After multiple close encounters, Naruto had already gained plenty of experience in sensing Danzo's approach. He made sure to persuade Little Uchiha Fanboy to leave ahead of time, just in case the shameless Danzo got desperate and took the little guy hostage. Only after seeing Itachi—who had been hiding among the crowd as previously arranged—take Sasuke away did Naruto finally breathe a sigh of relief.
But in just the few minutes Naruto was distracted looking after the kid, Danzo had already closed the distance to less than a hundred meters… If Naruto didn't have the habit of always planning ahead to give himself extra time, he wouldn't have had enough time to send Sasuke off—let alone restore his innocent childlike appearance he had worked so hard to maintain over the past days.
Ha, because I'm just a child, you thought you didn't need to be cautious before showing up? That's not like you at all, old man… With Kurama constantly giving him updates on Danzo's direction and shrinking distance, Naruto buried the growing unease in his heart—unease born from this ever-more unpredictable divergence from the original storyline. He placed his hands on his hips, took a deep breath, and forced himself to return to his usual calm, confident self. Looks like Danzo's running out of patience.
"Ah! Grandpa Danzo!"
Internally mourning yet another ruined jacket, Naruto quickly adjusted his expression, turned around with his hands on his head, and put on a lazy, carefree act as he strolled forward aimlessly. When his gaze finally landed on Danzo's fake smile, he grinned in delight, as if just now noticing him, and shouted his name cheerfully with open arms. Then he dashed forward like an excited puppy and flung himself right into Danzo's arms, rubbing against him affectionately.
"Hehe, good morning~!"
"Hm? Ah, good morning, little one…"
Whether he was distracted thinking about something else or for some other reason, Danzo didn't react in time. When Naruto called his name out loud and ran over with zero hesitation, Danzo failed to keep up his usual facade of a kind old grandpa—he didn't catch Naruto in time, nor did he hold him steadily. Even his reply was weak and half-hearted, as if said on instinct. Only after two or three seconds of having Naruto nuzzle into his arms did he snap out of it and hurriedly put on a fake smile.
"Ohoho, slow down, slow down, don't fall… You're up early today, Naruto. Did you sleep well last night?"
"Yup! Thank you for your concern, Grandpa Danzo! I slept sooo well~ Heehee!"
Danzo's increasingly sloppy acting only confirmed Naruto's suspicions. With a sweet, innocent grin, he looked up at the elder while replying. All the while, his eyes were blatantly scanning Danzo's face without restraint. After a short pause, Naruto tilted his head and asked in a childlike, concerned tone:
"But Grandpa Danzo, you don't look too good today… Did you have a nightmare last night?"
"Huh? Did I?"
Hearing Naruto's words, Danzo unconsciously reached up and touched his cheek.
Compared to Naruto—who, under the Third Hokage's protection, was free to train and play with peace of mind, looking vibrant and enjoying life—Danzo looked paler and more worn-out than ever. Gone was the triumphant confidence he had shown just days ago. The drastic change was proof that, in recent days, Danzo had been living in fear and misery, each day more torturous than the last. In fact, since becoming one of the Elder Council's three advisors, this was the worst defeat Danzo had ever suffered—leaving him completely on edge.
At the root of it all, Danzo had severely underestimated the Third Hokage's resolve to eliminate this festering cancer from the shinobi world.
They say you should reevaluate someone after just three days. Yet Danzo, having grown used to the Third Hokage's past compromises for peace, continued to treat him as a soft, accommodating old man. Over time, his arrogance led to more and more mistakes—unintentionally revealing his true nature and ambition. The Hokage saw through it all, and his trust in Naruto's prophecies only deepened.
No longer the passive, gentle leader of before, the Third Hokage made the first move. Without hesitation, he began dismantling Danzo's power and status in the Elder Council piece by piece. Even Danzo's desperate assassination plot failed—thanks to the Hokage's preemptive reinforcement of Anbu forces around the Hokage Tower and the inside intel from Kakashi Hatake, who had long since infiltrated Root.
The failed assassination had left Danzo shaken to his core. It wasn't just that his political battle with the Hokage had suddenly gone downhill—he had also lost one of his most valuable subordinates: the only survivor of Orochimaru's experiments using the First Hokage's cells, someone who could freely use Wood Release. And worse yet, Root members captured before they could be silenced had revealed unknown secrets under interrogation… The longer it went on, the more anxious and cornered Danzo became.
Still, it was precisely this humiliating failure that finally cooled Danzo's inflated ego. He began reanalyzing every overlooked detail in his past confrontations with the Hokage and, upon thorough review, came to a chilling realization:
From the very beginning, he had fallen into the Third Hokage's trap. Every step he had taken in this power struggle had been a mistake. Without even realizing it, he had been completely led by the nose.
The moment that truth hit him, Danzo broke out in a cold sweat. With no advantages left and losses piling up, he had no choice but to retreat. He recalled most Root elites from external missions to consolidate power at the main base. He also abandoned his previous plans to subtly test Naruto's attitude, and—despite it still being days before the New Year—he rushed to meet Naruto directly, betting it all on this "trump card" of his.
"Oh right, my memory's getting bad… Speaking of which, Naruto, it's almost New Year, but you still don't know where Grandpa's house is, do you?"
Danzo adjusted his facial muscles to look as kindly and doting as possible. After a short pause, he slapped his forehead and let out a sheepish smile, as if suddenly remembering something. Then he casually suggested to the sweet, obedient boy clinging to him:
"How about this—why don't I take you to visit Grandpa's house right now? Sound good?"
Previously, Danzo had avoided bringing Naruto to the Root headquarters for two reasons. One, he saw Naruto as a key piece in his plans and wanted to gradually instill hatred for the Third Hokage to make brainwashing easier. Two, the Hokage's close watch made it hard to move.
But now that the Third Hokage was striking hard and fast—crushing decoy Root outposts meant to buy time—Danzo had to pull back many of the forces once secretly guarding Naruto. The time for subtlety was over.
With the final battle underway and all masks dropped, Danzo saw no reason to hide anything. As long as he could bring Naruto back to Root's main base, he had countless ways to forcibly awaken and draw out the power of the Nine-Tails. Even if it led to Naruto losing control and becoming unusable, that harmless little lamb could still be transformed into a terrifying weapon of mass destruction!
Knowing how much the Third Hokage cared about Naruto, Danzo was certain the old man wouldn't kill him—even if Naruto went berserk. Instead, he'd take the harder route: risking everything to subdue and save the boy. That slow, painful process would buy Danzo the perfect opportunity to strike back.
As for casualties in the meantime? To Danzo, they were nothing more than proud stepping stones on his path to power.
"Mhm~ okay~~"
Nestled in his arms, Naruto's soft and obedient reply left Danzo very pleased. With what he thought was full assurance that his plan was going smoothly, he began imagining how he'd regain power—or even seize the Hokage's seat entirely—once Naruto went berserk.
But he failed to realize one fatal oversight…
No one else in the world—not even Danzo—knew that Naruto had already earned Kurama's full trust. He had long since gained the ability to use Kurama's chakra freely and enter Tailed Beast form—while staying completely in control.
In other words, Naruto had already shed his wool and become a wolf in waiting.
And Danzo's supposedly brilliant plan to turn the tables?
It was nothing more than his own foolish decision to invite the wolf into his home… and accelerate his own downfall without even realizing it.