"Danzo-sama, everything is packed!"
A Root subordinate approached Danzo and spoke respectfully.
"Take it back." Danzo surveyed the area. All the snake corpses had been cleaned up and sealed in bags. As for Orochimaru's torn remains, they'd been packed in a separate sack.
Once everything was settled, Danzo returned to Root headquarters with his subordinates.
As soon as he arrived, Danzo dismissed everyone, leaving himself alone. He approached Orochimaru's corpse and opened the bag.
Danzo studied the familiar face carefully.
"Orochimaru, are you really dead? I find that difficult to believe..." He murmured while examining the body.
After a moment, Danzo reached toward Orochimaru's face and touched it. The skin felt cold, completely lacking warmth. He pressed gently, then his brow furrowed deeply.
"No. Something's wrong."
The texture felt off. He began probing more carefully. When he reached the chin area, he finally discovered the discrepancy.
This face had been attached artificially.
Danzo took a sharp breath. He gently pinched the gap and peeled away a thin mask, revealing a woman's face beneath.
Looking at this unfamiliar countenance, Danzo held the mask up to the light. It was an exact replica of Orochimaru's features.
He glanced between the mask and the woman's face in the corpse, comparing them multiple times. Suddenly a thought struck him, and once it took root, he couldn't suppress it.
His breathing gradually grew heavier.
Shaking his head to regain composure, Danzo carefully placed the mask on the table. Then he stood before the corpse and began examining it methodically, inspecting every detail with precision.
Finally, Danzo's attention settled on the most telling area. "This is the most important verification."
Whispering to himself, Danzo pulled aside the clothing.
One look confirmed everything.
The body was clearly female.
After confirming this result, Danzo felt genuine excitement surge through him.
"It seems Orochimaru truly succeeded. This body isn't Orochimaru's original form, which means only one thing. His experiment was successful."
"Orochimaru, you're not dead!"
"You absolute genius. You succeeded with such a forbidden technique. If I could obtain this method of immortality, how wonderful that would be!"
Immortality. Everyone yearned for it.
For a moment, Danzo's thoughts raced wildly. But he calmed himself quickly.
"Orochimaru isn't dead. Should I tell Hiruzen?" Danzo wrestled with the decision.
In the end, he decided to inform Hiruzen. That way, they could combine their strength to capture Orochimaru and seize his research results. Then immortality could be theirs.
Danzo maintained some self-awareness. With his own strength alone, he felt uncertain about handling Orochimaru successfully.
Though he was confident his abilities weren't inferior to Orochimaru's, the Snake Sannin was slippery and excelled at escaping. Danzo wasn't certain he could catch Orochimaru by himself.
Having made his decision, Danzo prepared to visit the Hokage building.
However, before departing, he had other matters to address. He summoned a Root subordinate. "Go call Kameda and Uehara. I need to speak with them."
Kameda and Uehara were naturally the two Root operatives assigned to monitor Naruto.
Naruto had suddenly become so powerful, yet they'd only just discovered it. They'd been monitoring him constantly but hadn't reported a single unusual detail. This annoyed Danzo considerably.
When they learned Danzo wanted to see them, Kameda and Uehara exchanged worried glances. They'd just been summoned by the Third Hokage, who'd asked about Naruto. They'd replied that everything appeared normal.
Indeed, everything they'd observed had been normal.
However, they'd noticed something off in the Third Hokage's expression when checking their words. They hadn't dared ask about it. Fortunately, the Third had asked some other questions before dismissing them.
He'd also said they no longer needed to monitor Naruto.
Therefore, when they'd left the Third Hokage's office, both felt something was wrong but couldn't identify what. It definitely involved Naruto somehow.
But Naruto had truly seemed completely normal!
They hadn't seen anything unusual whatsoever.
Now, immediately after that meeting, Danzo summoned them too. This made both operatives anxious. After all, Danzo wasn't as easy to deal with as the Third Hokage.
They approached Danzo trembling slightly, bowing deeply. "Danzo-sama, you wished to see us?"
"Yes." Danzo nodded slightly. "You monitor Naruto every day. Have you found anything abnormal?"
The two exchanged glances and answered in unison: "No, Danzo-sama. If we'd discovered anything unusual, we would have reported it immediately."
Danzo studied both subordinates' expressions. They weren't lying.
So how did Naruto hide himself? This puzzled Danzo immensely.
Realizing further questioning was pointless, Danzo waved dismissively. He let them leave, then departed for the Hokage building himself.
Arriving at the Hokage building, Danzo went directly to Hiruzen's office. He opened the door without ceremony.
"Knock before entering," Hiruzen said without looking up from his desk, where he sat smoking his pipe.
"It's me, Hiruzen." Danzo walked in with his cane, settling into a chair across from the Hokage.
Hearing Danzo's voice, Hiruzen raised his eyes. He saw Danzo seated comfortably before him.
It's Danzo. Just moments ago, Hiruzen had thought some subordinate had forgotten proper etiquette. As for Danzo? This was normal.
This man had always been like this—rude, never knocking. Where does that put me, Konoha's Third Hokage? However, considering Danzo handled certain necessary tasks, Hiruzen forgave this breach in his heart.
Actually, Hiruzen had been deep in thought. Naruto's earlier words kept circling through his mind. If what Naruto said was true, he might know his own origins.
And Naruto's true background... Hiruzen himself had concealed it deliberately.
As for the matter of Naruto being the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, Danzo had leaked that information on his own initiative.
But there was another issue.
The Reaper Death Seal.
When that seal was used, Hiruzen naturally knew its mechanics. At that time, Minato Namikaze had sealed the Nine-Tails within Naruto's body. Only Minato and his wife Kushina had been present then.
They could have completely sealed both their chakra signatures into Naruto's body alongside the Nine-Tails. If the seal were touched, Naruto could potentially see his parents.
But when Hiruzen had called Naruto to the Hokage's office for their chat, he'd carefully sensed that Naruto's seal remained untouched and intact.
This seemed impossible.
After Naruto left, Hiruzen had immediately recalled the two ANBU subordinates who'd monitored him. But both operatives' reactions indicated they knew nothing unusual.
Given this situation, Hiruzen hadn't formulated a perfect solution yet. Of course, he wouldn't ask Naruto directly. Judging from Naruto's earlier performance, the boy harbored resentment toward Konoha for concealing his identity and origins.
If questioned bluntly, Naruto might take offense. With his current strength, if handled poorly, this could cause tremendous disaster.
"Danzo, why are you here?" Hiruzen focused on his old rival.
Danzo looked at Hiruzen intently, leaning forward. He spoke with absolute seriousness: "Orochimaru isn't dead."
"What?" Hiruzen froze momentarily. Orochimaru isn't dead? He was clearly killed. Could it be... A terrible thought suddenly surfaced in Hiruzen's mind.
"I mean exactly what I said. Orochimaru is not dead, Hiruzen. Do you understand what that means?" Danzo stared directly into Hiruzen's eyes.
"What does it mean?" Hiruzen naturally thought of that possibility, but hearing the news that Orochimaru survived stirred complicated emotions. Part of him felt regret that his former student had died. Now learning he survived brought faint worry instead.
Danzo sneered. Hiruzen remains the same—pretending confusion while understanding perfectly. He snorted coldly. "This means Orochimaru's experiment succeeded."
"Yes..." Hiruzen sighed deeply, speaking with emotion. "I didn't expect him to actually succeed. But behind this success, how many lives were sacrificed?"
He fixed Danzo with a searching look. "Are you absolutely certain Orochimaru is not ead? Such an important matter requires confirmation."
"I'm certain. I've examined the body multiple times. It's definitely not Orochimaru's original form. That face was merely a human skin mask of Orochimaru's features." Danzo nodded firmly.
"By the way, Danzo—I believe Naruto may know his true identity." Suddenly, Hiruzen looked at Danzo with concern.
Danzo showed no surprise on his face. He understood Hiruzen's thoughts perfectly. "Hiruzen, are you worried Naruto will act against Konoha?"
"That's right. I have this concern. After all, he did suffer considerable injustice before." Thinking of Naruto's earlier words, Hiruzen felt inevitably worried.
If Naruto weren't so powerful, this wouldn't be such a concern.
"Hmph. This is Konoha, the village where he grew up. What could he possibly do to Konoha? If he truly causes damage to the village, then we kill him and select a new Nine-Tails jinchūriki." Danzo snorted coldly, speaking with firm conviction.
"Kill him? Heh. Danzo, with your strength, do you think you're capable of killing Naruto?" Hiruzen chuckled darkly.
"I..." Danzo hesitated, the confidence draining from his voice.
"Continue observing. If necessary, we can apologize to him and reveal his identity publicly. He deserves respect from Konoha's villagers, not their coldness and hatred." Hiruzen spoke thoughtfully.
"Apologize? Why should I apologize to him?" Danzo stood abruptly, protesting on the spot.
"Danzo, if you hadn't revealed his status as the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, would the villagers be so cold toward him? Therefore, this apology must come from you. And it needs to be sincere, attempting to ease some of Naruto's grievances." Hiruzen spoke with absolute seriousness.
Hearing these words, Danzo slumped back onto his chair. "Fine. If I must apologize, then I'll apologize."
After speaking, Danzo abandoned the topic of Naruto, redirecting the conversation to Orochimaru instead. "Hiruzen, Orochimaru's experiment succeeded. We can design a trap to capture him and seize his research results."
"Inappropriate." Hiruzen refused immediately.
"Why not? Don't forget—his research used our Konoha's resources and our Konoha's ninja. He secretly kidnapped Konoha ninja for experiments. Did those ninja die for nothing?" Danzo spoke coldly.
Hiruzen is far too indecisive.
This matter could benefit Konoha tremendously, yet he wouldn't pursue it. Just like when he'd let Orochimaru escape in the first place.
Danzo felt profound anger. This reminded him again: if he'd been the one to stay behind back then instead of Hiruzen, if the sensei had passed the Hokage position to him, Konoha would definitely have developed far better.
Hiruzen is too emotional.
"Don't discuss this anymore." Hiruzen's expression soured considerably.
"Hmph. Hiruzen, you're always too soft-hearted. You'll regret this eventually." Danzo stood, striking his cane heavily against the ground. He snorted coldly and departed with visible anger.
"Naruto, please teach me the vibration technique!"
Terumi Mei gripped Naruto's arm tightly, speaking with desperate pleading.
Naruto looked at Terumi Mei with complete bewilderment, wondering what was wrong with her. Why did she seem so anxious?
He noticed her hand clutching his arm tightly. Her fingers had originally been painted with bright red nail polish, but for some reason, the polish on both middle fingers and ring fingers had completely worn away.
Naruto calmly extracted his arm from her grip. "Sister Mei, you came to find me—don't you want to start the coup?"
Only then did Terumi Mei regain some composure. Realizing she'd been far too eager just now, she couldn't help blushing slightly. "Naruto, it's not quite time for that yet."
Naruto felt exasperated. He was extremely busy. "Sister, didn't I say we'd discuss this after my Chūnin Exam?"
Terumi Mei smiled brilliantly. "Naruto, haven't you already passed your Chūnin Exam? Congratulations, Naruto, on being promoted to chūnin."
She spoke with a sweet, genuine smile.
"Thank you. But Sister Terumi Mei, how did you learn about my promotion to chūnin so quickly?" Naruto asked suspiciously.
"Hey, everyone has a few intelligence sources." Terumi Mei spoke with proud confidence. But her face remained flushed, and holding her head high like this made her look quite bright and charming.
Hearing this, Naruto nodded. Ninja excelled at gathering information. This was completely normal. He simply hadn't considered it initially.
"Naruto, please teach me the vibration technique quickly! I can pay you money." Terumi Mei looked at Naruto with urgent eagerness.
During this period, she'd tried practicing on her own, but it never felt quite right. She always felt uncomfortable. It wasn't nearly as effective as when she'd experienced Naruto's technique during their fight. That sensation had been... extraordinary.
So she'd endured for several days. Finally receiving news that Naruto had been promoted to chūnin, she'd immediately sought him out.
Zabuza had proposed accompanying her, but Terumi Mei had directly rejected that suggestion. After all, having others present for such a matter would be inconvenient.
Of course, she wouldn't openly state that she wanted to learn the vibration technique for... personal applications.
Naruto felt utterly confused. Why would Sister Terumi Mei want to learn his vibration technique? What was there to learn? She was a powerful kunoichi with plenty of her own ninjutsu. Why would she want to learn his technique?
Thinking this through, Naruto explained carefully, "Sister, it's not ninjutsu. I may not be able to teach you."
"It's not ninjutsu?" Terumi Mei's eyes widened with disbelief. She suspected this might be an excuse—that Naruto simply didn't want to teach her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writing takes time, coffee, and a lot of love.If you'd like to support my work, join me at [email protected]/GoldenGaruda
You'll get early access to over 50 chapters, selection on new series, and the satisfaction of knowing your support directly fuels more stories.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~