"Oh? What crime have you committed?"
"This subordinate... this subordinate unilaterally changed part of the mission procedures, disrupting the order you established. Please punish this subordinate, my lord!" Zero's voice held just the right amount of tremble.
Danzo snorted, about to erupt, but Zero took out a scroll from his Pregnant and held it high above his head.
"These are some shallow insights this subordinate has gained these past few days. Please... please review them, my lord!"
Danzo gestured to a Ninja nearby to take the scroll.
Upon unrolling it, his gaze changed.
On the scroll, it was not a plea for forgiveness, but a detailed "Root Operations Efficiency Optimization Proposal." It meticulously listed all of Zero's changes, accompanied by data comparing efficiency before and after.
Most crucially, at the beginning of the proposal, Zero had written in neat handwriting:
"Humbly following the teachings of Lord Danzo, 'Even darkness requires order, and efficiency is power,' this subordinate dared to attempt to implement my lord's philosophy into daily operations. All achievements stem from the brilliance of my lord's thought. Any oversights are due to this subordinate's dullness."
This flattery was delivered silently, yet with immense force.
The frost on Danzo's face visibly began to melt.
Seeing this, Zero knew the time was right. He suddenly prostrated himself forward, his forehead hitting the cold stone slab with a thud, his voice tinged with a sob.
"Lord Danzo! Everything this subordinate has was given by you! That this subordinate's family has a roof over their heads is entirely due to your protection! This subordinate only asks to serve you with all his might, to dedicate everything to the Konoha you protect! Please, my lord... please, my lord, in consideration of this subordinate's loyalty, treat my family well!"
He portrayed himself as an absolutely loyal subordinate who, deeply understanding his superior's ideology, fearlessly carried out reforms, and was now anxious and uneasy, only able to beg for forgiveness by invoking the safety of his family.
Danzo was thoroughly pleased.
He most liked to control such tools that had weaknesses and were intelligent enough.
"Get up." His tone softened. "Your ideas are very good. Your loyalty, I have seen it."
"From today, this proposal will be fully implemented in Root. You will be in charge."
"Thank... thank you, my lord!" Zero's voice was filled with "overwhelming gratitude."
Inside Naruto's apartment.
Under the moonlight, a large map was spread on the floor.
It wasn't a map of Konoha, but a structural diagram of the Root organization.
Every name, every codename, represented a node. Every line represented the flow of information and the chain of power.
This was the first batch of core intelligence Zero had risked his life for.
Naruto's finger slowly moved across the map, like a monarch surveying his kingdom.
[Intelligence Analysis Department, headed by Fu Yamanaka, a core node.]
[Action Teams, three large squads, independent of each other, reporting directly to Danzo, with information barriers.]
[Assassination Squad, personnel identities highly confidential, currently indirectly managed by Zero, a potential breakthrough point.]
In his mind, a more precise, bolder plan was taking shape.
Deconstruct, then reorganize.
He picked up a pen and circled several key names on the map.
Then, he looked out the window, where a night owl silently landed again.
New instructions were ready... Inside a certain archive room in the Root underground base.
Zero was classifying, archiving, and destroying stacks of accumulated scrolls with an almost mechanical posture. His movements were precise to the millimeter; every turn, every reach, seemed to be precisely calculated, wasting not a single bit of energy.
The surrounding Root Ninja felt their scalps tingle.
"Hey, is Senior Zero... working too hard recently?" a newcomer whispered.
"More than just working hard, he's practically turned himself into a scroll processing machine," another whispered, "Yesterday I saw him organizing intelligence, he even blinked 0.2 seconds less than usual, I timed it with a stopwatch!"
"Shh! Stop talking, he's looking over!"
Zero's head turned at a stiff angle, his pure white mask facing them. The Ninja instantly fell silent, feeling as if they were being stared at by some emotionless predator.
Zero said nothing, merely silently placing a scroll marked "Top Secret" into the dedicated pipe leading to Danzo's office. But before the scroll was sucked away by the airflow, he had already left a duplicate using the technical means Naruto had told him about.
[Chunin Exams intelligence has been synchronized.]
[Examiner list, personality weakness analysis, historical disciplinary records have been archived.]
[Sunagakure Jonin team leader Maki, data updated.]
[Anomalies exist in the list of Hidden Grass Village examinees, suspected Orochimaru infiltration.]
Zero's heart was calm. He felt this unprecedented "efficiency," this pure sense of being the most precise component in a "system." In the past, working for Danzo was the suffocation of being in darkness; now, serving that lord was the freedom of personally building order in the darkness.
Although he appeared increasingly servile and slavishly loyal to Danzo, as if he would die for him, only Zero himself knew that each of his "loyalties" was merely tightening a solid screw for another grander, more perfect system... Inside the Konoha training ground.
"Yo, good morning everyone, did anyone get lost on the path of life today?" Kakashi still looked half-asleep, lazily shaking the registration forms in his hand. "I've already submitted your recommendations for the Chunin Exams."
"Really? Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura jumped up excitedly.
Sasuke coolly "hmph"ed, but the uncontrollable curve of his lips still betrayed his inner anticipation.
"So, to help everyone pass the exams smoothly, I've tailored a training plan for you." Kakashi cleared his throat, preparing to launch into his long discourse.
He cleared his throat, adopting the posture of a teacher.
"It's mainly about solidifying teamwork, like practicing the cooperation of the Three Body Jutsu, climbing trees, walking on water, and so on, to build a strong foundation…"
"I think it could be modified, Kakashi-sensei."
A calm voice interrupted him.
Kakashi's eyes lifted from his book, looking at Naruto. Sasuke and Sakura also looked over, bewildered.
Naruto stood perfectly straight, hands in his pockets.
"This training plan is outdated, lacks specificity, and has a time utilization rate of less than thirty percent. It is a typical inefficient behavior and cannot cope with the high-intensity confrontations that are about to come."
On the training ground, the air was so quiet that only the rustling of leaves in the wind could be heard.
Sasuke's mouth twitched. Naruto was still acting like an old pedant; that Loser was getting further and further away from them.
Sakura, on the other hand, had a look that said, "Naruto, are you crazy to talk to Kakashi-sensei like that?"
Kakashi closed his book, scratched his silver hair, and instead of getting angry, showed an interested expression.
He had said that on purpose just now. Devising a training plan for students was also very troublesome. By deliberately suggesting a very stupid plan, this serious student would definitely be unable to resist helping him propose a perfect alternative.
Naruto gained a sense of control, and he gained rest. It was a win-win.
"Oh? It sounds like Naruto-kun has a more brilliant insight?"
He chuckled, feeling that Naruto had changed, because this rebuttal was gentler than usual.
"Sasuke." Naruto turned around and said.
"Your taijutsu focuses too much on visual effects, your strength is dispersed, and your Chakra utilization rate is less than sixty percent. From now on, three hours of high-intensity sparring, personally guided by me, until you learn how to cause maximum damage with the smallest movements."
"Sakura." He then looked at Sakura Haruno. "Your Chakra control is an advantage, but your physical stamina and mental fortitude are fatal weaknesses. Emotional fluctuations will directly affect the stability of your Chakra output. Your task is five hundred pull-ups, five hundred push-ups, and a ten-kilometer cross-country run. Afterwards, you will spar with me in a state of extreme fatigue."
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