacy… and the other, a nuclear submarine, silent, armored, and deadly.
Things were beautiful. Too perfect.
"I would like to join Root, sir," he said calmly.
A silence followed. Hiruzen's brows furrowed, but he didn't object—at least not yet.
Danzo, on the other hand, seemed caught between suspicion and quiet satisfaction. He had expected resistance. Maybe even a speech. Maybe a chance to flex old charisma in front of his rival.
But instead, Naruto—his prize—stepped into the darkness willingly!
Danzo's lone eye narrowed, but his lips curled faintly.
"Hmph. Unexpected… but not unwelcome," he said, voice low and dry like old parchment."We've no time to waste. The exam resumes in two hours. And I've received word—Hatake Kakashi has returned. Would you like to see him… before you dedicate your future to the hidden guardians of Konoha?"
His tone wasn't warm. It was precise, measured, almost like bait wrapped in silk.
Elias bowed slightly.
"Thank you for the consideration, Lord Danzo. But there's no need. He'll find out—one way or another."
Danzo smiled thinly. There was no joy in it—only calculation.
"Very well... follow me. It's time to shed your skin."
After passing discreetly through suspiciously empty streets, a small unit of Root operatives emerged from the shadows to join Danzō and Elias, silently falling into formation. They escorted them to a featureless stone wall deep beneath the village.
It looked unremarkable—just another hallway in the dark.
But the silence down there was heavier than concrete.
It pressed into Elias's chest as it reminded him of home. Not the one above the surface—but the one now buried, lost to time, his now gone host's inner sanctum.
Flickering utility lights buzzed above, casting long, unstable shadows down the spiraling corridor that seemed to twist endlessly downward. Then, without a word, one of the agents stepped forward and pressed a hidden panel beside a flickering light.
With a low grind of hidden gears, it slid open, revealing a narrow elevator carved into the wall. Danzō stepped inside and gave Elias a nod.
"Come."
Elias followed. The doors closed behind them, leaving the others behind in the corridor.
The elevator hummed as it descended, the metal shuddering beneath their feet.
Then—Danzō broke the silence.
"What do you think of our Hokage… as a shinobi?"
Elias smirked faintly, just enough to remain in character.
"Nothing much. He's just an old man."
The boy's voice was casual. Disrespectful and deliberate.
Danzō didn't react with offense. If anything, he seemed satisfied.
"You've shown strength the others couldn't. And the village… it always fears what it cannot control. If Hiruzen had continued to lead you, your power would have been caged. Wasted.I don't fear you. I offer you what you need to serve Konoha—as its Jinchūriki."
Elias bowed slightly, face neutral.
"Thank you for your consideration, Lord Danzō." He said it like a proper soldier, but inside, he was laughing.
He'd dealt with these types his whole life—the power-hungry relics, puffed-up old men dressed in control and paranoia. This wasn't new, just another tyrant drunk with power and filled with delusions.
And Danzō was pleased as he didn't expect Konoha's most problematic thirteen-year-old to fold so easily!
The elevator halted with a soft thud. The doors opened to a narrow metal bridge stretching into a cavernous room below.
They crossed in silence. Around them, Root agents stood like shadows—alert but still. The air was dry. The room was massive, dimly lit, its purpose hard to pin down. In it Elias saw steel lockers, sealed crates, weapon racks, and above all, potential. This place could just as easily be a weapons vault, a library, a training facility, or a barracks—or all of them at once.
Elias smiled inwardly. Root wasn't afraid to go all-in. The aesthetics were brutalist, but the function? Impressive.
Danzō gestured to a metal chair and retrieved a scroll from a concealed compartment in the wall.
"Every Root agent bears the Seal of Silence. Not to hide secrets from Konoha—but to protect the village from the them."
Elias knelt, voice calm and resolute:
"Yes, Lord Danzō. I am ready to serve. I accept the seal."
He said it like any good little child soldier would.
Even he felt sick hearing it come from his own mouth. This was child conscription wrapped in patriotism straight out of the Middle Ages.
But hey—sometimes you have to walk through filth to own the throne.
For a brief, unguarded moment, Danzō betrayed a flicker of emotion—something dangerously close to joy!
He pressed the cursed seal against the tongue of the boy he believed to be Uzumaki Naruto, carving silence into flesh with a jutsu older than most of the village's history.
Too bad for him.
Elias accepted it without a flinch, without a twitch. The seal etched itself into his tongue—a neat little tattoo. But it had no effect.
How could it?
He was not human, not truly. Just shaped like one. And now, he had a shiny new piece of Root fashion—only bonuses.
"Good... good," Danzō muttered, the delight in his voice poorly masked."Now… who are you loyal to?"
"To only you, sir," replied the cute, freshly tattooed fox.
Elias gave the answer with perfect timing, eyes wide and obedient.He had met a lot of deranged egomaniacs in his career—but this one?This one might actually deserve a shrine.
For the first time in a long while, Elias felt… humbled.Not by power, but by the sheer, unfiltered lunacy of this man's ambition and delusion.
Without a word, a masked Root operative approached and knelt beside him, presenting a chakra-forged blade, a fox-shaped mask, and five sealed scrolls—his welcome presents!
Chakra Suppression Technique
Silent Killing Technique
Temporary Paralysis Jutsu
Memory-Wipe Technique
Wind Release: Shinkūjin — Vacuum Blade
Elias admired the blade, giving it a lazy spin before attaching it and the mask to his belt. Then he unrolled the five scrolls. He read them in seconds, eyes scanning like a machine. It looked less like reading and more like staring.
Danzō blinked.
"Have you already mastered them?" he asked, suspicious. "Show me!"
Without hesitation, Elias complied.
One by one, he demonstrated each technique with chilling precision. Then, combining them seamlessly into fluid chains of movement, he summoned shadow clones, layered the effects, and topped it off with moves he had displayed during the Chunin Exams.
It wasn't just impressive—it was surgical! Tactical and Elegant!
Danzō stood frozen.He wasn't just looking at a Jinchūriki. He had just poached a prodigy!
And better yet? One fully under his control!
"As our Jinchūriki," Danzō said at last, voice low and reverent, "this mask is your token. Even if only symbolic, all of Root already knows who you are. Still, it will help conceal your chakra—use it well. If it's destroyed, report it. Same with the blade. I don't spare resources on real talent. Your first assignment is simple. Observe the Suna delegation. Especially watch their 'One-Tailed Monstrosity.' That thing is a time bomb. A filthy disgrace. If it makes a wrong move—Kill!"
Elias gave a crisp nod, then smirked.
"At your orders, Danzō-sama."
And in the next instant, he vanished—faster than lightning.
Danzō stood still, as a thin, crooked smile stretched across his face.
Even that old monkey Hiruzen had no idea what this boy was truly capable of! He had mapped the entire Root complex during his first walkthrough. His sensory perception was beyond ANBU level!
For the first time in years, Danzō felt something stir in his chest.
Pride.
And—perhaps—a reason to celebrate.