"Get Danzo over here."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice was low as he gave the order toward an unseen shadow in the air.
Before long, the grim-faced Shimura Danzō came in from outside the Hokage Building, heading straight for the Hokage's Office.
The moment he pushed open the office door, he impatiently blurted out:
"Hiruzen, I heard that intelligence from the Land of Whirlpools has arrived. How's the battle going?"
"Uzushiogakure has fallen. The Uzumaki Clan has been nearly wiped out."
"Hmph. What a useless ally."
"What about the Root members I ordered you to send? Why didn't the report mention any support? You even sent a squad on an infiltration mission that was tantamount to suicide." Hiruzen Sarutobi fixed a sharp gaze on Shimura Danzō.
At that, Shimura Danzō's expression stiffened, but he quickly regained his composure and replied:
"Root doesn't have enough members. I told you long ago that we needed to recruit shinobi from the various clans."
"Danzo! Well done! You're so protective of your own subordinates, yet you treat the village's shinobi and my orders with utter disregard." Hiruzen Sarutobi's long-suppressed anger was now difficult to contain, and he shouted at Shimura Danzō.
"If Namikaze Yoru hadn't been lucky enough to survive, I'd still be completely in the dark!"
Being berated like this by his friend, Shimura Danzō found it hard to save face and retorted:
"Everything I did was for Konoha! Who knew the Uzumaki Clan would be so weak? As for that brat who managed to escape the Land of Whirlpools, there's definitely something wrong with him. I think we need to investigate him thoroughly with the Yamanaka Secret Technique..."
"Silence!" Hiruzen Sarutobi sprang to his feet, his authority as Hokage radiating from him.
"I'm the Hokage. I don't need you telling me what to do! Go support Orochimaru on the front lines, and don't let me catch you acting on your own again."
"I don't regret what I did."
After speaking, Shimura Danzō glanced at the Hokage cloak fluttering on Hiruzen Sarutobi's shoulders, then turned and left without hesitation.
Silence returned to the Hokage's Office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly sank back into his chair. His usually upright frame now seemed somewhat hunched.
How could he not know that Shimura Danzō had a point? Konoha was fighting on too many fronts to spare its forces, and avoiding a conflict with Kirigakure did indeed serve Konoha's interests.
Turning his gaze out the window, Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at the statues of the First Generation and the Second Generation carved into Kage Rock, lost in thought.
Dragging his exhausted body along, Namikaze Yoru finally returned to the familiar little house. The Uzumaki Sage Body had given him a powerful constitution, but mental exhaustion wasn't so easily shaken off.
Especially after rushing nonstop the entire way and keeping the Mind's Eye of the Kagura active at its limit to sense everything around him. Even after reaching the Land of Fire, he hadn't let up. He'd pushed himself to the very brink, until he had nothing left.
And during his brief meeting with Hiruzen Sarutobi, the momentary look of surprise that had crossed the man's face had confirmed Namikaze Yoru's suspicion: there really had been something wrong with the infiltration mission.
Putting together what he remembered from his previous life, he was certain that the "Pot Kage," Shimura Danzō, had been behind it.
Exhausted in both body and mind, he had no strength left to think. The fatigue built up over days of fighting and flight came crashing over him like a tide.
He hurriedly stripped off his filthy clothes, collapsed onto the bed, and instantly sank into dreamless sleep.
Bathed in the midday sun, Namikaze Yoru finally woke after sleeping until late morning.
"Ah—ah—"
"That feels great!"
He stretched, and his whole body cracked. As soon as he woke, all his fatigue seemed to have vanished, and he felt full of energy.
"Is this the recovery power of the Uzumaki Sage Body? That's insane..."
Under normal circumstances, after exhausting himself so intensely, he would have been sore and weak for days.
He couldn't help thinking of his nephew, whom he'd never met. No wonder the kid could endure being worked over by so many Shadow Clone Technique accelerators. If anyone else had tried the same thing, they'd probably have dropped dead on the spot.
Feeling the chakra surging through his body and the vigorous vitality within him, Namikaze Yoru even had the faint impression that he'd grown a little taller overnight.
He rolled up and tossed out his tattered, blood-soaked shinobi uniform, washed up quickly, and changed into clean casual clothes. Feeling refreshed, Namikaze Yoru pushed open the door and stepped out into the street.
The little house where he lived was an inheritance left by his parents in this world. They had both died at the start of the Second Shinobi War.
Fortunately, Namikaze Yoru had awakened his memories of his previous life and had a fairly generous compensation payment to rely on, so this "precocious" child had lived comfortably enough while attending the Ninja Academy.
And though the Namikaze Clan wasn't a shinobi clan, his relatives—who were related to him by blood—had looked after this talented young shinobi in their family.
At noon, Konoha's streets were as lively as ever, brimming with the bustle of everyday life, as if the shadow of war had never reached this land.
"Yoru, I haven't seen you these past few days. Were you away on a mission?"
Just as he was wondering where he could find something to eat, a familiar voice called from the side of the street.
Namikaze Yoru turned and saw Aunt Keiko from the dango shop waving to him with a smile. A little flour was smeared across the apron in front of her.
"Oh, Aunt Keiko. How's business today?"
"Thanks to your idea, business has gotten a lot better."
Her dango shop had originally only sold plain white rice-flour dumplings. It was Namikaze Yoru who had casually suggested adding cherry blossom and matcha flavors, creating the Three-Colored Dango that was now so popular.
It had been nothing more than an offhand suggestion, but Namikaze Yoru had once considered that if he couldn't graduate from the Ninja Academy, he might use his memories from his previous life to open a restaurant and make a living. He'd even used his compensation money to buy a shop.
Now he was renting it to Aunt Keiko, who stood before him, and earning a little extra for living expenses.
"Ohayō! Yoru, are you here for some Three-Colored Dango too?"
[Beep! Scan complete. High-value pawn discovered:] [Extremely rare Senju Bloodline *1... Estimated value: 1000]
There was no need for the system to tell him. Just from that slightly goofy voice, Namikaze Yoru knew who it was.
His eyes shifted, and a sudden idea came to him.
"Tell me, Nawaki. You've been following Lord Orochimaru for so long. How come you're still so reckless?"
"Hahaha! Don't joke around, Yoru. I graduated from the Ninja Academy in the top three."
"Then who came in first?"
"Fine, you win. But I've learned a lot from my teacher, and there's no way you could beat me now."
There hadn't been many standout students in their year at the Ninja Academy. If he had to name one, the Senju Nawaki standing in front of him certainly counted.
Senju Nawaki, the true genius of their graduating class. Though his theoretical scores were slightly lower, both his combat potential and chakra reserves far surpassed those of his classmates. His graduation evaluation had been far higher than Namikaze Yoru's.
But he was straightforward and reckless. Despite his overwhelming strength, he lacked tactical thinking. He could easily overpower an ordinary Genin, but against an opponent like Namikaze Yoru, with the mind and cunning of an adult, he was often full of openings.
Taking two skewers of dango from Aunt Keiko, Namikaze Yoru popped one into his own mouth and handed the other to Nawaki before continuing:
"Then I'd like to see how much you've improved. Want to spar at the training ground?"
"How about the loser treats us to a meal afterward?"
Before you continue