Chapter 17: Hiruzen Sarutobi's Solution
"Yo, Naruto, you're here?"
As soon as Naruto entered, Hiruzen Sarutobifeigned ignorance, unable to stop the smile on his face.
"Hokage Grandpa, I'm going to let you down!"
Naruto also switched into his "best actor" mode, getting straight to the point and complaining, acting as if he had suffered a great grievance and didn't want to live anymore.
"What's the matter?" Hiruzen Sarutobi held Narutoin his arms. "Tell Grandpa, is there a problem with your studies, or did you have a conflict with your friends?"
"It's neither... it's... it's me! Something's wrong with me!" Naruto feigned a pitiful expression. "When I was refining Chakra today, it kept getting inexplicably scattered..."
"Am I unable to become a Ninja, let alone the Hokage...!" Naruto began to wail, crying heart-wrenchingly. He definitely deserved a nomination for the Best Actor award of the year.
"Don't worry, Naruto. You have the potential to become an excellent Ninja; you've just encountered a little difficulty, that's all. It's not that bad." Hiruzen Sarutobi comforted Naruto, but he had no intention of telling him the truth.
It was mainly because Naruto's "age" was too young. Hiruzen Sarutobi was worried that telling him the truth would be counterproductive, so he could only take action from other angles, such as applying a Five Elements Seal to Naruto in advance.
Although the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style was the most stable method for sealing a Tailed Beast and was coveted by various Ninja Villages, it wasn't without its drawbacks. To unleash the true power of the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style, one not only needed the Physique of the Uzumaki Clan but also the appropriate means to suppress the Tailed Beast.
Clearly, Naruto only possessed one-fourth of these requirements; the uzumaki bloodline within him was not pure. Otherwise, Naruto's hair color would have been blood-red.
Moreover, having had the Nine-Tailed sealed within him since he was young, Naruto didn't possess the means to suppress the Nine-Tailedthen, and he still didn't possess them now.
All Hiruzen Sarutobi could do was similar to what Orochimaru did in the original story: add a Five Elements Seal on top of the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style.
However, their methods of applying the Seal were very different. Orochimaru's intent was to disrupt Naruto's control over his Chakra, while after Hiruzen Sarutobi changed the technique, it immediately had the opposite effect—assisting the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style to Seal the Nine-Tailed more effectively.
"Take a nap, Naruto." Hiruzen Sarutobi began to cast a Genjutsu on him. "You're too tired now. Believe that when you wake up, everything will be different."
"I... still... don't..." Naruto felt an inexplicable drowsiness and tried to struggle. "I... still..."
But ginger is still spicier when it's old. Hiruzen Sarutobi's other nickname was the "Professor" of Ninjutsu; a mere Genjutsu to induce sleep was something he could do with ease and simplicity.
Naruto couldn't hold on for long. This had nothing to do with his mental age; the gap in strength was simply too vast, so this result was completely expected.
"Nine-Tailed, wouldn't it be better to stay obediently inside Naruto? Why must you come out and stir up trouble? Do you think the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style isn't enough to lock you away?!"
After Naruto fell asleep, Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression turned stern again. His right hand formed a claw, and pale blue flames emerged from the tips of his five fingers, each bearing a different character from the Five Elements.
This was definitely the Five Elements Seal!
With his other hand, he lifted the hem of Naruto's shirt, exposing his round belly to the air. A circular sealing formula on his abdomen was exceptionally conspicuous.
Once everything was ready, Hiruzen Sarutobipositioned his right hand and pressed it onto Naruto's abdomen.
After a "sizzle" sound, like something frying, rang out, the sleeping Naruto subconsciously frowned, and the Five Elements Seal's formula was left on his abdomen.
After the Five Elements Seal formula appeared on Naruto's abdomen for a moment, it slowly seeped into his skin as if dissolving in water, intertwining with the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style until they quickly became indistinguishable from one another.
During Hiruzen Sarutobi's sealing process, the Nine-Tailed naturally wouldn't just sit idly by. However, although the Nine-Tailed erupted with Tailed Beast Chakra, Naruto's body was still young and couldn't withstand too much of the Nine-Tailed's Chakra.
Moreover, the suppression of the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style was no joke. The power the Nine-Tailed could unleash at this moment was not worth mentioning in Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes; he could suppress it with a backhand.
However, the evil nature of Tailed Beast Chakrawas deeply ingrained in people's hearts, especially since Konoha had just experienced the Nine-Tails Attack three years ago, and the impression of the Nine-Tailed's Chakra was still fresh in everyone's memory.
At the very moment the Nine-Tailed's Chakraerupted, almost half of the Ninjas in Konoha Village felt the oppression from it. And the source of the Nine-Tailed's Chakra was, surprisingly, the Hokage Building!
"Hurry! Hokage-sama is in danger!"
"Did the Nine-Tailed break the Seal? Hurry and rescue Hokage-sama!"
"Damn it! Is the scene from three years ago going to repeat itself?!"
"..."
Just as a large number of Ninjas were gathering towards the Hokage Building, the Hokage Guardand Anbu arrived in time to stop them and, following Hiruzen Sarutobi's instructions, explained the situation to the many Ninjas.
Although most of the Ninjas were fobbed off by the Hokage Guard and Anbu, some discerning people in Konoha Village were not so easily fooled, and this naturally included Danzo Shimura, who was hiding in the shadows.
"Hiruzen, you are playing with fire!" Danzo Shimurastormed into the Hokage Office, looking at Naruto, who was still fast asleep in Hiruzen Sarutobi's arms. His already trembling body shook even more vigorously.
"Hiruzen, you are too soft! A Jinchuriki is just a weapon. He only needs to summon the Tailed Beast on the battlefield. Why did you apply the Five Elements Seal to him?!"
"Are you going to let him Cultivate on his own, lose control, and finally repeat the scene from three years ago?!" Danzo Shimura spoke righteously. "I believe that when the Fourth Hokage sealed the Nine-Tailed into his own child, he already had this realization! Don't continue to make mistakes, Hiruzen. Hand this child over to me to handle..."
"Do you think I'm easy to fool, or that the late Fourth Hokage was easy to fool? Or do you think you're the only one who's right in all of Konoha?" Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke mercilessly. "Naruto will be under my care until he graduates from the NinjaAcademy. You don't need to concern yourself with anything regarding Naruto anymore!"
"And!" Hiruzen Sarutobi's tone was ironclad. "You will no longer interfere with anything regarding Naruto. On this point, there is no room for negotiation!"
"Hiruzen, you..."
"I am still the Hokage! Although I am old, I am not dead yet!"
"Hmph! I hope you understand what you are doing. Don't regret it when the time comes!" Danzo Shimura took a step back. "You have to know that people have memories, and I believe you understand what Naruto's past experiences have been!"
"Don't end up cultivating another Ninja who doesn't treat comrades as comrades and doesn't treat the Village as the Village!" After Danzo Shimura finished his sinister warning, he slammed the door and left.
And the two of them, in the midst of their argument, did not notice that Naruto had actually already woken up when Danzo Shimura entered the room...
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