"Take it."
Uchiha Kei didn't hesitate.
Forget some mysterious organization—even the Akatsuki a few years from now wouldn't scare him!
With the Rinnegan, why would he fear some mysterious organization whose strength he knew nothing about?
Give me a break. Even if he couldn't win, couldn't he run?
And if anyone dared chase him, they could get a taste of Shinra Tensei!
He'd blast them into the sky!
Sarutobi Hiruzen handed him the scroll.
"The danger level of this mission is unknown. We can only judge it based on what you've experienced."
After he spoke, Sarutobi Hiruzen hesitated briefly.
"If... if the mission proves too arduous, you may choose to abandon it."
Uchiha Kei was a little surprised.
Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo should have wanted him and Naruto dead as soon as possible. Why would he say something so inexplicable?
"Once a mission is accepted, it must be completed, even at the cost of your life!"
The door swung open, and Danzo walked in, half his face wrapped in bandages, his expression icy.
"Danzo!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen fixed him with a sharp stare, a flicker of fire in his eyes.
"Lord Hokage, ninjas are born to complete missions. If a mission cannot be completed, it's better to die."
Danzo's voice was chilling, leaving no room for refusal.
"Don't forget..."
"Hatake Sakumo!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen jolted, nearly dropping the pipe in his hand.
"You... you..."
"Everything for Konoha."
Danzo spoke with an air of superiority, his gaze turning playfully toward Uchiha Kei.
"What do you think, Uchiha Kei?"
"Of course."
Uchiha Kei smiled and raised the scroll in his hand.
"As a ninja, and especially as a member of the Anbu, the mission matters more than life."
Danzo nodded in satisfaction.
He'd been wondering how to get rid of these two nuisances, and now one of them was practically asking to die.
He had only himself to blame.
Once they left the village, Root could act without any reservations!
"Lord Hokage, I'd like to bring someone with me on this mission."
Sarutobi Hiruzen saw that things had come to this and could only suppress his anger.
"Who?"
"Uzumaki Naruto."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"He isn't a ninja yet. He can't leave the village."
"I believe Naruto needs experience too. Besides, he already has the ability of a Genin."
"If Lord Hokage won't allow it, Naruto can apply for early graduation today."
Sarutobi Hiruzen was about to refuse, but Danzo spoke first.
"Since Uzumaki Naruto has the ability of a Genin, he can of course accompany you."
"Danzo!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen growled, no longer able to hide his anger.
"Then thank you, Lord Hokage."
Uchiha Kei ignored Danzo completely, bowed deeply to Sarutobi Hiruzen, and turned to leave.
"What exactly are you trying to do, Danzo? Remember your place! I'm the Hokage of Konoha!"
Once Uchiha Kei was gone, Sarutobi Hiruzen turned to Danzo through gritted teeth.
This had truly angered him. No matter what, he, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was the Hokage—not Danzo!
What gave Danzo the right to make decisions for him?
What?!
"I've always remembered my place, Lord Hokage."
Danzo spoke indifferently. Though he called him Lord Hokage, his tone showed no respect.
Sarutobi Hiruzen glared at him.
After a long while,
Sarutobi Hiruzen calmed down.
"Tell me why you did that."
"Why?"
Danzo took a sudden step forward, his expression twisting into a snarl.
"Last night, Naruto had clearly transformed into the Nine-Tails. Why wouldn't you let me kill him?"
The night before, a wild surge of chakra had suddenly erupted from the woods north of the village.
Countless ninjas had been itching to act.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had dispersed them in the name of the Hokage.
And Danzo, the one who had set everything in motion, had prepared an ambush long ago.
Five elite Jonin!
Fifteen battle-hardened Chunin!
Thirty Genin with special abilities!
It was an overwhelmingly powerful force.
He was confident he could quickly kill Naruto, who had only transformed into the One-Tail, along with Uchiha Kei!
But at the most crucial moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen had stopped him!
It was like an old glob of phlegm stuck in his throat. He'd been on the verge of spitting it out, only to be forced to swallow it back down.
How could he not hate him?
"The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is of great importance to the village."
Sarutobi Hiruzen remained composed.
"Important, perhaps. But power that cannot be controlled should be destroyed!"
"Isn't that what you've always done, Sarutobi Hiruzen?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen picked up his pipe and took a leisurely puff.
"I believe Naruto will make the right choice."
"The right choice? You're leaving that possibility in someone else's hands? You're playing with fire!"
Danzo was consumed by rage, unable to hold back his fury.
"You're the one playing with fire, Danzo."
Sarutobi Hiruzen sat up straight.
"Forget Naruto for a moment. Do you really think your men could have eliminated them?"
"What nonsense are you talking? Sarutobi Hiruzen, are you getting more senile with age?"
"That was half of Root's strength! The work of Shimura Danzo's entire life! Even you, the famed Professor of Ninjutsu, would have been seriously injured!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't respond. He exhaled another puff of smoke, blowing it straight into Danzo's increasingly close face.
"Cough, cough, cough."
Danzo irritably waved the smoke away.
"Didn't you notice that Uchiha Kei was different today?"
Danzo, who had been about to fly into a rage, froze.
Different?
What was different about him?
Just an arrogant brat.
"His chakra is at the Jonin level."
"What!"
"That's impossible!"
"Absolutely impossible!"
Danzo reeled off three disbelieving exclamations.
An eight-year-old, not yet nine, with Jonin-level chakra?
Even the Sage of Six Paths couldn't have managed that at his age!
"Believe it or not, my senses are never wrong."
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked out the window, where a tiny figure came into view.
As Uchiha Kei walked along, he seemed to sense something and looked back.
The eyes of an old man and a child met.
Uchiha Kei smiled and waved toward the Hokage Building.
Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled and waved back.
A dutiful child and a kind elder.
The moment they both turned away, their smiles vanished.
In their place was a cold look.
Naruto, standing beside him, watched Kei's changing expressions curiously and asked, "Kei, what's wrong? You keep smiling and frowning."
"Nothing. An old dog was staring at me. It made me uncomfortable."
"Oh. Want to go back and beat it up?"
"No rush. There's plenty of time. That old dog is already old."
At the village gate,
"You're leaving the village to carry out a mission?"
The guard ninja stared at the scroll in disbelief.
"Yeah, mister. Hurry up and let us out. It wouldn't be good to hold up the mission."
Naruto bounced excitedly.
He was about to go explore a whole new world, and he could barely contain himself.
"But you're only..."
"Mister, the mission scroll is real, right?"
The guard ninja looked carefully at the Hokage's signature on the scroll, then nodded in a daze.
Uchiha Kei shrugged.
"Then there you go. We're off."
"Okay!"
Naruto hopped after Uchiha Kei, leaving the dumbfounded guard ninja behind.
"They're this young and already going on missions outside the village. That's..."
"Impressive!"
Watching the two of them disappear into the distance, the guard ninja felt a little envious.
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