Test of the Jinchuriki

On the rooftop.

The conversation between Mizuki and Naruto had been going on for a while. After comforting Naruto and using the story of Iruka Umino to deepen the boy's trust, Mizuki sensed the time was right and revealed his true objective:

"...So, as long as you, Naruto, can get your hands on the Scroll of Seals, you will be able to graduate smoothly."

"Really, Mizuki-sensei?" Naruto asked, excited.

"Yes!"

A warm smile appeared on Mizuki's face, though inside, he was ecstatic that everything was proceeding according to his plan.

As expected, Naruto is a complete and utter idiot...

Naruto seemed oblivious, his expression purely innocent:

"That's great!"

The Hokage's office.

Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed on his pipe, watching the figures of Mizuki and Naruto in the crystal ball with a blank expression, his thoughts unreadable.

A moment later, an Anbu wearing a dog mask appeared silently in the corner and handed over a scroll.

"Lord Hokage, this is the content of the conversation between the jinchuriki and Mizuki, reconstructed by the surveillance team using lip-reading. It seems Mizuki intends to trick the jinchuriki into stealing the Scroll of Seals."

"Hmm, thank you for your hard work."

Hiruzen quickly scanned the contents, set the scroll aside, and closed his eyes in contemplation.

Just then, an old man wearing a black robe with his right eye wrapped in bandages walked straight into the Hokage's office without knocking.

He raised a hand to stop the dog-masked Anbu from saluting, then waved for him to withdraw. At the same time, Hiruzen suddenly spoke:

"Mikawa, notify the guards on duty at the Hokage building tonight that they are not required to report for duty."

"Uh..."

The dog-masked Anbu was shocked by this request and instinctively glanced at Danzo. Out of respect for the Hokage's authority, he did not ask questions, merely bowing his head:

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

After he left, only the two old men remained in the office, facing each other in silence.

Sparks crackled in the pipe bowl. Hiruzen sat behind his desk, the floor-to-ceiling window behind him looking out over Konoha bathed in sunlight. He gazed at his old friend standing in the shadows, wanting to offer some pleasantries but not knowing where to begin.

They knew each other too well; any attempt at small talk felt like hypocrisy.

"Mizuki is a fool."

Hiruzen tapped his pipe and went straight to the point:

"Capturing him is not the priority. The point is whether he is acting out of his own stupidity or if someone else is pulling the strings."

"I will find out." The wrinkles on Danzo's face were as cold and hard as if carved by a knife. "But it is currently unclear if his goal is truly the Scroll of Seals, or if he is using the scroll as a pretext to target the jinchuriki."

"Leave Naruto to me. You handle Mizuki's side. His family, friends, ninja records, home address... investigate everything."

"It is already being done."

Like two precision instruments, the two old men exchanged opinions and delineated their authority in a few short sentences. Their respective departments had begun operating long before they even spoke, covering all of Konoha like an invisible net.

"Are you trying to test the jinchuriki?"

Danzo changed the subject, having guessed Hiruzen's intent in dismissing the guards for the night.

"Yes, it's a good opportunity to give him a reason to become a ninja."

Hiruzen nodded, stood up, and walked into the sunlight. He looked out at Konoha and said slowly:

"Regardless, the Nine-Tails jinchuriki is a valuable asset to the village. We cannot keep him from becoming a ninja forever. Without the balance of power provided by the Tailed Beast, the village's security will be threatened."

"Are you confident you can control the jinchuriki?" Danzo's tone was hollow as he stood in place, like a solidified shadow.

"Yes, that child, Naruto... he trusts me very much."

"..."

Hiruzen stood with his back to Danzo, his expression hidden from view. Only his aged yet still powerful voice echoed in the office:

"According to intelligence, the Five-Tails jinchuriki of Iwagakure can already fully control his Tailed Beast. Although he and Ōnoki are ostensibly at odds and he lives in seclusion near Iwagakure, I know that the two actually share a certain tacit understanding."

"And there is recent intelligence regarding the Two-Tails jinchuriki of Kumogakure; it seems he has mastered part of the Tailed Beast's power. As for Killer B, the brother of the Raikage, it goes without saying—he can call the Tailed Beast his brother and obeys the Raikage, his elder brother, implicitly... I fear he is the most perfect jinchuriki in the current ninja world."

At this, Hiruzen paused, turned around, and exhaled a long plume of smoke:

"The current Kumogakure likely possesses an overall strength that surpasses any generation in its history."

"The current Raikage is well aware of this. Young and strong, he is ambitious and has long wanted to challenge the status of Konoha. If I hadn't forcefully suppressed the opinions of the Hyuga back then and let Hizashi sacrifice himself to give Kumogakure an answer, blocking their mouths, I fear that A would have seized the opportunity to stir up trouble and start a war against Konoha."

"But the fact that the last time passed does not mean there won't be a next time. The Raikage is still young, but you and I are old. We don't have much time left."

The swirling smoke blurred Hiruzen's expression. At this moment, he was like an aging lion king; though his movements were no longer as agile as in his prime, his fangs remained sharp.

"Naruto is the child of Minato and carries the Uzumaki bloodline. He has the aptitude to control the Nine-Tails, but the situation no longer allows him to waste time idling in the ninja academy."

"Today's incident was sudden, but it is a good opportunity. I will wait for him in the Hokage's office to see if his nature is pure, and whether he would strike out at an old man who treated him kindly for the sake of his own interests. I will have Mizuki and Iruka Umino pursue him to test the traits he displays under the threat of death, to see if he possesses the Will of Fire. If he passes these tests, then it will be time for him to become a ninja."

"After all, a ninja can never grow up in a cradle."

"Your focus is misplaced, Hiruzen... the Tailed Beasts are not the only key."

Unexpectedly, yet entirely within reason, Danzo retorted:

"The power of the Tailed Beasts is certainly important, but as Hokage, your perspective should encompass the entire village, not just this single point."

"Anbu, Root... all intelligence indicates that every nation is currently engaged in an arms race. Only we in Konoha continue to live in a false sense of peace, singing and dancing while the graduates from the Ninja Academy grow more naive with each passing year. They do nothing but shout about dreams and bonds, valuing their companions more than their missions. What kind of ninja is that? This twisted trend will only slowly erode the overall strength of Konoha!"

"Danzo, cherishing one's companions is the very embodiment of the Will of Fire. It is precisely because of this conviction to protect one's comrades that they can unleash even greater power!"

"Can conviction block a ninjutsu?" Danzo asked, his tone icy. "Stop being naive, Hiruzen. Do you still not understand what I am saying? The organizational structure of the village needs to change. Naive ideologies must be purged. Academy education must be closer to actual combat, and genin missions should involve bloodshed!"

"...Everything must be prepared for war, rather than sitting and waiting for others to force it upon us!"

"No!"

Hiruzen said with finality: "The village has enjoyed peace for only a dozen years. The founders established this village so that the people could have peace, not endless war!"

"If we follow suit in this arms race, it not only betrays the dreams of the First and Second Hokage, but also destroys the hard-won stability of the village!"

At this point, Hiruzen could not help but rebuke Danzo: "Furthermore, the power of a ninja is meant to protect one's companions, not merely to complete missions. Do you want to turn Konoha into a second Village of the Bloody Mist?"

"That incident with White Fang back then—you didn't act as nobly as you claim."

Danzo interjected abruptly, like a basin of ice water splashed unexpectedly onto the head of the man who was in the midst of a passionate speech. For a moment, the expression on Hiruzen's face froze, his lips trembling as his intended words were cut off. Immediately, a complex and intense emotion erupted from the depths of his heart; his eyebrows arched, and the wrinkles on his face became as deep as axe-hewn gullies from the tension.

"Danzo--!!"

Hiruzen could not remember the last time he had felt such intense emotion. Even the guards outside heard the roar, and as they exchanged glances, their movements became even more restrained, silent as cicadas in winter.

The veins on Hiruzen's aged hands bulged like knotted old dragons. He had intended to slam them onto the desk, but at the moment of impact, he restrained his emotions and set them down gently.

The two old men stared at each other in a suffocating silence for a long time. This time, Hiruzen had no desire for pleasantries.

"Everything is subject to my decision, Danzo."

Finally, Hiruzen threw out a cold, hard sentence: "Do not forget, I am the Hokage."

Hearing this, Danzo gave Hiruzen a deep look. Without another word, he simply left behind a faint "You will regret this" before turning and walking out of the Hokage's office.

As the door slowly closed, Hiruzen's eyes were clouded yet remained sharp. This old lion king stood at the heart of Konoha, having guarded this land for forty years. He had made up his mind to protect Konoha in his own way until the very last moment.

Outside in the corridor, Danzo's pace was slow and steady, each step seemingly calculated with precision. He was accustomed to walking in the shadows, like a dormant viper waiting for an opportunity.

"Hiruzen..."

A cold light flashed in Danzo's eyes.

"You have grown weak..."

"It is merely that you have grown old."

Late at night.

The Hokage's office building, which usually had an Anbu agent in every corner, was empty tonight. Even the guards were asleep, and Naruto moved as if entering an uninhabited land.

Although he was not even an official ninja, that did not stop him from easily stealing the Scroll of Seals—the scroll that recorded all the dangerous and powerful forbidden techniques of Konoha.

"It seems everyone really does think I'm an idiot."

Naruto could not help but think.

If there was any surprise, it might have been that when he bumped into the Third Hokage in the office, the improved Harem Jutsu Naruto used (referencing the female forms from One Piece) might have been a bit too much for the old man, causing a rather significant amount of nosebleed... it should be fine, right?

Naruto shook his head, pushing the thought aside.

Arriving at a secluded spot in the small woods, he quickly opened the Scroll of Seals and began to read. The very first technique at the beginning was the Multi Shadow Clone Technique he had been longing for.

In the distance, Konoha began to grow noisy as the village's ninjas were awakened and began searching for Naruto.

In the original story, by the time Iruka Umino found Naruto, there was just enough time for him to learn the Multi Shadow Clone Technique, which was why he had only learned that one technique after taking the scroll.

But the current Naruto not only had vastly improved chakra control, but his reading comprehension speed had also increased due to his enhanced mental strength.

So, after successfully mastering the Multi Shadow Clone Technique, he still had time and hurriedly continued to unfurl the Scroll of Seals.

[Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags], [Dead Demon Consuming Seal], [Rasengan], [Adamantine Sealing Chains], [Reverse Four-Symbols Sealing], [Twin Snakes Mutual Death Technique], [Hidden Lotus]...

Naruto scanned through various powerful ninjutsu, having already planned what he was looking for.

Finally, after [Eight Inner Gates], Naruto at last found the technique he wanted.

[Flying Thunder God]!