Lady Tsunade, Did You Win Money Again?

In the corner of the room, the light streaming through the window left half of Hiruzen Sarutobi's face hidden in darkness and the other half exposed to the sunlight.

He looked just like a certain man now in a vegetative state had once looked.

Shinji's words made his expression freeze for a moment.

But instead of answering directly, he changed the subject. "Shinji, I asked you a question. Did you just use genjutsu on Naruto?"

"Yep."

Shinji stretched, admitting it without a care.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stiffened. "You..."

"Relax."

Shinji smiled. "I just added an extra layer of insurance to Naruto. Something seems a little off in the shinobi world lately. Someone's plotting something... I'm worried about the Nine-Tails' safety."

You?

Worried about the Nine-Tails' safety?

If my teacher heard that, he'd probably be so shocked he'd crawl out of his grave...

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression was unreadable. "What plot are you referring to?"

"Ah... I've heard some rumors. Someone seems to be trying to collect all nine tailed beasts for some grand plan to save the world?"

Shinji paused.

"Starting with the Nine-Tails wouldn't really fit their usual approach, but... what if they did?"

Collecting tailed beasts?

A plan to save the world?

Something flashed through Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind...

Hadn't someone proposed a similar plan back then?

After a long moment.

He shook his head.

He stared at Shinji with a conflicted look. "Let's put that aside for now. If you aren't in a hurry to leave..."

"Huh?"

Shinji raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't sound right, does it? Third, I still have a mission. What do you mean, if I'm not in a hurry to leave..."

"Enough!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi said in a low voice, "Shinji, with your strength, the fact that you still haven't entered the Land of Rain speaks for