The next day, a gloomy haze hung over Konoha Village, and a fine drizzle fell from the sky. Everyone was in a somber mood.
Sasuke, Sakura, Neji, Lee, Choji, Shikamaru, Shino, Tenten, Ino, Kiba Inuzuka and others were all dressed in black mourning clothes.
Each of them held a bunch of flowers, with solemn expressions, standing solemnly in front of the Memorial Monument.
Everyone silently lined up in a long queue and took turns coming to the Memorial Monument to offer a flower.
Choji quietly asked in the crowd, "Why is everyone here, but Naruto and Hinata are missing? Where have they gone?"
Tenten said, "Maybe they're both injured. After all, there are still wounded people in the hospital."
Shikamaru thought to himself: If only I were the one who got injured. I'd also like to lie in the hospital...
Sasuke lowered his head, his mood extremely somber. He wasn't feeling somber because of the loss of his fellow villagers' lives. At this moment, Sasuke's mind was full of Gaara and Naruto.
Sasuke thought to himself: If Gaara is a monster, then Naruto is a monster among monsters. My strength is far from enough. There's no time to waste. I must become stronger faster...
Thinking of this, Sasuke clenched his fists tightly.
On the other side, the entire population of Konoha Village had gathered at the cemetery, while Naruto and Hinata quietly came to a mysterious mansion.
"Naruto-kun, what place is this?" Hinata asked nervously.
Naruto looked at the big house in front of him. The mansion seemed very unfamiliar to him, and Tanzo Shimura's confession had pointed to this place.
Yesterday, Haku pierced Tanzo Shimura's chest with the Yata no Magatama Sword, putting him in a state of false death. Coupled with Naruto's cooperation and a long speech to deceive Kabuto, they successfully fooled Kabuto.
Haku's skills were quite superb. Previously, he had put Zabuza Momochi in a state of false death and successfully deceived Kakashi.
However, Kabuto was proficient in Medical Ninjutsu. Just because they could deceive Kakashi didn't necessarily mean they could deceive Kabuto.
So at that time, Naruto actively cooperated and said a long speech to stop Kabuto from approaching Tanzo Shimura, making it impossible for Kabuto to tell whether Tanzo Shimura was really dead or in a state of false death.
After that, Zabuza Momochi carried Tanzo Shimura on his back and returned to Naruto's old and shabby little house, then locked Tanzo up.
Naruto interrogated Tanzo Shimura overnight, trying to get intelligence from his mouth.
"Tanzo, you should know the names of my parents, right?" Naruto pretended to be an important figure, speaking in a cold tone. But the fact that he was wearing pajamas made him look a bit ridiculous.
"Hehe." Zabuza Momochi laughed twice beside him.
Hearing Zabuza's laughter, Naruto felt a bit unhappy. He thought to himself: I'm in the middle of an interrogation. Zabuza, be more serious... I just like to wear pajamas at home. Is there anything wrong with that?
At this moment, steel needles were stuck into all of Tanzo Shimura's major acupoints. The wound pierced by the sword had stopped bleeding, and three of his limbs were locked with thick iron chains. Since he had lost one arm, he only had three limbs left.
Tanzo Shimura endured the excruciating pain all over his body, squinting at Naruto in pajamas in front of him, his heart full of doubt.
Tanzo Shimura looked around, seeing the ornaments with the Konoha symbol hanging on the wall. He thought to himself: I'm still in Konoha. What on earth is Naruto up to?
They attacked me and still dared to lock me up in Konoha...
Tanzo Shimura thought for a moment. This wasn't a big problem. He had harmed many people in Konoha, but he had never harmed Naruto.
Tanzo Shimura said, "Your father is Minato Namikaze, the Forth Hokage; your mother is Kushina Uzumaki, the previous Nine-Tailed Fox Jinchuriki."
Haku, standing beside them, was greatly shocked.
"Hey... Naruto..." Zabuza Momochi was equally shocked and said, "You said you'd become the Hokage. I didn't believe it before, but now I'm half convinced."
Naruto glanced at Zabuza Momochi and thought to himself: Just this bit of intelligence can surprise you? If you knew I'm also the reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths' descendant, wouldn't you be scared to tears...
Tanzo Shimura asked, "Naruto, what on earth do you want to do?"
"Get clear on your identity. You're a prisoner now. How dare you question me!" Naruto roared, "Do you still remember the day I was born!"
Tanzo Shimura's expression changed.
Naruto continued, "On the day I was born, something happened in the village, but your Root organization seemed to have been hiding and didn't show up."
Tanzo Shimura said, "At that time, there were the Third Hokage and the Forth Hokage. I was just the Root hidden in the darkness..."
"Aren't your Root organization supposed to assist the Hokage? Where were you when my father was fighting the Nine-Tailed Fox?"
"How do you know about this, Naruto?"
More than a decade ago, on the day Naruto was born, a major event took place in Konoha Village.
Since Naruto's mother, Kushina Uzumaki, was the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox, the seal on the fox would loosen during childbirth.
So Kushina Uzumaki was arranged to give birth in a secret place outside the village.
But later, an accident still occurred. After Naruto was born, the Nine-Tailed Fox successfully broke through the seal and appeared in Konoha Village, causing great destruction.
At that time, the Third Hokage led the Anbu to attack the Nine-Tailed Fox. The Third Hokage even drove the Nine-Tailed Fox out of Konoha directly.
Later, Naruto's father, the Forth Hokage, made a grand entrance. To prevent the Nine-Tailed Fox from destroying Konoha, he resolutely used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal jutsu to seal the fox, directly sealing it inside Naruto.
The whole sealing process was not smooth. Although the Nine-Tailed Fox was finally successfully sealed, Naruto's parents both died.
At that time, Tanzo Shimura's Root organization never showed up.
"..." Tanzo Shimura was silent. He was indeed in the village at that time, and he was indeed hesitating whether to act.
In the end, Tanzo Shimura chose to remain silent and was not willing to help the Forth Hokage.
Because even earlier, the Third Hokage announced his resignation. Regarding the candidate for the Forth Hokage, Tanzo Shimura recommended Orochimaru.
However, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, disagreed and directly rejected Orochimaru recommended by Tanzo Shimura.
The Third Hokage chose Minato Namikaze, one of Jiraiya's disciples, and made this young man the Forth Hokage, while the Third Hokage retreated to the background.
Therefore, there was already a grudge between Tanzo Shimura and the Forth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. How could he possibly help the Forth Hokage?
Naruto, wearing pajamas, stood in front of Tanzo with a haughty attitude and threatened defiantly, "Back then, you just stood by and watched my parents die, but now you dare to ask me why I'm going to deal with you?"
"Ah...," Naruto sat back on the chair and said in a magnanimous tone, "But I'll spare your life, not because of these things."
"You're still alive now because you were once a high - ranking official in Konoha. There are so many secrets in Konoha that even I can't figure them out."
"..." Tanzo Shimura was sweating profusely. At this moment, he thought Naruto didn't seem like a child at all.
Naruto said, "My father was the Forth Hokage, and my mother was the previous Jinchuriki of the Nine - Tailed Fox. They should have left something for me, like a box."
"I don't know," Tanzo Shimura said. "Even if there is such a box, it can only be in the hands of the Third Hokage."
"The Third Hokage is dead. Where do you expect me to find him?" Naruto thought to himself, 'If there's the Impure World Reincarnation jutsu, there might really be a way to bring back the Third Hokage...'
Naruto hinted, "In your memory, regarding the clues related to my parents, where is the most likely place for that box to be..."
"I don't know if the Forth Hokage left a box," Tanzo Shimura said with a straight face. "But As far as I know about the Third Hokage, if there really is such a box, it might be placed in that mansion..."
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