In Konoha, Shima followed Tamako to Naruto's home, which stood perched on the edge of a cliff.
"So this is Naruto's home," she said as she leapt down the stairs from the entrance and stepped into the living room.
Since the house was built halfway up the mountainside, it offered a panoramic view of the entire village of Konoha.
Tamako followed close behind, speaking calmly:
"I'm sorry—last time you visited, everything was too rushed for me to show you around Naruto-sama's new home. Actually, he only just moved in himself."
Shima leapt onto the table in the center of the living room, saying:
"Well, there will be plenty of chances in the future. Just you wait and see."
Just as her words faded into silence, white smoke filled the air, and Naruto and Jiraiya materialized in the room.
"Look, we're back home," she waved at the two of them. "Welcome home—it will always welcome you." With that, she transformed into a puff of smoke and vanished.
"This isn't even my house," Naruto said, looking around in confusion. "This definitely isn't my apartment."
It hadn't been very long since he'd left; certainly not long enough to forget where he lived. It had only been a few months ago.
"For starters, this place is way too big—it doesn't suit me at all. Secondly, I can even see the Hokage Rock from the living room window!"
He pointed toward the balcony beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, from which one could gaze out over the entire village.
"This is completely different from my old apartment… Still, I have to admit—the view here really is amazing."
"Naruto-sama," Tamako reminded him gently, snapping him back to attention. "Actually, this is your new home now."
Naruto whirled around, staring at Tamako in disbelief, watching her continue smiling as she spoke.
"You've entrusted everything to me—my salary, the money from selling sealing tags, and the rewards from your completed missions. We're now incredibly wealthy. More than rich enough to afford this house."
Not to mention Naruto hadn't even collected payment for his latest mission yet. An S-rank mission's reward is no small sum.
Plus, the Land of Water had given him a generous bonus as thanks for recovering the Legendary Swords of the Mist. At the Mizukage's orders, that money had already been deposited into Naruto's account.
Jiraiya threw an arm around the stunned Naruto and chuckled.
"That's right, I'm living here too… Well, without paying rent, of course. I've retired now and live off my pension, kid—I'm just an old warhorse!"
Tamako nodded in agreement.
"Yes, the house has plenty of rooms. There's absolutely no issue with Master Jiraiya staying here."
Naruto still hadn't recovered from his shock.
"So… while I was gone, you went ahead and bought me a house? You even moved all my stuff over?"
Tamako happily nodded.
"It's spacious and bright, with a fantastic view of Konoha—and also—"
"Eight bedrooms," Tamako beamed.
"—eight bedrooms?" Naruto gasped. "All of these… are mine? Are you serious?"
"Yes."
Tamako replied brightly, but soon noticed Naruto's odd behavior, and all trace of her smile vanished.
"What's wrong, young lord? Did I do something wrong? You don't like it here?" she asked tentatively, before she was suddenly pulled into his arms.
Naruto quickly released her and then burst out excitedly.
"This is amazing, Tamako! I'm so happy! I finally have a place of my own! And it's such a big place! Not an apartment, a real house!"
Jiraiya watched the exchange with an amused smile, while Tamako shyly lowered her head, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks.
"There's also something else I must tell you, Naruto-sama," Tamako's voice turned solemn, as though she were a different person entirely.
All trace of her smile vanished, and she dared not meet Naruto's eyes directly, as if she were about to deliver terrible news.
"I don't know how to start, so I'll just say it straight. Something has happened in the village while you were away. Danzo-sama... he's gone missing... Lady Hokage suspects he may have..."
Jiraiya quickly shifted his gaze from Tamako to Naruto, watching the boy's face carefully for any reaction.
Yet Naruto remained expressionless, showing no visible emotion.
"Kid, don't bottle it up. If there's something you need to say, just say it, all right? If you feel like crying, cry. If you need to vent, do it. Don't torture yourself..."
Naruto said nothing, simply staring emptily ahead. After a long silence, he finally asked slowly:
"How did he die?"
"At least he's willing to talk now," Jiraiya thought to himself. This was definitely better than when the boy shut himself away after realizing he couldn't defeat the Akatsuki back then.
Tamako told Naruto everything she knew without holding anything back.
"His guards were found near Sunagakure. One belonged to the Yamanaka clan, and the other to the Aburame clan. Both had already been killed. Kisame Hoshigaki's corpse was also discovered nearby. Based on the evidence at the scene, it seems there was a fierce battle there."
Naruto shook his head bitterly.
"So it seems the old man wasn't an easy target either."
Although they were all dead, at least they'd taken down a strong enemy together.
"You were always watching over me from the shadows, weren't you, Lord Danzō? At least you died in battle. I'd have been even more devastated if you had died from some accident."
He turned his head toward Tamako and asked:
"Oh right, what about Sai and Maki? How are they doing?"
"Sai and Maki want to see you," Tamako said seriously.
Naruto could imagine that Root might now be leaderless, since Danzō was dead and those Root members sent on missions outside should probably return to the village.
He could easily picture the chaos currently unfolding within Root.
"I understand. I'll contact them soon," he said, lightly patting her thigh. "I'm really okay."
"Okay," he said, rising from the sofa and heading toward his room.
It had been ages since he'd had a decent night's sleep. All he wanted now was a proper rest. His mind was completely drained.
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