Naruto walked towards his apartment, the sounds of the dispersing murmuring fading behind him. His thoughts lingered on the recent spar and, more importantly, on the wealth held by figures like Gato. He also contemplated the challenge of reclaiming his parents' house and any inheritance that was rightfully his, not the village's.
Miles away, within the stone walls of the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in his chair, his hands resting on the desk. Across from him stood Danzo Shimura, his right arm bandaged, one eye covered, and a distinctive cross-shaped scar marking his chin. News of Naruto's decisive victory over Sasuke had reached both leaders swiftly; Hiruzen heard it from his ANBU, Danzo from his Root operatives.
The news held more weight than the previous week's spar. While Naruto had knocked Sasuke down before, this time, he had defeated Sasuke, who had even utilized his Sharingan, with surprising ease. Sasuke had been left unconscious within moments. Unlike the fleeting thoughts among Naruto's classmates about luck, the village elders and higher-ups knew that Naruto possessed immense talent and strength.
Danzo, who had long sought to integrate Naruto into his Root division to control the village's Jinchuriki and pave his own path to becoming Hokage by eventually removing Hiruzen, saw Naruto's sudden surge in power as a critical point. He did not want Naruto to remain outside his grasp or, worse, become more closely aligned with Hiruzen, especially now that he had unexpectedly grown strong.
"Hiruzen," Danzo began, his voice low and raspy, "you have already seen that the Jinchuriki was weak until the last two weeks, then he suddenly gained this strength through isolated training. This clearly shows that the Academy is just a waste of his potential." Danzo leaned forward slightly. "I am telling you to hand him over to my Root."
Danzo continued, detailing his vision for Naruto. "In Root, I can make him a perfect weapon for the village. His growth was literally zero at the Academy, and even with his isolated training, he can only improve little, but I can make hi—"
Hiruzen, who had listened patiently to Danzo's lengthy argument about why Naruto would be better off in Root, calmly interrupted him. "Danzo, you don't need to worry about Naruto," he stated, his voice steady. "I have my plans for him, and I have already chosen a Jonin who will help him grow stronger and ensure he remains loyal to the village. Naruto... isn't going to Root."
Danzo smashed the end of his cane onto the floor. His voice grew harsher with frustration. "Which Jonin?" he demanded. "Kakashi? He can't make the Jinchuriki a weapon for the use of the village. Without me and my Root, Naruto only remains like an ignorant kid and nothing more."
Hiruzen looked at Danzo with sharp eyes, recognizing the ambition and impatience in his old friend's words and actions. After a silent moment, he spoke, his tone firm and carrying the weight of his title. "Danzo, don't forget, I am Hokage!"
Upon hearing this blunt assertion, Danzo slammed his hand onto the table with palpable anger.
In his same hoarse voice, Danzo said, "Mark my words, Hiruzen, you will regret it!" With that declaration, he turned and strode out of the office, rage and frustration etched onto his face from the direct rejection of his demand. He slammed the door shut forcefully behind him.
Hiruzen then stood up. He took a puff from his smoking pipe, exhaling a cloud of smoke. He looked towards the Hokage Monument carved into the cliff face outside his window. 'It's really strange,' he thought. 'How did Naruto grow this strong? He has only been doing chakra control training, and even ANBU reported that he didn't do anything beyond it.'
After contemplating for some time, he decided he needed to ask Naruto himself. The sudden increase in Naruto's strength did not sit well with him. He certainly wouldn't like it if Naruto were to become a threat to him. 'Oh,' he mentally corrected himself, 'he means to the village.'
Later that night, Naruto had a simple dinner in his apartment. He then changed into his sleep clothes and went to bed, his mind still turning over the problem of gaining access to his parents' house and wealth. He wondered what state it was in, if it was highly secured, or if it had simply been left untouched since Minato and Kushina had died.
With these thoughts lingering, he drifted to sleep.
...
The next morning, after waking up and taking care of his usual morning business, Naruto left his small apartment. Upon stepping outside, he paused. 'What do I do now?' he thought. He had completed the mission, and currently, the System had not given him any new ones. 'Let's just do some basic physical exercises for now.'
He decided to go for a run. His routine from the past two weeks, getting up early and starting training to complete his mission, had begun to become a habit. Now that he had completed the mission and mastered both Tree Walking and Water Walking, he couldn't immediately think of what else to do. So, he engaged in physical exercises, while contemplating other possibilities. After running around the village for a few laps and then completing more than 2,000 repetitions each of push-ups, sit-ups, and squats, Naruto took a break. He was shocked at how little tired he felt, even after training this much for the first time. There was no muscle soreness or significant fatigue.
"Maybe because of Kurama's Chakra," he speculated. He couldn't think of any other plausible explanation. Even without full control over Kurama's Chakra, he had always been able to train for a long time before getting tired, thanks to his Uzumaki bloodline and Kurama's presence. But now, he felt barely tired at all. He thought about what he could do until another mission from the System was triggered.
He suddenly remembered something. 'How can I forget those three basic Ninjutsu of the Academy that are needed to graduate as a Genin. Though they are no longer a concern for me, since learning them in one go isn't much difficult, I at least need to learn them for convenience sake.' He considered other jutsu. 'But what do I practice on next? Rasengan? But that jutsu also isn't much difficult for me now. Though Wind Style - Rasenshuriken may be a little challenging.'
He decided to focus on mastering the basic E-rank Ninjutsu of the Academy for now. And as he expected, he was easily able to perform them now, unlike the original Naruto. He effortlessly made three solid clones using the Clone Jutsu, the technique important for passing the Graduation Exam.
He also used the Transformation Jutsu, transforming into various people like Iruka, Sasuke, Teuchi, and a few others from the village, perfectly replicating their appearance. For the Substitution Jutsu, he was instantly able to exchange his position with an object, like a wooden log or even something as small as a stone. The sun had already risen higher by this point. He thought about going back to his apartment and contemplating whether he should go to the Academy or not. Since there wasn't much for him to do currently, he might get bored alone without specific training.
While he was walking towards his apartment, a mechanical chime sounded in his mind. A new mission had been triggered. He pushed aside his current thoughts and focused on the notification.
[DING!]
[Mission : Clear Forbidden Jutsus]
[Task : Completely Incinerates Scroll Of Seals that contains many forbidden Jutsus of village.]
[Reward : Instant Mastery - Over any one Jutsu of Host's choice.]
He read the details of the mission and said lightly, "Instant Mastery over any Jutsu of my choice! Not bad." He considered the target. "But the Scroll of Seals... wasn't this the same scroll from which, in the anime, Naruto learned the Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu.' He mused over the implication. 'Hm, whatever, I am taking this mission. I can see or maybe even learn a few forbidden jutsu from the scroll and then can burn it to gain Mastery over any one Jutsu I want.'
'But the thing is, shall I do it now or two weeks from now when, on the graduation exam day, Mizuki comes to me about having stolen the Scroll of Seals? But will Mizuki even come to me now that I am not the same loser Naruto from the Academy?' While thinking about this, he continued walking towards his apartment.
However, getting bored with the idea of staying in one place, he decided to take a tour around the village, using the Transformation Jutsu. As he walked around, disguised as a random normal person, he ate some street stall food. Since he was using a transformation into someone unknown, no one glared at him. They simply didn't know it was Naruto. Of course, the ANBU following him knew. Since Naruto hadn't bothered hiding the use of the Transformation Jutsu, they were aware he had used the technique.
While walking around the village, Naruto gained a better understanding of the directions and locations of many of the clan compounds. He knew the basic directions before, but today provided more clarity on their specific locations. In the afternoon, he decided to take a nap under a tree. He thought about how he could ask Hiruzen for his parents house and, more importantly, what about all their wealth. This was a more important task for himself than the system mission, at least for now.
'Shall I just go to him and tell him that I know that my parents are Minato and Kushina?' he considered. 'No, no, that might be a stupid choice.' He re-evaluated. 'Hm, but maybe this might not be that stupid if I use it properly in conversation.' Thinking about this, he fell asleep under the shade of the tree's leaves in the afternoon sun.
***