What was Root?
It was an organization founded on Danzo's ideals.
If Danzo no longer believed in protecting Konoha from the shadows... then Root had no reason to exist.
The Root members kneeling before Danzo were all in despair. They were his earliest confidants, and the ones he had brainwashed most thoroughly.
Just then, they noticed that Danzo, who had returned to his seat, had begun hesitating again.
The Root ninja felt a surge of joy at the sight. Had Lord Danzo finally come to his senses?
What they did not know was that Danzo was deeply conflicted.
The problem was Dark Souls III... there were two DLCs he did not have...
Without those two DLCs, Dark Souls III was incomplete. Even if he beat it, he could say it did not count...
Danzo had just sworn to himself, Once I beat Dark Souls III, I'll get back to work... and continue pursuing my great goal of becoming Hokage.
That thought left Danzo agonizing over his dilemma. To get those two DLCs, he would have to find the computer's original owner, Naruto Uzumaki.
If he approached Naruto Uzumaki, it would mean openly breaking with Hiruzen Sarutobi...
"Hmph... haven't we already done that?"
Danzo made up his mind. He would bring Naruto over to get the DLCs for him.
"You lot, I'm about to assign you a very important mission."
At Danzo's words, the Root ninja kneeling below immediately grew serious.
Finally... were they finally getting a mission?
Would it be assassinating a noble, stealing intelligence from an enemy nation, or staging a coup to install Lord Danzo as the new Hokage...?
The Root ninja all imagined what mission Danzo would assign them...
His next words filled them with excitement.
"Your mission is... to capture the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and bring him here within three days!"
"If possible, act discreetly. Don't let Hiruzen's men discover you!"
Upon hearing that they were to capture the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, the Root ninja answered in unison, then vanished from the spot to prepare for the mission.
Once his subordinates were gone, Danzo took a deep breath and went back to grinding through the Untended Graves.
Unaware that he had already become a target, Naruto returned home feeling a little tired.
He and Rock Lee practicedly stripped off their clothes and put them in the washing machine, then entered the Healing Machine together to rest.
Meanwhile, Zeff was in the kitchen preparing a post-workout feast of meat.
A little over half an hour later, Naruto and Rock Lee emerged from the Healing Machine, got dressed, and sat down at the dining table.
On the other side of the table sat a stack of packaged laptop sets.
Wolffy had hammered all of them out after returning home.
After another sumptuous dinner, Rock Lee went home, while Naruto turned on his computer to download the recently released game Elden Ring, also nicknamed "Old Man Ring."
Naruto did not play many Souls games, because playing them was just torturing himself.
People who played Souls games generally shared a few traits.
Dark circles, thinning hair, visibly bloodshot eyes, and, most importantly... an increasingly gloomy atmosphere around them.
Those debuffs would all affect the young Naruto's growth.
Of course... not playing it was one thing, but he still had to download it. He at least needed to go in and take a look...
Getting beaten up a little by those bosses was good for his physical and mental health, too!
While the game downloaded, Naruto's consciousness entered the Sealing Space.
He also needed to check on Kurapika.
Like Zeff, Kurapika had many painful memories and harbored hatred for his enemies.
One difference between Kurapika and Zeff was that Zeff had come to this world after dying, whereas Kurapika clearly had not died, judging by his age. He was one of the main characters, after all.
Upon entering the Sealing Space, Naruto immediately found Kurapika.
Kurapika was watching Naruto.
He had only watched selected episodes of Hunter x Hunter. He had experienced much of it personally, so there was no need to watch all that much.
Still, to Kurapika's disappointment, Chrollo of the Phantom Troupe had ultimately regained his Nen.
In Hunter x Hunter, Kurapika had successfully captured Chrollo, the boss of the Phantom Troupe, through his own strength and methods. However, he had not killed Chrollo.
In Kurapika's eyes, simply killing Chrollo would have let him off too easily.
Kurapika had pierced Chrollo's heart with his Nen ability, Judgment Chain.
If Chrollo contacted any other member of the Phantom Troupe or used Nen, Judgment Chain would immediately destroy his heart, killing him on the spot.
That effectively stripped Chrollo of both his formidable power and his influence.
Kurapika wanted Chrollo to experience what it felt like to lose his power and be left at others' mercy, like an ant.
But after watching Hunter x Hunter, Kurapika knew that Chrollo had ultimately removed the Nen he had placed on him, which left him somewhat disappointed.
Kurapika had already watched over eighty episodes of Naruto and gained a basic understanding of the Hokage world.
During that time, Kurapika had felt a strong connection to the Uchiha Clan.
They, too, had special eyes, and their entire clan had also been massacred. He just did not know whether the Uchiha Clan's eyes had all been gouged out as well.
"Hey... Kurapika!"
Naruto came up behind Kurapika and greeted him.
Kurapika turned to look at Naruto. "Naruto, can I still go back?"
Naruto had expected Kurapika to ask that.
It was also a question Naruto, Zeff, and Wolffy had discussed.
"After discussing it with Teacher Zeff and Wolffy, we figured that since you could come here, you should naturally be able to go back."
"It's just that my strength needs to reach a certain level, and Wolffy needs to invent a stable Dimensional Shuttle."
"Of course... for the Dimensional Shuttle to succeed, the prerequisite is probably that I'm strong enough to break through the world's restrictions. Then I'll be able to take you all home!"
At those words, Kurapika looked a little forlorn.
He truly wanted to return to his own world right now and kill Chrollo before he had fully recovered.
Just then, Wolffy walked over with a hammer in hand and said, "Actually, there's no need to rush. Once the Dimensional Shuttle is complete, we should be able to set the time. When you get back, maybe only a few seconds will have passed in your world."
Wolffy was much more at ease now. What occupied his thoughts most was how to bring his wife and child into this world instead.
Before you continue