Naruto led the members of the Root organization back to the Root base with great fanfare.
Karin, who was stationed at the base, happily came out to meet Naruto's arrival.
"Naruto... sir."
Karin had originally intended to use the more familiar 'Naruto-kun,' but seeing so many Root members following behind him, she changed her address at the last moment.
"Hm."
Naruto glanced at her but continued walking inward without slowing his pace.
Karin's position in Root was his assistant, and her primary duty was to preside over and handle Root's daily affairs in his absence.
Thinking of something, he looked sideways at Karin, who was trailing him, and asked, "How are the preparations for the laboratory I asked you to set up coming along?"
"It's just been cleaned up, but the various experimental instruments haven't been brought in yet," Karin answered professionally, adjusting her glasses.
She had prepared a lot to fulfill her duties as Naruto's assistant!
Karin was confident that she would be useful!
"Good!"
Naruto nodded lightly. "By the way, how are things going with the investigation I asked you to do?"
"It's complete. The report is in the office, ready for you anytime."
"Alright, I'll go to the lab first. You go back and bring me the report."
"As for the rest of you..." Naruto turned to the group of men in black suits behind him, "All of you, disperse!"
"Yes! Naruto-sama!" ×N
A short while later.
Naruto arrived at his supremely loyal, exclusive laboratory.
This lab was located deep inside the Root base, buried underground, and the environment was very cool.
Anyone who has dealt with corpses knows that such an environment is very conducive to their preservation.
Of course.
Naruto was not some weird old man obsessed with studying corpses.
Opening the door and entering, Naruto found that the space was quite large. The room contained clean workbenches but not a single piece of equipment.
Naruto didn't mind this.
He took out the sealing scroll containing Urashiki and placed it on a large workbench in the center of the room.
"Sealing: Release!"
Boom!
With a puff of smoke, Urashiki's corpse appeared on the workbench.
Naruto examined it closely.
Thanks to the sealing jutsu, Urashiki's appearance was exactly as it was before being sealed.
He looked as if he had just died.
His head was normal, though his mouth had dried bloodstains from excessive coughing before death.
His body showed no other visible abnormalities. The most severe wound was in his abdomen, where Naruto's Plasma Cannon had blasted a large hole.
Due to the extreme heat of the Blaze Release, the football-sized hole, though terrifying, was not bloody because the wound had been directly cauterized by the high temperature.
To prevent any unexpected surprises, Naruto reached out and touched Urashiki's body again.
[Ding~ Unknown data carrier detected. Initiate retrieval?]
[Hint: Retrieving will load a new module.]
[Yes? No?]
"Good," Naruto sighed in relief.
It was as he suspected; the prompt window still appeared.
Next...
Naruto began his 'research'!
The main subject of his study was Urashiki's eyes!
Naruto had previously discovered that Kakashi-sensei's usable Sharingan came from the Uchiha Clan, a clan he did not belong to.
Naruto had always thought this was an isolated case, until the appearance of that old dog Danzō.
The sight of ten Sharingan on Danzō Shimura's arm truly astonished Naruto!
It was the first time he realized that eyes in the ninja world could be 'plug-and-play'!
Therefore, the moment Naruto first saw Urashiki's special Rinnegan—the Byakugan, the blue Rinnegan, and the red Rinnegan, a three-in-one eye—along with its unique Dōjutsu (eye techniques), it made him drool!
"Now, I finally have my wish!"
Naruto muttered, his eyes fixated on Urashiki's empty eye sockets.
They say those who die tragically often die with their eyes open.
This Urashiki, however, seemed to have died too peacefully; he had closed his eyes.
Naruto reached out and forcefully opened them!
Stop sleeping, wake up and party!
"Huh? Where's my Rinnegan?"
Seeing the eyes beneath the lids—ordinary Byakugan—Naruto was shocked.
Why is it just the Byakugan?
Where did the blue and red Rinnegan go?
Wait a minute.
Recalling the fight, Naruto did remember that Urashiki, like himself, could transform his eyes into different forms.
So, one pair of eyes could be the Byakugan, the blue Rinnegan, and the red Rinnegan.
That led to the question.
Naruto stared at the lifeless, dull 'Byakugan' of the deceased Urashiki, falling into deep thought.
Who can tell him how the hell this Byakugan is supposed to switch to the Rinnegan form after its owner is dead?
At this moment, Naruto regretted his decision a little.
He shouldn't have been so quick to kill Urashiki. He should have at least waited until Urashiki had switched to the Rinnegan before taking him out.
Although removing eyes from a living person sounded gruesome, this was an extremely rare three-in-one Rinnegan!
But then again...
What a waste, what a shame!
Wait.
Naruto suddenly thought: What if... I transplanted these eyes into myself?
He was a man of action; if he thought it, he did it.
He first removed Urashiki's eyes, then removed his own, and finally implanted Urashiki's eyes into his own sockets.
Hiss~~~
Ouch, that hurts a bit.
With a surge of Chakra, medical Chakra flooded his eye area. After healing the wounds, Naruto's vision returned to clarity.
His surroundings were incredibly clear, and he even had a 360° field of vision.
"Is this the world seen through the Byakugan?" Naruto thought it was quite good. But the problem was, how was he supposed to switch to the blue and red Rinnegan now?
As Naruto pondered, a notification popped up, seemingly detecting the abnormality in his body.
[Ding~ Non-official plug-in detected. Banning in progress...]
The moment the notification ended, Naruto instantly found himself plunged into darkness!
"That son of a bitch!"
Naruto erupted in curses, completely speechless at this game!
Trash game! Ruining my youth and wasting my money!
Forget all that—it actually banned the 'eye transplant jutsu' that even 'locals' can use?!
How shameless!
People shouldn't be this shameless!
And neither should games!
In the end, Naruto had no choice but to switch back to his own eyes.
After everything was settled, Naruto re-examined Urashiki's corpse on the workbench. "Forget it, I'll just retrieve it!"
He touched the corpse again. The prompt window reappeared, and this time, Naruto decisively chose 'Yes'!
Whoosh!
Urashiki's body vanished instantly. In the interface visible only to Naruto, information streams were constantly refreshing.
[Extra data detected. Extra installation package loading...]
A progress bar popped up and quickly loaded to 100%.
[New Shop Module loaded]
[New Duel Arena character loaded]
Shop?
Duel Arena character?
Hearing these two things, Naruto suddenly had a guess. He immediately opened the Shop.
The shop was mostly the same as usual, but under the Eyes category, Naruto discovered a new module: the Rinnegan Shop!
He opened it.
Seeing the new products inside, Naruto's eyelids twitched uncontrollably.
"Son of a B*tch! You were waiting for me here, weren't you?!"
Naruto couldn't help but curse again!
It turned out that the Rinnegan Shop now had two special Rinnegan: a blue Rinnegan and a red Rinnegan!
These were exactly Urashiki's eyes.
Naruto finally understood. The purpose of this trash game banning the 'plug-in' was to prevent him from using the free version. It was forcing him to buy the items in the shop with money!
Greedy!
It's utterly greedy!
"No way!"
Naruto was furious. He immediately decided that this feeling of anger and exasperation from being fleeced by a shady merchant should not be his to enjoy alone.
Therefore, Naruto decided to raise the price of the Soothing Pill!
Double it!
No! Increase it by five times!
With a war imminent, he had to make the world feel the pain of his spending. He had to make the entire world experience the heartache of Naruto Uzumaki right now!
As for the extra money from the price hike, that would naturally be used to buy the Rinnegan for him, Naruto Uzumaki!
And the fact that one Rinnegan only costs 10 million Ryo, while the daily extra profit from the Soothing Pill is enough to buy hundreds or thousands of Rinnegan...
Don't talk nonsense! What the hell do you know?!
Be careful, or I'll sue you for defamation!
The Soothing Pill is a low-profit business with only a tiny, tiny margin. That's all there is to it!
He, Naruto, was selling it at a loss before!
Phew~~~
Letting out a soft breath, Naruto instantly felt much better.
Knock, knock~~~
The door knocked. Naruto looked at the door, knowing it was Karin outside.
"Come in."
Karin quietly pushed the door open and tiptoed in, making her look like she was up to no good.
Hmm, indeed.
Naruto noticed her neckline seemed a little lower.
When did this girl learn that trick?
Glancing discreetly, Naruto noticed that while Karin's skin was quite fair, she was also quite flat, and he instantly lost interest.
"Naruto-kun~ This is the report you asked me to investigate."
Karin's voice was syrupy, and her steps were graceful as she presented a booklet to Naruto.
Naruto took it and opened it.
Since taking over Root a few days ago, Naruto had begun the process of reforming the organization.
His slogan to 'Make Root Great Again' wasn't just talk; he was actually taking action!
In Naruto's plan, to adapt to the changes of the new era, to meet the demands of the upcoming war, and to realize his own ambitions, he was preparing to reorganize Root into four major departments:
1. Training: Responsible for training and cultivating talent for Root, the Leaf Village, and the entire ninja world.
2. Intelligence: The old tradition of Root. Ninja wars are intelligence wars! Naruto planned to gather all his clones in the ninja world to build the Intelligence Department into the ultimate information network with feelers everywhere.
3. Protection: The department for protecting key individuals.
4. Assassination: The department responsible for assassinations.
Note: The Assassination Department does not officially exist.
As for how to explain all the bad deeds Root committed in the shadows?
Don't ask. Obito Uchiha will claim responsibility for them.
If that fails, Root's old minister—the traitor of the Leaf, Danzō Shimura—will also claim responsibility.
See? Danzō Shimura is the true loyal retainer of the Leaf. Even after defecting, his heart remains with the Leaf, shouldering blame for the Leaf and Root like an old ox, sacrificing everything!
His love for the Leaf runs deep!
The survey Karin presented was a questionnaire allowing Root personnel to voluntarily choose which department they wanted to work in.
Of course, the final decision-making power remained with Naruto.
Carefully reviewing the selections, Naruto had an initial understanding. Barring any surprises, the arrangements would generally follow the list.
After all, most of their abilities were similar, but...
Naruto's eyes moved slightly when he saw a certain name.
"Is Shigaraki Tanuki going to the Intelligence Department?" he turned and asked Karin, who was discreetly sniffing him.
Caught sniffing, Karin's face flushed. She quickly straightened her glasses and adopted a serious look. "Yes, cough, cough, yes."
"Move him to the Protection Department," Naruto said, recalling Shigaraki Tanuki's exceptional flattery. He felt that putting this man in Intelligence would be a waste of talent.
As an old ox working tirelessly for Root, the Leaf, and the entire ninja world, he, Naruto Uzumaki, also needed some 'psychological massages,' right?!
"The Protection Department? Who will he be protecting?"
Naruto stated matter-of-factly, "Of course, he'll be protecting me!"
"Oh, okay!" Karin quickly grabbed a pen and noted down the change.
After confirming the list, Karin withdrew.
Staring at her retreating figure, Naruto smiled meaningfully.
Although Naruto didn't want to 'act' prematurely—in his original plan, he intended to start changing the ninja world when he was 16, and he hadn't even found a reliable clone who could act as an 'emperor' yet—the ninja world was forcing his hand.
Once he ruled the ninja world, he probably wouldn't even have holidays.
However, the nature of the ninja world compelled him to act.
The restructuring of Root was Naruto's first step in changing the ninja world.
Root would become his most effective tool!
If the ninja world were a flock of sheep, Root would be Naruto's sheepdog, used to steer the ninja world in the direction he desired!
Though he was forced into action, Naruto's personality was always immovable as a mountain, explosive as thunder.
The future of the ninja world had one and only one script!
Thinking of this, Naruto used the Flying Thunder God Technique to land on the Hokage Rock. He stood on top of the Fourth Hokage's head, admiring the Leaf Village.
A gentle breeze blew, but the sky in the distance was already changing color. Dark clouds were gathering near the sun, threatening to completely cover the sky. The clouds were stacked and pressed down low, indicating a storm was coming.
"The wind is rising!" Naruto murmured.
Since that was the case, he would initiate a war that would thoroughly reform the ninja world!
He would use this war to completely shatter the shackles of the ninja world!
And allow the light of the sun to shine upon the entire ninja world!
-----------------------------------------------
An Important Announcement: Time to Write Our Own Novel!
Hello everyone!
Thank you all so much for your support; it truly helps me keep going!
I have some exciting news: after translating many fanfics, I've decided it's time to start writing my own Novels! I plan to begin with a new fanfic—I'm currently thinking of either the Avatar: The Last Airbender or Douluo Dalu universe, featuring a Neutral protagonist. That is exactly what I meant by Neutral Protagonist (This refers to the character's Alignment. A Neutral Protagonist is not strictly bound by concepts of absolute good or evil, nor are they necessarily tied to Law or Chaos. Their actions are generally motivated by their own survival, personal goals, or a desire for balance, operating in a morally gray area.)
Once I've written a few fanfics and gained more experience, I can then move on to developing my own original novel soon after.
If you want a direct hand in shaping the main character's destiny and giving input, be sure to join the poll!
I've launched a poll on my P@t reon page!
HOW YOU CAN PARTICIPATE:
1. Head over to our P@t reon page and become a member. (Don't worry, even those with a free membership can join the poll and share their input!)
2. Select any option you desire in the poll
3. Leave a comment on the poll post or send me a DM if you have any specific thoughts or ideas!
p@treon HongMengZi