Homura and Koharu had both lived long lives and done plenty of bad things.
The two of them quickly understood what Danzo meant.
I had to say, Danzo, you were truly ruthless.
No wonder Hiruzen liked using you as his black glove. You were born for this line of work.
And so, the matter was decided just like that.
After the three of them finished plotting, the office door rang.
"Gentlemen, Lord Hokage requests that you attend a meeting."
"Understood. We'll be right there."
Soon, the four of them gathered around the table and began the second meeting of the day.
Naturally, the first topic of discussion was the Uchiha issue.
Hiruzen still believed that if peace could be negotiated with the Uchiha, then they should negotiate.
Besides that, the focus of their next step had to be on cultivating the next generation.
They needed to increase the enrollment quota for the Ninja Academy and recruit more outstanding teachers.
That way, they could cultivate more excellent ninja who possessed the Will of Fire and protect the comrades around them.
As well as some other useless nonsense.
Based on past experience, whenever Hiruzen brought up the Uchiha, Danzo would definitely stomp around and curse them.
He would say things like they had to wipe out the Uchiha and not leave a single one alive.
Yet, for some reason, Danzo seemed much gentler today.
This left Hiruzen deeply puzzled. Could Danzo have suddenly changed his personality?
"Danzo, you seem a little off today."
Danzo certainly was not all right.
His head was full of sinister schemes, and he had not heard a word of what Hiruzen had said.
"Perhaps I'm simply too tired," Danzo said, casually coming up with an excuse. "Things aren't peaceful outside the village either. There are minor clashes from time to time."
"Mm." Hiruzen nodded. "That's all for today, then. Meeting adjourned."
People always seemed to burst with extraordinary potential when they were up to no good.
That saying was especially true for Danzo.
That very afternoon, the ninja under his command disguised themselves as civilians and began spreading rumors everywhere.
And the rumors grew more outrageous with every retelling. By the end, they claimed that Naruto, only a few years old, had already learned to kill people under Eiji's tutelage.
The owner of the fishing-tackle shop that had once sold him counterfeit goods had supposedly been slashed more than four hundred times by Naruto and thrown into the river to feed the fish.
The members of Root Organization were also first-rate braggarts. They acted so serious that some brainless villagers actually believed them.
They shouted that they wanted to complain to the Hokage and demanded that Eiji and Naruto be locked up, preferably never to be released in their lifetimes.
Eiji and Naruto remained completely unaware of all this.
They were practicing ninjutsu at their usual spot.
"Beautiful! Throw it another hundred times!"
Eiji leaned against a tree, drinking his tea contentedly.
Not far away, Little Blondie held a large handful of Shuriken and threw them out as though they were free.
Clack, clack, clack!
The Shuriken struck the target with perfect accuracy.
"Heh heh." Naruto looked proudly at Eiji. "Teacher Eiji, I've improved again, right?"
Eiji nodded and stood up, walking a few steps backward.
"Come over and drink some water. Take a break. Later, I'll teach you how to control Chakra."
Naruto answered him and collapsed onto the soft grass.
Eiji gathered up the ninja tools scattered across the ground and began teaching Naruto the basic principles of Chakra.
"From now on, you'll have to try to concentrate your Chakra in one place and keep it stable."
As he spoke, Eiji demonstrated the basic technique of "Chakra tree climbing."
This was also a fundamental skill for ninja, so learning it early was very necessary.
After a short rest, Naruto stood before the large tree.
He closed his eyes and tried to sense what this thing called Chakra that Eiji had mentioned actually was.
Ten minutes later.
"How is it? Can you feel it?"
"Huff, huff, huff..."
Eiji walked over and took a look. What the hell? He can fall asleep standing up?
He put on the Pain Mask. Forget it. Let's just leave him like this.
There were still more than two years before the massacre. There was plenty of time...
He picked Naruto up and placed him inside the tent he had prepared, then covered him with a blanket.
This gave him a strange feeling. Why did it feel like he was coaxing a child to sleep?
Naruto, be my son.
When Naruto woke up again, it was already night.
His stomach let out a pained growl, while the air was filled with the aroma of food.
"Teacher Eiji, what are we having for dinner?"
Naruto curiously looked toward the campfire and spotted Xiao Hei, whom he had not seen for a long time.
"Xiao Hei, long time no see! Can I touch your feathers?"
Xiao Hei's pupils contracted sharply. The troublesome child was here! Run, damn it!
It shot into the sky, afraid that Naruto would pluck it bald if it stayed even a moment longer.
"So stingy. What's wrong with letting me touch you?"
As Naruto spoke, he accepted the meat Eiji handed him.
"Teacher Eiji, what will you teach me next time?"
"Learn tree climbing properly first. As for ninjutsu, I'll choose something suitable for you."
"Oh, okay."
Eiji rubbed his chin. Logically speaking, Naruto should learn his father Minato's signature technique, Rasengan.
But Eiji did not know it either. How was he supposed to teach it?
Perhaps he could find a chance to learn it from Kakashi or Jiraiya.
Not long afterward, the two of them finished eating.
After cleaning up the trash on the ground, they slung their packs over their shoulders and headed toward the city center.
Naruto deliberately avoided the crowded areas. "There are fewer people this way. Let's go through here."
Eiji looked up at Hokage Rock and wondered whether he should find an opportunity to use Impure Reincarnation on the Fourth Hokage.
He could have him deal with Hiruzen and the others directly, saving Naruto from having to shut himself away for several years.
The next morning, Naruto got up early.
After seriously finishing his breakfast, he picked up the ninja-tool pouch Eiji had given him and left the house.
"If Teacher Eiji doesn't have time today, I'll go practice by myself."
As Naruto closed the door, the smile on his face instantly froze.
His doorway was piled high with trash, and the walls were covered in graffiti calling him a murderer.
Naruto stared at everything in shock. He could not believe his eyes.
In the past, people had merely kept their distance from him, but no one had ever done anything so excessive.
As for being a murderer...
He did not even dare kill fish, so how could he kill people?
"Why? Why..."
Naruto clearly heard his own sobs.
His first reaction was to find Teacher Eiji and ask him what had happened.
But after running a few steps, Naruto turned back.
"Teacher Eiji still has work to do. I can deal with this myself."
"To become the finest ninja, I have to endure what others cannot."
Little Naruto silently put on his old clothes, picked up bag after bag of trash, and carried them toward the garbage bin.
After a long while, Naruto finished clearing away the trash. Then he climbed a ladder and slowly cleaned the paint off the walls.
While Naruto was being framed, the Security Division was dragged into the mess as well.
Somehow, a rumor had appeared claiming that the Security Division and Naruto were in league with each other and had joined forces to commit murder.
The several recent cases of villagers disappearing were supposedly their doing.
Among them, that White Hair named Uchiha Eiji was the most heinous criminal of all.
He had used force to threaten innocent villagers and extort benefits from them.
He had even insulted their beautiful daughters...
"Go to hell with that nonsense."
Eiji grabbed Xiao Er and was about to storm out, wishing he could kill every one of them.
He could tolerate anything else, but this body still belonged to Xiao Chu'nan!
Besides, your daughter looks like a Tiger Tank. Even I couldn't drive her!
"Eiji, don't get worked up. We'll uncover the truth soon enough."
Inaho and Tekka comforted Eiji aloud, but their hearts were pounding too.
Judging by the source of the rumors, it was villagers who were running their mouths in the streets and alleys every day.
The Security Division had clear regulations forbidding them from attacking villagers.
Even if they brought those people back, at most they could criticize and educate them before letting them go.
Otherwise, the villagers might accuse the Security Division of abusing torture, framing innocent people, or something equally ridiculous.
"Eiji, bear with it. You'll get used to this kind of thing. Back then, we only ate one bowl of rice noodles, but some little bastard insisted that I'd eaten two."
Eiji raised an eyebrow. "You didn't cut open your stomach and show them?"
"Hey, you brat. Are you hoping I'll die?"
"Don't take it to heart. They'll forget about it in a few days."
"Ask Tekka. Which person in the Security Division hasn't been falsely accused by them?"
"That settles it. Let's go drinking tonight."
Eiji nodded. He had seen plenty of these tired old tricks.
It was nothing more than exploiting people's love of gossip. If they could not beat you head-on, they would make your life miserable.
But!
If they dared make his life miserable, he dared to deal with them.
Eiji pulled the Security Division's documents out of a drawer and quickly skimmed through them.
"Oh? Lord Tobirama actually granted our Security Division legislative authority."
Eiji gritted his teeth. "We must formulate a set of regulations specifically for this matter. We cannot let down Lord Tobirama's painstaking efforts."
Before you continue