Danzo's Thoughts Grew Increasingly Wild

Danzo sat seiza on the tatami, his gaze slightly narrowed. His Root subordinates stood on either side of him, while a low table before him held a freshly brewed tea set.

In front of Danzo, a Root member knelt on one knee.

"Lord Danzo." The Root member lowered his head, his manner utterly respectful.

"Speak."

Only after Danzo gave the order did the Root member report every detail of the intelligence he had gathered.

Danzo's hand, which had been reaching for the teacup, froze in midair.

His gaze was fixed ahead, yet it did not fall on the Root member at all.

It was as though Danzo had seen something on a deeper level.

His suspended hand unconsciously clenched in the air, but in the end, he gave up on taking the cup and slowly lowered it.

The intelligence this Root member had brought back was none other than Xu Fan inviting Naruto to Ichiraku Ramen.

What exactly is that brat trying to do...

Danzo could not help muttering inwardly. After weathering so many storms in Konoha over the years, he considered himself capable of seeing through countless matters.

Yet when it came to this Xu Fan, who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, Danzo felt something profoundly strange.

First, before the Hyuga Clan had even noticed anything, he had saved Hinata and dealt with the Cloud Shinobi.

That had caused Hyuga Hiashi to owe him a tremendous favor.

Then, through Hiruzen Sarutobi, he had entered the Ninja Academy.

"Whether it is his Chakra or the talent he has displayed, he can be called a genius. Why, then, was he rejected by the Ninja Academy five years ago?"

Danzo fell into deep thought, doing his best to connect all the clues he had obtained.

The Ninja Academy should not have been an obstacle for Xu Fan.

Judging by his performance, even if he had enrolled alongside a genius like Itachi, he would not have been inferior in the slightest.

Combined with the Senju Clan surname, he would have quickly risen to prominence.

"No... it cannot be that simple."

Danzo clenched his fist tightly.

He painstakingly eliminated every impossibility.

Then the remaining possibility, no matter how impossible it seemed, was the only truth.

The only answer!

It was Naruto.

"No, not Naruto, but what is inside his body." Danzo's eyes deepened.

Although Naruto was the Fourth Hokage's orphaned son, the child of a hero, Hiruzen Sarutobi had already sealed off those clues.

This was a secret known only to the Konoha leadership.

Besides, that alone was not enough to pose a threat.

But what was inside Naruto's stomach was different.

He was Konoha's greatest trump card.

He was a Jinchuriki.

After all, a village was merely several clans gathered together.

Senju Clan, Uchiha Clan, Sarutobi, Shimura Clan, Hyuga Clan...

These great clans determined Konoha's balance of power.

There was no need to mention the Senju Clan. For their declining clan, Xu Fan was their greatest hope.

The Uchiha Clan was currently being marginalized and had no power to meddle in Konoha's center of authority, so they were nothing to fear.

As for the rest...

The Sarutobi Group was naturally led by the Third Hokage.

Now, because of Hinata, the Hyuga Clan also owed Xu Fan a favor.

If Xu Fan were to win over Naruto, the Jinchuriki, as well...

For a moment, Danzo could not help drawing a sharp breath, thoroughly frightened by his own analysis.

"No... Xu may be impressive, but he cannot have reached this point. He is only a teenager, neither a ninja nor someone with any life experience."

"He cannot possibly be so calculating."

"It is that Sarutobi bastard."

Bang!

Danzo slammed his fist onto the table.

Lies never hurt people. The truth was the sharpest blade.

It had to be Hiruzen Sarutobi. Five years ago, he must have tampered with things and prevented Xu Fan from enrolling, making him patiently wait until today.

He had arranged for Xu Fan and Naruto to become classmates, allowing them to grow closer.

Perhaps Hiruzen had even tampered with the class assignments already, planning to place Xu Fan and Naruto in the same class in the future.

And there was another point.

Why had Xu Fan suddenly gone to the Border Forest?

Before a person did something, there had to be logic that matched his behavior!

Yet Xu Fan appearing in the Border Forest had no behavioral logic whatsoever!

Danzo could not think of a single reason why Xu Fan would have gone there.

Could it be that Xu Fan had suddenly heard a voice in his ear that day, tempting him to go to the Border Forest?

And Hiruzen's behavior at the hospital that day.

That was it.

It was all Hiruzen Sarutobi!

He had discovered the Cloud Shinobi's plot long ago, then exploited it to let Xu Fan play the hero and save the beauty.

That way, Xu Fan had indirectly gained the Hyuga Clan's support!

Terrifying.

In an instant, beads of sweat as large as beans covered Danzo's forehead, and a large patch of his back was already soaked through.

He had spent half his life confronting Hiruzen Sarutobi head-on.

He had always thought that bastard had merely become Hokage because he was lucky.

Now, it seemed Hiruzen Sarutobi was far more formidable than he had imagined.

How far ahead had he seen?

For him to lay out such a scheme?

No.

Very quickly, Danzo sprang up from the tatami.

At the very least, he could not allow Xu Fan and Hiruzen Sarutobi to gain the Jinchuriki as an ally.

"Gather Root!"

Meanwhile, Xu Fan knew nothing about Danzo or his Root. He was leading Naruto down the road to Ichiraku Ramen.

"I'm telling you, Ichiraku's ramen is seriously super delicious!"

Naruto waved his arms excitedly. He felt as if he were dreaming.

"Mm, it is." Xu Fan nodded with a smile.

No matter what, he had already been in this world for five years. He had tried every famous snack in Konoha.

He had even eaten there when the Uchiha Clan held celebrations.

But compared to ramen, he preferred Eastern-style grilled skewers.

Grill premium beef until it was medium-rare, then sprinkle it with chili powder and cumin, pair it with sesame seeds and beer.

Tsk...

It was insanely delicious.

"Um..."

However, just as the two reached a street corner and Ichiraku Ramen came into clear view, Naruto suddenly stopped walking.

"What's wrong?" Xu Fan turned back and looked directly at Naruto. "Aren't we going in?"

"Um..."

Naruto lowered his head, deliberately avoiding Xu Fan's gaze as he looked to the side.

"Hm?" Xu Fan tilted his head, unable to understand what was wrong with Naruto now.

He was not a little girl, and this was not a date.

What was there to be so bashful about?

"I..."

The moment Naruto opened his mouth, his breathing became hurried, and an unprecedented nervousness seized his mind.

Seeing this, Xu Fan could only pat his shoulder. "It's okay. If you don't want to say it, don't force yourself. I'm right here beside you."

Only after hearing Xu Fan's voice did Naruto lift his head and meet his eyes. But he quickly turned away again, his voice broken and barely audible.

"I... we... no, you... would you... be my friend?"

Seeing Naruto's sincerity and innocence, Xu Fan could not help smiling.

"What about you?"

"Me?" Naruto had not expected Xu Fan to ask him that in return. He stared blankly for a moment before nodding fiercely, as though afraid Xu Fan would change his mind, and hurriedly shouted, "I would!"

"I would!"