The Test of the Jinchuriki

On the rooftop.

Mizuki and Naruto had been talking for a while. After comforting Naruto and using Iruka's story to deepen his trust, Mizuki saw that the time was right and revealed his true purpose:

"...So as long as you can get your hands on the Scroll of Seals, Naruto, you'll be able to graduate without a problem."

"Really, Mizuki-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly.

"Mm-hmm!"

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

As expected, Naruto really is a complete idiot...

Naruto seemed not to notice a thing. He just beamed with childish innocence.

"That's great!"

The Hokage's office.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, puffed on his pipe, his expression blank as he watched Mizuki and Naruto through the crystal ball. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

After a while, an Anbu wearing a dog mask appeared silently in the corner and handed him a scroll.

"Lord Hokage, this contains the conversation between the Jinchuriki and Mizuki, reconstructed by the Surveillance Squad through lip-reading. It seems Mizuki is trying to coax the Jinchuriki into stealing the Scroll of Seals."

"Mm. Thanks for the effort."

The Third Hokage quickly scanned the contents, set the scroll aside, and closed his eyes in thought.

Just then, an old man in a black robe, 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 bowing, then waved him away. At the same time, the Third Hokage suddenly gave an order:

"Mikawa, tell the guards on duty at the Hokage Building tonight that none of them need to report for duty."

"Uh..."

The dog-masked Anbu was taken aback. He glanced instinctively at Danzo, but out of respect for the Hokage's authority, he didn't ask any questions. He simply lowered his head and said:

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

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

Sparks crackled in the pipe bowl. Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind his desk, the Konoha bathed in sunlight visible through the floor-to-ceiling window behind him. He looked at his old friend standing in the shadows before him. He wanted to exchange a few pleasantries, but couldn't think of what to say.

They knew each other too well. Even a simple greeting would have felt insincere.

"Mizuki is a fool."

The Third Hokage tapped the bowl of his pipe and got straight to the point.

"Catching him isn't important. What matters is whether he's acting foolish on his own or if someone else is pulling the strings."

"I'll find out." Danzo's wrinkles were as hard-edged as if they had been carved by a knife. "But we don't yet know whether his real target is the Scroll of Seals, or if he's using it as a pretext and actually has his eye on the Jinchuriki."

"I'll handle Naruto. You take care of Mizuki. His family, friends, shinobi records, home address... check everything."

"It's already underway."

Like two finely calibrated instruments, the old men exchanged their views in just a few words and divided their responsibilities. Their respective departments had begun operating before they even started talking, spreading like an invisible net over all of Konoha.

"You want to test the Jinchuriki?"

Danzo changed the subject. He had guessed why Hiruzen had dismissed tonight's guards.

"Mm. It's a good opportunity to give him a reason to become a shinobi."

The Third Hokage nodded, rose, and walked into the sunlight. Gazing out at Konoha, he spoke slowly:

"Whatever happens, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is a valuable asset to the village. We can't let him remain a non-shinobi forever. Without the balance of power provided by the Tailed Beasts, the village's security will be threatened."

"Are you confident you can control the Jinchuriki?" Danzo asked in a low voice. He remained where he stood, like a shadow that had solidified.

"Mm. That child, Naruto... trusts me."

"..."

Hiruzen stood with his back to Danzo, his expression hidden. Only his aged but still powerful voice echoed through the office.

"According to our intelligence, Iwagakure's Five-Tails Jinchuriki can now fully control his Tailed Beast. On the surface, he and Ōnoki don't get along, and he lives alone in seclusion near Iwagakure. But I know those two have an unspoken understanding."

"There's also been recent intelligence about Kumogakure's Two-Tails Jinchuriki. She seems to have mastered some of her Tailed Beast's power. As for Killer B, the Raikage's brother, there's no need to say more. He treats his Tailed Beast like a brother and obeys the Raikage, who is his elder brother, without question... He may well be the most perfect Jinchuriki in the shinobi world today."

At this, Hiruzen paused, turned around, and exhaled a long stream of smoke.

"Kumogakure's overall strength may now surpass that of any previous generation."

"The current Raikage knows it, too. He's young and strong, and ambitious. He's wanted to challenge Konoha's standing for a long time. If I hadn't forcefully overruled the Hyuga clan's objections and made Hizashi sacrifice himself to give Kumogakure an explanation and shut them up, that A would have used the opportunity to start a war against Konoha."

"But just because we made it through the last time doesn't mean there won't be another. The Raikage is still young, but you and I are old. We don't have much time left."

Smoke swirled around Hiruzen, obscuring his expression. At that moment, he was like an aging lion king. He might no longer move with the agility of his prime, but his fangs were still sharp.

"Naruto is Minato's child, and he has the Uzumaki Bloodline. He has the potential to control the Nine-Tails, but circumstances no longer allow him to waste his time slowly progressing through the Ninja Academy."

"What happened today was unexpected, but it's also a good opportunity. I'll wait for him in the Hokage's office and see whether he's pure of heart—whether he'll attack an old man who treated him kindly for his own gain. I'll have Mizuki and Iruka catch up with him and test the qualities he shows when his life is on the line, to see whether he has the Will of Fire. If he passes all the tests, then it'll be time to make him a shinobi."

"After all, shinobi can't grow up in a cradle forever."

"You're focusing on the wrong thing, Hiruzen... The Tailed Beasts aren't the only thing that matters."

Unexpected, yet somehow inevitable, Danzo spoke up in rebuttal.

"The power of the Tailed Beasts is certainly important, but as Hokage, you should be looking at the village as a whole, not just this one issue."

"Anbu, Root... All kinds of intelligence show that every nation is now engaged in an arms race. Only Konoha is still living in the illusion of peace, dancing and feasting. Each graduating class from the Ninja Academy is more naive than the last. All they ever talk about is dreams and bonds, and they value their comrades more than their missions. What kind of shinobi is that? This crooked trend will only gradually weaken Konoha's overall strength!"

"Danzo, cherishing one's comrades is the very embodiment of the Will of Fire. It's precisely this belief in protecting their comrades that inspires them to become stronger!"

"How many ninjutsu can a belief stop?" Danzo's voice was cold. "Don't be naive, Hiruzen. Do you still not understand what I'm saying? The village's structure needs to change. Naive ideas must be purged. Ninja Academy education needs to be more practical, and Genin missions should draw blood!"

"Everything must be prepared for war, instead of waiting for someone else to force one upon us!"

"No!"

Hiruzen's reply was firm and unequivocal. "The village has enjoyed peace for barely ten years. Our teachers founded the village so its people could live in peace, not fight endless wars!"

"If we join this arms race, we'll not only betray the dreams of the First Hokage and the Second Hokage, but also destroy the hard-won stability of the village!"

At this point, Hiruzen couldn't help but argue back at Danzo. "Besides, a shinobi's strength is meant to protect their comrades, not merely to complete missions. Do you want Konoha to become another Village of the Bloody Mist?"

"You didn't act nearly as high-minded as you make it sound when it came to White Fang."

Danzo's sudden interjection was like a basin of ice water, splashing over Hiruzen as he spoke so passionately. Hiruzen's entire face froze. His lips twitched a few times, the words he had been about to say cut off. Then a powerful and complicated emotion surged up from deep within him. His brows shot up, and the wrinkles on his face became sharply etched, like furrows carved by an axe.

"Danzo—!!"

Hiruzen couldn't remember the last time he had been so furious. Even the guards outside heard the roar. They exchanged glances and grew even more cautious, not daring to make a sound.

The veins on the back of Hiruzen's aged hand bulged like writhing dragons. He had been about to slam it down on his desk, but at the last moment, he reined in his anger and lowered it gently.

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

"Everything will be done my way, Danzo."

At last, Hiruzen tossed out a cold, hard sentence. "Don't forget—I'm the Hokage."

Danzo gave Hiruzen a long look and said nothing more. Before turning to leave, he simply said, "You'll regret this," and walked out of the Hokage's office.

The door slowly closed. Hiruzen's eyes were cloudy, yet still sharp. Standing at the heart of Konoha, this old lion king had protected the village for forty years. He had made up his mind to protect Konoha in his own way until his final moment.

Outside in the corridor, Danzo walked slowly but steadily, each step seeming carefully measured. He habitually kept to the shadows, like a lurking viper waiting for an opportunity.

"Hiruzen..."

A glint flashed in Danzo's eyes.

"You've grown weak..."

"You're just old."

Late at night.

The Hokage Building, usually crawling with Anbu in nearly every corner, was completely empty that night. Even the doormen were asleep. Naruto moved through it as if there were no one around.

Though he wasn't even a full-fledged shinobi, that didn't stop him from easily stealing the Scroll of Seals—a scroll recording all kinds of powerful and dangerous forbidden jutsu from Konoha.

"Looks like everyone really does think I'm an idiot," Naruto couldn't help thinking.

If there had been any surprises, it was when he ran into the Third Hokage in the office. Naruto's improved Harem Jutsu, modeled after the female form in the Pirate King, might have been a little more shocking to the old man than expected. The amount of blood pouring from his nose was, well, a tiny bit excessive... He should be fine, right?

Naruto shook his head and stopped thinking about it.

He went to a secluded spot in a small forest, quickly opened the Scroll of Seals, and began reading. The first ninjutsu in it was the Multi Shadow Clone Technique, the one he had been longing for.

In the distance, Konoha began to stir. The village's shinobi had been roused and were starting to search for Naruto.

In the original story, when Iruka found Naruto, there had just been enough time for him to learn the Multi Shadow Clone Technique. That was why he only learned that one jutsu after getting the Scroll of Seals.

But Naruto's chakra control had improved significantly, and his reading comprehension had also gotten better thanks to his increased mental strength.

So after successfully mastering the Multi Shadow Clone Technique, he still had time. He hurriedly unrolled the Scroll of Seals further.

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

Naruto skimmed the various powerful techniques, already certain which one he was looking for.

At last, after [Eight Inner Gates], Naruto finally found the technique he wanted.

[Flying Thunder God Technique]!