Naruto: I Am Uzumaki Naruto!?

Evening had fallen.

Naruto made his way down the secluded path, just like the night before, arriving at the artificial mountain pass.

"Huh?"

He frowned at the sight before him. The rockery was now sealed shut.

"Why the hell is it blocked?"

Annoyance flickered across his face. Fire Style techniques were too flashy at night—any stray flames could easily give him away. It wouldn't be an issue for just anyone… but if someone caught him in the act, there was no way he'd be able to explain.

But this was a cave. And caves usually had more than one entrance.

Naruto scanned his surroundings and soon spotted a small hole, barely the size of his palm. He picked up a stone and tossed it inside, waiting for an echo. It never came.

"Jackpot."

With a smirk, he formed hand seals.

"Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"

"Scorch Style: Dust Storm!"

"Fire Style: Great Explosion!"

One after another, searing flames and scorching dust erupted, roaring into the underground passages below.

Meanwhile…

In a dimly lit underground chamber, Danzo sat with his body wrapped in bandages, his face a dark shade of fury. The burns from the previous night still throbbed painfully, but his anger burned even hotter.

He slammed his hand on the table, his voice dripping with venom.

"The damned Uchiha! Do they think they can defy me and get away with it?"

The root ninja standing beside him hesitated before speaking. "Danzo-sama, if the Uchiha clan is targeting us, should we prepare countermeasures?"

Danzo scoffed, his one visible eye glinting coldly.

"There's no need. This is just their way of posturing. The cowards wouldn't dare—"

BOOM!

A deafening explosion shook the room, followed by a tidal wave of searing heat.

Flames burst through the underground tunnels once again.

"AAAAHHHHH!!!"

Danzo's furious screams echoed through the inferno.

"Find that bastard and kill him!!!"

Naruto, crouched low in the grass above, listened intently. He could hear them—multiple sets of footsteps rushing underground.

"A whole squad, huh?"

He smirked and quickly formed more hand seals, inhaling deeply.

"Scorch Style: Dust Storm!"

A massive wave of superheated dust erupted, sweeping through the underground corridors like a sandstorm from hell.

Panic ensued below.

"Don't let it touch you! The heat is too intense!"

"Water Style, quickly—!"

"Wait, no! If we use Water Style—!"

FWOOSH!

The moment water met the burning dust, an immense burst of steam exploded, scalding the ninja caught in the mix.

"AAAAHHH! The steam—!"

"It's boiling us alive!!!"

Naruto's grin widened as he listened to their agony.

"So it really is Root, huh? Figures."

His expression darkened.

The thought of these people—the same ones who had vanished during the Nine Tails' attack—boiling in their own failure felt… fitting.

And when he considered the possibility that Root had deliberately leaked his mother's location, dooming both her and his father…

"Tch. Scum."

Without hesitation, Naruto unleashed another barrage of Scorch and Fire Style techniques, blanketing the underground network in unrelenting flames. Then, as the night cloaked his movements, he vanished into the darkness.

---

Inside the Hokage's office, the door burst open with a bang.

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked up, startled.

"Danzo…?"

Danzo stormed in, his entire body wrapped in bandages, his hair singed black. He looked like he had crawled straight out of a furnace.

The Hokage blinked.

"Why do you look like you fell into a stove?"

Danzo's hands trembled with barely restrained fury as he slammed them onto the desk.

"It's those damned Uchiha!" he spat. "Every night for the past few days, someone has been attacking the Root base—flooding the tunnels with Fire Style! And not just any Fire Style—high-level techniques! Even with Water Style, we can't stop them! Dozens of my men have been seriously burned!"

Sarutobi frowned, setting down his pipe. "Are you certain it was the Uchiha?"

"Who the hell else could it be?!" Danzo snapped. "Fire Style: Dust Storm! Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame! These are Uchiha techniques! No one else in Konoha has Fire Style at this level!"

Sarutobi's expression darkened.

Danzo had a point.

Outside of the Uchiha clan, no one in Konoha specialized in Fire Style to this extent.

Danzo leaned in, his voice low and venomous.

"Sarutobi, we need to accelerate our plans."

Sarutobi met his gaze, his fingers tightening around his pipe.

"The Uchiha clan must be eliminated before they make their move."

Sarutobi's frown deepened. "...But how would they know about our plans?"

The extermination of the Uchiha clan was classified at the highest level. Only a select few knew of it. Each one of them was considered absolutely loyal.

Could it be…?

A traitor?

A spy?

Someone was feeding the Uchiha information.

And if that was true…

They were running out of time.