Sometimes walking, sometimes stopping to rest, the elderly Danzo and the young Naruto—each with their own agenda—trudged along in fits and starts. After a journey that felt more like a short expedition than a walk, they finally arrived at their destination: the base of an enormous tree, so thick that its trunk's size was difficult to measure with the naked eye.
'I always thought that when Danzo named his organization "Root," it was just some self-important slogan he used to brainwash his subordinates. You know, that line he always spouts: "We are the roots buried deep in the earth, supporting the great tree of the Hidden Leaf Village from the darkness!" A load of delusional nonsense. But it turns out... the name 'Root' is actually spot-on. They really are 'buried deep in the earth.' No false advertising here—what a surprise...'
Naruto's small heart twitched violently as he stared at the gnarled, thick roots tangled above the soil. Watching Danzo bend down and slowly crawl inside, Naruto couldn't help but roast the situation nonstop in his mind.
'This isn't the sleek, high-level secret entrance I imagined at all—it's downright rustic!'
After a short pause, he moved in closer and deliberately knocked on the tree root to check whether this whole thing was some kind of fake setup.
At the same time, he puffed up his cheeks and stuck out his lips like a sulky three-year-old, folding his arms and complaining with a pout,
"Hmph! Grandpa Danzo, you lied! You promised to take me home for a big feast, but we've been walking forever and I still haven't seen your house! All I've seen is you crawling around on tree roots like it's playtime!"
"How could that be? Naruto, haven't we known each other for a long time? When has Grandpa ever lied to you?"
Danzo, who had just cleared away the dry branches and bushes hiding the entrance, brushed the dust from his hands and turned around with his usual warm smile.
His gentle tone soothed Naruto's obvious displeasure. After a pause, his eyes subtly swept across Naruto's tiny, delicate frame. At the same time, he quietly probed him using one of Root's specialized chakra-sensing techniques.
"Grandpa really is taking you home. Didn't Grandpa tell you earlier? My home is very far away. I was worried you wouldn't have the strength to walk all the way, so now Grandpa's taking you on a shortcut to get home faster."
Of course, knowing Danzo's deeply suspicious nature, Naruto had prepared thoroughly for this situation… and this was one of the main reasons he went to such lengths to use the Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu to send out information.
One of the side effects of the technique—aside from spreading information—is that it splits the user's chakra evenly among the clones. This caused Naruto's normally vast chakra reserve (counting only his own, not Kurama's) to become nearly depleted. But since he knew that Kurama was like a giant mobile battery that could supply him with Tailed Beast Chakra and even activate jutsu on his behalf, Naruto didn't really care about his personal chakra limits, which were only slightly higher than average for a Genin his age—barely Chūnin-level.
As a result, he held nothing back when making clones, believing the more the better. That's why no matter how many subtle chakra probes Danzo threw at him, the results were always the same: Naruto had slightly above-average chakra due to his Uzumaki Clan heritage from Kushina Uzumaki, but otherwise he seemed like a talentless, gullible, and useless child.
If not for the desperate situation forcing Danzo to bet everything on the Nine-Tails inside Naruto, it was likely he'd never have lowered himself to get so close to this kid in the first place.
Not to mention—it was Danzo himself who had falsified and suppressed the truth of Naruto's identity as the Hero's Son, making Naruto suffer years of disdain and hatred from ignorant villagers.
Ironically, this taught Naruto how to masterfully fake emotions, and perform on cue. Even now, when the Third Hokage had finally awoken to the truth and started pressuring Danzo's faction with no regard for their old friendship, not once did Danzo suspect that the real reason behind Hiruzen's change of heart was the very child standing in front of him… Truly, karma comes fast.
"Huh? A shortcut... home?"
Looking at the once-proud Danzo now humbling himself to please him with fake patience, Naruto felt as if he'd just drunk an ice-cold juice under the blazing summer sun—utterly refreshing.
As he struggled to control the muscles in his face to keep a straight expression, his body—hidden beneath thick clothing—trembled ever so slightly from holding back laughter. Outwardly, however, he simply tilted his head, poked his cheek with a chubby finger, and furrowed his brows as if trying to process Danzo's words. In a soft voice, he murmured:
"'A shortcut'... huh..."
—deliberately pushing Danzo's paranoid nerves to the edge.
After enjoying the sight of the old man clenching his fists, barely resisting the urge to strike due to the power dynamic being in Naruto's favor, he decided to ease off. Just before Danzo could explode, Naruto relaxed his expression and smiled like a pure and innocent child.
"Well, I guess you're right. Someone as 'kind' as Grandpa Danzo definitely wouldn't lie to me!"
To further win Danzo's trust, Naruto shook his head and deliberately dropped his feigned exhaustion. Acting like he'd just been encouraged by Danzo's words, he energetically jogged forward with his little legs.
His curiosity and enthusiasm for the unknown were completely in-character for an innocent, gullible child. He expertly maintained this persona as he dove into the dark hole now revealed at the base of the tree, beating Danzo to it.
Not long after, his childish voice echoed excitedly from inside:
"Wow! Grandpa Danzo, come look! This place is so cool! These weird-looking rocks—this is my first time seeing something like this! So pretty!"
'...Hmph. I guess I was overthinking things... I can't believe I went through all that trouble just to stay wary of a useless brat like him.
Is it just because Hiruzen's been cornering me so hard lately that I'm becoming paranoid from the stress?'
Once again fooled by Naruto's flawless performance, Danzo completely bought it. In his eyes, Naruto was still just a slightly rude but obedient little boy—clueless, honest, and completely lacking in scheming ability.
He let out a sigh at his own over-cautiousness and plastered that same sickeningly fake smile back on his face.
"Slow down, slow down, Naruto. It's dangerous to run around in here—you might get hurt."
"Hehe, okay~~ I got it!"
As Danzo followed Naruto into the cave, his withered hand, hidden beneath his long robe, completed the final seal of a jutsu. With a gentle motion, he released a basic Wind Style technique.
Using his refined control, he silently pushed the previously removed camouflage materials back over the entrance. In moments, the area looked exactly as it had when they first arrived—no trace left of their passage.
However, Danzo, fully focused on Naruto, didn't notice the figure standing silently atop the canopy of a giant tree across from them. Arms crossed, white hair fluttering, the man had seen everything.
"Uzumaki Naruto… Haha, this brave and sharp little rascal really takes after his father—always acting on impulse."
"The old man was right... Minato, Kushina, you gave birth to an exceptional child."
A gentle breeze rustled the man's bright red vest. His eyes, which had been observing Naruto and Danzo, slowly lifted. As memories came flooding back, a faint smile of fondness curled at his lips.
"Don't worry, Minato. Kushina. No matter what it costs me... I'll do everything I can to protect this child."
Sunlight bathed the man's body, reflecting off the forehead protector on his brow—a unique design, different from the standard worn by the Hidden Leaf Village. As it gleamed brightly, one word engraved in the metal stood out in sharp relief:
"Oil."