One of them was a black-haired man wearing a mask that exposed only the lower half of his face. He wore glasses and clothing typical of Root—a black long-sleeved shirt cinched at the waist with a sash, paired with pants and an apron tied around his waist. The red sash made it clear—this was Torune.
The other man had a reddish-brown ponytail and wore a crimson, kimono-style shirt under his standard Root uniform. "Nagare…" Clearly, during the time he had been away, both had risen in rank enough to become Danzō's personal bodyguards.
Maki was also present in the room, standing stiffly, giving no sign of noticing his arrival. Yet when Naruto looked at her, he could see the joy flicker in her eyes.
"Naruto," Danzō said, immediately drawing Naruto's attention. "I'm pleased to see you're still alive and unharmed. How did your last mission go?" he asked.
Naruto nearly rolled his eyes—it's not like Danzō didn't already know… After all, this was Danzō they were talking about.
"Ah, Lord Danzō," Naruto replied, earning sharp, wrathful glances from Torune and Nagare. He still found it amusing how those stubborn men were always ready to reprimand him for using that title. However, although they were five years his senior, technically speaking, he had outranked them back then. Despite their strong reactions, Danzō himself gave no response whatsoever—strange indeed; apparently Danzō truly missed hearing that name.
"I'm a jonin now," Naruto continued, "and I've met Lady Tsunade. She's practically family, considering I'm the son of the Fourth Hokage. That means I have a direct connection to four out of the five Hokage leaders throughout Konoha's history."
"Now add me into the mix," Danzō smirked, "a man who fought side by side with the Second Hokage, and nearly became the Third. Naruto, what would you think if I told you everything has gone exactly according to my plan—that you were meant to replace me as Hokage?"
Naruto blinked once, then replied,
"I'd say you're full of it, but honestly, I wouldn't be surprised."
Danzō's smile faded.
"No, it's the truth. I know about your relationship with the Fourth, and most jinchuriki share some kind of connection with the village leader. And anyone with half an eye can see how much you look like him. I've treated you as my backup plan, just in case I never achieved that position myself… Once Tsunade became Hokage, I decided it was time you learned about my plans." He paused, locking eyes with Naruto firmly. "Naruto, do you know how old I am?"
Naruto calculated quickly inside his head.
"The Third Hokage passed away at age sixty-nine. Since you're of the same generation, I'd guess you're at least seventy-two."
Danzō nodded.
"But even if I took that seat, how long could I hold onto it? Any plan I start before my death won't finish, which would plunge Konoha into chaos, since my successor won't grasp my political strategies."
"Ever since I realized that you could never be emotionally conditioned, everything I've done has been for your sake. When you were captured after returning from your mission in Otogakure, I thought my plans had all been wasted. But then, as always, you overcame my sealing technique. As a result, you now have a better chance of becoming Hokage than anyone who's ever worked within the organization. After all, rising from the bottom ranks is far more compelling than climbing up from Root."
Naruto nodded his head, and Danzo continued.
"No matter what happens, you will have the support of Root. Sai will take my place—you already know that—and Maki… Hmm, she wasn't part of my original plans, but she's highly skilled in Medical Ninjutsu, as you can see. She healed your wounds, and she's also a formidable fighter." Maki bowed to Danzo after he praised her. "You've known Maki since the very start of your training—she was always intended to be more than just a tool for emotional manipulation. Still, you understand, none of that matters now. I'll never allow you two to turn against each other."
This shocked both Naruto and Maki, especially Maki, because for years she had known about the Final Trial, and if Naruto remained in Root, she had believed that would be their ultimate fate.
"I know about every victory in your career… and every defeat," Danzo said. "Don't be discouraged by them—that's a sign of weakness. That man called Pain was strong enough to wipe out all my ninja squads and even defeat Hanzo before you were even born. Since then, he's clearly grown even stronger. Yet unlike my subordinates, you survived. It's only through defeat that one can grow stronger." He gestured toward Sai and Maki. "That's why I'm sending Sai and Maki to assist you. Let them join you on your journey beyond Konoha. It's too dangerous for you to go alone."
Naruto frowned and turned to Sai.
"You knew about this?"
Sai nodded.
"Are you willing to come with me?" Sai nodded again, so Naruto turned to Maki. "Did you know about this too?" Maki nodded as well. "Maki, between us there's hardly anything we haven't talked about. Are you sure you really want to come with me?"
Maki nodded once more.
"It's my mission, Senior Naruto. I believe fighting alongside you again will be good… if you permit it."
Naruto sighed, then reluctantly nodded. "Then come with me."
Looking around the room at all the agents staring at him, Naruto finally couldn't help but break into a sweat.
"If I refused, you'd just secretly follow me anyway, right?"
Danzo didn't even try to deny it.
"Exactly. As I said, you're far too valuable to the village to be left unprotected." Danzo sighed. "Everyone else, leave the room now."
All the agents bowed respectfully to Danzo and exited, leaving only Naruto alone with him.
They stared at each other silently for a long time, until finally the old man spoke first.
"I've never said this to you face-to-face before, because I'm not good at praising people. And since everything that's happened to you... I haven't had the opportunity to talk to you directly either. But I need to say this—Naruto, you are the greatest success I've had as the leader of Root."
Naruto looked around to confirm everyone had left the room before replying:
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