Konoha Hospital,
"Ha."
Early in the morning, Naraku yawned as he entered Kushina's hospital room. Since returning to the village yesterday, he had slept until now.
With the constitution of the Uzumaki Clan, the little fatigue he felt was practically negligible. He simply wanted to sleep in.
As he had the last time, Naraku activated the Mind's Eye of the Kagura to check Kushina's condition. Aside from a slight increase in the chakra inside her, nothing else had changed.
"Sigh!"
Naraku let out a soft sigh. He knew he was being impatient. Although Tsunade had said Kushina would wake soon, it seemed that "soon" still meant waiting a while.
After staying by Kushina's bedside for a bit, Naraku left the hospital.
Since returning this time, Naraku hadn't seen any Root operatives near the hospital. He knew the Third Hokage had taken care of it.
As Naraku walked along Konoha's streets, the morning crowds were already out and about. The various shops lining the streets had also begun opening one after another.
Konoha was probably the only place in the entire Shinobi World with a scene like this.
On his two recent missions, Naraku had seen what other countries were like. The Land of Snow and the Land of Wind couldn't compare to Konoha in any way.
But Konoha's prosperity also made people from other villages covet it. Whenever war broke out, the other villages would join forces to target Konoha.
A man's wealth was his own ruin.
From the perspective of the other villages, there was nothing wrong with that. They simply wanted a better place to live.
Naraku shook his head slightly. These weren't things he could worry about yet. For now, he only wanted to grow stronger as quickly as possible and protect the people he cared about. He could think about the rest later.
As he walked, Naraku caught a familiar scent. A shop had just opened its doors and put up its open sign. It was Ichiraku Ramen.
"Uncle Teuchi is an early riser, all right!" Naraku smiled, then went inside.
"Oh, it's Naraku! You're here early today," said Teuchi, smiling at him through narrowed eyes.
"You're up early too, Uncle Teuchi!"
Since Naraku often came to Ichiraku Ramen, they had gotten to know each other well.
"But at this hour, you might have to wait a little longer."
"That's fine. I don't mind waiting a bit to enjoy a delicious meal."
"All right. The signature ramen, like usual?"
Naraku nodded. "Yes, the signature ramen."
When Teuchi said Naraku might have to wait, he meant about ten minutes. Then he came over carrying a steaming bowl of ramen.
"Your signature ramen is here. Enjoy."
"Thanks." The fragrant ramen made Naraku's appetite surge, and he eagerly began to enjoy his meal.
A secluded corner of Konoha.
Although the sun had risen and begun to light the land, the area was still very dim, with only a few faint beams of light to illuminate it.
Root, an organization rooted in darkness.
A man with half his body wrapped in white bandages stood there, his sinister gaze laced with malice.
Several masked figures stood beside him. They were all Root shinobi, and they knelt on one knee with their heads bowed, waiting for Danzo's orders.
"Hiruzen," Danzo thought to himself, "I'll make you understand that Konoha doesn't belong to you alone."
Then he spoke. "Tomorrow, the Third Hokage is going to the Daimyo Palace to sign the document renewing his term as Hokage. The village's decline is entirely his doing, so we absolutely cannot let him remain in that position."
Danzo spoke coldly.
"Yes." The men kneeling on the ground were like emotionless machines. Even when given a mission to assassinate the Hokage, they accepted it without hesitation.
Danzo nodded in satisfaction, then waved for them to leave.
In an instant, silence once again filled the dim room.
"Heh, Lord Danzo," a mocking laugh suddenly sounded.
"Do you really think those few men can kill our teacher?"
"Hmph. Orochimaru, you don't need to concern yourself with that," Danzo said with a cold snort.
"Have you prepared what I asked for?"
"Heh. Since it's something Lord Danzo asked for, of course I made it my top priority."
As he spoke, a figure emerged from the shadows. With his cold expression and pale golden eyes, he was none other than one of the Sannin, Orochimaru.
He then handed Danzo a scroll.
Inside the Hokage Office,
"Oh, I'm going to the Daimyo Palace tomorrow to sign the document renewing my term as Hokage?" The Third Hokage's hoarse voice came as he looked at the scroll in his hand.
"Yes, Lord Hokage. The Daimyo Palace has sent word that the Daimyo has prepared everything and is waiting for you to arrive."
"All right, I understand." The Third Hokage nodded.
"The succession document..."
"Never mind. I'll go. There are some other things I need to discuss with the Daimyo anyway."
The Third Hokage didn't really care about this kind of succession document. He had remained Hokage for so long through more than just the Daimyo's support.
Still, certain formalities had to be observed.
"Go get Kaka—" The Third Hokage suddenly began to say, but stopped halfway. He had just remembered that Kakashi had asked for the day off that morning, saying he'd run into a problem with his training.
Although the Third Hokage hated to lose such a useful man, he had agreed for the sake of the long term. After all, Kakashi's strength also affected his own authority.
"Go get Uzumaki Naraku," he said after a moment's thought.
"Yes."
Ten minutes later, Naraku appeared inside the Hokage Office.
"Lord Third, you wanted to see me?" Naraku asked, lowering his head slightly.
"Naraku, I'm going to the Daimyo Palace tomorrow to sign the succession document. You'll be my escort."
Naraku was slightly taken aback. The scene seemed familiar.
"The Daimyo Palace, the succession document, an escort..."
Could this be when Danzo sent people to assassinate the Third Hokage? Naraku wondered.
"What's wrong, Naraku?"
"Are you unwilling to go?" The Third Hokage's hoarse voice sounded again.
"No." Naraku shook his head slightly. After hesitating a few times, he decided not to tell the Third Hokage that someone would try to assassinate him tomorrow. It wasn't that he wanted anything to happen to the Third Hokage; he knew that the handful of Root underlings wouldn't be able to hurt him at all.