The night before the finals, the underground base of "Root."
The air here was colder than a tomb, and moisture seeped from the walls. Only a few Chakra lamps emitted a dim light, stretching people's shadows long and thin.
Danzo Shimura sat in the main seat, his face even gloomier than the stones in the base. On the table in front of him was a metal tray holding a small pinch of charred, vitrified soil.
This was brought back by his confidant from that nameless small bridge, the only trace left by that silent attack.
"What are the analysis results?" Danzo's voice was hoarse, like two rusty iron plates rubbing together.
A Root Ninja wearing a mask and a white lab coat knelt on one knee, presenting a scroll with both hands. "Lord, the energy residue analysis is complete."
He swallowed before mustering the courage to say what came next: "The… analysis result is that it's a method of attack we've never encountered in our database. High heat, high speed, high penetrability, but… no Chakra reaction. The attack originated three kilometers away; we… cannot track it."
Cannot track it.
This conclusion, like an ice pick, plunged fiercely into Danzo's heart.
His entire life, he had schemed in the shadows, viewing intelligence and secrets as his most powerful weapons. But now, a force he completely could not comprehend or perceive had nearly shattered his head.
This fear of the unknown made him tremble as if a death countdown had begun.
Orochimaru… He immediately thought of that rogue. Only that madman, obsessed with forbidden jutsu research, could have concocted such a monstrosity.
That bastard, he wanted to flip the table!
Danzo clutched his cane tightly, veins bulging on the back of his hand. In his single eye, caution and killing intent intertwined wildly.
No, he couldn't confront him now. Orochimaru was still useful for now—he could deal with the old monkey.
There was no rush for this moment.
"Deliver my orders." Danzo's voice returned to its usual chill. "All Root members are to enter silent status immediately. All external operations are to be retracted, and all unnecessary communications are to be severed. Before… the Chunin Exams end, no one is to act without authorization."
"Yes!"
He would lie dormant, like a patient spider, waiting for the impending catastrophe to turn Konoha's vast web upside down. When the Third Hokage, that old man, was overwhelmed, when Konoha's defenses were torn open, and when everyone was plunged into chaos and despair, he would then lead his unharmed elite to fish for a big prize in the troubled waters… At the same moment, Naruto's apartment.
The room was unlit, and moonlight streamed through the window, casting a cool glow on the floor.
Naruto stood by the window, gazing at the bright moon. A small piece of white paper-like substance silently "seeped" out of the shadows at his feet, coalescing into form.
It was "Zero's" intelligence.
[The target has given orders. His armed forces have fully entered a silent, lurking state, and he himself has gone into hiding. Only two confidants know his exact location. My rank is no longer high enough to access Danzo.]
The intelligence was concise and clear.
That old rat had been scared back into its hole.
Naruto was not surprised. For a schemer like Danzo, with such strong control issues, a fatal threat beyond his control was enough to make him abandon all proactive actions and adopt the most conservative defensive posture.
Chasing him now would only make him hide deeper.
To deal with such a rat, one either uses absolute power to overturn his nest along with the entire foundation.
Or… one lights a great fire outside his hole that he cannot extinguish, forcing him to run out himself.
Or, he might come out to forage when he smells butter.
Orochimaru's invasion was that great fire, and also that butter.
A foreseeable chaos, this was Danzo's opportunity, and equally, it was his opportunity.
The Third Hokage, that old man still immersed in the beautiful illusion of the "will of fire," would, in this impact, see how "loyal" his comrades truly were, and only then would he realize that he and Danzo were not two sides of the same coin, and only then would he resolve to remove Danzo.
By then, the "cards" he held concerning "Root" and Danzo would fetch their maximum value.
Naruto slowly turned and sat cross-legged in the darkness.
The external chessboard was already set. Next, he needed to strengthen himself, the most crucial piece… His consciousness sank into endless darkness, and when he opened his eyes again, it was the familiar, golden-glowing giant cage—the new home he had constructed for the Nine-Tailed.
Chains inscribed with words like "Obedience" and "Loyalty" tightly bound the Nine-Tailed, constantly restraining him while also warning him to always remain loyal.
Behind the massive iron bars, those crimson beast eyes slowly opened, carrying deeper malice and cunning than before.
"Brat… you're here again. Has the outside world made you afraid? Come, beg me, implore me for greater power, and I will…"
The Nine-Tailed's voice was full of temptation; it was no longer a simple roar, but had learned to corrupt human hearts from every possible angle.
Naruto merely looked at it calmly, his ice-blue pupils without a ripple.
"Your value is limited to being a strategic energy source."
His voice echoed in the empty space, devoid of any emotion.
"Do not attempt to understand the commander's strategic intent. Your attitude disappoints me."
Before he finished speaking, Naruto's will transformed into invisible chains, passing through the bars and fiercely binding the Nine-Tailed's massive body.
"Roar—!"
The Nine-Tailed let out a painful and furious roar. It hadn't expected this brat to dare to so actively plunder its power.
Crimson, boiling Chakra was forcibly drawn from the Nine-Tailed's body by a stronger will, and through a mental link, poured into his body in the outside world.
In the apartment, Naruto, sitting cross-legged, began to exhibit visible red Chakra on his body's surface.
This energy did not rage out of control as it had in the past, but under his powerful mental control, it condensed and shaped around his body in an extremely stable manner.
One, two, three… three Chakra tails, solid as reality, slowly swayed behind him. A layer of crimson Tailed Beast cloak covered his entire body, and boiling Chakra flowed on his skin, yet it was firmly bound, without a single trace of leakage.
This was not an uncontrollable trump card.
This was a high-intensity combat amplification mode that could be activated at any time and maintained stably… On the day of the Chunin Exams finals.
The venue was bustling with people, the atmosphere reaching its peak.
In the contestant waiting room, however, the atmosphere was somewhat tense.
Temari and Kankuro stood behind Gaara, their expressions complex.
"Gaara…" Temari hesitated for a long time before finally asking, "Facing Uzumaki Naruto again, do you… still have confidence?"
She couldn't forget the scene during the preliminaries when that blond boy shattered the sand waterfall with a single punch; that overwhelming power still left her with lingering fear.
Kankuro also nervously swallowed, not daring to speak.
Gaara did not turn around. He reached out and gently stroked the vivid red "Love" character on his forehead, feeling the rough texture of the sand squirming beneath his fingertips.
"Fear? No…"
He laughed in a low, hoarse voice.
"I'm excited." He repeatedly recalled the image of Naruto suppressing him to stimulate himself.
"My mother and I can't wait to crush him and taste his unique blood."
..."Ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for waiting!"
"Now, the final elimination round of the Chunin Selection Exams is about to begin!"
"First match! Konoha's super rookie, Uzumaki Naruto! Versus—also from Konoha, the genius of the Hyuga Clan, Hyuga Neji!"
As the referee Shiranui Genma announced listlessly, the entire venue erupted in thunderous cheers.
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