Jiraiya Returns

"Confirmed dead in battle. Lord Danzo has taken the body."

"Did he reveal his Sharingan?"

"Yes, his Mangekyō Sharingan."

As he spoke, a trace of fear flashed through the visitor's eyes.

The battle last night had shown them just how terrifying the Mangekyō Sharingan was.

Fortunately, Danzo had fought with everything he had, and the Anbu had used many of their trump cards. The Root had suffered heavy losses, and they had barely managed to bring about a mutual defeat.

"Find a way to take the Mangekyō Sharingan for ourselves."

Naruto gave the order.

After the visitor left, Naruto began to review what he had gained last night.

First was the Flying Thunder God, which he had obtained from Minato Namikaze. Naruto had yet to master it, though.

He had also obtained Sealing Jutsu from Kushina, including the Four Symbols Seal, Fire Sealing Method, and Five Elements Seal.

Name: Uzumaki Naruto

Bloodline: Uzumaki Bloodline

Cultivation Method: Triple Inversion

Skills: Fire Style, Twin Palms, Adamantine Sealing Chains, Mind's Eye of the Kagura, Flying Thunder God, Four Symbols Seal, Five Elements Seal.

Chakra: 1000 cards

Restriction: Cinnabar Mark

Draws: 5

He had accumulated five draws.

The Nine-Tails inside him had also been completely released from its seal. If he hadn't possessed Triple Inversion, he would have died when he broke the seal yesterday.

That was why it was better for the Uchiha Clan to be wiped out.

The power within me has been fully developed. Next, I need to focus on external power.

Naruto had now reached the level of the Fourth Shinobi World War.

Just as Naruto was about to draw a card to celebrate,

he suddenly sensed Hinata's chakra.

The incident with the Nine-Tails yesterday had been thoroughly covered up, but the great clans weren't fools. There was no hiding that chakra signature.

Hinata was worried, so she had come over first thing in the morning.

She had just raised her hand to knock when Naruto opened the door.

"Naruto, are you all right?"

Her round, babyish face was full of worry.

"I'm fine. What could be wrong?"

Naruto felt a warmth in his heart. The girl's feelings were so pure.

"Phew! That's a relief."

"Everyone says the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox came out last night. I was so scared."

Hinata didn't know that Naruto was the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. She was simply afraid something had happened to him.

"Since you're here, come in and rest for a while."

Hinata had clearly been in a hurry. She was still panting.

Just as Hinata was about to enter, Naruto turned his head to the side.

"Uzumaki Naruto, the elders request your presence."

An Anbu suddenly appeared at the door and bowed respectfully.

"Is Jiraiya back?"

From the man's expression, Naruto knew he was under his control.

"Yes."

"Good. I'll go now."

"Hinata, go home and don't wander around. Wait there for word."

He turned and said this to Hinata.

In an instant, the two men vanished.

The Body Flicker Technique was a basic ninja technique that nearly every ninja knew. Each ninja also made minor adjustments to suit their own needs.

Naruto naturally used Minato's improved version.

Minato had exceptionally quick reflexes. Even before learning the Flying Thunder God, he had been a speed-type ninja.

The Body Flicker Technique he had improved was incredibly fast, too.

In just a few blinks, Naruto had reached the Hokage Building.

The building had been badly damaged in last night's battle. A few elders were holding a meeting in a building some distance away.

As soon as Naruto approached the door, the Anbu stationed there opened it for him.

The men inside, who had been discussing matters, all frowned at once.

"Damn it! Who told you to let him in?"

Danzo flew into a rage. Naruto had been allowed in without even being announced. Who had given them the right?

Naruto glanced at him.

Damn, I almost forgot about this troublemaker.

With the Uchiha Clan situation taking up so much attention, Danzo had barely focused on the Jinchūriki. As a result, Naruto had nearly forgotten about the troublemaker.

Now that Danzo had shown himself, Naruto finally paid attention to him. He considered whether to kill the bastard or simply control him.

Danzo felt a chill inside as he noticed Naruto's gaze.

The two elders had witnessed Naruto's strength, so they immediately stepped in to smooth things over.

Power alone wasn't frightening. The truly frightening thing was a young boy with power but no maturity. If he lost his temper, there might not be anyone present who could stop him.

The two elders had clearly felt the pressure Naruto gave off.

They assumed the Anbu respected Naruto's strength, too, and didn't think anything more of it.

Jiraiya sat in the seat of honor.

His gaze also fell on the young man who had just entered.

He looked so much like him.

Naruto already bore a slight resemblance to Minato.

"Enough, Danzo. We have more important matters to discuss."

The two elders changed the subject, afraid Danzo would say something else to provoke Naruto.

"Uzumaki Naruto, this is Jiraiya, a student of the Third Hokage."

The elders also remembered to introduce him to Naruto.

"Lord Jiraiya."

Naruto nodded.

"You're impressive."

Jiraiya nodded. If the two elders hadn't explained it to him, he wouldn't have believed it.

An eight-year-old boy had actually mastered the Nine-Tails' power. It had all come about by chance, but the reality was right in front of him.

Even if they didn't believe Naruto's explanation, they had no choice but to accept it.

The Third Hokage had severely damaged the Nine-Tails' soul, allowing Naruto to seize some of its chakra and control part of its power.

"I know what happened. I'll set out this afternoon to find Tsunade, and the boy will come with me."

"Jiraiya, isn't it unwise to take the boy along?"

The two elders still didn't want Naruto to leave the village.

"Don't worry. I'll look after him and teach him how to control his power while I'm at it."

Jiraiya had made his position clear.

The others no longer objected.

As for Danzo, his attention was entirely fixed on the Uchiha Clan.

The Uchiha Clan had finally given him such a big opening. How could Danzo let it go? All he wanted now was to wipe them out completely.

Naruto wasn't surprised to hear that Jiraiya would take him to find Tsunade.

Whether for political reasons or personal ones, Jiraiya taking him along was the best choice.

When the meeting ended, Danzo hurried out.

"Don't go too far. It'd be best to wait until Tsunade returns and let her decide."

Jiraiya frowned. He hadn't wanted to get involved in this mess.

But he was worried Danzo would go too far.

"Don't worry. We'll keep an eye on him."

The two elders nodded.

"Kid, go get your things. We're leaving."

Jiraiya walked over.

Naruto said nothing and turned to leave.

Ninjas didn't need to bring much when they went out, just a few weapons.

Naruto wasn't a ninja yet, so he went home, changed clothes, and took a weapon.

He had also planned to say goodbye to Hinata, but Jiraiya had already come to find him.

"In such a hurry?"

Naruto was puzzled.

"We should leave as soon as possible."

Jiraiya didn't explain. He was mainly worried that Konoha and the Uchiha Clan would fight to the bitter end.

What Naruto didn't know was that the Root and the Anbu had suffered heavy casualties last night.

Danzo didn't care about that, but the others did.