Naruto World – Konohagakure
Ninja Academy
Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and the other students stared at the video in shock.
When the Fourth Hokage appeared and rescued both Sasuke and Naruto,
every girl in the class let out a sigh of relief.
Well…
almost every girl.
Only Hyuga Hinata was relieved because Naruto was saved.
"Seriously!! That idiot Naruto almost dragged Sasuke down!"
Ino complained loudly.
"Exactly!! What if Sasuke got hurt because of him!? Naruto is such a dummy!!"
Sakura shouted in agreement.
Most of the class didn't respond—
but many wore thinly veiled looks of disgust toward Naruto.
Shikamaru shot Ino an exasperated glance.
He had clearly seen the reality:
If not for Naruto,
neither Naruto nor Sasuke would've survived that attack.
But these fangirls only cared about Sasuke.
Troublesome…
Shikamaru thought to himself.
The video continued playing.
Minato's and Naruto's figures appeared side by side.
Shikamaru's eyes narrowed.
And then—
the line was spoken.
The entire classroom went silent.
Even the substitute chūnin instructor, filling in for Iruka,
froze in place, staring at the screen.
Wait.
Did they hear that correctly?
Did Naruto just call…
…the Fourth Hokage…
"Dad"?
A collective boom went off in everyone's head.
Naruto—
the "dead last,"
the "jinchūriki,"
the "fox brat"—
was the son of the Fourth Hokage!?
The teacher collapsed onto the floor in shock.
Their minds spun.
The child they had scorned for years…
the "monster" they rejected…
was the son of the man they worshiped above all others.
Minato Namikaze—
the hero of Konoha.
And they—
teachers included—
had bullied, shunned, and humiliated his son for over a decade.
The guilt hit like a tidal wave.
The teacher trembled, tears dripping down his cheeks.
If anyone had treated Minato's son well…
it was only Iruka.
The rest?
They now realized what they had done.
The students were no better.
Every pair of eyes widened as if about to pop out.
"The dead-last is… the Fourth Hokage's kid!?"
They had never imagined this.
Not once.
Soon, the classroom erupted into chaotic shouting.
This news was too explosive.
Konoha's Streets — Public Outrage Begins
"What!? Naruto is the Fourth Hokage's son!?"
"Heavens above—I… I've treated him like garbage all these years!!"
"To think the Fourth sealed the Nine-Tails into his own child…!"
"We've been abusing the son of our greatest hero…
I—I can't face Minato-sama in the next life!!!"
The village erupted in shock, guilt, shame, and confusion.
Hokage's Office
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed as the noise from outside poured in through the window.
He turned toward Danzo, whom he had summoned back.
"Danzo…"
Hiruzen exhaled a long puff of smoke.
"You really put me in a difficult position this time~~"
Danzo's face turned ashen.
He already knew.
Once Naruto's heritage became public,
the villagers would demand an explanation.
They would demand accountability.
And as Hokage, Hiruzen had to give them an answer.
So who would take the blame?
Only the man who had engineered Naruto's public persecution—
Danzo Shimura: Konoha's Furnace of All Scapegoats.
"Therefore…"
Hiruzen said lightly,
"To calm the public… you'll need to retire."
"…What!?"
Danzo shot to his feet, fury surging.
He had expected many outcomes—
but being expelled from the Elder Council!?
"I am the ROOT of Konoha!!
And you want to remove me!?"
Hiruzen waved his hand calmly.
"No, no, Danzo.
You must understand…
What you did was too much.
The son of our greatest hero suffered for years because of you—and the people will not tolerate that."
"You—!! Hiruzen!!!!"
Danzo shook with rage.
He had never expected Hiruzen—usually soft and indecisive—to be this ruthless.
But Hiruzen continued:
"As of today, Danzo Shimura is removed from the Elder Council."
His voice sharpened, unyielding.
"ROOT will be dissolved and absorbed back into the ANBU."
Danzo froze.
Then—
"You'll regret this, Hiruzen!!!"
He stormed out, cloak snapping behind him.
Inside, however, Danzo was sneering.
ROOT shinobi were loyal—
to him, not to Hiruzen.
Dissolving ROOT in name meant nothing.
"Hiruzen… if you think this is enough to stop me…
then let's see who wins in the end."
Danzo thought darkly as he limped away.
Back in the Office
Hiruzen waited until Danzo's chakra signature faded.
Then lifted a hand.
SWISH.
An ANBU appeared.
"Bring Yamanaka Inoichi to me."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen turned to the village outside his window.
A rare contented smile formed.
Danzo's ambition had grown far too excessive.
And Hiruzen had long wanted to cut him down—
but needed a legitimate reason.
Now he had it.
As for ROOT shinobi—
of course Hiruzen knew they'd still follow Danzo.
But he…
had his own countermeasures.
"Danzo… you were too greedy."
Hiruzen murmured.
"You've forced my hand."
He took another long drag from his pipe.
He didn't want things to escalate this far.
But after learning from the video that he would die in the future,
Hiruzen made up his mind:
He must clear the path
for the next Hokage.
Because Danzo would never stop reaching for that seat.
For the sake of Konoha—
for stability—
for the future—
He had to act.
"From here on…
I leave the rest to you—
Tsunade."