"All right, then it's decided."
Standing on Konoha's main street, Naruto stopped and closed his eyes.
With his Kagura Shingan activated, the entire environment of Konoha was clearly reflected in his mind.
Naruto was already extremely proficient at sensing chakra.
Danzō's chakra felt cold, sinister, and slightly more massive than that of ordinary shinobi.
Before long, Naruto located Danzō inside an underground base.
"So this is Root…"
Naruto muttered to himself.
As Konoha's underground organization, Root absorbed nourishment from the shadows to support the great tree above.
It sounded noble and self-sacrificing.
But its leader was nothing more than a schemer.
What was truly terrifying was that this ambitious man no longer cared about the methods he used—even against his own people.
That was the source of countless tragedies caused by Danzō.
Naruto flashed, appearing at a Flying Thunder God marker near Root's underground base.
He walked straight toward the entrance without concealing his presence.
Naturally, Root operatives stationed nearby quickly detected him.
They immediately retreated into the base and reported to Danzō.
Danzō had originally been planning matters such as seizing the Hokage position or assassinating Tsunade.
But when he heard the report, panic briefly flashed across his aged face.
Suppressing his emotions, Danzō said coldly, "Initiate Plan A."
The Root operative, long brainwashed, accepted the order without hesitation.
Root immediately mobilized the operatives stationed nearby.
More than a hundred shinobi rushed toward Naruto's location.
Their objective was clear—stop him.
At the same time, Danzō himself gathered important documents and began retreating along a hidden escape route.
On the other side, Naruto was fully aware that Danzō was attempting to flee.
Yet he remained completely calm.
With Danzō's level of strength, the only way to avoid being hunted down was to kill himself beforehand.
Otherwise, escape was impossible.
As for the Root members blocking his path, Naruto didn't bother to care.
Passing by Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto suddenly stopped.
He casually tossed a Flying Thunder God kunai toward the direction of Danzō's escape route.
The kunai shot forward and precisely embedded itself at the exit of the tunnel.
Afterward, Naruto leisurely walked into Ichiraku Ramen.
Upon entering, he sensed something was off.
Teuchi was working as usual, but the shop was completely empty.
His daughter—normally helping him—was nowhere to be seen.
Only then did Naruto recall the "Closed" sign he had passed earlier.
Naruto asked curiously, "Teuchi, what happened?"
Teuchi usually liked Naruto very much.
But at this moment, he was clearly distracted.
After repeated questioning, Teuchi finally revealed the truth.
His junior apprentice had kidnapped his daughter in order to force him to hand over the ramen recipe.
Naruto nodded slowly. "I see… Teuchi, leave this to me."
Teuchi immediately became anxious. "Hey! Naruto! Don't underestimate the determination of culinary ninja! If you don't defeat them with cooking skills, they'll never give up!"
Naruto shrugged. "I never said I'd give them a chance to change their minds."
Teuchi: "?"
Naruto placed some money on the counter, picked up the bowl Teuchi had prepared, added his favorite toppings, and began eating calmly.
While eating, he said vaguely, "I'll be back after I deal with someone."
Teuchi wanted to say something, but Naruto's figure had already vanished.
"Sigh… this kid… he's getting more and more troublesome."
…
When Danzō learned that Naruto was approaching the base, he immediately ordered his subordinates to intercept him while escaping himself.
What he didn't expect was—
The escape route he had painstakingly prepared led straight to hell.
As Danzō emerged from the tunnel, he saw Naruto standing there, calmly eating ramen.
"You're here?" Naruto bit through a strand of noodles and looked at him.
"Sending your loyal subordinates to their deaths while you run away—truly your style, Danzō."
Danzō stared at Naruto in silence, his eyes filled with vigilance.
Then he said, "Naruto, you are different from ordinary children. You should understand why Root must exist."
"Root doesn't have to mean you," Naruto replied indifferently.
"And I no longer care how Konoha develops after this."
In Naruto's view, as long as a few powerful individuals remained, Konoha would survive.
He would take the people he cared about to the Land of Snow.
Then he would deal with Obito and Madara.
After that, the Ninja World would enjoy a brief period of peace.
By then, Naruto had finished his ramen.
He set the bowl down, formed a one-handed seal, and the golden diamond mark on his forehead flared violently.
An overwhelming Nine-Tails chakra erupted as he instantly entered Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
"Even though I know you're weak," Naruto said calmly,
"I'll still fight seriously. That's respect."
Danzō: "…"
He didn't want this kind of respect.
Realizing Naruto was about to attack, Danzō immediately tore off the bandages on his arm, activating Izanagi.
Seeing this, Naruto frowned slightly.
"You really do have a lot of Sharingan."
"I destroyed one of your arms back then, yet you still managed to transplant more."
"Did you develop the technique yourself, or did you crawl back to Orochimaru again?"
Seeing Naruto merely speaking and not attacking, Danzō grew anxious.
He had planned to use Izanagi's delayed resurrection to trick Naruto.
But Naruto's calm demeanor made him feel as though his thoughts were completely exposed.
Danzō shouted provocatively, "The Fourth Hokage's death was also related to this old man!"
Naruto paused briefly, then chuckled.
"Tsk… you really are willing to take responsibility for anything."
"But provoking me is pointless."
"I know exactly how Izanagi works."
"Why would I waste chakra attacking someone who's already activated it?"
Danzō's face twisted violently.
"Uzumaki Naruto! You—!"
"This old man devoted his entire life to Konoha! What did I do wrong?!"
Naruto looked at him calmly and said nothing.
He had no interest in debating morality with Danzō.
He only knew one thing—
Danzō had persecuted him.
And now, Naruto wanted revenge.
The cause was clear.
The goal was clear.
There was nothing to argue about.
Using Kagura Shingan, Naruto silently monitored Danzō.
He didn't attack.
And Danzō didn't dare to attack either.
When Izanagi's duration ended, a Sharingan on Danzō's arm slowly closed.
Naruto hadn't lifted a finger—
Yet he had already forced Danzō to waste one Sharingan.
Danzō's heart skipped.
He immediately tried to activate Izanagi a second time—
But Naruto was faster.
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