In his previous life, he'd watched plenty of Naruto. He might never have eaten pork, but he'd seen pigs run.
He entered the building.
Following Mizuki's instructions,
and with the powerful sensory abilities provided by half of the Nine-Tails' chakra,
he easily avoided the Anbu guards.
What puzzled Naruto was how few Anbu were on guard today.
There were no more than five in the entire building!
He had no idea where they'd all gone.
Or was it because he was the Chosen One, blessed with incredible luck?
Maybe the idle simply made way for him.
He remembered how, back then, he hadn't even had half of the Nine-Tails' chakra.
By a stroke of sheer luck,
without lifting a finger,
he'd still managed to get the Scroll of Seals.
"Could it really be that much of a coincidence?"
Naruto's mouth twitched.
In peacetime, Konoha didn't have many shinobi who could fight openly.
But it still had strength behind the scenes.
There was no way its defenses were this weak.
Oh? They were deliberately letting me take it?
Naruto seemed to have figured it out.
With Hiruzen Sarutobi's methods and strength,
how could someone who wasn't even a Genin
easily get their hands on the Scroll of Seals left behind by the Second?
It was obvious even to an idiot that it was impossible!
"What's the old man plotting?"
"Whatever. Once I get the Rinnegan, I'll be another level stronger. When you've got the biggest fist, you've got the loudest voice."
"Since you're deliberately letting me in to take the Scroll of Seals, I won't stand on ceremony."
Naruto grinned.
He quickened his pace,
and strode right inside.
As it happened, the Anbu guards who'd been stationed in the hallway
seemed not to see him at all.
They turned and left their posts.
If Naruto hadn't sensed them,
he would've thought nobody had ever been there.
He arrived at the Third Hokage's room.
At first, Naruto planned to use a few ninjutsu techniques to get inside.
But after thinking it over, he decided against it.
He was definitely being watched right now.
If he made even the slightest move,
the Anbu lurking in the shadows would swarm him.
"I'll have to break the door down the old-fashioned way."
"If they catch me, I'll just say I was born with superhuman strength."
Naruto already had his excuse ready.
He put his hand on the doorknob.
With a click, the door opened.
Naruto froze for a moment.
He hadn't broken the door.
The thing hadn't even been locked!
"They're making it way too obvious that they're letting me through."
He wasn't the simple-minded Naruto Uzumaki he used to be.
Anyone could figure it out with a little reasoning.
Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office,
Hiruzen Sarutobi was watching a crystal ball.
The image displayed on its surface
was of Naruto sneaking into his room.
"Third Hokage, is this really wise? If Naruto takes the Scroll of Seals and the Nine-Tails inside him goes on a rampage, countless people will die."
"Konoha can't withstand another disaster like that."
The Anbu Captain behind him knelt on one knee.
His voice was heavy with worry.
Konoha had only just entered an era of peace.
The wars and unrest had taken the lives of many young shinobi.
And Konoha's own internal strife had taken its toll as well.
If the Nine-Tails attacked the village again,
the only one who might be able to stop it would be the Third Hokage.
If the Third Hokage died in the process,
the other great shinobi villages would surely seize the opportunity to break the peace treaty.
They would wage war on Konoha, leaderless and vulnerable.
Then there would truly be nowhere to turn for help.
In short,
Konoha could no longer afford to suffer such catastrophic consequences!
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a puff from the old-fashioned pipe he always carried.
He replied calmly,
"I have my reasons."
"Now that I'm old, I often dream of things that happened in the past."
"Back then, the Fourth Hokage gave his life to stop the Nine-Tails from devastating the village. He and his wife both perished."
"Before he died, he entrusted the young Naruto to my care."
"The elderly, women, and children who lost their loved ones in that disaster needed a reasonable target for their anger."
"The village seems peaceful, but it's beset by troubles both within and without. The conflicts between the interests of the great clans are growing ever more intense. I had no choice but to divert the villagers' attention."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's deeply wrinkled face seemed to grow even older.
He glanced at
the photograph on his desk, showing him with the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
A profound look of guilt crossed his old face.
He took another puff from his pipe.
"The Scroll of Seals will be in Naruto's hands for now. Nothing will go wrong."
"And if anything does, I'll take full responsibility!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's tone brooked no argument!
"Yes, sir!"
After hearing that,
the Anbu Captain had no choice but to accept the order.
They truly did owe the Fourth Hokage far too much.
If the Fourth Hokage hadn't stepped forward and sacrificed himself back then,
even more people in the village would have died!!!
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