"Naruto's handwriting? That's impossible. If it were Naruto—no, I mean, Naruto has been right under our noses this whole time!"
Masahiko appeared to be in a state of total confusion.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression was solemn as he gave a slight nod.
Clearly.
He couldn't figure it out either, but the handwriting was undoubtedly Naruto's.
"Could someone be imitating it?"
Masahiko asked.
Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned and said, "What would be the point? Moreover, how would the other party know about the Jashin Cult? Before the scroll was dropped off, even I didn't know such a thing had happened in the Capital."
"Perhaps there's an organization?"
Masahiko frowned.
Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't dismiss it, but he clearly didn't quite buy that explanation.
After a long silence, he looked out the window.
"Let's observe a bit longer."
Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't believe the other party was some organization; he had a strong hunch.
That might really be Naruto!
War is coming, and no one can escape?
The contents of the scroll and the note were scattered and seemingly unrelated, like a thick mist shrouded before his eyes.
He felt that—
He still needed to wait and see, to observe a bit more.
A month or two passed in a flash.
During these two months, Konoha received no more similar notes or messages, but their operations were constantly underway.
—
The Jashin Cult was found.
However.
What they found was just an empty shell of the Jashin Cult—
This cult organization, which was still in its early stages, inherently had very few core members.
Due to their bizarre tenets, a portion of the core members were forced to rotate out every so often.
Therefore.
Those who truly knew the secrets of the Jashin Cult currently consisted only of Imagawa and Hidan. As for the subordinates at the previous research base—
They had long since been offered up to Lord Jashin by Imagawa and Hidan.
"Imagawa, has the Lord had any other orders lately?"
"None, but that is the best news."
Imagawa replied, "It means we don't need to do anything for now; we just need to avoid Konoha's reconnaissance."
He glanced over and saw that Hidan seemed somewhat dissatisfied, so he immediately complimented him: "Think about it, we only killed two Ninjas, yet the Land of Fire, Konoha, and the Land of Hot Springs are all in an uproar. What a magnificent achievement is that?"
"Tsk, even so, I still feel—"
Hidan pondered for a long while, "It's been a long time since we've proselytized. Should we go recruit another batch of people?"
"Have you forgotten the guidance of the Divine Messenger?"
Imagawa said respectfully, "The Divine Messenger said our mission is to provoke war. As long as war comes, and we offer up pain and chaos to Lord Jashin, believers will naturally come!"
"That makes sense! Then, let's get back to killing!"
Hidan said bloodthirstily.
Imagawa thought for a moment and said, "Well, I heard that for this year's Chunin Exams, Konoha plans to invite its allies to join—"
"The Land of Grass is up ahead. Let's go intercept and kill the Ninjas from Kusagakure."
"Hahaha, good, good, good! You are a qualified servant! Next time I see the Divine Messenger, I'll put in a good word for you so that you may also receive Lord Jashin's blessing!"
Hidan laughed loudly.
Imagawa breathed a sigh of relief.
The two of them, one after the other, hurried toward the Land of Grass.
In Konoha.
After class, Uzumaki Naruto and the others were running outside the Village as usual, completely unaware of the Village's abnormal state.
This was because the location for the Chunin Exams was not chosen inside the Village, but in a Training Ground on the outskirts.
"Hokage-sama, thanks to Tenzo, that area is completely built. Additionally, we've set up a large-scale barrier so we can monitor the situation inside."
"Thank you for your hard work, Inoichi."
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded with a smile.
Inoichi Yamanaka shook his head slightly. After a moment of hesitation, he asked, "Hokage-sama, may I ask—why are we doing this?"
Spending manpower and resources to build structures in an abandoned Training Ground specifically for reception and the Chunin Exams seemed a bit bizarre no matter how one looked at it.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was silent for a few seconds before saying, "Build it first; it will always be useful."
"Yes!"
Seeing that the Third was unwilling to say more, Inoichi left after responding.
After he left—
Masahiko walked out from the side Room.
"Hokage-sama."
"Continue."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was calm.
"Although we have already found these clues about the Jashin Cult and tracked them heading west—"
Masahiko nodded, his expression heavy: "But according to the latest intelligence, Kusagakure Ninjas were assassinated at the border. Judging by the wounds, it's very likely the Jashin Cult's doing again!"
Thud!
Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed his fist onto the desk.
After a long silence, he took a deep breath: "Causing chaos, provoking war... damn that Jashin Cult!"
Masahiko lowered his head: "Your subordinate is incompetent—"
"It's not your fault. You've already done excellently. I've seen all your hard work and achievements during this time."
Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly said, "In such a large Ninja World, how can one truly cover everything? Not to mention far away, even Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui—all of it is the mess they stirred up!"
At this point, he sighed: "The current situation is difficult for both of us to judge, but fortunately, we have already laid out our plans in advance."
.
"Now, by separating the Ninjas participating in the exam from the Village, anyone invading the Village will clearly have other motives."
Hiruzen Sarutobi sneered, "If there are foreign Ninjas sneaking in, don't hesitate. Capture them all. If they dare to resist, as long as you don't kill them, anything goes!"
"Yes!"
Masahiko replied.
As he turned to leave.
[Episode 31 of "naruto: prequel" has finished filming!]
[Editing in progress—]
[Production successful!]
[Total screen time: 3 minutes 46 seconds. Shot percentage: 17.9%]
[Prompt: —]
Eight o'clock at night.
On the light screen, familiar images emerged.
Uzumaki Naruto was running outside the Village. Although he was drenched in sweat, he had no intention of stopping or giving up.
The scene shifted.
In the woods, a yellow-haired Ninja wearing orange pants, a red robe, and a Frog Mask was quietly crouching, watching Naruto run past on the suburban path from a distance.
In the shot, he silently gazed at Naruto, his eyes shifting along with him.
He didn't act until Naruto had completely left. Whoosh!
A soft sound.
This mysterious Ninja used Body Flicker to move forward. After reaching a certain spot, he stopped and looked up at the distant Konoha Village.
And then—
He threw a scroll from his waist toward the interior.
In the next scene, the image moved to the Hokage Office.
The scroll had been transferred here.
On the screen, two people were reading the contents of the scroll—
"Both the Third and Masahiko find it familiar. This person's outfit also looks very recognizable, and he seems very focused on Naruto—"
"Could it be Naruto? Or Naruto's old man?"
"Time travel? If that's the case, is there a prophecy inside the scroll?"
"If it's time travel, how did he do it?"
Compared to Hiruzen Sarutobi, the audience had a God's eye view and knew exactly what the person throwing the scroll looked like and what he was wearing.
Now, they were already speculating toward Naruto and related directions, even filling in the blanks with thoughts of a "prophecy."
Absolutely no one was thinking in the direction of "someone else in disguise!"
This was exactly the effect Masahiko wanted.