That afternoon, a report detailing Naruto's astonishing performance—his classification as a "genius"—was quietly placed on the desk in the Hokage's office.
However, Hiruzen Sarutobi had no attention to spare for such matters.
Because that very night, something far more serious had occurred.
Someone had tried to assassinate the Hokage—inside the village.
Ordinarily, an assassination attempt on the Hokage would have shaken the entire village to its core. Yet strangely, very few people even knew it had happened.
The reason was simple.
Only one assassin had appeared—and he had been captured alive by the ANBU guarding the Hokage before he ever reached Hiruzen himself.
"Hokage-sama,"an ANBU wearing a dog mask asked calmly, "should we inform the two Advisors… and Danzo-sama?"
The man spoke while restraining the captured assassin, Kinoe, whose expression remained eerily blank.
Hiruzen Sarutobi gazed at Kinoe for a long moment before replying.
"No need to alarm them."
His voice was calm—almost indifferent.
Kakashi paused slightly, understanding at once that the Hokage already knew who stood behind this attempt.
"Hokage-sama," Kakashi continued after a moment's thought, "what should be done with him?"
Hiruzen didn't answer immediately. His eyes lingered on Kinoe—on the faint signs of restraint conditioning etched into the young man's posture.
Then he asked quietly,
"Kakashi… what do you think?"
Kakashi considered carefully before responding.
"This young man is strong. He has inherited Wood Release, something only the First Hokage ever possessed. If trained properly… he could become a pillar of the village."
For the first time, Kinoe's empty eyes flickered.
He had been prepared for execution.
Yet the conversation unfolding before him suggested something else entirely.
"Oh?"A faint smile touched Hiruzen's lips.
"Then I'll entrust him to you," he said gently. "You'll train him. How does that sound?"
Kakashi hesitated.
"But Hokage-sama… he is Danzo's subordinate. He still bears the Root seal—"
"You needn't worry about that," Hiruzen interrupted calmly. "If you agree, I will handle Danzo personally."
There was no hesitation now.
"Then I accept," Kakashi said simply. "I'll train him as a future squad leader."
"Good."
Hiruzen turned his attention fully to Kinoe.
"By the authority of the Hokage," he said softly, "I hereby remove you from Root. From this moment onward, you are reassigned to the Hokage's direct ANBU forces."
Kinoe froze.
Then—slowly—he knelt.
"Yes… Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen nodded in satisfaction.
"The codename 'Kinoe' is hereby abolished. Your new designation is Tenzo. You will serve under Kakashi Hatake. Go."
"Yes!"
Kakashi and Tenzo departed together.
Only after the door closed did Hiruzen finally pick up the report concerning Naruto.
He read it once.
Then again.
His brows furrowed.
"…So his talent is this strong already," he murmured. "Just like Minato…"
After a long silence, he sighed.
"It seems I must bring Jiraiya back sooner than planned."
Root.
Danzo Shimura sat motionless in his office, staring at the doorway as if waiting for confirmation.
"Danzo-sama," a Root operative reported, kneeling. "Kinoe's mission failed."
Danzo exhaled quietly.
"As expected."
He snorted.
"Hmph. Useless."
In truth, he had never expected the assassination to succeed.
This had been a test.
A probe meant to measure Hiruzen Sarutobi's response.
If Hiruzen reacted with fury—if he exposed the matter publicly—Danzo would retreat deeper into the shadows.
But if Hiruzen chose silence…
Then that meant opportunity.
From the lack of uproar, Danzo already knew the answer.
"Hiruzen," he muttered, lips curling. "You've grown soft."
He could already predict what would happen next.
Tomorrow, perhaps the day after, Hiruzen would demand Kinoe's transfer from Root—using the incident as leverage.
That was precisely why Danzo had sent Kinoe.
If the Hokage wanted him anyway, Danzo would "give" him first—and gain ground elsewhere.
"Contact Orochimaru," Danzo said suddenly.
The operative stiffened.
"Yes, Danzo-sama."
"I want to meet him," Danzo continued. "We have important matters to discuss."
Meanwhile.
Naruto's days passed in bliss.
At the Academy, he was admired and envied.
Naruto loved every second of it.
At night, he bragged endlessly to the Big Fox about his "genius feats," basking in his own growing confidence.
But the good days didn't last.
A few days later, the Academy assigned them a new instructor.
This teacher taught nothing but theory.
Worse—
Naruto could feel it.
Beneath Mizuki-sensei's calm smile lurked deep hostility.
Sometimes… even killing intent.
Naruto disliked him instantly.
So he rebelled.
Disrupted class, talked back and acted out.
And then—
Before Naruto even realized it—
Seven days passed.
That night, as Naruto lay in bed, half-asleep, half-dreaming—
A familiar mechanical voice echoed in his mind.
[System prompt detected.]