Shimura Danzō froze in place, utterly dumbfounded.
"What do you mean, the Nine-Tails' chakra? Weren't you the one responsible for sealing the beast? Why are you questioning me?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's tone was icy.
"Danzō, at a time like this, you still choose to lie? Kakashi, tell him what you saw."
Kakashi stepped forward and recounted everything that had happened during his encounter with Tahara Rokuro — including how the man had declared that Root only answers to Danzō, not the Hokage.
Hearing that, Kakashi's voice tightened with lingering anger.
After all, the Hokage then was Namikaze Minato, his own teacher — and Rokuro's words had deeply offended him.
Danzō, the shadow manipulator of the entire Naruto saga, immediately realized that Rokuro couldn't have been one of his Root operatives.
"And you believed that nonsense? Clearly, someone's trying to drive a wedge between us. Hiruzen, don't tell me you can't see through such a simple ploy."
"Hmph. If it were anyone else, perhaps I'd hesitate. But you… enough talk. If you refuse to hand it over, I'll have my men search the place myself!"
"Impossible! Root is my territory — you have no authority here! Don't forget, Hiruzen, you're no longer the Hokage!"
At that, a muscle twitched in Hiruzen's face. For a moment, he wanted to shout one of his "classic" lines… but forced it down, feeling his chest tighten in irritation.
"Minato is dead. As the Third Hokage, I now serve as Acting Hokage once again. Search every corner of Root!"
"You! You'll regret this, Hiruzen!"
"Danzō, I am the Hokage!"
A wave of satisfaction coursed through Hiruzen's entire body — like the sweet relief of unclogging a week-long constipation.
He even conveniently omitted the word "acting" before Hokage, which made Danzō seethe with rage.
As ANBU operatives stormed through Root's base, they unearthed quite a few incriminating secrets.
Among the most shocking was the discovery of a Wood Release ninja — the very man who would later become Team 7's substitute leader, Yamato.
At first, since there was no trace of the Nine-Tails' chakra, Hiruzen had felt uncertain.
But the instant he saw that Wood Release user, his confidence surged back.
"Take this ninja into custody."
"No! He's Root property — you have no right to take him!"
To Danzō, Yamato wasn't just an experimental subject — he was a secret weapon in his quest for the Hokage's seat.
In his eyes, Yamato's value even surpassed that of the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki.
But though Hiruzen had stepped down as Hokage once before, he still held immense sway — especially over the ANBU, which even Minato couldn't fully control.
That was precisely why Kakashi had been assigned to the ANBU: to remain under Hiruzen's indirect supervision.
After all, during that dark period of Kakashi's life, any true mentor — one who genuinely cared for him — would've encouraged him to live as a normal shinobi again, to rebuild bonds and rediscover purpose.
Instead, Minato, caught in the web of politics, had been forced to sacrifice his student's happiness for expediency.
Now that Minato was gone, the ANBU — still loyal to Hiruzen — naturally followed his lead.
With most of Root's forces preoccupied suppressing the Uchiha, Danzō was helpless to resist.
In the end, he could only watch in silent fury as Yamato was taken away.
"Kakashi, you'll take over the Nine-Tails chakra investigation. Find out everything you can."
"Understood."
After accepting the mission, Kakashi hesitated. He wanted to bring up Naruto.
"Lord Third… about Naruto. Perhaps I could raise him myself? My home's large enough, and I can hire someone to help care for him."
"No need. Minato's child is my responsibility. Focus on your mission."
"…Understood."
If Naruto had been just Minato's son, perhaps Hiruzen would have agreed.
But Naruto wasn't merely a child — he was the new Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, a living strategic weapon.
There was no way Hiruzen would entrust him to anyone else.
As the years passed, Hiruzen's physical strength waned, but his grip on power only tightened.
In this stage of his life, the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki became his most vital political leverage — something no one, not even Kakashi, was allowed to touch.
In fact, it was because Kakashi was Sakumo's son that Hiruzen distrusted him even more.
After all, it had been Hiruzen and Danzō who had cornered the "White Fang" — forcing him to take his own life.
And so, despite Tahara Rokuro's arrival in this world, Naruto's fate remained unchanged.
He still became Hiruzen's private pawn — isolated, controlled, and forbidden from forming meaningful bonds with anyone outside those assigned by the Third Hokage himself.
That was why, in the original timeline, even though many of Minato's subordinates knew Naruto's true identity — knew he wasn't the Nine-Tails reborn, and could see how miserable his life was — none of them ever reached out to help.
Only after Hiruzen's death, when Naruto brought honor to the village, did the people suddenly "remember" to adore him.
Human prejudice, after all, is like a mountain — it doesn't vanish just because one says it should.
In truth, every tragedy stemmed from Hiruzen Sarutobi.
His death didn't just free Naruto — it freed the entire village.
If you think about it… the person Naruto should thank most isn't Jiraiya, or even Minato.
It's Orochimaru.
While Naruto's life was entering its "hell mode," Tahara Rokuro's own path was just beginning to ascend.
After escaping Kakashi with the Flying Thunder God Technique, Rokuro returned home and released his mother, Uchiha Ashikaga, from the sealing space.
Then he descended into the basement — a chamber filled with complex sealing arrays.
Rolling up his left sleeve, he revealed the ninja arm guard.
At its center glimmered a pulsing red light — the chakra of the Nine-Tails itself.
Activating the seal, Rokuro's consciousness entered the arm guard's inner space.
The moment he stepped inside, a thunderous roar echoed all around him.
"You cursed brat! Let me out! I'll slaughter every last Leaf ninja and burn the entire Land of Fire to ashes!"
Before him loomed a massive crimson fox, snarling and thrashing — nine enormous tails sweeping behind it like raging infernos.
"Chakra really is a wondrous thing… And tailed beasts, born entirely from it, are even more so. To think that you could regenerate from mere residual chakra lingering in the air — truly fascinating."
Rokuro examined the Nine-Tails closely.
It was only about ten meters tall — a mere shadow of its full hundred-meter form.
By his estimation, this version of the Nine-Tails possessed only about a tenth of its true power.
But even that was far beyond any Kage-level ninja's chakra reserves — more than enough to fuel Rokuro's Rinnegan techniques.
"You're smiling, brat? Release me now, or I'll tear you apart!"
Rokuro's grin turned razor-sharp.
"Nine-Tails, don't compare me to a newborn infant. Even if you were whole, within this sealing space, you follow my command. Don't believe me? Then let me show you."
He snapped his fingers.
Instantly, the sealing runes wrapped around the Nine-Tails ignited, transforming into dozens of golden chains that bound the beast tightly — like a silkworm in its cocoon.
The fox's eyes widened in shock as it roared and struggled, its claws lashing out — only to be caught and restrained.
Its tails swung violently, but soon each was ensnared by tenfold chains, rendering it completely immobile.
Fury boiling, the Nine-Tails gathered a massive amount of chakra in its mouth, forming the beginnings of a Tailed Beast Bomb.
But before the sphere could even stabilize, the sealing chains absorbed the chakra, disrupting the technique mid-formation.
Even its final attack had failed.
Soon, more chains coiled around its jaws, forcing its mouth shut.
"Nine-Tails, from now on, you'll serve as my eternal chakra engine. Until I die, supplying me with chakra will be your sole purpose."
Rokuro's cold laughter faded as his consciousness withdrew from the seal.
Inside, the Nine-Tails thrashed wildly, but no matter how hard it fought, the binding runes held firm — unyielding as if grafted into its very flesh.
Satisfied, Rokuro left the basement.
But as he stepped into the living room, he froze.
Uchiha Kei was there, sobbing in Ashikaga's arms.
"What? Your parents were killed by the Nine-Tails?!"