The next morning, inside the Hokage Building.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, slowly exhaled a ring of smoke, staring at the thick stack of documents in front of him. His face looked like it had aged another ten years overnight.
Which, to be fair, it kind of had.
After staying up the entire night—sorting reports, interrogating witnesses, and having a long talk with Itachi Uchiha—he finally pieced together a rough outline of yesterday's chaos.
First: Naruto attacked the Hokage Building, smacked Danzo around, and left Konoha with the Scroll of Seals like he was borrowing a library book.
Second: Shisui Uchiha, who had been officially listed as missing, suddenly reappeared, grabbed the remaining Uchiha, and fled the village. Current whereabouts: unknown. Mood: probably not friendly.
Third: Itachi revealed that the mysterious masked man he cooperated with during the Uchiha massacre is likely the same person responsible for the Nine-Tails incident years ago. Itachi intends to infiltrate that masked man's organization as a spy. His condition? Sasuke must be treated fairly in Konoha.
Three earth-shattering events.
Same day.
Hiruzen genuinely considered faking his own death.
Each of these incidents alone would've required a high-level emergency meeting. Now he had all three dumped on his desk like a cursed gift basket.
Blame it on coincidence?
Please. Even he wasn't shameless enough for that.
Maybe it was all orchestrated by the same organization—the one that pushed Naruto to defect, helped Shisui escape, and assisted Itachi during the massacre.
If so… how powerful was this group?
Even their old rivals Iwagakure and Kumogakure couldn't pull off something this outrageous. Was there really an organization in the shinobi world that could operate above the Five Great Nations?
Hiruzen sighed and rubbed his temples. The paperwork in front of him suddenly felt like a personal attack.
He needed more information. He needed clarity. He needed a miracle.
Unfortunately, all he had was nicotine.
After setting aside the mountain of documents, Hiruzen made his way to Konoha Hospital.
According to eyewitness Might Guy, Naruto had knocked Kakashi unconscious before fleeing. Before that, the two may have spoken. If anyone knew why Naruto left, it would be Kakashi.
Inside the ward, Guy was passionately preaching about "the flames of youth," gesturing so dramatically it looked like he might start doing push-ups on Kakashi's hospital bed.
Kakashi held his forehead like he regretted surviving.
Hearing footsteps, Kakashi looked up.
"Lord Third, what brings you here?"
Hiruzen smiled gently—the kind of smile leaders use when everything is absolutely on fire behind the scenes.
After brief pleasantries, he went straight to the point.
"Kakashi, you fought Naruto before he left. You should know why he defected."
At the mention of Naruto, Kakashi's expression darkened.
"I probably know the reason," he said quietly. "But it's… inconvenient to say with others present."
Hiruzen's expression shifted immediately. He signaled everyone else to leave.
Once the nurse and Guy exited (Guy reluctantly, like someone being separated from his beloved audience), Hiruzen continued:
"Now that we're alone, tell me. Does this involve other high-ranking members of the village? Or external forces?"
Kakashi stared at Hiruzen for a long moment.
Then he pointed at him.
Hiruzen blinked.
"…You mean me?"
He frowned. "Kakashi, are you saying I caused Naruto to defect?"
In Hiruzen's mind, there had to be some external reason. The masked man. Danzo's manipulation. Something.
His own educational methods? Absolutely flawless.
Right?
Kakashi sighed. "It sounds outrageous. But yes. I think you forced Naruto away."
Hiruzen's face darkened. "Impossible. At most, I concealed his identity for his own good. At his age, he couldn't have handled the truth of being a jinchūriki."
Kakashi's voice turned calm—too calm.
"I'm not talking about that. I mean… if Naruto had known from the beginning that he was the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki. That he was the son of the Fourth Hokage. A hero's child."
He paused.
"And yet he was treated like a demon fox."
"I don't think even most adults could accept that."
Silence.
Heavy, suffocating silence.
Hiruzen stared at Kakashi for a long time.
He had kept Naruto's parentage secret to protect him.
But what if that protection had backfired?
What if, by hiding the truth, he had stolen Naruto's right to understand his own suffering?
It wasn't impossible that Naruto, crushed by disappointment, chose to leave.
But why defect on the very night of the Uchiha operation?
Coincidence?
As if reading his thoughts, Kakashi added quietly:
"Lord Third… Naruto isn't just a child anymore. He's the village's jinchūriki. And he's already stronger than me."
"You should stop treating him like a kid."
Hiruzen turned toward the window, staring blankly at the tree outside.
Naruto defeated Kakashi.
Escaped Danzo.
That wasn't the act of a naive academy student.
Perhaps Naruto had planned this for a long time.
And choosing yesterday wasn't random at all. Maybe he had already sensed the tension between the village and the Uchiha.
Maybe…
It was his own negligence.
His own deception.
After leaving the hospital, Hiruzen returned to the Hokage Building.
He picked up the list of traitors.
And crossed out the name Naruto Uzumaki.
He could not treat Naruto as a traitor.
Naturally, this decision triggered Danzo.
Leaning on his cane like a villain auditioning for a stage play, Danzo stormed into the office.
"Sarutobi, Naruto attacked the Hokage Building and caused severe damage. He is an S-rank threat. He cannot be let off so easily."
Hiruzen looked at him calmly.
"Then go bring him back."
Danzo went silent.
He had suggested listing Naruto as an S-rank missing-nin precisely because of Naruto's strength.
Once someone is officially classified as S-rank, it usually means one thing:
You can't touch them.
Seeing Danzo's silence, Hiruzen pressed further.
"Naruto hasn't even graduated from the Academy. Technically, he's not a ninja. Therefore, he cannot be placed on the bingo book."
"And Naruto is the only jinchūriki left in the village. If news of his departure leaks, Iwagakure and Kumogakure may see it as weakness and restart the war."
"For the sake of the village, we must conceal his departure."
Danzo's expression tightened. He understood Hiruzen's resolve.
So he changed targets.
"Fine. Leave Naruto aside. But Sasuke should be placed under Root's supervision. His parents and brother are village traitors. There's no reason to let him remain free."
Hiruzen looked at Danzo for a long moment.
Then he shook his head.
"I've already decided how to handle Sasuke."
"It's not your place to interfere."
"And you still owe me a reasonable explanation for the Itachi incident."
Danzo's grip on his cane tightened slightly.
For once, even he had no immediate comeback.
And Hiruzen?
He lit another pipe.
Because clearly, this week wasn't done trying to kill him yet.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks to [Carlos Henrique Shura] for joining my Patreon page!🎉Your support means the world to me. 🙏
You can visit my Patreon page:
Patreon.com/PhoeniXcel
I upload 2 chapters daily on Patreon!
There are 70+ advanced chapters available for you to read.
Your support would be greatly appreciated.