Who Dares Stop Me Today!

Naruto and Shizune browsed the Land of Fire's famous cultural heritage site, Tanzaku Castle, an ancient castle with winding, overlapping black tiles and soaring eaves.

The Former Daimyo's residence.

He quite liked it; it was much more magnificent than the Hokage Building.

Konoha Village had a ban on ninja leaving the village borders without authorization. Unauthorized departure without a mission would result in minor punishment, or worse, be considered treason, with the Anbu dispatched to hunt them down.

The world was magnificent, yet they possessed power and chose to amuse themselves in a corner.

Was it to protect ordinary people? Or did the Daimyo possess a stronger, more deterrent force?

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He would change all of this.

A man should conquer the four seas and build an ideal system with ideal principles.

Shizune held an umbrella by his side, only to feel that Naruto's eyes were always bright and spirited, like an unquenchable, inextinguishable fire.

The two returned to the inn and went to their respective rooms.

Jiraiya stood by the window with his arms crossed, also watching the heavy rain. He heard the door open, turned, and his expression was unusually solemn.

"I have something very important to tell you."

"Just say it," Naruto said, leaning his umbrella against the wall and squatting on the tatami.

Jiraiya knelt properly. "When I was young, I once performed a reverse summoning and brought myself to Mount Myōboku, where I met the Sage of the Toads."

"The Sage prophesied that I would become a ninja capable of handling things on my own, and then take on a disciple."

"And my disciple is the Child of Prophecy, who will bring about a major change to the world, either unprecedented peace or complete destruction."

BANG!

Naruto slammed his hand on the floor. "That person must be me."

Jiraiya paused upon hearing this. "I originally thought the Child of Prophecy was your father, Minato, but he's gone, gone so young."

"It's all in the past," Naruto said, lying flat on the tatami and pulling up the covers. "Let's sleep."

"Haha, sleep, sleep."

The heavy rain continued for several days. The two pairs of master and disciple stayed holed up in the inn, waiting for the rain to clear before setting off on the road back to Konoha.

During a rest stop along the way, they even visited a mixed bath hot spring, though only Naruto was allowed to join. Jiraiya was afraid of being severely injured by Tsunade and didn't dare to peek.

After a three-day journey, Naruto and his group arrived at Konoha.

As soon as they passed through the village's outer barrier and triggered the sensory information, five Anbu wearing animal-patterned masks landed on their path into the village.

"Lord Jiraiya, Lady Tsunade, the Third requests that you see him immediately upon your return. Enter the village from the side, do not use the main gate."

Tsunade said coolly, "Understood, lead the way."

She had already learned from Jiraiya that Danzo was impersonating the Third.

As the First Hokage's Granddaughter, known as the "Princess," she had always been deeply disliked by Danzo, a combat-oriented ninja. She equally disliked him.

Now, Danzo had sent Orochimaru to assassinate her, making reconciliation impossible.

However, Orochimaru's words were clearly insufficient as evidence. She couldn't possibly dispose of Danzo based solely on a sentence she heard.

A single accusation could easily be dismissed.

Naruto and Shizune intended to go with them, but two Anbu blocked their path.

"The Third has ordered that only Lord Jiraiya and Lady Tsunade may proceed. Escorts will be detained first."

As he spoke, he produced shackles.

Before Tsunade could get angry, she heard two thuds as the two Anbu were kicked into the tree trunks.

Naruto retracted his foot, his face filled with arrogance. "Damn it, do you know who I am? The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki! Jiraiya's disciple! The Fourth Hokage's son! You're blocking me? Huh?!"

The remaining three Anbu, about to make a move, were instead intimidated by Naruto's aura, unsure whether to advance or retreat.

Naruto took Shizune's hand and walked to Jiraiya's side. "Today, I, Uzumaki Naruto, am going too! Let's see who dares to stop me! Who can do anything to me!"

In the past, he had tolerated these dogs monitoring him because of his good character. Now they even wanted to put shackles on him.

Was this disrespecting the strength he had painstakingly cultivated, the Nine-Tails within him, his deceased parents, and his current teacher?

It was utterly arrogant!

As Naruto tightly gripped her hand, Shizune's heart suddenly raced. She was absolutely not qualified to participate in high-level important meetings. It didn't matter if she was temporarily detained.

But Naruto had pulled her along.

Jiraiya was already accustomed to this.

Tsunade, being an arrogant woman by nature, praised him, "Well said!"

Just as the Anbu were at a loss.

A falcon drawn in ink descended from the sky through the trees. On its back sat a pale-skinned, bloodless, handsome young boy wearing a navel-baring vest.

The ink dissipated, and the young boy smiled and bowed. "Please, the four of you, come with me."

The Anbu members each leaped into the forest and disappeared.

Jiraiya: "Root members? Do they have names?"

The pale young boy nodded, "Yes. Lord Danzō ordered me to cancel the Anbu mission if a conflict arose and bring you to him."

Though he wore a gentle smile as he spoke, his tone was devoid of emotion, like a corpse kept in cold storage.

Jiraiya sighed, "Lead the way."

"Yes." The boy moved at the sound of his voice.

"What is Root?" Naruto only knew of Anbu.

"It's an organization Danzō established. All members are chosen from exceptionally talented children and trained from a young age to 'eliminate the self'."

Tsunade explained, "No emotions, no names, just pure tools. It was disbanded seven years ago, and the members were integrated into other Anbu squads."

The boy smiled and nodded, releasing Ink Chakra outside the village walls. The wall slid open like a door.

Beyond the wall wasn't a town, but a deep, dark gray stone staircase leading underground, clearly hidden within the buildings.

Oil lamps on both sides burned on their own, their light only illuminating a short stretch of the path, the bottom unseen.

"Please, you four go first. I'll close the door behind me."

Tsunade strode down, sneering, "He really treats Konoha like his own home, remodeling nests everywhere."

As Jiraiya watched Tsunade descend the stairs, bouncing slightly, he said, "Don't worry, this man is here!"

Naruto carefully sensed his surroundings, but as they went deeper, the range of his senses grew smaller.

This made him frown, and he tightened his grip on Shizune's hand, ready to pull her away at any moment.

The oil lamp flames cast a dim, yellow light on the faces of the five, the only sound the clacking of heels on the stone steps.

After about five minutes, a mechanism in the stone wall opened another door, leading into a winding corridor.

Naruto felt subtle Chakra flows hidden behind the walls on both sides, his breathing completely masked.

The end of the corridor was a black curtain archway bearing a plaque that read "Grit." Stepping through the gate, their entire field of vision suddenly widened.

The underground rock walls were carved into a tower structure, hollow in the center. They were standing on the edge of the uppermost level's corridor.

Below them, in the center of a wide wooden bridge spanning the gap, Shimura Danzō stood silently with his eyes closed, leaning on his staff.

"Princess Tsunade, you have finally returned."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed instantly, and she clenched her fist. "What do you want to say?"

Danzō opened one eye. "I am Konoha's root. Everything I do is to eliminate harmful elements for Konoha. To be honest, I believe your becoming Hokage will lead to Konoha's decline and destruction."

"So you sent Orochimaru to assassinate me?"

"Orochimaru? The traitor among you Sannin?" Danzō shook his head. "You've been deceived. He certainly wants to sow discord within Konoha and weaken it, so he can invade and destroy Konoha."

Tsunade could not confirm this.

Danzō continued, "Orochimaru doesn't know of the Third's death yet. If you take the throne, he will know immediately. I propose we delay this until Konoha has recovered and accumulated enough strength."

He looked towards the bridge's archway. "Advisor Mito, Advisor Utatane, what do you think?"

An old man and an old woman emerged from the darkness, hands behind their backs.

Mitokado Homura adjusted his glasses. "I believe what Danzō says is appropriate."

Utatane Koharu: "It's up to you to discuss and decide."