It was a sunny afternoon during lunchtime in Konoha.
On a park bench, Naruto and Jiraiya sat facing each other.
One was big, one was small; one was tall, one was short, but their demeanors were worlds apart.
The big, burly Jiraiya didn't dare to look Naruto in the eye. His usually carefree and wild face was now filled with the stiff, guilty smile of a thief.
Naruto sat cross-legged on the bench, his arms crossed, his gaze lazy yet sharp and penetrating, as if he wanted to expose something.
"Hey, Pervert Sage," Naruto's voice stretched out, carrying a playful taunt. "Did you… really try to recommend me?"
Jiraiya had gone to a meeting in the morning, and the results came out in the afternoon.
Naruto had been rejected!
"O-Of course I did my best!" Jiraiya suddenly straightened his back, his voice booming like a bell. "But… but Tsunade is the First Hokage's granddaughter! She's also a medical ninja! The villagers adore her! The old geezers trust her! This… this popularity! This prestige! This… this amazing... I mean, this vision! You understand?! This wasn't a situation this old sage could control!"
He spoke quickly, but his voice got quieter and quieter, all his confidence gone.
In his heart, he knew perfectly well that in terms of experience, prestige, and the ability to handle complex political affairs, Tsunade was a far better fit than this disciple of his, who had the power to destroy the world but was utterly clueless about Konoha's bureaucracy.
Besides, if she became Hokage, couldn't the old sage "visit" her office frequently under a series of "legitimate excuses" like "reporting on work" or "discussing village matters"?
So… with this little scheme brewing in his head, it was impossible for him not to feel guilty.
He looked at his disciple: though only twelve, his strength and mental age couldn't be treated as such, or he would have been able to trick him easily.
Not to mention his potential future as the Savior.
"Ahem!"
Jiraiya cleared his throat loudly, trying to put on a "senior's demeanor." He said earnestly, "Naruto, listen to your master. You're still young, and your future holds infinite possibilities! There will be plenty of chances! Think of this as gaining experience..."
Naruto was immune to this cliché about "youth being an asset."
He wasn't buying it.
After spouting his platitudes, Jiraiya guiltily fled.
Naruto watched Jiraiya's "swooping" back as he practically ran away, and he curled his lip.
But he didn't really blame the old pervert.
To be fair, he was only twelve. Even with his ridiculously strong power, it was already a lot for the old Jiraiya to stick his neck out and vouch for him in a high-level meeting, even risking his precious reputation.
According to unofficial news, the highlight of this Hokage power struggle wasn't on the stage during the day.
The real excitement happened after the meeting ended!
It was said that that one-eyed old schemer, Danzo Shimura, stormed straight into the Third Hokage's office!
The commotion was so loud that you could hear it clearly from downstairs!
Things like: "A twelve-year-old Hokage! I absolutely refuse!"
"The Root of Konoha! We cannot tolerate such child's play!"
"You'll regret this, Hiruzen! You're destroying the Great Wall of Konoha!!"
His words were so aggressive and his emotions so out of control that he nearly tore the roof off the Hokage's office.
Tsunade, the people's choice?
It was more like the "Naruto option" was utterly vetoed by that old Shimura geezer!
That old dog!
"Heh."
After becoming invincible, Naruto thought he was beyond such trivial things, but this made him laugh in anger.
He told Itachi to get him some fish.
First, there was the matter of the Dragon-Whirling Pill, and now his chance at being Hokage had been denied!
No matter what, this Danzo Shimura had to be dealt with!
Sitting with his legs crossed on the bench, Naruto's gaze went blank, his fingers unconsciously tapping his knee.
Now that things had come to this, just getting angry was useless. He had to figure out the logic.
The ironclad rule he'd learned from his past life—failure is the mother of success, but you have to see who the "mother" is!
Summarizing the reasons for his failure:
First: Age.
He was only twelve. He hadn't even had time to get used to his Ninja Academy graduation certificate!
Throughout the ninja world, there were those who annihilated their clans at thirteen!
But... a twelve-year-old Kage? That had never been heard of! Konoha wasn't so bereft of talent that there was no one to take the position. There were at least a few people who could be Kage.
Second: The Savior's aura wasn't bright enough yet.
He had just finished the Konoha Crush 1.0 arc, and he'd certainly made a name for himself... but that bit of sunlight! The old tree of Konoha hadn't felt it deeply enough, hadn't etched it into its heart!
The ideal script: Wait until the entire village is in dire straits, in the depths of despair, and everyone is crying out, "Naruto Uzumaki! Where are you?!" It's at that ultimate moment that he should make his grand entrance and turn the tide!
Tsk. That scene, that script! He would definitely be crowned Hokage immediately!
He could only look forward to Konoha Crush 2.0!
Third: His background wasn't solid enough!
Look at Tsunade's background—a truly top-tier family in the ninja world!
First Hokage: Her great-grandfather!
Second Hokage: Her great-uncle!
Third Hokage: Her master!
Fourth Hokage: Her grand-nephew!
Her bloodline, her legacy, her status—it was all too strong! She was Konoha's biological princess, with a maxed-out prestige buff!
And what about Naruto?
A "rootless and drifting" orphan who fell from the sky! At most, he was a wild, overpowered anomaly!
His connections?
Master: a Sannin... not even a Kage.
Senior: The Fourth Hokage... at least he was a Kage.
In this "who's your grandpa/master" contest, he was simply destroyed by a pay-to-win big shot!
"Tsk," Naruto rubbed his slightly swollen temples.
The first three paths (age, prestige, and connections) were either temporarily blocked or not something he could break through in a short time.
So, he had to find a different path, a strategic breakthrough!
Also, the construction of the Land of Grass couldn't be ignored. Since he couldn't have Konoha, he would build a new ninja village first!
But with things as they were, he would first go to the training space and see what his opponents were like.
That afternoon, back home.
Lying on his bed, after petting the Nine-Tails in the training space, Naruto directly entered the battle arena!
"My first enemy is you—'Danzo Shimura, Acting Hokage'!" Naruto's cold gaze locked onto his opponent.
The old man opposite him was identical to his photo: one eye, a grim look, his arm wrapped in bandages, looking like a "loyal Konoha soul" bearing a heavy burden.
"Emotion brings hatred, and hatred leads to war!" Danzo repeated his canned lines like an AI.
Whoosh!
Without a word, Naruto immediately unleashed a "Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation"!
A torrent of violent flames instantly engulfed the area! This was his first punishment for Danzo's "new and old grudges"!
When the flames dissipated, Naruto thought the match was over and was about to start the next one, but the victory prompt didn't appear.
He sensed something with his chakra... He turned his head and saw that the figure in the ruins was completely unharmed!
"?!"
Naruto's pupils contracted slightly. He wondered if he had used a fake fire jutsu.
In a flash, he noticed something strange. His senses immediately focused on Danzo—a strange, intertwining cold chakra from the Sharingan, which shouldn't have been there, and the vast life force of Wood Style were both flowing through him!
"Why does this old man have the chakra signatures of both the Sharingan and Wood Style?"
He sized up Danzo, and the most suspicious parts were his bandaged right arm and right eye!
Four shuriken-like Mangekyo Sharingan appeared in his eyes. Naruto stared, and a genjutsu was activated.
Shing—
Almost the instant the genjutsu took effect, Naruto had flashed behind Danzo. A violent lightning blade condensed in his hand, and with a tearing screech, he precisely slashed down!
Chomp—
A flash of blood! The strange right arm fell to the ground.
Thud!
Naruto used his gravity to pull the severed arm into his hand. He then violently ripped off the white bandages.
The next second, he stopped breathing!
His blue eyes stared at the severed arm, which had ten crimson tomoe Sharingan embedded in its pale skin, like the malevolent eyes of hell, silently gazing back at him!
"Good heavens!"
Naruto remembered complaining half a month ago that Danzo's arm was probably covered in Sharingan, just like Kakashi's.
He didn't expect his words to come true!
He looked back at Danzo, who was frozen in place, his eyes cold!
Danzo Shimura's actions had once again pushed the boundaries of what he thought was possible.
It was like the first time he heard about the skin banks in Ukraine or the resale of injured soldiers' organs in his past life.
It was a true violation of human conscience!
But then again...
In this ninja world: Orochimaru killed his master, Itachi Uchiha annihilated his clan, and Obito Uchiha killed his master and destroyed his village. It seemed there was no shortage of such psychopaths.
This world was dark! So dark!
It desperately needed the golden sun to shine and drive out the darkness!
He looked back at the arm full of Sharingan. "Tsk tsk tsk... Danzo Shimura! You old dog, you must have reaped quite the harvest during the Uchiha clan massacre!"
From his get-up, Naruto had thought he was a hero of Konoha, but it turned out he was a treacherous dog!
"Very well! Very well!" The last bit of his hesitation about a "hero of Konoha" vanished completely!
If that's the case... he could arrange a "funeral" however he liked!
He would have no psychological burden in doing whatever he wanted to this old dog now.