Call Me, Commissar!

On the road back to Konoha, their sandals rustled over the grass, and beneath the peaceful silence lingered a faint sense of oppression.

Sakura no longer chattered away with endless questions, nor did Sasuke openly provoke anyone. Most of the time, Sakura kept her head down, reading the books Naruto had given her. Every so often, she would look up at Naruto's back with a complicated expression—fear, dependence, and a touch of blind admiration mixed together. She had discovered that as long as she followed behind that blond boy, there seemed to be nothing left to fear.

Sasuke had fallen completely silent. Again and again, he replayed everything that had happened on the bridge in his mind: Naruto's psychological dismantling of Haku and Zabuza, followed by that one-sided, militarized "purge" of Gato's forces. He realized that his prized Sharingan could see the flow of chakra and copy dazzling ninjutsu, yet it could not see through Naruto's next move at all.

In front of Naruto, he felt like a child holding a little toy.

Kakashi walked at the front. Beneath his lazy posture lay deep concern. As the team's jonin leader, the report for this C-rank mission would be the hardest one he had ever written.

"Mission target Tazuna successfully protected. Mission escalated from C-rank to A-rank. Encountered rogue ninja Momochi Zabuza and Kekkei Genkai ninja Haku. No casualties on our side. Mission completed perfectly."

It sounded wonderful.

But what about the process?

"Genin Naruto used words to turn enemy core combatant Haku, induced Momochi Zabuza to defect on the battlefield, then used the 'Multiple Shadow Clone Technique' to form an army of a thousand and annihilate over a hundred armed thugs. In the end, he facilitated the peaceful transformation of the Land of Waves' government and was embraced by the local populace as a spiritual symbol, with the country's most important infrastructure named 'Naruto Bridge.'"

Just thinking about it made Kakashi's scalp tingle. If he submitted that report, the Third Hokage would probably think Kakashi had fallen under some high-level genjutsu.

Hokage's Office.

After listening to Kakashi's heavily polished report, Hiruzen Sarutobi remained silent for a long time. He puffed on his pipe, and the curling smoke obscured his wrinkled face.

"Kakashi, you only need to answer one question." The old voice sounded. "Naruto... did he harm any ordinary people who had already laid down their weapons?"

"No, Lord Hokage," Kakashi immediately replied. "His targets were extremely clear: only 'armed resisters.' The entire purge... was highly efficient and caused no collateral damage whatsoever."

"Efficient..." Hiruzen Sarutobi savored the word.

Whenever he thought of Naruto's eyes now, he felt a faint chill.

"I understand." Hiruzen Sarutobi waved a hand. "You all did well on this mission. Go get some rest."

After Kakashi left, Hiruzen Sarutobi walked to the window and looked down at the prosperous, peaceful Konoha below, letting out a deep sigh.

"Fortunately, he only wants to be Konoha's commissar, but..."

Commissar? After Naruto repeated the word again and again, Hiruzen Sarutobi's understanding of it had grown deeper and deeper.

Hiruzen Sarutobi pressed his hand against the windowsill and silently exerted force. That is only what he says.

And deep beneath Konoha, where he could not see.

A man with only one eye exposed set down a confidential report. This intelligence was far more detailed than Kakashi's verbal account. It even included every word Naruto had said to Haku.

"Zabuza's dream is shipbuilding, yet he uses sand... Loyalty is wood, and contracts are sand..."

Shimura Danzō's mouth curved into a cold, sinister smile.

"Interesting."

"To deconstruct human hearts and convictions into 'resources' and 'tools' that can be used. This way of thinking... is practically tailor-made for Root." A masked Root ninja knelt on one knee before him without saying a word.

"That old fool Hiruzen only worries about Naruto's ruthlessness, yet fails to see how precious the value behind that ruthlessness is to Konoha." Greed glinted in Danzo's single eye.

"A perfect ninja, unaffected by emotion. A vessel capable of completely making the Nine-Tails' power his own. He is not a Jinchūriki. He is a living weapon, one capable of optimizing itself."

"Go. Watch him closely," Danzo ordered. "I want to know everything about him. His training methods, his social circle, his every action."

"But remember, do not make any substantive contact. This uncut jade is not yet ready to be carved." Danzo had already made his judgment. This Naruto was the most suitable candidate he had ever seen to inherit the will of his "Root." He believed that with only a little guidance, Naruto would become the sharpest—and darkest—blade in his hand.

Returning to his empty apartment, Naruto closed the door and shut out everything beyond it.

He sat cross-legged on the floor and slowly closed his eyes.

[External environment scan complete. No threats detected.]

[Physical function assessment complete. Chakra depletion rate: 3.7%. Mental fatigue level: 1.2%. Negligible.]

[Beginning connection to the Nine-Tails...]

His consciousness sank into the depths.

The scene before him was not the dark, damp sewer of legend.

It was a vast, empty circular hall that glimmered with the cold sheen of metal. Above the dome slowly rotated a complex star map formed from countless runes. The floor was made of mirror-smooth black alloy, reflecting everything overhead.

At the very center of the hall stood a massive cage constructed from pure spiritual energy, radiating golden light. Countless chains engraved with words such as "Order," "Obedience," and "Loyalty" extended from every node of the cage, driven deep into every corner of this mental space.

Within the cage, the enormous Nine-Tailed Demon Fox lay sprawled on the ground.

Its nine tails, which had once been capable of sweeping away mountains, were pinned down by nine massive pillars of light. The chakra around its body was no longer violent crimson, but a suppressed and purified dark gold.

It neither roared nor struggled. It merely opened those enormous eyes, filled with wisdom and ancient resentment, and silently watched the tiny figure entering the hall.

Naruto walked up to the cage.

"Nine-Tails." His voice echoed through the space without a trace of emotion.

A low rumble like muffled thunder rolled from the Nine-Tails' throat in response.

The Nine-Tails narrowed its ancient, intelligent eyes slightly. It had been trapped here for more than a decade, observing Naruto. It had watched him grow from a rejected child into someone emanating a terrifying pressure.

It had watched Naruto grow up and believed it understood all too well what a sulking child was thinking.

"Hmph... brat." The Nine-Tails' voice was hoarse, carrying a barely perceptible note of temptation. "You finally came. It seems you have seen the ugly side of those humans clearly, haven't you? Those villagers who once despised you, rejected you, and treated you as the incarnation of the demon fox... are they not fawning over you now? Do you find this hypocritical peace disgusting?"

The Nine-Tails' gaze fell upon Naruto, carrying a trace of amusement and seduction. "I can feel the resentment in your heart. The pain of being abandoned and misunderstood, that craving for power... I can give you all of it. Look at your companions and your teacher. They are full of fear and confusion toward you, are they not?"

Its massive head lifted slightly, as though whispering in a low voice. "As long as you release me, I will grant you the power to overturn everything. Those who once hurt you, those hypocritical rules, those rotten systems... you can destroy them all completely. Together, we will establish a new world ruled by you, a world that truly belongs to the strong!" The Nine-Tails' voice held a primal, chilling power of temptation as it tried to erode Naruto's will.

Yet Naruto's expression did not change in the slightest. He simply stood there quietly, his gaze as deep as a bottomless abyss, as if all the Nine-Tails' temptations were nothing more than an insignificant breeze by his ear. He did not reveal even the faintest emotional fluctuation. The face that had once carried a bright, sunny smile now held only cold calmness.

"You are wrong, Nine-Tails." Naruto spoke slowly. His voice was not loud, yet it carried unquestionable authority, like a god's proclamation. It echoed through the empty metal hall, completely suppressing the Nine-Tails' seductive words.

"There is no resentment in my heart. Resentment is the emotion of the weak, meaningless waste. Everything I do is for efficiency and Order. Those villagers are merely resources that need to be guided and managed. And the power you speak of..." Naruto's gaze swept over the Nine-Tails' pinned tails and suppressed chakra, and an almost imperceptible curve appeared at the corner of his mouth. "Do you think you are still qualified to speak of 'power'?"

He took a step forward. An invisible yet vast spiritual pressure spread outward as though it had substance, instantly filling the entire hall. The rune star map on the dome began rotating faster, while ripples spread across the reflections on the alloy floor. The nine pillars of light pinning the Nine-Tails seemed to become brighter and sturdier as well.

The Nine-Tails' massive body suddenly shuddered. For the first time, shock and a trace of unimaginable fear appeared in its ancient eyes. It could feel that this power did not come from itself, nor did it come from sealing techniques. It was pure, overwhelming willpower belonging to Naruto alone. It was an absolute will that transcended emotion and the instincts of life itself, unstoppable like a flood of steel.

"From today onward, you have only one duty." Naruto walked up to the cage, raised his head, and stared directly into the Nine-Tails' enormous pupils. "Submit. You are no longer merely a tailed beast. You are an extension of my will, a part of my power."

He paused. His voice became even colder and more authoritative, each word pronounced as though declaring a supreme law. "From now on, you will call me—Commissar."

The Nine-Tails' massive body trembled slightly within the cage. Its eyes were filled with shock, unwillingness, and a deep, unprecedented despair. It struggled, letting out a low hiss from its throat, but that sound was completely suppressed by Naruto's powerful will. In the end, beneath the invisible pressure, its enormous head slowly and unwillingly lowered.