A long procession of people walked along a path toward the Hokage's Office, under a light, drizzling rain.
The Root base was in a secluded area, so the trip to the Hokage's office took them through several bustling streets. Even with the rain, there were still many people with umbrellas walking and lingering in front of shops.
But as soon as they saw Naruto's group, everyone instantly backed away.
Naruto watched this with a strange expression. The bustling street would become instantly deserted as soon as he passed by. The effect was better than clearing the streets.
Why was that?
Naruto felt his looks were perfectly fine, and he was quite famous. He looked back and understood. It was all the fault of the Root members behind him.
Many of them had stone-cold faces and icy glares. Their silence was imposing as they walked, looking like they were about to beat someone up. And... walking in such uniform attire... it was too conspicuous. Too ostentatious.
"This is completely against our Konoha's Root, the people's Root, and the guiding principles of 'building Root'!" Naruto mused as he walked.
Was there any way to make Root a little more friendly to the public? He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't even hear the greetings of others.
The idle Team 10 had gone out for dango. While waiting, Ino turned around and spotted Naruto coming from the corner of the street. She was overjoyed.
"Naruto!"
She smiled brightly, waving her hands so fast they were a blur. When she saw Naruto hadn't noticed her, Ino prepared to run over and give him a big hug. But before she could take a step, as Naruto's figure emerged from the corner and the black-clad figures behind him appeared one by one, Ino froze.
These people... they looked so menacing! Her intuition told her not to go, but Naruto was right there. As Ino gritted her teeth and stomped her foot, determined to go over, Shikamaru and Choji both grabbed her.
She looked back at them, and they both shook their heads.
"Don't go. It's dangerous," Choji warned her with a serious expression.
Shikamaru was more direct. "What a drag. Can't you sense the danger?"
"Of course I can, but Naruto is over there."
"Women..." Shikamaru let go and covered his head, feeling a headache coming on.
They released her, and when she looked back, Ino saw that the group had already walked away.
By this time, Naruto had an idea.
"I got it."
"Got what?" Karin asked curiously.
"Heh heh," Naruto chuckled mysteriously, not answering. He planned to change Root's image by giving them masks. He could have some goofy faces custom-made, or maybe some panda heads. A mix of both would definitely make the Root ninja look much friendlier.
Perfect. It's settled!
Soon, they arrived at the Hokage's Office. Naruto stepped inside, and the many black-clad Jonin behind him closed their umbrellas and followed closely. The group formed two long lines, a great procession heading straight for the Hokage's office.
Some Anbu members had already noticed the anomaly and tried to stop them. But before they could even move, Shigaraki Tanuki and Aburame Ryoma had already taken them all down.
When they reached the door, the Anbu guard tried to block them for a moment. "Naruto-sama... Naruto-sama, the Hokage is inside. Please allow me to announce your arrival."
Without a signal from Naruto, the others, already familiar with the drill, simply shoved the Anbu aside. Then, with a loud bang, Naruto kicked the door open with a left front kick, sending the two doors flying like shuriken into the opposite wall.
Naruto walked in with a stone-cold expression. Behind him, twenty-five Root members filed in and stood in three neat rows.
Behind his desk, Hiruzen Sarutobi's face turned dark. He had already received intel when Naruto's group left the Root base. At first, he didn't know their destination, but then he learned that they were heading for the Hokage's Office. They're coming to see me.
Hiruzen didn't think much of it and didn't expect any trouble. After all, with Naruto's strength, why would he need so many people? He assumed Naruto was simply a little displeased with his arrangements, especially since the Anbu had already delivered his "message" to Naruto. He never expected them to barge in so brazenly.
"Lord Hokage..." The Anbu subdued by Aburame Ryoma had a grief-stricken look on his face. First, there was the time Naruto's group silently appeared in the office, and now this. He wanted to die.
Naruto looked to the side and frowned. "Ryoma! Why are you so rough? Let him go, you've hurt this Anbu agent."
"Yes, Naruto-sama!" Aburame Ryoma reluctantly released his grip.
Watching the two of them perform this act, Hiruzen sighed deeply. However, Naruto's actions made him feel slightly more at ease. So many things had happened recently. The Konoha Crush, a betrayal by his own student. Danzo's defection, a stab in the back from his old friend. And most importantly, Konoha's future—Naruto Uzumaki. First, he threatened to leave the village, and now this. He didn't seem like an honest kid at all. These successive crises were almost enough to crush an old man like him.
"You may leave," Hiruzen's voice sounded even older. He looked at the many figures who had entered the room. He didn't know each of them personally, but he had an impression of them. Hiruzen knew they were all members of Root.
Right now, they all looked like obedient followers. Especially... he glanced at Aburame Ryoma. Hiruzen remembered the man in the sunglasses. He knew him as a founding member of Root. The fact that even he was so obedient meant that Naruto had completely taken over Root.
Hiruzen sighed to himself. It was too fast. He knew Root's composition very well. It was a team that Danzo had built from the ground up. Every member was fiercely loyal to Danzo; they were his zealots. It was impossible to get any information from them. The Anbu's interrogations in the last few days had yielded no results.
But Naruto had managed to take them over? It hadn't even been a full day, had it? And he could command them as if they were an extension of his own arm?
"This isn't what the Anbu's report said this morning."
Hiruzen's gaze returned from the Root members to Naruto. "Naruto, what are you doing?" he questioned, feigning a bit of anger.
"Don't be mad, old man." Naruto was grinning, a complete change from his earlier demeanor. "I came to help you with something big!"
"What kind of help?"
"You couldn't get any information about Danzo from these Root members before, could you?" Naruto asked confidently. He turned his head. "Panther, step forward."
"Yes, Naruto-sama!" a bald man stepped out from the group. Naruto patted his shoulder. "Show the Hokage the gift Danzo left for you."
"Yes!"
The man opened his mouth, revealing a strange symbol on his tongue.
"This..." Hiruzen's eyes narrowed.
"That's the cursed seal Danzo left. With this, no one can speak about him," Naruto said with a confident smile. "And I happen to know a little bit about sealing jutsu."
With that, Naruto formed a hand sign and his chakra surged. He placed his hand on the man's neck. The cursed seal on his tongue vanished as if it had melted away.
"I've removed all the cursed seals from Root. Now, Lord Hokage, you can know anything you want."
"Is that so?" Hiruzen looked slightly relieved. He hadn't expected Naruto to know so much about sealing jutsu. It must have been his Uzumaki Clan heritage. Furthermore, judging by what Jiraiya said yesterday, Naruto understood the Fourth Hokage's Eight Trigrams Seal and could break it at will, so a simple seal like this was child's play for him.
Seeing Hiruzen's thoughtful expression, Naruto immediately gave an order in the Root group chat. In the next second, all the Root members knelt down in unison.
"Lord Hokage! We are loyal to Konoha! We were simply deceived by that old thief Danzo. Everything was at Shimura Danzo's command and direction; it had nothing to do with us! Please distinguish the loyal from the treacherous, Lord Hokage!"
"Good! Good!"
Seeing so many Root members declaring their loyalty, Hiruzen felt extremely comforted. At least, on the surface, that's what Naruto saw. As for what was in his heart, Naruto had no idea. After all, the hearts of these political figures were dark, and you could never guess what they were thinking. Nothing like Naruto, who was as pure as a white lotus in this regard.
"You may go and report to the Anbu. Summarize Danzo's crimes thoroughly," Naruto said, turning to them and emphasizing each word. "You must write down every single one of his actions!"
"Yes!"
The twenty-five Root members turned around again and filed out. They were going to confess all of Danzo's wickedness, one by one.
Heh heh, since Danzo has defected, he can no longer decide what bad deeds he committed in the past. So, all the bad things Root had ever done were, naturally, Danzo's fault! And as members of Root, they were simply forced into it by Danzo's oppression and enslavement.
You must know... every single one of us was forced into this. Every single one of us is loyal to Konoha! Ever since we joined Root, we've been enduring inner torment at every moment. We constantly yearn for the light!
No matter what, we are all clean! We are all innocent! We are all pure as white lotuses!
"Sigh!" Naruto sighed lightly, his words holding a deeper meaning. "They're all good ninja of Konoha, right, old geezer?"
Hiruzen didn't answer, just puffed on his pipe. He stared at Naruto, his old eyes flickering, unable to figure out what Naruto was thinking.
Seeing the old man's expression, Naruto smiled. What bad intentions could he have? He was doing this all for Konoha!
No matter what, the goal of integrating Root into Konoha was achieved. His small goal had moved forward. However, today's objective was only the first step. The next steps were all critical!
With this thought, Naruto's face suddenly fell. He was the master of acting once more.
"Sigh... Old Geezer Hokage! You've kept me in the dark for so long!"
Old Geezer Hokage? Hearing this title, Hiruzen knew Naruto wasn't in a good mood. Then he realized what Naruto was referring to: taking over Root!
A mysterious smile appeared on his face. Heh heh, it's a good thing for a young man like Naruto to learn about the ugliness of politics.
Just as he was thinking, Naruto's next words shocked him.
"Old man! Where did Root get so many Jonin from?"
"What Jonin?"
Naruto emphasized his point. "A small organization like Root, with only 29 members in total, how could it have 25 Jonin?"
The Third Hokage instantly sat up straight. His eyes nearly popped out of his sockets in utter shock.
"You said... how many?" His voice was trembling slightly. After all, that was twenty-five Jonin. A Jonin was the pillar of every village! Each was a rare treasure.
"Twenty-five!" Naruto's face showed a perfect amount of confusion. "Huh? You didn't know?"
"Twenty-five Jonin???"
Hiruzen was completely stunned. His mind was struggling to process this. Where did Root get twenty-five Jonin? Are Jonin that easy to train? How many Jonin does the entire Anbu have? How many Jonin does all of Konoha have? A tiny organization like Root has twenty-five Jonin?
The previous investigation must have been wrong. The Anbu's interrogations never mentioned this at all. If Root had twenty-five Jonin, then Danzo...
Even though he was breaking out in a cold sweat, Hiruzen forced himself to calm down. He looked at Naruto with suspicion. "You're not playing a trick on an old man, are you?" He even took a leisurely puff from his pipe. Surrounded by smoke, his cloudy old eyes flickered as he carefully observed Naruto, trying to find a clue. But deep down, there was a glimmer of uncontrollable hope. What if it's true?
"Oh?" Naruto was perfectly calm. "Looks like you really didn't know!"
This calm demeanor made Hiruzen even more suspicious.
"Danzo can really hide things!"
Naruto felt that he had built up enough suspense, so he laid his cards on the table. "Sigh, I just tested them myself. If you don't believe me, you can have the Anbu test them."
Naruto's sincerity made Hiruzen hesitate for a moment. But in his heart, a wave of joy surged.
Jonin! Twenty-five of them! How many years and how many resources would it take to train that many Jonin?
He suddenly became desperate. His small eyes widened, and he looked at Naruto with genuine concern. "Is it true?" he asked as if confirming it.
"Why would I lie to you?" Seeing the old man's childlike expression, Naruto was reminded of their meeting when he was three years old. The old man looked just like this then.
"You can have the Anbu test them. I'm sure they'll cooperate."
Hiruzen thought for a moment and agreed. "Alright." He called the Anbu waiting outside and gave them the order.
After doing all this, Hiruzen felt much more relaxed. Now he just had to wait for the news. Twenty-five Jonin... what a pleasant surprise! If it were true, Konoha's strength would be greatly enhanced!
Right. He glanced at Naruto, who was sitting across from him. Though it wouldn't make much of a difference.
Sigh... He sighed softly. Times have changed. A Jonin doesn't seem to matter so much anymore.
But then, he remembered something else and was a little puzzled. Danzo, the leader of an organization with twenty-five Jonin, chose to defect instead of using that power to negotiate with Konoha or even to stage a coup.
He really is... Danzo truly is a patriot of Konoha! He must have done it to minimize Konoha's losses, right?
As expected, even though he's a defector, Danzo still loves Konoha in his heart! The thought touched Hiruzen's heart. He truly is my old friend. I am Konoha's light, and you are Konoha's shadow...
"Old Geezer Hokage!" Naruto's call interrupted Hiruzen's thoughts. Seeing Naruto, Hiruzen remembered something. "Oh, by the way, Naruto, why are these Root members so obedient to you?"
Thinking about this, Hiruzen felt a little regretful. If he had known Root had so many Jonin and was so dangerous, he never would have let Naruto go to such a perilous place. Thankfully, everything is okay now.
So, he was curious about the answer to this question. How had Naruto managed to take over the Root members who were completely loyal to Danzo? They were all Jonin!
"At first, they weren't very obedient," Naruto said.
Hearing this, Hiruzen became more interested. "So how did you solve it?"
"Later..." Naruto built up the suspense. "...I just beat them up until they became much more obedient."
Hiruzen was speechless. That makes sense. Even though they were twenty-five Jonin, Naruto's power could no longer be judged by conventional standards.
"Old man, there's one more thing I forgot to mention."
"What is it?" Hiruzen was intrigued, wondering what other mischief Naruto had up his sleeve.
Naruto said with a serious tone, "This is the real purpose of today. I promised the Root members that they would live in the sunlight, no longer like mice living in the shadows under Danzo's command."
Hiruzen pondered for a moment. "What exactly does that mean?"
"It's simple," Naruto said with a smile. "Let them live in Konoha as normal people, give them the status of Jonin, and let them join the Jonin Unit."
Jonin status? Hiruzen didn't need to hesitate on that. As long as they passed the strength test, they would be granted the status. But the Jonin Unit? He looked up at the smiling figure and suspected that Naruto had added that part himself. As a politician with many years of experience, he knew the reason for this was probably the recent election.
Should I agree to it? Originally, not all Jonin joined the Jonin Unit, but everyone in the Jonin Unit was a Jonin. Naruto's move... after thinking for a moment, Hiruzen nodded.
"Okay, I'll agree to it." Even though he was going to retire in a few days, he still had the authority for this.
"I'll... thank you on behalf of the many Root members, Lord Hokage."
"Also... there's one more thing I need you to agree to."
"What is it?" Hiruzen settled back in his chair, ready to see what other tricks Naruto would pull.
"I need to go out of the village with the other Root members for a few days."
"Leaving again?" Hiruzen was starting to feel a bit of PTSD from this.
Naruto's face was full of sincerity. "This time, it's for an important matter."
"Oh? What is it?" Hiruzen wanted to see what he had planned.
Naruto stated bluntly, "According to the Root members, the members in the village are only a part of the total. Many more are deployed outside."
"Oh?" Hiruzen's heart raced. "Do those people have the same strength? How many of them are there?"
Naruto shook his head. Just as Hiruzen thought the answer was no, Naruto spoke. "I don't know. There might be more than the ones in the village. I don't know their strength either."
This... Naruto planned to play it by ear. Maybe a dozen, maybe a few dozen, or even over a hundred. As for their strength? You can guess!
Thinking of his next moves, Naruto selectively revealed some information. "My purpose for this trip is to race against Danzo to win over the loyalty of those Root members!"
"According to the Root members, these deployed ninja are mostly orphans from the Land of Fire, trained since childhood. They are also loyal to Konoha. If we can get them before Danzo does, we can add more talent to Konoha!"
Hearing this, Hiruzen's old face could no longer remain impassive. That old dog, Danzo, has already defected for several days!
However, despite his urgency, as an old Hokage who had been in power for many years, he remained calm. Hiruzen said with a solemn expression, "Naruto, the village will support you with everything we have! I'm giving you this S-rank mission!"
"Yes, Lord Hokage!" Naruto nodded just as solemnly. "But I need four people to go with me, and I also need you to give me one person."
"Who?"
"I need Aburame Ryoma, Shigaraki Tanuki, Yamanaka Fu, and Aburame Torune to go with me." After a pause, Naruto smiled. "In addition, I need you to have Kakashi-sensei join Root and serve as a consultant."
"Who? Kakashi? Join Root?"
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