Danzo's Conspiracy

In the woods behind the mountain, Iruka hurried forward and shielded Naruto behind him. "Lord Danzo! There's a reason for this! Mizuki tricked Naruto—"

"The circumstances don't matter, Chunin Iruka," Danzo cut him off coldly, without so much as a glance his way.

"The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki lost control and stole a Forbidden Technique. That poses a grave threat to the village's security. Root must take him into custody."

Jinchuriki. Threat. Take him into custody. The cold words stabbed at Naruto like knives.

He stared at Danzo's expressionless face, at eyes that seemed to see through everything yet held not a shred of humanity.

It's him.

The man who had caused his parents' deaths was standing right in front of him—Shimura Danzō.

Naruto snapped his head up, fury burning in his blue eyes. He pointed straight at Danzo. "It was you! You sent Teacher Mizuki to trick me, didn't you?! You planned all of this!"

Danzo's single eye narrowed slightly. He neither confirmed nor denied it, but his silence was an admission more contemptuous than words.

For now, Shimura Danzō and Hiruzen Sarutobi were holding back only because they feared an invasion by another nation.

Once the situation in the Shinobi World improved, Hiruzen Sarutobi would surely wipe out Shimura Danzō's forces.

Perhaps Hiruzen Sarutobi would not kill Shimura Danzō, but losing power would be worse than death to him.

That made the Nine-Tails inside Naruto the perfect weapon for Shimura Danzō to use against Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Answer me!" Danzo's silence pushed Naruto over the edge. Without waiting for a reply, he raced through hand signs once more.

"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"

Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! The army of Shadow Clones that had just vanished reappeared, roaring as they charged Danzo and his two Root operatives from every direction.

Naruto wanted to use his newfound power to force out the truth and fight back against Shimura Danzō's suffocating scheme.

Unfortunately, he was no longer facing a Chunin of Mizuki's caliber.

Shimura Danzō stood perfectly still before the surging sea of Shadow Clones. He did not move so much as a step.

In an instant, the two Root ninja beside him sprang into action.

They moved like lightning, their precision almost mechanical.

There were no flashy flourishes, not even any large-scale Ninjutsu.

Just simple Kunai strikes, precise Taijutsu blows, and subtle disruptions to the flow of Chakra.

Every move made one or more Shadow Clones vanish in a pop of white smoke.

Their efficiency was terrifying. Naruto's seemingly vast army of Shadow Clones dwindled at an astonishing rate.

Against their overwhelming strength and experience, the Genin's mass of clones proved helpless.

In moments, every Shadow Clone was gone.

One Root ninja appeared before the real Naruto in a flash. One hand clamped around Naruto's wrist like an iron vise, stopping his hand signs, while the other pinned his shoulder. Naruto struggled in vain, unable to move an inch.

"Damn it! Let me go!" Naruto roared, but he could feel the man's Chakra seeping into his body and draining the strength from his limbs.

Shimura Danzō walked forward slowly and looked down at the captive Naruto as though he were a dangerous weapon.

"A pointless struggle. Take him away."

The other Root ninja produced a specially made Chakra-binding chain and approached Naruto.

Iruka's eyes widened in fury. He tried to rush forward, but a cold look from the ninja holding Naruto stopped him. The killing intent in that gaze was unmistakable: anyone who interfered would die.

The icy chain was just about to touch Naruto when—

"Stop!"

An aged voice rang through the woods like a great bell, filled with authority that brooked no argument.

A figure appeared between Naruto and the Root ninja in a faint puff of dust.

A white Goshinpou, a hat marked "Third Hokage," and that familiar Pipe.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had arrived in person! A large group of ANBU Ninja appeared behind him.

His gaze passed over the Scroll of Seals on the ground and the unconscious Mizuki, his expression complicated. Then his eyes sharpened and fixed on Danzo.

"Danzo, I am the Hokage." Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice was calm but carried immense weight. "I will decide how Naruto is dealt with and how this matter is settled. Root has no place interfering here."

The air froze. The two Root ninja still held Naruto, but they had stopped moving, awaiting orders from their true leader.

"Hiruzen." Danzo broke the brief silence. "Is this really how you intend to handle such a serious incident?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi drew deeply on his Pipe and slowly exhaled a smoke ring. "I've already handled it, Danzo."

"Mizuki will pay for betraying the village."

"Handled it?" Shimura Danzō's voice rose sharply, thick with anger and disbelief. "Naruto Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, stole the Scroll of Seals—a record of countless Forbidden Techniques on which the village's survival depends!"

"If even one of those techniques leaked, it could deal Konoha a devastating blow! And if the monster sealed inside him ran wild because he practiced a Forbidden Technique, the consequences would be unimaginable!"

"This is no game! And you would brush aside a crime of this magnitude?!"

The air seemed to freeze again beneath his accusations. Iruka instinctively drew Naruto closer.

The warmth faded from Hiruzen Sarutobi's face, replaced by the authority of the Hokage.

He met Danzo's eyes, his voice steady and powerful.

"You exaggerate, Danzo. Naruto was merely playing a prank."

"A prank?!" Danzo forced the words through clenched teeth. Fury burned in his single eye as he stepped forward, his presence pressing down on them.

"Stealing the village's most secret scroll? You call that a prank?! Hiruzen, your weakness and prejudice will bring ruin upon you and all of Konoha!"

The Third Hokage did not yield. Instead, he took a slight step forward, his white Goshinpou stirring without a breeze.

His voice carried the force of a final decision.

"Watch your words, Danzo! I am the Hokage!" he said again.

His gaze swept over the unconscious Mizuki. "Mizuki, a rogue ninja, plotted all of this. Naruto was only a child he used."

"Naruto learned a Forbidden Technique from the scroll through his own ability, defeated the traitor, and protected his comrade. That proves he has what it takes to become a ninja. More than that, it proves his resolve to protect the village!"

He paused. His gaze deepened as he looked at Danzo, his expression unreadable.

"As for the Nine-Tails, I trust Minato's seal, and I trust this child. Sometimes, excessive pressure and suspicion are what truly set disaster in motion."

"Konoha doesn't need a cage to imprison a monster. It needs Sunshine to guide his power."