Shimura Danzō: I Told You to Hand Naruto Over to Me!

"Shikaku, are you serious!?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen stared at Nara Shikaku in shock.

Though Nara Shikaku was a desk-bound ninja, his strength was undoubtedly among the very best in Konoha Hidden Village.

He had nearly been beaten to death by Uzumaki Naruto!?

Was that even possible!?

"I'm certain!"

Nara Shikaku's voice rang with conviction, though he smiled bitterly inside.

If I didn't put it this way, there'd be no way to make you take this seriously, Lord Hokage.

But when he recalled Uzumaki Naruto's blood-red eyes, Nara Shikaku became even more certain of his judgment.

Dangerous!!!

Extremely dangerous!!!

The current Uzumaki Naruto was absolutely a highly dangerous existence. One careless move could trigger a large-scale rampage by the Nine-Tailed Fox.

Hearing Nara Shikaku say this, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō both drew in sharp breaths.

"The Nine-Tailed Fox is rampaging!? How could Uzumaki Naruto's seal have failed to work!?"

"No, that isn't the issue. If it truly was the Nine-Tails rampaging, why couldn't we sense that violent Chakra of the Nine-Tails? It should be extremely obvious!?"

"Could it be that not much Nine-Tails Chakra was released!?"

"But that doesn't make sense. If he'd only released a little Nine-Tails Chakra, how could Uzumaki Naruto have the strength to fight Nara Shikaku!?"

"..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō could not make sense of it no matter how hard they thought.

The Nine-Tails' Chakra was far too violent and evil. Whenever it appeared, it was as glaring as a bright lamp in the darkness.

Yet they... had felt nothing at all.

The two looked at Nara Shikaku at the same time, and he gave another bitter smile.

"I don't know either. I could clearly sense that violent Chakra from Uzumaki Naruto at close range, but once I got farther away, I couldn't feel it anymore..."

Though they could not understand it, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō could no longer remain seated.

The two of them abandoned their discussion of how to eliminate the Uchiha and rushed toward the Hyuga Clan as though their tails were on fire.

Along the way, Nara Shikaku's heart was in turmoil.

He feared that the Hyuga Clan had suffered devastating losses, which would be a loss for Konoha.

Yet he also feared that the Hyuga Clan had not suffered devastating losses, which would mean he had made a mountain out of a molehill.

When they arrived at the Hyuga Clan's gates,

Nara Shikaku realized he had overthought it. He stared dumbfoundedly at the Hyuga clan head hanging in the sky.

"That's... the Hyuga clan head, right!?"

A golden chain stretched across the sky like a shooting star, except a person hung upside down from its end.

Who would believe such a sight!?

Those who knew would recognize him as the head of the Hyuga Clan. Those who did not would think someone's pig had been strung up.

"Wuwuwuwu..."

When Hyuga Hiashi saw the Hokage and the others below, he nearly fainted on the spot. He struggled frantically, making the chains rattle loudly.

Only then did Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others notice the golden chain.

Shimura Danzō's pupils shrank. "That chain is golden. Could it be Adamantine Chains!?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded grimly.

"There can be no mistake. Chains capable of restraining the Hyuga clan head must be Adamantine Chains..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō exchanged a glance, each seeing the gravity and shock in the other's eyes.

"Adamantine Chains, the strongest sealing technique in the Ninja World... Seven years after Kushina's death, has it appeared in Konoha once more!?"

"Uzumaki Naruto..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression darkened as he strode into the Hyuga Clan compound, only to be stunned by the scene before him.

Hyuga Clan ninja lay scattered everywhere, blood flowing from head to toe. Most had been beaten until their bones were broken.

"Hiss!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen sucked in a breath.

The farther he went, the heavier his heart became, because he had already seen seven or eight Hyuga Clan jonin.

Though the Hyuga Clan specialized only in taijutsu, and their Chakra would be suppressed the moment Adamantine Chains bound or touched them,

the ability to defeat these jonin was enough to demonstrate Uzumaki Naruto's current strength.

"After awakening the Kekkei Genkai, Adamantine Chains, he could instantly wield its full power..."

"Such terrifying talent..."

As Sarutobi Hiruzen murmured, he reached Hyuga Hinata's courtyard. The bloodshed within made his expression turn even grimmer.

"This is... Hyuga Setsuna..."

Hyuga Setsuna lay on the ground before them, neither dead nor alive. His limbs were twisted at unnatural angles, blood streaming all over his body and staining the ground red.

These were not wounds from battle.

It looked entirely like torture and slaughter.

Shimura Danzō's face darkened. "Hiruzen, I told you long ago to hand Uzumaki Naruto over to me."

"Look at him. Uzumaki Naruto tortured him into this state. Do you think a boy with such an evil nature would not hate Konoha?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned deeply. He too felt that Uzumaki Naruto had gone too far.

He had even come close to evil and darkness.

Killing someone was one thing, but torturing a person into this state—was that not a punishment even worse than death?

Shimura Danzō snorted coldly and strode toward Hyuga Hinata's room. "Hiruzen, no matter what you say today, I must take Uzumaki Naruto to Root."

"You saw it yourself. Uzumaki Naruto is dangerous and evil now."

"Only by training him into a perfect ninja can we keep him under control. Otherwise, an evil and dark Nine-Tails Jinchuriki will be even more troublesome than Orochimaru."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's face was dark, but he said nothing.

While Sarutobi Hiruzen was still thinking, Shimura Danzō impatiently shoved open the room's door.

"Uzumaki Naruto, you—"

The next second,

Boom!!!

Shimura Danzō was blasted backward at ten times the speed he had arrived, crashing into a wall with a thunderous boom and smashing a huge hole through it.

The wall crumbled into rubble, and chunks of brick fell in a shower, slamming heavily onto Shimura Danzō.

Sarutobi Hiruzen and Nara Shikaku were both shocked pale by the sudden scene and instinctively looked toward the doorway.

With a single glance, both were frightened speechless.

"Nine-Tails..."

"Adamantine Chains..."

Five blood-red tails extended from the room, constantly swaying like the tails of the Nine-Tailed Fox.

Four golden chains shot from the room like spears, forming a golden net that covered the entire courtyard as the chains clattered loudly.