Inoichi Yamanaka: "Wonderful."
Ino Yamanaka: "What's with all the fuss?"
Ino Yamanaka: "Black-framed Naruto-kun must have laid out his plans long ago. It's only normal even if things get a bit more outrageous."
Shikaku Nara: "Knowing how to utilize other forces, is there anything he can't do?"
Hinata Hyuga: "He... he... can't give birth..."
???
Hinata, you've changed.
["Is there any news?" Danzo Shimura asked with a cold expression.]
["Lord Danzo... no traces left by the Anbu have been found."]
[The voice of a subordinate reporting came from behind.]
[Danzo remained silent for a moment.]
[Then, without looking back, he said: "Investigate further."]
["Pay attention to the situation outside the village as well."]
["Yes, Lord Danzo!"]
[After the subordinate left, Danzo closed his eyes.]
["It's time to prepare."]
[If another village really dared to start a war, Danzo decided he would no longer take action.]
[After all, he wasn't even the Hokage Assistant anymore.]
[Let his close friend block the blows.]
[Once he fails, Danzo would only need to make a slight move, and the position of Fifth Hokage would be within his grasp.]
[Enduring for so many years.]
[He had done everything he should, and everything he shouldn't.]
[Right now, all he lacked was an opportunity.]
[But... this opportunity had failed to appear for a long time.]
[There was no choice.]
[Then he would have to create the opportunity himself... after lurking for years, when he struck, it had to be an infallible killing blow.]
[He hadn't expected the events in the Land of Waves.]
[However, the way things had developed until now actually surprised him a bit.]
[Weakening his old rival first wasn't a bad idea either.]
[But this wasn't enough to be a fatal blow at the critical moment.]
[So...]
[Danzo Shimura turned his head, his expressionless old face facing the brightly lit Hokage Building.]
[He gazed longingly, as if he could see that familiar figure inside.]
["Heh."]
[Thinking about how the other person had been working day and night recently.]
[Danzo Shimura gave a sneer.]
[Then he walked toward the entrance of the Root Organization's underground base.]
["Have the person Orochimaru sent come see me."]
[...]
Orochimaru: "As expected, not a single one of them is good."
Orochimaru: "Although, I'm not a good person either."
Senju Tobirama: "Not bad, at least you have some self-awareness."
Uchiha Izuna: What are you acting all high and mighty for?
Uchiha Izuna: Why don't you have any self-awareness?
Uchiha Izuna: Who left these problems behind?
Senju Tobirama: "..."
It wasn't all my fault!
Damn it... indeed... there's no way to explain it away.
One only needs to know that the Konoha F4 are my disciples... Sigh!
It's like getting yellow mud in your pants—if it's not shit, it's still shit!
[On the other side.]
[While everyone was uneasy about the day's events, Naruto arrived in front of the reopened Ichiraku Ramen Shop.]
[He didn't care about the dog-eat-dog drama.]
[He ordered a bowl of noodles, finished it happily, said goodbye to Uncle Teuchi and Sister Ayame, and walked toward the Uchiha Clan Compound.]
[He had originally planned to go see Sasuke, but he found that the impact caused this time was not small.]
[Hardly any figures could be seen on the streets.]
[He immediately dropped the idea of going to the Uchiha Clan Compound to see Sasuke.]
[Naruto held a scroll, and a large number of Shadow Clones were dispatched.]
[This was also his purpose for blowing up the Root Organization's underground base entrance tonight.]
[Under the cover of night.]
[The Shadow Clones arrived at the doors of most Konoha Ninjas.]
[They recorded the situation of every household.]
[The main body opened the scroll.]
[Inside were the names he had recorded over the years.]
[At the very end was the content he had recorded back in the Land of Waves.]
["Quite a few fit the criteria... but not many."]
["It can start very soon."]
[Naruto's gaze fixed on a name called Murata.]
[A staunch believer in the 'Will of Fire'.]
[A staunch anti-fox demon advocate.]
[A staunch... pacifist.]
[His relationship with Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't very good.]
[He even frequently cursed Hiruzen Sarutobi in small taverns.]
[The Konoha Military Police Force also frequently targeted him.]
["I'll choose you."]
[...]
[In the following days, Konoha returned to peace.]
[However.]
[The work in the Hokage Building did not decrease; instead, it grew day by day.]
[Hiruzen Sarutobi was exhausted, and even his hair had turned much whiter.]
[Fewer Ninjas went out, so there was less 'food' to be had.]
[This really worried him to no end.]
[Finally, after scratching his head and finding a lot of hair in his hand, Hiruzen Sarutobi could no longer bear it.]
[With bloodshot eyes, he issued an order.]
[Post the missions released by employers during this period.]
[The results were seen quickly.]
[The pressure was instantly reduced.]
[Hiruzen Sarutobi was able to catch his breath.]
["I must be careful."]
["Otherwise... this mistake might very well be amplified."]
[Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was muttering about how to proceed and his eyelids grew heavy as he began to doze off.]
[Below the Hokage Building.]
[A middle-aged man murmured: "Lord Fox... must I really do this?"]
["Humph!"]
["Go, quickly!"]
["Otherwise, This Fox will cut off your Chakra supply!"]
[The Great Fox's voice rang out in the middle-aged man's mind.]
[Whoosh—]
[When the middle-aged man heard his Chakra would be cut off, his face instantly turned pale.]
[He hurriedly pleaded: "Don't!"]
["Lord Fox, I beg you, don't cut off the Chakra... I'll go, I'll go right now!"]
["As long as the Chakra isn't cut off, I'll be able to become a Chunin soon!"]
["After becoming a Chunin, I can serve Lord Fox even better!"]
["..."]
[The middle-aged man pleaded with the Great Fox while walking toward the Hokage Building.]
[This scene directly stunned Senju Tobirama.]
Senju Tobirama: "Masaka?!"
Senju Hashirama: If things are like this... wouldn't it be too... Uzumaki Mito: Don't worry about it, we're already dead.
[Hashirama Senju paused for a moment, then immediately responded to his wife.]
Senju Hashirama: That's true, I'm already dead anyway.
[In just a few short days, Naruto had planted dozens of seeds.]
[All of them were carefully selected.]
[And there was no need to worry about the issue of leaking secrets.]
[For the various Ninjas who accepted the New Shinobi Sect, this was a gift from heaven.]
[Unrestrained cultivation was something they hadn't even dared to think about.]
[As it turned out, they only needed to bump fists to obtain it.]
[After experiencing it once, they were completely hooked.]
[Even if they had to pay quite a bit every month to use it in the future.]
[Many Ninjas still took the initiative to join the New Shinobi Sect.]
[Quite a few Ninjas even expressed their gratitude.]
[The corners of Naruto's mouth curled up slightly. "It's starting."]
["Old Thing, I'll give you another big present."]
[With that, Naruto continued to look down at the scroll, searching for names and Konoha Ninjas who met the criteria.]
[Knock, knock, knock—]
[The door to the Hokage Office was knocked on.]
[A flash of anger crossed Hiruzen Sarutobi's exhausted face.]
["Come in."]