Chapter 127: Classic Scene Reenactment
"Grandpa Third! You... Are you sick?"
Naruto trotted to Sarutobi Hiruzen's hospital bed, sizing him up openly.
Although his expression was very worried, his mind was already running calculations.
"On the surface, the injuries aren't too severe, but his spirit seems very weak."
So, did Menma-nii kill his relative?
Tsk tsk tsk, looking at the current situation, Menma-nii is going to turn Sarutobi Hiruzen into a lonely old man.
Sarutobi Hiruzen first gave the ANBU ninja a meaningful look.
After the ANBU ninja exited the room, he then said in a gentle, comforting tone: "It's nothing. When you get old, it's easy to have minor ailments and misfortunes."
As he spoke, his slightly narrowed eyes also sized Naruto up and down.
Upon discovering no injuries on him, he sighed in relief: "It's you, Naruto, that matters. As long as you're okay."
This sentence was spoken with great sincerity, one could say it came from the bottom of his heart.
Even Sarutobi Hiruzen himself couldn't tell in what capacity he was currently worrying about Naruto.
The Third Hokage's concern for the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki?
Or perhaps, Grandpa Third's concern for Uzumaki Naruto?
"Grandpa Third..."
Naruto, as if thinking of something upon hearing this, showed a visible look of palpitation in his eyes.
"An old man wanted to kill me, but I didn't expect him to be so weak. In the end..."
Although he didn't finish, Sarutobi Hiruzen already understood the spy's fate.
He didn't expect Naruto, who hadn't even graduated from the Ninja Academy, to actually be able to counter-kill a Chūnin spy while completely unprepared.
This level of strength and talent was truly too formidable.
However, while marveling at Naruto's strength,
Looking at Naruto, whose body was trembling continuously, tears welling up in his eyes, Sarutobi Hiruzen still sighed inwardly, a sense of pity rising in his heart.
"No matter his strength and talent, Naruto is still just a child who hasn't graduated yet."
Under normal circumstances, to let a newly graduated Genin see blood, the team leader would accept missions like cleaning up bandits.
But Naruto hadn't even graduated yet, and his first kill was actually under such an unexpected, mentally unprepared situation.
One can imagine, the psychological pressure he must be under right now must be immense!
Thinking this, Sarutobi Hiruzen reached out and patted Naruto's lowered head.
"It's alright, Naruto. Don't feel guilty."
He led Naruto to a chair, comforting him gently: "That was an enemy who infiltrated the village. You eliminated a huge threat for the village."
Naruto kept his head lowered, but judging by his breathing rate, his emotions seemed to be gradually calming down.
"Hehe."
Seeing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen chuckled lightly: "Naruto, you stay here for a while. I still need to confirm if there are any fish that escaped the net."
Although he was very confident in Konoha's barrier, those two masked men had already proven with their actions that the barrier had flaws.
Since Kumogakure could insert a Chūnin spy and a Jōnin spy, then spies from other villages could presumably have also infiltrated.
Whether to ensure the safety of the "Nine-Tails Jinchūriki" or to protect "Uzumaki Naruto,"
Having Naruto stay by his side was the most correct choice.
But after hearing Sarutobi Hiruzen's words, Naruto showed a hesitant expression.
"But, if I stay here, won't I disturb Grandpa Third's rest?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen waved his hand nonchalantly: "It's fine, I've already rested for a long time. You..."
But before he could finish,
"No!"
Naruto shook his head with a serious expression: "Grandpa Third, your face is too pale. You need to rest now."
"This..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen hesitated for a moment, then smiled gently: "Alright then, I'll rest for a while."
With that, he proactively closed his eyes and began to feign sleep on the bed.
Not long after,
"Grandpa Third?"
Hearing Naruto's soft, probing voice, Sarutobi Hiruzen made no response.
He wanted to see what Naruto intended to do.
He then felt someone pull the blanket up for him and tuck in the corners.
"Naruto..."
At this moment, a wave of warmth suddenly rose in Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart.
His mature eldest son, Sarutobi Shinnosuke, was already dead.
His rebellious second son, Sarutobi Asuma, had left home due to ideological differences with him.
His little grandson, Sarutobi Konohamaru, was only three, an age where he was a nuisance to everyone.
Everything is about comparison.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had seen the sensible three-year-old Naruto, and he really couldn't bring himself to like his own mischievous little grandson.
The gap was simply too large.
Thinking this, Sarutobi Hiruzen recalled another piece of intelligence.
Jiraiya had appeared at the border of the Land of Fire and, after intimidating the Four Great Ninja Villages, began heading towards Konoha.
Meaning, Jiraiya was coming back.
A bold idea suddenly popped into Sarutobi Hiruzen's mind.
"Perhaps, I can use this opportunity to have Jiraiya take my place, and then when Naruto grows up..."
Just as he was pondering,
Bang!
The hospital room door was suddenly pushed open forcefully from the outside.
"Hiruzen, why did you disband..."
An old man covered in bandages, face full of anger, walked in, wanting to question him angrily.
But upon seeing the wary Naruto,
He subconsciously swallowed the rest of his words, then forced a hypocritical smile at him.
"And who might you be?"
However, facing his smile, Naruto asked back unhappily: "At your age, you actually push open a door without permission? Don't you know what manners are?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Shimura Danzō's smile couldn't help but freeze.
A wave of shame and embarrassment suddenly rose in his heart.
"Damn it! Why did I have to run into the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki here?"
The "Will of Root" that Root currently used was borrowed from Naruto's diary.
-- Humans are like trees. The more they yearn for the sunlight above, the deeper their roots must extend into the darkness below.
This sentence had practically spoken to Danzō's very soul, also making him feel a measure of appreciation and recognition for Naruto.
He had once imagined what the scene would be like when he met Naruto.
At the very least, he had to leave a good first impression, to make it convenient for him to pull Naruto into Root later on.
But he never imagined their first meeting would be in such an awkward scene...
Sarutobi Hiruzen also pretended to have just woken up, opening his eyes with a blank expression.
"Danzō? What do you need me for?"
"I..."
Looking at Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was clearly playing dumb, his eyes containing a hint of amusement, Shimura Danzō was momentarily so choked with anger his face turned red.
With an outsider here, he couldn't very well lash out!
Nearby, Naruto also seemed to realize the relationship between the two.
"Grandpa Third."
Although his expression was somewhat unwilling, he still proactively helped him out: "I'll go check on Sasuke next door first. I'll come see you again when I have time."
With that, he shot Danzō a dissatisfied glare, then turned and left the hospital room.
Although made somewhat awkward and annoyed by Naruto, Danzō undoubtedly still sighed in relief.
Then, his expression once again became serious and irritated.
"Hiruzen, why did you disband my Root!"
"You still ask me why?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression also became serious as he asked back: "Moving Root ninja without my permission to lie in ambush at the Uchiha clan grounds – do you think I should punish you or not?!"
"If I don't punish you, how many people's hearts will be chilled!"
As soon as these words were spoken, Danzō immediately understood his meaning, his face instantly flushing red with anger.
This dog Sarutobi Hiruzen!
He clearly agreed to this matter, but now it's become my unauthorized action!
Just finished dealing with the Uchiha, and now he wants to pin all the blame on me!
Isn't this killing the donkey after it's done its work at the mill?!
"Even so!"
Danzō, face flushed, continued to question: "This was all my doing alone! You can't just imprison all the ninja I sent out!"
It wasn't as if Sarutobi Hiruzen hadn't "disbanded" Root before.
But those Root members were all branded with his cursed seal; the so-called disbandment was just a formality, for show.
He only needed to send out a message, and those Root ninja would obediently return.
But this time, for some reason, not a single Root ninja he sent out had returned.
If there were no surprises, they must have been imprisoned by Sarutobi Hiruzen.
However, Sarutobi Hiruzen's next sentence made Danzō freeze on the spot.
"Hehe, me imprisoning Root ninja?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen sneered coldly, his tone now having an edge of gunpowder: "Let me tell you the truth. Those ninja responsible for guarding the Uchiha clan grounds... have all been wiped out by that Ame-no-Minakanushi!!"
All been wiped out?
"...Are you... kidding me?"
Danzō's face was full of disbelief, eventually turning to rage.
Nearly a hundred Root ninja... all killed by that Ame-no-Minakanushi?
That's nearly a hundred Root ninja!
Not nearly a hundred pigs, nor ordinary cannon fodder Genin!
Some of the elites among them were people he had personally visited several major clans for, persuading them with painstaking effort to acquire!!
Whether auxiliary-type ninja specializing in sensory, reconnaissance, and medical skills, or offensive-type ninja specializing in ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu.
Although not all were specialists, almost all types were included.
And such a nearly all-powerful team... Sarutobi Hiruzen actually said they were killed by one person?
What kind of joke is this?!
"Are you messing with me?"
Seeing the enraged Danzō, Sarutobi Hiruzen's face also darkened. He directly threw the intelligence report from the side at his face.
"Go see for yourself! Read it carefully!"
Danzō extended a trembling arm, slowly unrolling the intelligence scroll.
Upon seeing the casualty report, his flushed face instantly turned deathly pale.
Creak!
He gripped the scroll tightly, staring deadly intently at the tragic numbers on it.
"Gone... really gone..."
"After all these years in charge of Root, all the painstaking effort I spent cultivating them... not a single one left..."
Danzō's heart was bleeding madly.
No.
It was practically gushing blood.
To eliminate the Uchiha, to obtain enough Sharingan, he even colluded with that masked man claiming to be Uchiha Madara.
But now...
Not even a shadow of a Sharingan to be seen, and instead, the mid-level combat strength of Root was completely wiped out!
Danzō stared at the intelligence, his eyes practically spitting fire.
He was still suppressing his anger.
But, just then.
"Shortly, I will publicly announce your punishment to all Jōnin."
Sarutobi Hiruzen said in an unquestionable tone: "And before that, you will stay in the confinement room."
Jiraiya would be back soon; he couldn't let Danzō cause trouble during this time.
As soon as these words were spoken, Danzō's face turned pale, his heart filled with an indescribable sense of grievance.
"Sarutobi!!"
He wanted to say something.
But in the end, he only managed to squeeze out those few words from between his teeth.
"You will regret this!"
"Danzō, I am the Hokage."
(End of Chapter)
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