Departure, Twilight Ninja Village

"I accept."

Uchiha Kei did not hesitate.

Forget about some mysterious organization; he wouldn't even fear the "Akatsuki" of a few years from now!

Possessing the Rinnegan, would he be afraid of a mysterious organization with unknown origins?

Don't joke around. Even if he couldn't beat them, couldn't he just run?

If anyone dared to pursue him, they could get a taste of Shinra Tensei!

One blast and he'd send them flying!

Sarutobi Hiruzen handed the scroll into his hands.

"The danger level of this mission is unknown; we can only judge it based on what you have experienced."

After saying this, Sarutobi Hiruzen hesitated slightly.

"If... if the mission is too arduous, you may choose to abandon it."

Uchiha Kei was somewhat surprised.

Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo should be wishing for him and Uzumaki Naruto to die as soon as possible; why would he say something so inexplicable?

"Once a mission is accepted, it must be completed even if it means death!"

The door opened in response, and Danzo, with half his face wrapped in bandages, walked in, his expression cold as frost.

"Danzo!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen stared straight at Danzo, a certain fire burning in his eyes.

"Lord Hokage, a ninja is born to complete missions. If a mission cannot be completed, one might as well be dead."

Danzo's tone was grim, brooking no refusal.

"Do not forget..."

"Hatake Sakumo!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen jolted, and the pipe he was holding nearly fell to the floor.

"You... you..."

"Everything for Konoha."

Danzo said this from his high horse, his gaze shifting toward Uchiha Kei with a playful glint.

"What do you say? Uchiha Kei."

"That goes without saying."

Uchiha Kei smiled and raised the scroll in his hand.

"As a ninja, and even more so as an Anbu member, the mission is more important than life."

Danzo nodded in satisfaction.

He had been worrying about how to eliminate these two scourges, and here he was, seeking his own death.

Then he could hardly be blamed.

Once they were out of the village, Root would have no qualms about taking action!

"Lord Hokage, I would like to bring someone along on this mission."

Seeing that things had reached this point, Sarutobi Hiruzen could only suppress his anger.

"Who?"

"Uzumaki Naruto."

Sarutobi Hiruzen narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"He is not yet a ninja and cannot leave the village."

"I believe Naruto also needs the experience, and furthermore, he already possesses the capabilities of a genin."

"If Lord Hokage does not permit it, Naruto can also apply for early graduation today."

Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted to refuse, but Danzo spoke up first.

"Since Uzumaki Naruto also possesses the capabilities of a genin, then of course he may accompany him."

"Danzo!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen let out a low growl, his anger no longer hidden.

"Then many thanks, Lord Hokage."

Uchiha Kei ignored Danzo entirely, bowed deeply to Sarutobi Hiruzen, and turned to leave.

"What exactly are you trying to do, Danzo! You must remember your status! I am the Hokage of Konoha!"

Once Uchiha Kei was far away, Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Danzo through gritted teeth.

This matter truly infuriated him; no matter how one looked at it, the Hokage was Sarutobi Hiruzen, not Danzo!

By what right did he make decisions for him!

By what right!

"I have always remembered my status, Lord Hokage."

Shimura Danzo spoke with indifference; though he addressed him as Lord Hokage, his tone held no respect whatsoever.

Sarutobi Hiruzen glared at him.

A long while later.

Sarutobi Hiruzen regained his composure.

"Speak, then. What was your reason for doing this?"

"Reason?"

Shimura Danzo stepped forward abruptly, his expression turning ferocious.

"Yesterday, Naruto had clearly manifested the Nine-Tails' chakra. Why didn't you let me kill him?"

Last night, a violent surge of chakra had suddenly erupted from the small woods in the northern part of the village.

Countless ninja had been restless and ready to move.

It was Sarutobi Hiruzen who, in the name of the Hokage, had dispersed those ninja.

As the mastermind behind it all, Shimura Danzo had long since prepared an ambush.

Five elite jonin!

Fifteen battle-hardened chunin!

Thirty genin with special abilities!

This lineup could be described as luxurious to the extreme.

He was confident that he could quickly kill both Naruto, who had only manifested one tail, and Uchiha Kei in a short amount of time!

Yet, at the most critical moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen had stopped him!

It felt like a glob of old phlegm stuck in his throat; just as he was about to spit it out, he was forced to swallow it back down.

How could he not hate this!

"The Nine-Tails' jinchuriki is of great significance to the village."

Sarutobi Hiruzen remained calm and collected.

"It is true that he is significant, but power that cannot be controlled should be destroyed!"

"Isn't that your usual way of doing things, Sarutobi Hiruzen!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen picked up his pipe and took a comfortable puff.

"I believe Naruto will make the most correct choice."

"The correct choice? You are leaving possibilities up to someone else? You are playing with fire!"

Shimura Danzo burned with rage, unable to suppress his surging anger.

"You are the one playing with fire, Danzo."

Sarutobi Hiruzen sat up straight.

"Setting Naruto aside for a moment, do you really think your men could have eliminated them?"

"What foolish words are you spouting? Sarutobi Hiruzen, have you grown senile in your old age?"

"That was half the strength of my Root! It was the life's work of Shimura Danzo over several decades! Even you, the illustrious Professor of Ninjutsu, would likely be severely wounded by them!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen did not comment on his words, instead exhaling another cloud of smoke that drifted straight toward Shimura Danzo's approaching face.

"Cough, cough, cough."

Shimura Danzo irritably waved the smoke away.

"Did you not notice that Uchiha Kei was a bit different today?"

Shimura Danzo, who had been about to fly into a rage, froze.

Different?

What was different about him?

He was just an arrogant brat.

"His chakra is at the jonin level."

"What!"

"That's impossible!"

"That is absolutely impossible!"

Shimura Danzo exclaimed in disbelief, three times over.

A brat not even nine years old, possessing jonin-level chakra?

Even the Sage of Six Paths could not have achieved this at his age!

"Believe it or not, my senses do not deceive me."

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked out the window, where a tiny figure caught his eye.

Uchiha Kei, who was walking along, seemed to sense something and looked back.

The eyes of the old man and the young boy met.

A smile played on Uchiha Kei's lips as he waved toward the Hokage Building.

Sarutobi Hiruzen waved back with a smile of his own.

The young were respectful, and the elder was kind.

The moment they both turned away, the smiles vanished instantly.

In their place was coldness.

Naruto, standing beside him, watched his changing expression with curiosity and asked in confusion, "Kei, what's wrong? One moment you're smiling, the next you're frowning?"

"It's nothing. I was being watched by an old dog, and it didn't sit well with me."

"Is that so? Should we go back and beat it up?"

"No rush, no rush. There is plenty of time. An old dog is just an old dog; he is already past his prime."

At the village gate.

"You two are heading out of the village for a mission?"

The guard ninja looked at the scroll in his hands in disbelief.

"That's right, mister. Please let us through; it wouldn't be good if we were late for the mission."

Naruto hopped up and down with excitement.

He was about to venture into the new world, and he found it hard to contain himself.

"But you are only..."

"Mister, the mission scroll is authentic, isn't it?"

The guard ninja carefully examined the Hokage's signature on the scroll and nodded, dazed.

Uchiha Kei shrugged.

"Then that settles it. We're off."

"Alright~!"

Naruto skipped along, chasing after Uchiha Kei, leaving the stunned guard ninja behind.

"To be able to carry out missions outside the village at such a young age, it really is..."

"It really is impressive!"

Watching their retreating figures, the guard ninja felt a twinge of envy.