"Neji, what is it?"
Naruto still had the milk he was going to drink with breakfast in his hand.
Thump!
He stuck in a straw.
He looked like a village thug.
"Who are you, really? Tell me! Everyone's wondering whether you're still the same Naruto Uzumaki from the Chunin Ninja Exams!"
Neji Hyuga stood before Naruto, his long hair hanging loose. He wore no Forehead Protector, and he had revealed the Caged Bird mark for the sake of becoming stronger.
Now he was questioning Naruto.
Many people had similar doubts, but none of them dared to step forward.
"What are you saying? How dare you show such disrespect to Lord Hokage!"
Danzo raised his cane, ready to poke Neji to death with it.
He would never allow anyone to slander Naruto!
"Neji, this isn't where you belong. The Medical Ninja Department is already being established, and where we're going now concerns the future of the Konoha Academy of Sciences."
"As a Konoha Genin, you should be carrying out missions and taking responsibility for Konoha, which is short on manpower right now!"
Shikaku Nara stepped in front of Neji.
It looked as though he was pushing him away, but in truth, he was shielding him.
The clan factions also found the situation suspicious. But even if Danzo was supporting a puppet, even if Danzo really became Acting Hokage one day, they wouldn't dare utter a single word of protest.
Konoha was still just the lingering shadow left behind when Madara Uchiha departed.
As long as they could stay in Konoha and huddle together for warmth, as long as the executioner's blade hadn't fallen on their clans' necks, everything would carry on as usual.
"Neji."
Naruto took a sip of milk, then appeared in front of Shikaku with a Body Flicker Technique.
He had moved so quickly that even Shikaku hadn't sensed him in time!
What an incredibly fast Body Flicker Technique!
Shikaku looked at the few leaves scattered on the ground and understood. Naruto must be the finest practitioner of the Konoha Style Body Flicker Technique.
"Have you become strong enough?"
Naruto took a fresh carton of milk from the Summoning Scroll and casually wiped away the summoning formula on it.
He handed it to Neji.
"Someone who skips breakfast will have a hard time getting stronger. It's called nutrition."
"And the Konoha Academy of Sciences exists to uncover more secrets, including so-called forbidden techniques. Medical Ninjutsu, which can save countless lives, is one of them."
"Once your mind and body grow stronger, you'll naturally understand what I'm doing."
"Just like the mark carved into your soul on your forehead—nothing is impossible to undo!"
Naruto touched Neji between the brows with one finger.
With his other hand, he gestured toward everyone behind him.
"Orochimaru is a missing-nin, and that Kabuto was once a Konoha ninja, if only briefly. Danzo used to be the most ruthless of them all. But as long as you're strong enough, even they can be put to use!"
"From the moment of the Chunin Ninja Exams until now, I've always been myself. Becoming Acting Hokage is only the beginning. The pinnacle for a ninja is the entire world!"
Naruto lowered his hat.
A group of fierce-looking people followed close behind him.
They walked along the streets of Konoha, which Yamato had rebuilt while barely clinging to life.
The morning sun bathed every corner of Konoha in light.
"Bring Sai and Yamato along to serve as my guards."
Naruto stepped into an open area.
The foundations of the new Konoha Academy of Sciences were being laid here.
Beneath it lay the former Experimental Base.
Naruto went inside.
"Shikaku, I'm temporarily leaving some Hokage duties to you. This place doesn't fall within your responsibilities."
Naruto took Danzo and Orochimaru into the underground Experimental Base.
Left outside, Shikaku Nara let out a long sigh.
Naruto's personality didn't seem much like what his son Shikamaru had described.
Not only did he act swiftly and decisively, he also kept saying things Shikaku couldn't understand.
What had he meant when he told Gaara to dig for oil?
Shikaku couldn't make heads or tails of it.
And Neji had seemed ready to act impulsively. How had he suddenly left so calmly?
At first, everyone had doubts about Naruto becoming Hokage.
Now more and more people were accepting him.
Even Shikaku Nara thought Naruto had a certain courage and resolve.
Perhaps he really could do a good job as Hokage.
No way!
Could Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki really have given birth to a genius?
Experimental Base.
Naruto stood inside the laboratory.
"Orochimaru, how much longer can you keep clinging to life?"
The moment Naruto spoke, Kabuto's expression changed even faster than Orochimaru's.
Orochimaru's body was on the verge of breaking down. If he didn't get a new vessel soon, things would become dangerous.
"Not much longer."
Orochimaru was drenched in cold sweat, even his hair soaked through.
Still, he showed Naruto extraordinary respect.
Kabuto couldn't understand it.
He knew a fair amount about Orochimaru and Danzo. How had both of them changed so much overnight, after he woke up?
"As long as you're alive, that's enough. Keep going for a few more days."
"If you can make a breakthrough in the experimental results I need, perhaps you'll be able to keep living."
Naruto pointed at Danzo's arm, which was no longer wrapped in bandages. Sharingan eyes filled it, open and spinning.
Damn!
Kabuto was startled. Konoha really did have a lot of freaks!
"How can Hashirama Cells be transplanted into another person so they're guaranteed to adapt, without distorting them?"
Naruto was talking about what happened after someone received Hashirama Cells.
Either they failed to adapt, and the affected limb turned deathly pale, or they grew a face resembling Hashirama's.
With bad luck, they might even drop dead on the spot!
"Hashirama Cells are extremely active. That's why they have such powerful cell division and healing capabilities. Wood Style is powerful, but more of its strength comes from the enormous amount of chakra First Hokage possessed."
"Even if other people are lucky enough to receive Hashirama Cells, they either end up with only a portion of their body affected, like Danzo, or become rare survivors, like Yamato."
"But neither of them can use Wood Style anywhere near as powerfully as First Hokage."
Orochimaru wanted to know what Naruto planned to do.
"It's a near-death gamble!"
White vapor billowed from Naruto's body.
Even his blond hair turned silver-white.
"What a marvelous state!"
Kabuto seemed to understand Orochimaru's reaction now.
"I'm transplanting Hashirama Cells. Begin!"
Naruto, undergoing the transplantation in Sage Mode Double, would face an entirely new challenge!
If he survived,
he would be the only person alive to possess Hashirama Cells, the Uzumaki Bloodline, the Uchiha Mangekyo, Sage Mode, and Nine-Tails Chakra all at once!
His individual strength would soar once more!
"Danzo will oversee the experiment."
"Orochimaru, go to the Land of Wind right now."
"But this time, you're not replacing the Kazekage. You're replacing the Feudal Lord!"
"Take the place of that man who refused to let me dig for oil. This vessel might be far worse, but as long as you survive and work for me, that's enough."
Naruto lay down on the laboratory bed.
"Kabuto, bring back the data and results from your laboratory. Don't keep me waiting!"
As Naruto spoke,
Danzo transplanted Hashirama Cells into Naruto's body.
To an ordinary person, the violent Hashirama Cells would destroy the body's existing life functions and cause immediate death!
Many people had died horribly on the spot, bursting into blood spray!
Orochimaru and Kabuto watched Naruto's condition closely.
Sage Mode Double was fully activated.
They saw Naruto's skin split and his bones fracture, but not a drop of blood appeared. Instead, everything was covered in white, vaporous Senjutsu Chakra.
Even his internal organs and eyes, damaged by the Hashirama Cells, were repaired by the white vapor of Senjutsu Chakra.
"What is this power? Sage Mode? I've never seen anything like it!"
Orochimaru watched, unable to tear his eyes away.
Then a face appeared on Naruto's body: Hashirama's!
"Are the side effects starting? It may be the Uzumaki Clan's bloodline making the Hashirama Cells even more active!"
Kabuto was utterly shocked.
If that terrifying vitality were turned into fighting strength, how frightening would it be?
What exactly is Naruto doing? Where does this terrifying Senjutsu Chakra, which can regenerate his body outright, come from?
"Keep what I need. Discard what I don't."
"The path of the Sage, the Path of Eternal Life: draw from heaven and earth, seize from all living things!"
Naruto's Senjutsu Chakra ran dry.
At last, the face of Hashirama that had tried to burst out of Naruto's body and kill him was erased.
Only the Hashirama Cells remained, their activity heightened by merging with the Uzumaki Bloodline.
Naruto exhaled.
This round of tempering had come to an end once more.
"This power truly delights me!"
Naruto felt the immense vitality inside him surging.
The Uzumaki and Senju possessed the greatest amounts of chakra, while Hashirama Cells were a divine creation, blessed with an exceptional natural advantage.
And then there was the Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan.
Naruto had, to some extent, gathered within himself the bloodline powers left behind by both sons of the Sage of Six Paths.
"One day, I'll take all of Asura's and Indra's power for myself!"
Unrivaled power filled his body, strengthening his mind along with it.
"It's time for me to set out. I'm going to Uzushio Village and show the evil-minded Nine-Tails who truly walks the Path of Ultimate Evil!"
As Naruto set off, even if the Death God had emotions, it would surely have sensed somehow that its wool was about to be fleeced.