Danzo flinched, his eyes locking coldly with Naruto's.
"What do you mean by that?"
Naruto took a long, slow, rough breath. He stepped closer, offering a faint smirk and extending his hand as if for a handshake.
"Let's work together..."
Danzo's brow furrowed, his expression filled with suspicion.
"Work together? Hahaha... What right does a mere child like you have to propose such a thing?" His tone was mocking.
Naruto didn't react. He just stood there, staring sharply.
"You may be skeptical now and see me as insignificant... But why don't we start with this?"
Danzo tilted his head, still in disbelief.
"Then give me a reason. Why should I accept? Why should I trust you?"
"I've become partners with the Kyuubi, and the reason I know so many things... is because of him," Naruto replied.
Danzo fell silent for a moment. His gaze sharpened, becoming more serious.
"In that case, tell me your proposal."
Naruto gave a slow nod.
"I'll make myself into a great ninja, and with the Kyuubi inside me, I can achieve that quickly. After that, you, along with your two associates and all your followers, will support me."
He paused. Danzo simply looked at him, waiting for the next part.
"With that..." Naruto spread both arms wide, "I'll have influence, power, and authority. And that power can be yours too... if you choose to side with me."
Silence. Stillness.
Danzo considered it quietly, while Naruto remained calm, showing no nervousness or hesitation.
Because he knew—there was no one more greedy and ambitious than Danzo.
At last, Danzo took a deep breath and spoke.
"If that's all, then it's not enough. You're naive if you think that will do."
Naruto quickly interrupted, "Yeah, I know it's not enough. That's why—I want you to gather all of Hiruzen's sins and dirt... And you..." Naruto pointed directly at Danzo. "Be a good man... at least for now."
Danzo's eyes darkened. He understood. Without a word, he turned around to leave.
"Wait," Naruto called out.
Danzo stopped in his tracks and glanced back.
"What now? Isn't that your only condition?"
Naruto raised an eyebrow.
"To show your sincerity, could you convince old man Hiruzen to stop watching me?"
Danzo snorted.
"That's all?"
"Yeah, that's all..."
Danzo walked away without another word.
"Oh, and also... 'Root'—keep them under better control. If not, there might be serious trouble later!" Naruto added.
Danzo paused briefly... then continued walking until he disappeared from sight.
Naruto let out a long sigh. He knew he could've attacked Danzo and risked everything, but—
At the very least, for now, he could kill two birds with one stone.
"Danzo... what a foolish old man."
Meanwhile, in the same place, yet somewhere different...
"What a foolish kid."
…
Time passed, and evening approached.
Naruto was about to head home when he saw Guy and his team approaching from a distance.
Guy squinted. "Ah! Isn't that Naruto?" he shouted with explosive enthusiasm.
"Naruto?" Lee looked straight ahead, his eyes sparkling.
And sure enough—
"Heiiiii, Narutoooo!" Lee yelled, running toward him with full energy.
Naruto gave a small smile. "Yo, Lee... how's it going?"
But seeing Lee charging in like he was about to hug him, Naruto instinctively dodged and quickly kicked Lee from behind, sending him flying into a tree.
A disgusted expression appeared on Naruto's face. It brought back bad memories.
"Damn it..."
Guy, Tenten, and Neji finally caught up.
"Naruto, how are you doing?" Guy greeted while patting his chest.
"I'm good. How about you guys? And why are you here?"
"Hahahaha, so here's the thing..." Guy struck a heroic pose with one hand on his waist and the other pointing at the sky. "We're on a mission to catch some bandits—"
But Naruto wasn't really listening. It was just small talk to his ears. His eyes glanced at Neji.
Neji simply gave a nod.
Naruto returned it with a short one of his own.
Then—
"Hey!"
Tenten suddenly wrapped her arms around Naruto's neck from behind.
"Tenten!" Naruto quickly turned his head and saw the girl sticking out her tongue.
"Bleh..."
"Ugh, what are you doing?" Naruto asked in confusion.
"What? I was hiding from evil Naruto and caught him from behind!" Tenten answered cheerfully, both hands raised high.
"Oh, really? In that case, get ready..." Naruto started chasing Tenten with his hand raised.
At first, Tenten didn't get it, but soon she took off running.
"Hahaha! Naruto, stop!" she laughed as she ran away.
"Nope! Come here, I'm gonna eat you! Rawr!" Naruto made a fierce face, pretending to be a monster.
Tenten couldn't hold it anymore. Her laughter burst out as Naruto finally caught her.
"Ha! Got you at last!" Naruto grabbed her hands and pinned her to the ground.
"Hey! Let me go!" she shouted between laughs.
"Alright then..." Naruto said calmly.
"Huh?" Tenten was confused, but then—
"Hahaha! Naruto, please stop! Hey! Stoooop—"
Naruto started tickling her without mercy. His face wore a mischievous smile.
"N-Naruto, please..."
Meanwhile, Guy, still telling his story, finally looked around.
"And so we came here to train!" he declared enthusiastically. But when he looked ahead, he realized...
None of them were listening.
He glanced behind him. Still no one.
"Huh? Where did everyone go...?"
And so, the evening went on.
Naruto spent time with them. He didn't join the training, just sat and watched their sparring.
Honestly, he didn't know why Guy chose this place to train when they had official grounds. But Naruto didn't ask. It was just a fleeting thought.
"Tenten, see you next time..." Naruto said with a wave.
"Hmm..." Tenten nodded. "Yeah, see you next time... Naruto baka~"
She shouted while running off, avoiding Naruto's mock scolding.
Naruto simply smiled at her.
"What a troublesome girl..."
He continued walking, deciding to head to Ichiraku Ramen. It had been a while since he'd been there.
But just as he was about to go in—
"Naruto-kun..."
A soft voice called from behind.
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I can't sleep!!!!!!!
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And leave a comment so I can read it..