Let's rewind a bit. While Danzo Shimura smugly believed victory was in his grasp as he approached Naruto and attempted to bring him back to the Root headquarters, the Third Hokage was calmly and methodically organizing personnel within the Hokage Office. With Kakashi Hatake returning from an Anbu mission and volunteering for the operation, the Third—mindful of the long-standing grudge between Kakashi and Danzo—granted him command authority. Kakashi was instructed to handpick members from among Anbu elites to bolster combat strength and act as the leader of a secret assassination squad if necessary...
One order after another left the Hokage Office as the village entered a state of urgent preparation for the final showdown.
Yet even as the entire Hokage building buzzed with the tense pressure of an imminent storm, within the Hokage's office itself sat over a dozen identical, cross-legged, meditating children—each with an expression of perfect calm, unaffected by the chaos. Whether viewed from afar or up close, their appearances and builds were identical—as if carved from the same mold.
'...Whew, finally took the bait. Looks like my days of suffering and sucking up are about to end...'
Just as the Third Hokage started to suspect that the little guys had fallen asleep from the long silence, one of them suddenly opened his eyes and let out a soft breath. Stretching as he stood, he smirked and tilted his head toward the Hokage, who had just looked over upon hearing the voice.
"The main body has already made contact with Danzo. Right now, he's being escorted out of the central district and toward the outskirts... Judging by Danzo's behavior, he's probably taking him straight to the Root base."
The sudden, seemingly prophetic report clashed sharply with the heavy atmosphere in the room, especially coming from a boy whose face was as relaxed and cheerful as ever. But the Third Hokage wasn't the least bit surprised. Or rather, aside from that one time he was utterly shocked by the boy's wild imagination and absurdly massive chakra, he'd grown used to it.
"I see... Looks like that old companion of mine finally lost his patience," the Hokage murmured, watching the unusually composed child whose maturity belied his age. His gaze was filled with pride, but also with guilt and sorrow. "You've worked hard, Naruto... This method of yours really does speed up intel transmission—and with zero risk of a leak."
"Hehe, well, of course!" Naruto said, puffing out his chest with pride, hands on his hips and a wide grin stretching across his face. His playful pose, combined with his sun-blond hair and trademark whisker marks identical to his clone brothers, made it even clearer—these were Shadow Clones of Naruto.
Indeed, these identical children sitting in a circle were the Shadow Clones Naruto had quietly stationed here the moment he began approaching Danzo, and which had remained active the entire time. Beyond this group, several times more clones were hidden deep in the quiet forest of Training Ground Three, a place Naruto often visited.
Of course, creating clones and maintaining them were two entirely different matters. To keep so many Shadow Clones active 24/7, even Naruto—born with an enormous chakra reserve thanks to his Uzumaki lineage—was pushed to his limits. In the early stages, he had to borrow chakra from Kurama just to keep up, and as a result, his main body was often more depleted than the clones themselves. This imbalance left Naruto's real body deceptively weak, appearing no stronger than a carefree, playful child.
So why would Naruto go so far as to weaken himself just to maintain these clones during such a critical infiltration?
That brings us to a serious question Naruto had pondered ever since arriving in the Naruto world over three years ago—something he still hadn't figured out:
Was the world of Naruto technologically advanced... or utterly primitive?
Everyone knew that this world featured electric lights, refrigerators, cameras, even vivid, high-definition movies... In Naruto's eyes, this was at least a near-modern society!
Yet despite all that, one thing baffled him to no end.
The dominant, decades-old method of communication that remained entirely unchallenged—was still hand-written letters.
No phones. Not even wired landlines. In a place as massive as the Hidden Leaf Village, or even across the entire shinobi world, not a single telephone existed! When Naruto had once brought up the idea of a phone to the Third Hokage, the old man looked utterly baffled, as if Naruto were spouting some profound mystery. Even short-range wireless radios—seen in the original series—were still nothing more than niche prototypes mocked by mainstream researchers as unrealistic fantasies.
So while many technologies were on par with Naruto's previous world, in certain ways, this world was astonishingly outdated.
And in a world where people still relied on shouting to communicate across distances and cold weapons were standard, trying to pass messages through letters or verbal meetings—especially under the nose of a paranoid fox like Danzo—was simply asking for disaster.
Thus, Naruto had to invent a new method: one that was fast, secure, and couldn't be intercepted.
And that's how he came up with a new use for the Shadow Clone Technique—as living walkie-talkies. Or, as he cheekily called it... Human Talk.
Maybe it was fate, or maybe just because the original Naruto was famous for mastering this technique, but his compatibility with Shadow Clones was insanely high. After using it repeatedly, his experience with it surpassed even his use of Rasengan or the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Because he had mastered both the pros and cons of Shadow Clones, Naruto had discovered a new advantage beyond just accelerating his training: any memories experienced by a clone would, upon dispelling, be instantly transferred to the original—and all other active clones.
Even more intriguingly, the reverse was also true. Once a clone disappeared, the clone could inherit not only its own memories but those of the original body during that time.
In other words, with careful timing, Naruto's clones became near-real-time messengers that could simulate live communication.
This was how Naruto was able to send distress signals instantly. And since Kakashi's undercover identity was now blown and no one else could track the Root base, Naruto—who had now become a valuable bait—was the only one who could lead Danzo into a trap and expose the Root headquarters.
That was why the Third Hokage finally caved to Naruto's relentless pleading and agreed to this risky plan of using himself as bait.
"Now then, go tell the original body, little one." Seeing Naruto flawlessly execute the plan and gain Danzo's trust without raising suspicion, the Hokage smiled in relief, feeling both proud and heartbroken at how capable this child had become. "Just like we agreed... Once you've identified the general location of the Root base, withdraw. We'll take over from there—"
"No, Grandpa Third..." Naruto cut in awkwardly, scratching his nose. "If I only find the general area, that won't be enough for a full-scale blitz to destroy Root... S-So... I plan to continue. Once I confirm the base's exact coordinates, I'll report back."
"Ridiculous!"
Even though he knew he was speaking to a clone, the Third Hokage's expression turned grim. His joy evaporated in an instant as he slammed his hands on the desk and stood up so quickly his chair toppled over.
"Do you understand what you're doing, Naruto?! This is too dangerous for a child! General area—no. The mission is canceled! Come back immediately! The village already owes your family too much… If something happens to you too… How could I ever face your parents again?!"
"I figured you'd say that, Grandpa Hiruzen..."
Though Naruto had expected this, his chest still tightened when he saw the old man so willing to abandon victory just to ensure his safety. His eyes misted over as he turned away to hide it. Once he regained control, he faced the Hokage again and said, "But you know, if I pull back now, Danzo will definitely suspect something. He'll go on high alert and resist with everything he's got. That would ruin our ambush and cause even greater losses… All this, just to protect me? Wouldn't that defeat the entire purpose?"
"But you—do you even know what it means to go into the Root base alone?!"
Naruto's words rang with logic and righteousness, but the Hokage's heart still couldn't accept it. He grabbed Naruto by the shoulders and shook him, roaring, "If Danzo finds out, he'll take you hostage in an instant! Kid, listen to your grandpa and come back now! This isn't some game! If you go through with this—you could die, do you understand?! You! Could! Die!"
"I know… That's exactly why I have to go," Naruto answered solemnly, using pain from pinching his own thigh to stay calm and composed. "Only I can get close enough to find the information Danzo's hiding. If we go in blind, more lives will be lost."
"But if you keep this up… you really will die!"
"My life matters. But don't the lives of everyone else involved in this mission matter too? Are their deaths acceptable, but not mine?"
Naruto's rebuttal left the Third Hokage speechless. His emotions twisted between pride and despair.
If it were any other day, hearing such maturity from Naruto would've made him beam with joy... But now, the boy was truly risking his life. One misstep, and the same tragedy from three years ago—of white hair burying black—could happen all over again.
"Grandpa Hiruzen, I know you care about me, and that makes me really happy... But don't worry. I promise I'll take care of myself and come back safely."
Looking at the kind old man before him, desperately grasping for reasons to change his mind, Naruto's gaze softened. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the Hokage, smiling gently as he snuggled into his chest.
"Don't forget, I'm the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki. If Danzo wants to mess with me, he'll have to pay a heavy price."
"Besides, I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the Hero's Son—the living legacy of my father and mother. I'm not dying before I become Hokage!"