As the uninvited guests stepped into Ichiraku Ramen, Teuchi's expression shifted slightly.
Senju Haruto's brows furrowed. He had sensed something off and instinctively turned to glance toward the entrance.
The newcomers were all dressed in identical uniforms, their faces concealed behind different patterned masks.
Root.
They were from Danzo's Root division.
Though their attire resembled that of the standard Anbu, Haruto immediately recognized the difference.
The Anbu — under direct command of the Hokage — wore animal-themed masks. Root operatives, however, did not. It was a subtle distinction, but once you knew it, it was easy to tell them apart.
"Anbu?" Naruto asked reflexively, also turning to look. He'd never done well in the Ninja Academy, but he'd had plenty of personal contact with the Third Hokage.
He'd seen people dressed like this before.
The Third had told him they were his personal bodyguards — the Anbu.
But Naruto's gut told him — these guys weren't here for ramen.
"The honorable Danzo-sama would like to meet with you," said the lead Root agent, his voice low and clipped. It wasn't a request — it was a command.
"Who's Danzo?" Naruto couldn't help but ask aloud.
"He's one of the village's senior advisors," Haruto replied casually, not even glancing over.
Danzo's name was well known within the walls of Konoha.
The infamous 'Scapegoat Shadow.'
He was like Tobirama Senju in legend — whenever you heard of a forbidden jutsu but didn't know who created it, just assume it was Tobirama.
And if something shady happened and you didn't know who to blame?
Just shout "Danzo!" Nine times out of ten, you'd be right.
That said…
If Danzo had sent Root agents to summon him personally, there were only three likely explanations.
Option One:
The Third Hokage knew about this and had given Danzo his tacit approval.
Unlikely.
Option Two:
Danzo wasn't afraid of the Hokage finding out. He was making a legitimate, above-board attempt to recruit Haruto.
Possible… but doubtful.
Option Three:
Danzo had found a way to keep the Hokage distracted — preventing him from using the Telescope Jutsu to watch over Naruto and Haruto — and had dispatched Root agents to eliminate him.
Now that felt plausible.
Haruto's gaze sharpened slightly.
He didn't consider himself especially clever — his strategic thinking was just average. But he wasn't an idiot either. As long as he could anticipate a range of possibilities and prepare countermeasures, he could hold his own.
If it was Option One or Two, no problem. He could go along, talk to Danzo, and be home in time for a nap.
World peace and all that.
But if it was Option Three — even if it was the least likely — it was the one he needed to take most seriously.
Because there was precedent.
Back when Minato Namikaze died sealing the Nine-Tails and Hiruzen Sarutobi resumed his role as Hokage, Danzo had secretly ordered a ten-man Root squad to assassinate him.
That attempt had only failed because Kakashi defected mid-mission.
In the aftermath, political pressure forced Hiruzen to pretend the entire incident never happened.
If Danzo had been willing to kill the Third Hokage…
Why would he hesitate to kill Haruto?
Just because he was from the Senju clan?
Hiruzen was head of the Sarutobi clan and the Third Hokage. That didn't stop Danzo.
Still, Haruto could understand Danzo's mindset.
From an outsider's view, he looked like a rising star in the Third Hokage's faction — a potential successor to Hiruzen himself.
And in Danzo's eyes, that made him the biggest threat to his own ambitions of becoming Hokage.
If Haruto were in Danzo's shoes, he'd probably make the same move.
Strike before your enemy grows too powerful.
Thinking along those lines…
Damn. This Danzo is way too cautious.
But what had triggered him?
Haruto's eyes flicked toward Naruto — who just so happened to be looking back at him.
"Uh…" Naruto froze as their eyes met. His cheeks turned beet red, and he quickly averted his gaze.
"W-what? Why are you staring at me like that?"
"The honorable Danzo-sama wishes to meet with you," the Root agent repeated, seeing that Haruto hadn't moved. His voice remained flat.
Actually… it wasn't just flat.
There was no emotion at all.
Root agents had no names, no feelings. They were tools — trained that way.
"Tell him to wait. Can't you see I'm eating?" Haruto replied, barely sparing the man a glance.
His tone was ice cold.
"Haruto!" Naruto's eyes sparkled with admiration. He hadn't expected Haruto to be this bold.
He didn't know who Danzo was, but "Hokage advisor" sounded like a big deal.
"Is that… okay?" Teuchi crossed his arms, clearly worried. Unlike Naruto, he was an adult — he understood what defying someone like Danzo meant.
"This is the first time I've treated Naruto to ramen," Haruto said flatly. "I don't care if it's Danzo, Hanzo, or whoever — what's that got to do with me?"
Without a hint of hesitation, Haruto pulled 500 ryo from his pouch and slapped it on the counter.
"Two more bowls."
He turned to Naruto. "Naruto, you have one job today: Eat your fill. Got it?"
"H-Haruto…" Naruto's eyes widened. His lips trembled. Slowly, tears began to pool in the corners of his eyes.
Not only had no one ever defied a Hokage advisor for him — no one had ever even just sat and shared a meal like this with him.
He was overwhelmed.
But Haruto wasn't acting out of sentiment.
This was a test — a way to gauge Root's attitude.
Sure enough, when he clearly began stalling, the Root agent stepped forward and reached for his arm.
Root members had no emotions — which made their loyalty to Danzo absolute. If this was truly a recruitment effort, Danzo would never have allowed them to be this aggressive.
So that meant…
He was desperate.
Smack!
Haruto twisted sideways, dodging the grab cleanly.
Their eyes locked.
The air grew heavy.
Tension crackled in the space between them like static.
Even Naruto had stopped eating, visibly anxious.
"Looks like that's it for today, Naruto." Haruto let out a breath. "Guess we're not finishing this meal."
But he had confirmed one thing:
Danzo was playing with fire.
"Haruto…" Naruto sprang up from his stool, about to say something.
But before he could, Haruto stepped forward and gently tapped two fingers against Naruto's forehead.
"Next time, okay?"
Thunk.
And with that, he turned and strode out of Ichiraku without looking back.
Naruto stood frozen in place.
Haruto stepped onto the street — and instantly confirmed his suspicions.
Not a single civilian in sight.
The streets were completely empty.
As if someone had deliberately cleared the area.