Naruto: Troublesome Ninja Haruta

Chapter 9: That's My Man!

"Hiruzen, what are you doing here?"

Danzo had to admit—he was genuinely startled.

If someone had managed to sneak into Root undetected, the consequences would be unthinkable!

But upon realizing it was his old friend, he quickly regained his composure.

Truth be told, he had never liked Hiruzen all that much.

Sure, they had been comrades for decades. Sure, Hiruzen had pardoned him for his assassination attempt.

But even now, Danzo still wasn't Hokage—wasn't that entirely Hiruzen's fault?

Of course, he would never say that out loud.

Instead, he was simply curious—what was his old friend doing here?

"And besides," Danzo added coldly, "while my words may have been a little harsh, haven't your actions shown your own weakness time and time again?"

"Is that what this is about?"

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow.

He also noticed that Danzo wasn't even calling him 'Hokage'.

But he didn't dwell on it.

He was used to it after all these years.

"You sent that boy into Anbu. I didn't interfere—for the sake of unity, I chose to overlook it.

After all, Root has always served as a training ground for Anbu…"

Are you pretending not to know? Or do you really not want to think too deeply about it?

Danzo almost blurted out those words, but rationality held him back.

It wasn't worth the argument.

"But…"

Hiruzen paused slightly before continuing,

"We had an agreement. You were not to interfere with Naruto.

So why are you going back on your word and having that boy interact with him?

Don't you think you've gone too far?"

"What?!"

Danzo's mind buzzed for a moment.

For a split second, he didn't understand what Hiruzen was talking about.

But then, it clicked—

Shigaru Haruta. That brat must have made contact with Naruto!

But… I never gave him such an order.

In fact, he shouldn't even know the truth about Naruto's identity!

"I…"

Danzo opened his mouth, wanting to explain.

But then, he quickly realized—there was no need to explain.

Because deep down, he did want the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki in Root.

As far as he was concerned, something as dangerous as a Jinchuriki should be kept under Root's control!

The Night of the Nine-Tails had cost Konoha its Fourth Hokage and countless elite shinobi.

The village had been thrown into chaos, its stability shaken.

If the Fourth Hokage hadn't sealed the beast away, Konoha would have been in an even worse state.

Yet his old friend had refused to hand over Naruto to Root.

After much… "discussion," they had ultimately borrowed the approach used by other Hidden Villages.

And as a direct result, Naruto had suffered a miserable childhood.

The idea was simple:

If a Jinchuriki grows up accustomed to suffering, they will remain emotionally stable, reducing the risk of the Tailed Beast taking control.

But suffering alone wasn't enough.

If the Jinchuriki lost their mind, that would be a disaster as well.

So, at critical moments, Hiruzen would step in—offering warmth, guidance, and reassurance—all in an attempt to balance the equation.

To nurture loyalty while managing the risk.

Danzo had always disagreed.

But he had never been given an opportunity to act.

And now, completely by accident, Haruta had created one for him.

It didn't matter why Haruta had spoken to Naruto—this was a golden opportunity.

"The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki needs proper control.

You've been monitoring him through Anbu, but I don't believe Anbu is as… qualified as Root."

Danzo made up his mind—he would take the blame if necessary.

"Of course."

Hiruzen frowned, but he wasn't surprised.

"So he still hasn't given up on this…"

But he was furious at Danzo's choice of words.

"Qualified?"

"You mean Root? The same Root that's best at assassination and kidnapping?"

Still, he tried to reason with him.

"You know who Naruto is. He has already suffered enough—don't you think you're being cruel?"

"Hmph. You're still too soft, Hiruzen."

Danzo cut him off immediately.

"Of course I know who he is.

But don't forget—this was Minato's decision!"

"Minato gave too much for this village. And I've always believed this arrangement is… unfair to the child."

Hiruzen sighed.

But Danzo had no patience for this kind of talk.

"You're too soft."

His voice was harsh and cold.

"Have you forgotten the horrors of war?

Have you forgotten how important a properly trained Jinchuriki is to the village?

Compared to the orphans killed by war, compared to the children who never had a home, Naruto is lucky to be living in Konoha at all!"

"Enough!"

Hiruzen snapped.

As much as he hated to admit it—Danzo's logic wasn't wrong.

The ninja world was cruel.

During the Third Shinobi War, countless young shinobi had been sent to die on the battlefield.

Compared to them, Naruto's current life wasn't nearly as bad…

But Hiruzen refused to bend.

"This matter is not up for discussion.

Naruto has already suffered enough.

He will never be placed under Root's control!"

His gaze turned icy.

"Let it go, Danzo."

"Hmph."

Danzo let out a low grunt.

Truthfully, taking responsibility for this had been risky.

After all, he had once tried to assassinate Hiruzen and had been caught red-handed.

Provoking him too much could be dangerous.

But for the sake of his dreams, he endured.

His ambitions were simple.

One: To become Hokage.

He had been one step too slow back then, and his dream had remained unfulfilled ever since.

And two: To unify the ninja world.

In his vision, the world needed only one voice.

And that voice should be Konoha's voice.

More specifically… his voice.

Besides, he knew his old friend well.

Hiruzen could be stubborn, but he would sometimes make concessions for the sake of unity.

And sure enough…

"But…"

Hiruzen finally spoke again.

"Perhaps you're right about one thing. Root does have certain… advantages.

I'll have to think carefully about it."

"Hmph. I see."

Danzo scowled, but inside, he was satisfied.

Hiruzen was hesitating.

Which meant he could continue laying the groundwork.

Now, he just needed to figure out what had happened between Haruta and Naruto.

If there were no problems, then this could be the perfect opening.

"That brat is still marked with my curse seal."

"No matter what, he'll never escape from Root."

As Danzo was lost in thought, Hiruzen calmly nodded.

"As long as you understand."

He knew exactly what Danzo was thinking.

But now that Haruta had joined Anbu, Danzo could no longer act as he pleased.

Root was a training ground for Anbu, and Hiruzen still had the power to correct extreme thinking.

At this moment, both men had the exact same thought:

"That kid… he belongs to me."

…