In the Hokage's Office.
A ninja wearing an Anbu mask knelt on one knee before the Third Hokage and reported in a low voice.
"Reporting to you, Lord Hokage. Root has made contact with Naruto's clone and taken him to the Root Base!"
"Just a clone? What is Danzo up to?"
After muttering to himself, the Third took a puff from his pipe and ordered, "Keep watching. Try to find out why Danzo wants Naruto!"
The Third knew that, since Danzo had sought out a clone, he was probably only after information, not the Nine-Tails inside Naruto.
What the Third was curious about was exactly what information Danzo wanted from Naruto!
Meanwhile.
Naruto's original body was at home, receiving Kurapika's guidance on how to train his Nen and how to use its four major principles more quickly.
The four major principles of Nen could be considered the foundation of developing Nen.
The four principles were:
Ten-focusing the mind and contemplating oneself. It calmed the heart, a method of mental concentration that steadied one's emotions.
Zetsu-suppressing one's aura to avoid detection by enemies.
Ren-using Ten to focus the mind and unleash a powerful aura, refining one's will through Ren.
Hatsu-the will cultivated through Ren could change depending on its target. As the saying went, "Win through presence; without moving, make the enemy retreat."
After listening to Kurapika's explanation, Zeff rubbed his chin and said, "This Nen is a bit like Haki..."
"Haki is the power of one's will and convictions manifested through a strong body."
"The more resolute someone is, the easier it is for them to awaken Haki!"
After hearing Zeff's words, Naruto shrugged. "If you put it that way, chakra has something in common with Nen too!"
"After all, chakra is the product of combining spiritual and physical energy, and it wouldn't be wrong to call physical energy life energy!"
Hearing that, Kurapika also began to ponder.
The three systems shared similarities, yet also had completely different aspects. If Naruto trained in all three and reached the pinnacle of each, just how powerful would he become?
"The most important thing now is to see whether the three systems are mutually exclusive. For now, we can confirm that Nen and chakra don't conflict."
As he spoke, Kurapika looked at Zeff.
Zeff shook his head helplessly. "Haki isn't that easy to awaken. Leaving willpower aside, Naruto is already far short of the mark in terms of physical fitness alone!"
Then Zeff smiled again.
"So... Naruto, let me keep training you tomorrow! Leave contacting buyers and selling videos to Kurapika!"
Naruto: ...
Kurapika: ...
Just as the two were left speechless, Kurama suddenly spoke from within the Sealing Space.
"Naruto, someone has taken your clone away!"
Naruto froze at Kurama's words.
He currently had only two clones outside: one collecting scrap and the other attending school in his place.
While Naruto was puzzling over this, someone suddenly knocked on the door.
When Naruto went to answer it, he found a masked Anbu ninja standing outside.
"Naruto Uzumaki, I'm here to deliver something to you!"
Without waiting for Naruto's consent, he took out a scroll and moved to undo its seal.
Seeing this, Naruto immediately kicked at the ninja's chest. Who knew what was inside that sealed scroll!
The Root ninja sidestepped Naruto's attack.
Although he dodged the attack, he failed to notice that an invisible chain had already wrapped around his neck.
Kurapika had made his move.
That was one advantage of Nen. If someone used an ability along with Zetsu, ordinary people couldn't see it.
Of course, that only applied to ordinary people. Ninja weren't ordinary people, and many had keen perception. Even if they couldn't see the chain, they could sense its presence.
By the time the Root ninja realized a chain was wrapped around his neck, it was already too late.
"Wait... I'm... Lord Danzo's..."
At that point, the Root ninja suddenly remembered that Naruto Uzumaki probably didn't know Danzo, so he immediately changed his tune. "I'm one of the Third's men..."
Naruto was rather speechless at the Root ninja's words.
You already mentioned Danzo, so couldn't you finish saying it? This is torture for someone with OCD...
"Tell me, what's in this scroll?"
"This scroll contains a big pile of scrap metal. Your clone asked me to help deliver it..."
Hearing that, Naruto immediately knew which of his clones had been taken away!
Still... why did Danzo grab my clone?
As Naruto wondered, Kurama spoke in his mind again.
And there was something indescribably strange about Kurama's tone.
"Ahem... Danzo asked your clone to help him download the DLC for Dark Souls III..."
Naruto: ...
Kurapika: ...
Zeff: ...
Wolffy: ...
Everyone present knew that Danzo was a boss-level figure in Konoha, but... he had grabbed one of Naruto's clones just to play a game...
Once Naruto understood the whole story, he didn't give the Root ninja any more trouble. After the ninja released the scrap his clone had collected from the scroll, Naruto let him go.
With this influx of materials, Wolffy's work went even more smoothly.
Naruto's clone had already been carried on a Root ninja's back to the Root Base.
There, he saw Danzo.
The sight of Danzo left Naruto's clone stunned.
Danzo hardly looked like the Darkness of Konoha anymore... he looked more like the Deadbeat of Konoha.
He had lost quite a bit of his half-black, half-white hair, and the bags under his eyes were dark. Clearly, he hadn't slept properly for days, and he looked utterly haggard.
In front of him sat a computer, its screen still lit.
Seeing Naruto's clone arrive, Danzo shifted his gaze away from the [YOU DIED] on the computer screen and looked at him.
"Naruto Uzumaki, you're quite impressive..."
After looking at him for a long while, that was all Danzo could come up with.
It left Naruto's clone utterly speechless.
"Um... you're the Lord Danzo they mentioned?" As he spoke, Naruto's clone pointed at the computer. "You called me here because of this, right?"
"Seriously... if you wanted a computer, you could've just said so. You didn't have to steal one from my place!"
"You and that old man, the Third, are both the same. If you want one, just ask!"
Before Danzo could speak, Naruto's clone began chattering away.
He only stopped after Danzo gave several light coughs.
"Ahem... I brought you here to get that DLC set up for me! You understand, right?"
"DLC, huh... no problem!"
As he spoke, Naruto's clone made himself right at home, sitting down at the computer and starting to set up Danzo's DLC.
When he saw Danzo's playtime, Naruto's clone froze again.
His playtime in Dark Souls III was actually close to six hundred hours.
And it seemed he had only stolen the computer a little over a month ago.
What did six hundred hours mean? Roughly speaking, it meant Danzo had played twenty hours a day for a month, leaving only four hours for rest, eating, drinking, and bathroom breaks...
Of course... some of that time might have been spent idling...
But even so, Naruto wouldn't have been exaggerating if he called him a "warrior."
It was only because people in the Shinobi World generally had strong bodies. Otherwise... Danzo would definitely have died suddenly and transmigrated.
And where would he transmigrate to? His favorite game, Dark Souls III, of course.
If Danzo knew what Naruto's clone was thinking, he would definitely flip the table.
"Who likes Dark Souls III? Who the hell likes Dark Souls III? If I wasn't trying to surpass that bastard Hiruzen Sarutobi, would I have played for so long?"
But even if Danzo wanted to give up now, he couldn't, because... he was already hopelessly hooked!
Before you continue