The echoes of allegiance still reverberated in the conference room, carrying the relief of years of suppression and a fervent enthusiasm for new beginnings.
Naruto merely found it within his expectations and paid it little mind.
He ignored the kneeling crowd and walked directly towards Kobayashi Kenta, who had been the first to pledge allegiance.
The surrounding sounds automatically lowered, and everyone's gaze followed his steps.
Naruto squatted down, not saying a word of encouragement, but simply took out a scroll from his pocket and handed it over.
Kobayashi Kenta took it with a puzzled expression and slowly unrolled it.
The next second, his breathing hitched.
What was depicted on it was not the structural diagram of any ninja tool or weapon he was familiar with.
It was a… monster.
A killing machine of violent aesthetics, composed of hundreds of meticulously intricate parts.
The feeding system, firing mechanism, energy core, barrel cooling cycle… every part's design overturned the forging knowledge he had accumulated over thirty years.
This was not something a mortal could conceive.
It was more like a miracle sketched casually on a draft paper by a drunken god.
"This… this is…"
Kobayashi Kenta's hands began to tremble violently, not from fear, but from the instinctive tremor and fanaticism of a craftsman gazing upon a divine miracle.
"Bolter, a standard issue weapon."
Naruto's voice rang out calmly, as if introducing a stone by the roadside.
"Your first mission, the Technology Department's first mission."
"Analyze it, understand it, and then use the materials of this world to replicate it for me and achieve mass production."
Kobayashi Kenta's mind went blank; he swallowed with difficulty, his lips mumbling, wanting to say "This is impossible," wanting to say "This is beyond my capabilities."
But Naruto didn't give him a chance to speak.
"Furthermore."
Naruto stood up, looking down at him.
"Your sister's medicine, 'Gekko Grass,' its complete cultivation data, seed bank, and three years' worth of finished medicine, are already on their way to Konoha Hospital."
"The attending physician will receive a new treatment plan, and the organization will cover all expenses."
"You don't have to worry about anything."
Boom!
That last sentence completely shattered the last trace of hesitation in Kobayashi Kenta's heart.
He suddenly understood.
This young man before him, this new Political Commissar, was not offering charity or control.
He was removing all of his worries so that he could dedicate his entire life, two hundred percent, to this "divine miracle" before him.
"I…"
Kobayashi Kenta suddenly clutched the scroll tightly to his chest, as if holding his lost and found child.
He heavily knocked his forehead against the cold ground.
"Kobayashi Kenta, by the name of my family's generations of blacksmiths, I swear!"
"If I fail to complete the mission, I am willing to immolate myself in the forge to atone!"
In his eyes, there was no longer hatred, no longer confusion.
Instead, there was a burning, raging fire called "creation."
Naruto shook his head: "There's no need to say such things. If you can't make it, just keep trying. I will provide you with all the support. Remember, your enthusiasm can speed up the project, but ashes cannot."
…At the same time.
Hokage Office.
The atmosphere was so oppressive it could be wrung out.
"Hiruzen! You're confused!"
Utatane Koharu's spittle nearly sprayed onto the Third Hokage's face; her withered fingers tapped the desk, making sharp sounds.
"That brat's foundation isn't stable yet; now is the best time for us to get involved!"
"Getting Root back under control, that's the top priority!"
"Exactly."
Homura Mitokado chimed in from the side, his face grim.
"I've secretly drafted a list of Anbu elites who are absolutely loyal to Konoha. Let them join the new Root, sideline that brat, and in less than three months, Root will be back in our control!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi merely gave a wry smile, slowly lit his pipe, and took a deep puff.
"Let it be, my two old friends."
His voice carried a weary resignation, as if he saw through everything.
"I think, for now, doing nothing is the best course of action."
"You!"
Utatane Koharu trembled with anger, wanting to say more.
Thump, thump.
The office door was gently knocked.
Zero walked in expressionlessly; he didn't even look at the three highest authorities of Konoha, walking directly to the desk.
He gently placed a scroll on the table.
Right next to the list Homura Mitokado had just drafted.
Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado's faces instantly changed from arrogant flushed red to a deathly pale.
Because the list recorded on the scroll Zero had placed down was identical to the one they had just drafted.
Not a single name was missing.
Zero's emotionless gaze slowly swept over the two Advisors.
"The Political Commissar asked me to convey something to the two of you."
His voice was as steady as stagnant water.
"The Imperial Sniper Rifle has an effective range of over three kilometers. In good weather, it can precisely hit the outermost water droplet on a swaying leaf three kilometers away."
The temperature in the office suddenly dropped.
The two Advisors' bodies stiffened uncontrollably.
As soon as they recalled the horrifying scene of Danzo being shot, they understood that this statement was not just an empty threat, but a cold, ever-present fact.
Zero paused, as if remembering something, and added another sentence.
"The Political Commissar also said that if the two of you can live peacefully and enjoy your golden years, he will personally oversee Konoha's pension distribution system to ensure that every penny is delivered on time and in full to every elder who has contributed to Konoha."
"Absolutely no arrears."
This rhetoric, which perfectly combined blatant death threats with bureaucratic promises of public welfare, completely broke down Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado.
A bone-deep fear spread from their tailbones all the way to their scalps.
After Zero finished speaking, he bowed slightly and turned to leave.
From beginning to end, he did not spare Hiruzen Sarutobi a glance.
In the office, there was a deathly silence.
Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up the list Zero had delivered, and without even looking at it, used the flame from his pipe to light it, then dropped it into the ashtray.
The firelight illuminated his wrinkled face.
He suddenly laughed, like a child.
"Now, do you two understand?"
He stood up, stretched, and his bones cracked with a series of pops.
"Is there anything else you want to say?"
"If not, I'm going to play with Konohamaru."
…Root, Orphanage.
This place carried a unique oppression compared to other parts of the base.
Children represent the hope of life, but the Root orphanage completely obliterated the children's lively nature.
Zero submitted the final inventory results to Naruto.
A thick stack of files documented all the orphans being groomed by Root as spare parts.
Naruto quickly flipped through them, his fingers tracing over cold codenames and cruel resumes, his eyes showing no fluctuation.
Until his finger stopped on one file.
Codename: Sai.
The file's evaluation was extremely high: "Emotional detachment is complete, no self-awareness, one of Root's most perfect tools. The only flaw is unconscious emotional release through drawing, but this behavior does not affect mission execution."
Naruto picked up a drawing attached to the file.
On the paper, the right half was a faceless stick figure, which, according to Zero's description, was Sai himself.
The Sai in the drawing reached out, as if to hold someone's hand, but the other half of the paper was blank.
Naruto looked at the drawing, silent for a moment.
"Danzo must have used a more aggressive method to erase his emotions. The blank space missing from the paper is this child's emotional void. It's likely someone very important to him."
Zero stood quietly by, awaiting instructions.
"I don't like this kind of loyalty."
Naruto gave his assessment.
He singled out that drawing and Sai's file.
"He is a sapling whose potential has not been fully developed."
The corners of his mouth curved into a barely perceptible arc.
"He needs to be guided properly. He needs to know what he lives for before he can offer absolute loyalty."
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