Who Dares Stop Me Today!

Naruto and Shizune continued exploring one of the Land of Fire's famous cultural heritage sites: Tanzaku Castle, an ancient fortress of winding, overlapping walls, black tiles, and sweeping eaves.

It had once been the Former Daimyo's residence.

Naruto rather liked it. It was far more imposing than the Hokage Building.

Konoha Village had a rule forbidding ninja from crossing the village borders at will. Leaving without a mission could earn them a light punishment—or, in severe cases, have them branded as deserters and hunted down by the ANBU.

The world was vast and magnificent, yet those with power stayed cooped up in one little corner, amusing themselves.

Was it to protect ordinary people? Or did the daimyo possess an even more formidable force to keep them in check?

He would change all of this.

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

Shizune stayed beside him beneath the umbrella. Naruto's eyes always seemed to shine with an undying, unquenchable fire.

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

Jiraiya stood by the window with his arms crossed, watching the downpour. When he heard the door, he turned, his expression unusually solemn.

"There's something very important I need to tell you."

"Just say it." Naruto leaned his umbrella against the corner of the wall and sat down on the Tatami.

Jiraiya actually sat formally on his knees. "When I was young, I once performed a reverse summoning and ended up at Mount Myōboku, where I met the Sage of the Toads."

"The sage prophesied that I would become a capable ninja in my own right, then take on a student."

"And my student would be the Child of Prophecy, someone who would bring a great change to the world—either unprecedented peace or total destruction."

Bang!

Naruto smacked the floor. "That has to be me."

Jiraiya paused at that. "I used to think the Child of Prophecy was your father, Minato, but he's gone now. He died so young."

"That's all in the past." Naruto lay down on the Tatami and pulled up his blanket. "Let's get some sleep."

"Haha, sleep it is."

The downpour lasted several days. The two pairs of master and student stayed holed up at the inn, and only set off for Konoha once the skies cleared.

They even stopped at a Mixed Bath Hot Spring along the way. Naruto was the only one allowed to join them; Jiraiya was afraid Tsunade would beat him half to death, so he didn't dare peek, either.

After three days on the road, Naruto and the others reached Konoha.

As soon as they passed through the barrier outside the village, their presence triggered a sensor. Five ANBU wearing animal-patterned masks promptly landed on the road ahead of them.

"Lord Jiraiya, Lord Tsunade, the Third requests that you see him as soon as you return. Enter through the side, not the main gate."

Tsunade replied coolly, "Understood. Lead the way."

Jiraiya had already told her that Danzo was currently impersonating the Third.

As the First Hokage's Granddaughter, known as the "Princess," she had always been despised by Danzo, a hard-line hawk. She despised him just as much.

Now Danzo had even sent Orochimaru to assassinate her. They were beyond reconciliation.

But Orochimaru's word alone clearly wasn't enough to serve as evidence, and she couldn't have Danzo dealt with just because she'd heard a single accusation.

He could easily brush it off as a frame-up.

Naruto and Shizune tried to go with them, but two ANBU stepped in their way.

"The Third ordered that only Lord Jiraiya and Lord Tsunade may come. Their companions are to be detained for now."

As he spoke, one of them brought out a pair of shackles.

Before Tsunade could get angry, two thuds rang out. The ANBU had already been kicked into tree trunks.

Naruto lowered his foot, his face full of defiance. "The hell is wrong with you? Do you even know who I am? The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki! Jiraiya's student! The Fourth Hokage's son! And you're trying to stop me? Huh?!"

The remaining three ANBU were about to attack, but Naruto's sheer presence cowed them. They didn't know whether to advance or retreat.

Naruto took Shizune by the hand and walked over to Jiraiya. "I, Uzumaki Naruto, am going with them today! Let's see who dares stop me! What can any of you do to me?!"

He'd put up with these watchdogs spying on him because he was a good person, and they still had the nerve to try to shackle him.

Did they think nothing of the strength he'd worked so hard to build, the Nine-Tails inside him, his late parents, or the teacher standing before him?

The sheer arrogance!

With Naruto gripping her hand, Shizune's heart suddenly raced. She had no right to take part in an important meeting of the village leadership. It wouldn't have mattered if they temporarily detained her.

But Naruto had brought her along.

Jiraiya was already used to this.

Tsunade had always been a proud woman by nature. "Well said!"

Just as the ANBU were at a loss for what to do,

a falcon drawn in ink swooped down through the trees. Seated on its back was a handsome young man with pale skin, not a trace of color in his face, and a sleeveless shirt that left his midriff bare.

The ink dissolved, and the young man bowed with a smile. "Please come with me, all four of you."

The ANBU each leaped into the forest and disappeared.

Jiraiya asked, "A member of Root? Does he have a name?"

The pale young man nodded. "Yes. I don't. Lord Danzo ordered me to end the ANBU's mission if a conflict broke out, and bring you to see him."

Though he wore a gentle smile as he spoke, his voice held no emotion. He was like a corpse kept in cold storage.

Jiraiya sighed. "Lead the way."

"Yes." The boy immediately set off.

"What is Root?" Naruto only knew about the ANBU.

"An organization Danzo built himself. Every member was a gifted child chosen for training from a young age, taught to 'eliminate the self.'"

Tsunade explained, "They had no emotions and no names. They were nothing but tools. Root was disbanded seven years ago, and its members were absorbed into other ANBU squads."

The young man smiled and nodded. At the sealed walls surrounding the village, he released Ink Chakra, and a section of wall slid open like a door.

Beyond it was no village street, but a gloomy flight of gray stone steps descending underground. It was clearly hidden beneath the buildings.

Oil lamps lit on their own along both sides, their glow illuminating only part of the path. The bottom remained out of sight.

"Please go ahead. I'll close the door behind you."

Tsunade strode down the steps. "They really treat Konoha like their own home, digging out hideouts everywhere."

As Jiraiya watched Tsunade descend, he glanced at the way her ample chest bounced. "Don't worry. You've got a real man here!"

Naruto carefully sensed his surroundings, but the farther down they went, the smaller the area he could detect.

He couldn't help frowning. He tightened his grip on Shizune's hand, ready to whisk her away at a moment's notice.

The lamplight cast a yellow glow across the five faces. The only sound was their heels clacking against the stone steps.

After about five minutes, a mechanism in the stone wall shifted a door, and they entered a winding passage.

Naruto sensed faint flows of Chakra hidden behind the walls on either side. Even their breathing had been concealed completely.

At the end of the passage stood a black-curtained archway with a plaque reading "Root." Beyond it, the view suddenly opened up.

The underground rock walls had been carved into the shape of a hollow tower. They were on the edge of the uppermost gallery.

Far below them, at the center of a broad wooden bridge spanning the cavern, Shimura Danzo stood with his eyes closed, leaning on his cane.

"Princess Tsunade, you've finally returned."

Tsunade's brows drew together at once, and she clenched her fist. "What do you want to say?"

Danzo opened one eye. "I am Konoha's root. Everything I do is to remove threats to Konoha. To be honest, I believe that if you became Hokage, Konoha would decline and be led to ruin."

"So you sent Orochimaru to assassinate me?"

"Orochimaru? The traitor among your Sannin?" Danzo shook his head. "You've been deceived. He must want to make Konoha turn against itself and weaken its strength so he can invade and destroy it."

Tsunade had no way to prove otherwise.

Danzo continued, "Orochimaru still doesn't know that the Third is dead. If you succeed him, he'll find out immediately. I propose delaying the succession until Konoha has recovered and built up enough strength."

He looked beneath the bridge. "Advisor Mito, Advisor Utatane, what do you think?"

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

Mitokado Homura adjusted his glasses. "I think Danzo's proposal is reasonable."

Utatane Koharu said, "You can decide after you've discussed it."