Zero's Intelligence

"Oh? What crime have you committed?"

"This subordinate... this subordinate altered part of the mission procedures without authorization, disrupting the Order you established. Please punish me, sir!" Zero's voice trembled with just the right amount of fear.

Danzo gave a cold snort and was about to erupt when Zero pulled a scroll from his robes and raised it high over his head.

"These are some humble insights this subordinate has gained over the past few days. Please... please review them, sir!"

Danzo motioned for a ninja beside him to take the scroll.

The moment he unrolled it, his expression changed.

The scroll was not a written confession, but a detailed "Root Operational Efficiency Optimization Draft." It meticulously listed every change Zero had made, along with data comparing efficiency before and after.

Most importantly, at the beginning of the draft, Zero had written in neat handwriting:

"Following Lord Danzo's teaching that 'even darkness requires Order, and efficiency is strength,' this subordinate dared to put your philosophy into daily practice. Every achievement stems from the brilliance of your ideas. Any oversight is solely due to this subordinate's foolishness."

The flattery landed without a sound, yet carried tremendous force.

The frost on Danzo's face visibly began to melt.

Seeing this, Zero knew the time had come. He suddenly bowed forward, smashing his forehead heavily against the cold stone floor, his voice taking on a sobbing edge.

"Lord Danzo! Everything this subordinate has was given by you! My family has a roof over their heads only because of your protection! This subordinate asks only to serve you with all my strength and dedicate everything to the Konoha you protect! Please, sir... please, for the sake of this subordinate's loyalty, treat my family well!"

He had cast himself as an absolutely loyal subordinate who, having deeply understood his superior's ideology, had thrown himself recklessly into reform, only to become terrified afterward and beg for forgiveness through the safety of his family.

Danzo was thoroughly pleased.

What he liked most were tools that had weaknesses yet were clever enough.

"Get up." His tone softened. "Your ideas are very good. I have seen your loyalty."

"From today onward, this draft will be implemented throughout Root. You will be fully responsible for it."

"Th... thank you, sir!" Zero's voice brimmed with "tearful gratitude."

Inside Naruto's apartment.

Under the moonlight, a massive map lay spread across the floor.

It was not a map of Konoha, but an organizational chart of Root.

Every name and codename represented a node. Every line represented the flow of information and the chain of authority.

This was the first batch of core intelligence Zero had risked his life to obtain.

Naruto's finger moved slowly across the map, like a monarch surveying his kingdom.

[Intelligence Analysis Division. Head: Fu Yamanaka. Core node.]

[Operations Division. Three battalions, independent of one another and directly answerable to Danzo. Information barriers exist.]

[Assassination Unit. Personnel identities are highly classified. Currently managed indirectly by Zero. A potential point of breakthrough.]

A more precise and bolder plan was taking shape in his mind.

Dismantle it, then rebuild it.

He picked up a pen and circled several key names on the map.

Then he looked out the window, where a Night Owl silently landed once more.

New orders were already prepared.

Inside an archive room in the Root Underground Base.

Zero was sorting, filing, and destroying stacks of backlogged scrolls with an almost mechanical bearing. His movements were precise to the millimeter; every turn and every reach seemed meticulously calculated, wasting not a shred of effort.

The surrounding Root ninjas watched with their scalps tingling.

"Hey, has Senior Zero been... trying a little too hard lately?" a newcomer muttered.

"More than trying hard. He's practically turned himself into a scroll-processing machine." Another lowered his voice. "Yesterday, when I watched him organize intelligence, he even blinked 0.2 seconds less often than usual. I timed it with a stopwatch!"

"Shh! Stop talking, he's looking over here!"

Zero's head turned toward them at a rigid angle, his pure white mask facing them directly. The ninjas fell silent at once, feeling as though some emotionless predator had fixed its gaze on them.

Zero said nothing. He merely placed a scroll marked "Top Secret" into the dedicated tube leading to Danzo's office. Yet before the airflow sucked the scroll away, he had already left behind a copy using the method Naruto had taught him.

[Chunin Ninja Exams intelligence synchronized.]

[Examiner roster, personality weakness analysis, and historical ruling records archived.]

[Sunagakure's leading jonin, Baki. Files updated.]

[Irregularities found in the Kusagakure examinee roster. Suspected Orochimaru infiltration.]

Zero's heart remained utterly still. He felt this unprecedented "efficiency," this pure sensation of being the most precise component in a "system." In the past, risking his life for Danzo had been suffocation in darkness; now, serving that lord meant the freedom to build Order within the darkness with his own hands.

Though when facing Danzo, he behaved with ever more servile humility, as loyal as though he would die for him, only Zero himself knew that every act of "loyalty" was merely another solid screw fastened into a different system—one grander and more perfect.

Inside the Konoha Training Ground.

"Yo, good morning, everyone. Have any of you gotten lost on the road of life today?" Kakashi still looked half-asleep as he lazily waved the application forms in his hand. "I've already submitted your recommendations for the Chunin Ninja Exams."

"Really, Kakashi-sensei?!" Sakura jumped up excitedly.

Sasuke gave a cool "Hmph," but the upward curve he could not suppress at the corner of his mouth still betrayed his anticipation.

"So, in order to help everyone pass the exams smoothly, I've tailored a training plan specifically for you." Kakashi cleared his throat, preparing to launch into a lengthy explanation.

He cleared his throat again and assumed the posture of a proper teacher.

"Mainly, we'll reinforce teamwork. For example, practice coordinating the Three Body Technique, climb some trees, walk on water, and build up your fundamentals..."

"I think that plan should be revised, Kakashi-sensei."

A calm voice from Dan interrupted him.

Kakashi lifted his eye from his book and looked at Naruto. Sasuke and Sakura also turned toward him with stunned expressions.

Naruto stood straight, both hands tucked into his pockets.

"This training plan is outdated, lacks specificity, and has a time utilization rate below thirty percent. It is a textbook example of inefficiency and cannot address the high-intensity confrontations ahead."

The training ground fell so quiet that only the rustling of wind through the leaves remained.

Sasuke's mouth twitched. Naruto was still acting like an old pedant, and that dead last was getting farther and farther away from them.

Sakura wore an expression that plainly said, Naruto, are you crazy? How dare you talk to Kakashi-sensei like that?

Kakashi closed his book and scratched his silver hair. Rather than getting angry, he looked intrigued.

He had said that on purpose. Coming up with training plans for students was troublesome too. If he deliberately proposed something stupid, this overly serious student would definitely be unable to resist offering a perfect replacement plan for him.

Naruto got a sense of control, while he got to rest. It was a win-win.

"Oh? It sounds like Naruto has a more brilliant opinion?"

He smiled. He could sense that Naruto had changed, because this rebuttal was gentler than any before it.

"Sasuke." Naruto turned to him.

"Your taijutsu places too much emphasis on visual flair. Your power is dispersed, and your chakra utilization rate is below sixty percent. Starting now, three straight hours of high-intensity sparring. I will personally instruct you until you learn how to inflict the greatest damage with the smallest movements."

"Sakura." He looked at Sakura Haruno again. "Your chakra control is an advantage, but your physical stamina and mental resilience are fatal weaknesses. Emotional fluctuations directly affect the stability of chakra output. Your task is five hundred pull-ups, five hundred push-ups, and a ten-kilometer cross-country run. Afterward, spar with me while in a state of extreme exhaustion."