"Shimura Danzō… and Sarutobi Hiruzen…"
Namikaze Kirito lay quietly on the hospital bed.
His eyes never opened.
His breathing remained calm and even.
In truth, he had already awakened several days ago.
But he understood one thing very clearly—
This was not the time to let anyone know.
Every inch of his body screamed in pain.
Even lifting a finger felt impossible.
The reckless overdrawing of power that night had left his body temporarily crippled.
Until his strength returned, waking up publicly would be no different from handing his life to others.
Especially in Konoha.
Here, tradition dictated that anything abnormal would be "handled."
And right now, the village's power rested firmly in Sarutobi Hiruzen's hands.
If the two old men at the top truly set their sights on him...
He wouldn't stand a chance.
What made it worse was that Kirito could feel it.
Thanks to his heightened perception, he knew that Shimura Danzō—the darkness of Konoha—had visited him many times over the past few days.
Each time, Danzō simply stood there.
Watching.
That cold, predatory gaze made every hair on Kirito's body stand on end.
"…Open the panel."
He focused inward, activating the one thing that still belonged to him alone.
Host: Namikaze Kirito
Peak Blackbeard (Fully Enhanced) Template Unlock Rate: 2%
Observation Haki: Unlocked
Armament Haki: Unlocked (sealed by physique)
Conqueror's Haki: Unlocked
Tremor Tremor Fruit: Unlocked
Dark Fruit: Unlocked (under seal)
Physical Fitness: 0.001
The template didn't unlock abilities one by one.
Instead, it unlocked everything simultaneously...
Just at different depths.
The more the unlock percentage increased, the greater the usable strength.
That night—
Conqueror's Haki and the twin Devil Fruit abilities had been forcibly awakened.
Observation Haki was now fully accessible.
Only Armament Haki remained sealed—
Not by the system, but by his body.
Without a strong physique, Armament Haki was impossible.
And that was the fundamental difference between worlds.
In the Pirate world, physical bodies were monstrous by default.
Even without techniques or Haki, top-tiers could withstand terrifying damage through sheer toughness.
The shinobi world was different.
No matter how strong a ninja was, a blade could still draw blood.
Only those who reached the realm of the Six Paths were exceptions.
From 0.5%… to 2%.
The template clearly advanced through usage.
But his body hadn't changed at all.
Age.
That was the problem for now.
"The Uzumaki Sage-type body gives me a massive foundation."
"As long as I train relentlessly… once my body improves, Armament Haki will unlock naturally."
"And the Devil Fruits too."
"Without a strong body, even god-tier abilities are meaningless."
His resolve hardened.
Originally, after reincarnating, he just wanted to live comfortably.
But fate had given him something far more precious.
A family.
And now—
Someone had taken it from him.
Unforgivable.
This wasn't the Pirate world.
Here, death wasn't absolute.
Reanimation… the Rinnegan… forbidden resurrection techniques—
As long as he obtained them, reviving Minato and Kushina was not impossible.
That was why he had hidden their bodies within the darkness.
Leaving them behind would only allow Danzō to dissect them like tools.
Who knew what conditions resurrection techniques truly required?
Some jutsu demanded death within moments.
Others required intact remains.
Inside the dark space, time itself was suspended.
As long as Kirito lived, his parents would remain in the state of just having died.
If a resurrection method demanded a price—
Then he would pay it.
Even if that price was someone else's life.
Eventually, exhaustion pulled his consciousness under.
For now, lying here was all he could do.
Kirito sank into true sleep.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
The memorial services—for the Fourth Hokage and the victims of the Nine-Tails incident—came to an end.
Sadness still blanketed Konoha.
But life moved on.
After all, this was still the so-called strongest ninja village.
The village slowly returned to order.
One thing had changed.
Outside the intensive care ward—
Root ninjas now stood guard.
Their eyes were empty.
Emotionless.
Like tools.
Early that morning, Shimura Danzō arrived once more.
He stood speaking with a medical ninja dressed in white.
"Lord Danzō," the medic said nervously,
"Namikaze Kirito's condition isn't suitable for relocation. This ward has the most advanced equipment in the village, and I haven't received authorization from the Hokage—"
Before he could finish—
Danzō raised a hand.
"That's enough."
"As the Fourth Hokage's child, his condition is our collective responsibility."
"I've decided to take him elsewhere for treatment."
"If there's even a chance he can wake up—"
"I'll pay any price."
"But—!"
The medic didn't get another word out.
Root operatives moved in immediately, detaching equipment with mechanical precision.
Danzō watched coldly.
The moment they entered, Kirito felt it.
They couldn't wait anymore.
His body had already recovered just enough to move...
Not much, but enough.
Every muscle tensed.
Energy gathered silently.
"Root… Danzō…"
"If I gamble now… do I have a chance?"
Just as he was about to act...
Observation Haki flared.
New presences entered the area.
His muscles relaxed instantly.
"DANZŌ!"
"What do you think you're doing?!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen stormed into the ward, ANBU following behind him.
"Lord Hokage!" the medic hurried forward.
"Lord Danzō suddenly ordered the transfer of the Fourth Hokage's child. We couldn't stop him!"
"Hiruzen, didn't we already—"
Danzō stopped mid-sentence.
Because someone stepped out from behind Hiruzen.
White hair wild and untamed.
A red sleeveless coat.
A massive scroll strapped to his back.
And a forehead protector bearing a bold, unmistakable grease character.
"…!"
There was no mistaking him.
One of the Legendary Sannin.
Jiraiya.
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