The Third Hokage's heart trembled slightly as he asked in a low voice,
"You mean the incident where Naruto lost control of his body to the Nine Tails twice today?"
Danzō sneered coldly.
"Twice? I'd say only once. How can you be sure that the Naruto who fought you in the afternoon had actually regained consciousness, and wasn't just the Nine Tails pretending?"
Truly worthy of being called Konoha's most cunning old schemer — even without Terai's intelligence reports, Danzō had managed to deduce almost the exact situation just by reasoning from the outcome.
However, no matter how much he thought about it, there was no way for him to know that the one occupying Naruto's consciousness wasn't the Nine Tails at all — but Carl, who had come from another world.
The Third was silent for a moment. Danzō thought he was finally realizing the seriousness of the situation and beginning to think calmly, but instead, the old Hokage suddenly countered,
"Then couldn't it be another possibility? That Naruto has already learned to communicate with the Nine Tails within him? The relationship between a jinchūriki and their tailed beast isn't necessarily hostile. The one from Kumogakure, for instance — I believe you've heard about that case."
Danzō's expression froze for a second, then twisted in anger.
"Hiruzen! Is that really how you, as Hokage, analyze the problem? How could a twelve-year-old brat possibly achieve something like that?"
Their emotions were always out of sync. Danzō stomped his foot, while the Third simply calmed down again.
"Then how do you explain why the Nine Tails didn't go berserk after taking over Naruto's body? That's completely out of character for it."
"The Nine Tails was clearly being controlled by an Uchiha back then! Maybe its true nature isn't as violent as we thought — but I'm sure it hates Konoha! That kind of hatred is what makes it truly dangerous!"
"The one who hates Konoha is the Nine Tails, not Naruto. Danzō, I hope you understand that. Naruto is Minato's son — he loves this village."
"Hiruzen!!!"
"Danzō! I am—"
"You're the Hokage! No need to say more!"
"..."
Interrupted mid-sentence, the Third stood there dazed for a moment, then lowered his head slightly beneath the weight of his Hokage's hat.
"Handle your subordinate yourself."
Danzō snorted.
"No need to trouble you, Hokage-sama. My men have long been prepared to die for Konoha before taking on any mission. You won't be bothered by any aftermath."
The Third opened his mouth but said nothing. In the end, he only sighed. Danzō dragged the headless corpse away, pushed open the door, and disappeared into the night.
Just as he'd said, the death of one member of Root didn't stir a single ripple in Konoha. It was as if Terai had never existed at all.
...
The next day, the sun rose as usual. Naruto arrived at school just like he always did — but the moment he stepped into the classroom, he immediately sensed something different.
The usual mocking and disgusted gazes were gone. In their place was fear.
The most obvious sign was that, the instant Naruto entered, the previously lively chatter came to an abrupt halt, as though someone had hit pause. Everyone's eyes turned toward the doorway.
Naruto looked around the classroom. Everyone who met his gaze quickly looked away. The sudden change left him a little uncomfortable — except for Sasuke, who didn't avert his eyes.
Yesterday's instant defeat had hit Sasuke hard. He hadn't slept all night, and that morning his eyes still burned with exhaustion.
In that strange atmosphere, Naruto couldn't help but call out silently in his mind,
"Carl, they all seem even more afraid of me now..."
Carl's lazy voice echoed in his head.
"That's the kind of treatment a strong man deserves. They used to fear you, but still mocked you — because you didn't have the power to match that fear. If they can't face you properly, then let them fear you."
"Naruto, being Hokage doesn't mean you have to play the nice guy. If you have the strength to suppress everything around you, becoming Hokage will be effortless."
Naruto quietly engraved those words in his heart. Slinging his bag over his shoulder, he walked to his seat and sat down.
From the right, Sakura suddenly turned to him.
"Naruto, how did you get so strong all of a sudden yesterday?"
His heart leapt with joy — the girl of his dreams was actually talking to him first! But before he could even open his mouth, Carl's voice cut in again.
"That wide forehead looks awful."
"Pfft!"
Naruto couldn't help it. He burst out laughing, accidentally spraying saliva all over Sakura's face.
For a long moment, she sat frozen. Then her face flushed bright red with fury as she jumped to her feet.
"Naruto! What the hell is your problem?!"
The class fell silent. The students stared wide-eyed, wondering if Naruto would still act timid and apologetic like before.
At the back, Hinata watched his back anxiously. From past experience, this usually ended with Naruto getting punched.
And sure enough — seeing Naruto standing there without responding, Sakura, feeling ignored, swung her fist down toward his head.
Smack!
A sharp, echoing slap resounded through the classroom.
Everyone froze, jaws hanging open — even Sasuke, usually expressionless, looked stunned.
Before Sakura's punch could land, Naruto had stood up and slapped her across the face. The blow was so hard she spun several times before collapsing into Ino's arms.
Ino looked down at Sakura's trembling body, then back up at Naruto in disbelief.
The Naruto standing before her now looked like a completely different person — his expression cold as ice, his pitch-black eyes filled with a chilling aura, like two spinning black holes.
Sakura, clutching her swollen face, trembled as she stood up. Naruto's cold voice cut through the silence.
"Have I been giving you too much respect?"
Her body shook violently. She didn't even dare look at him — and soon broke into helpless sobs.
"Shut up. You're too noisy."
His tone was calm, yet it carried an authority that crushed all resistance. Sakura instantly choked back her crying, slapping both hands over her mouth, terrified to make another sound.
Ino finally spoke, her voice trembling.
"Naruto... you were a bit too harsh..."
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+100 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg