Within minutes, a dozen medical ninjas rushed into the Hokage's office.
They quickly placed Danzō onto a stretcher, while several medics applied Mystical Palm Technique in a frantic effort to stabilize him.
"This isn't good!"
"Danzō-sama's Wind Release chakra is spiraling out of control!"
Lying on the stretcher, Danzō's consciousness was fading. His bandaged body began to show blood-red marks, and no matter how fast the medical ninjas worked, they couldn't keep up with the wounds opening up.
Kakashi's expression twisted as he observed the wounds on Danzō's body, his gaze shifting between Danzō and Naruto.
Because he noticed something strange…
Those wounds on Danzō… why do they look so much like the result of Naruto's Wind Release: Blood Explosion Jutsu?
As the medics scrambled to save Danzō, the Third Hokage, puffing on his pipe, exhaled a long, weary sigh.
Just earlier, he had been bickering with his old friend in the office, like they used to. It had been three long years since Danzō had last visited him.
To be honest, he'd actually missed those little squabbles.
Sigh...
Why on earth did Danzō decide to learn Naruto's Wind Release technique? The Third had explicitly warned him not to touch that forbidden jutsu. Yet, Danzō had gone ahead and practiced it in secret.
But then again…
Maybe it wouldn't be the worst outcome if Danzō were to die in the hospital. After all, it would be a peaceful end for someone like him.
Danzō had always coveted the Hokage's seat, and the Third knew his old friend well. If Danzō had ever gained enough power, he would have surely overthrown him.
The Third really didn't want to have to kill his friend with his own hands…
Kakashi shared the same sentiment, though he found it all rather ironic.
He had heard whispers of Danzō's shady dealings over the years, and seeing him suffer like this, Kakashi couldn't help but mentally give Naruto a thumbs up.
Nice work, Naruto! Finally doing something good for the village.
Naruto, meanwhile, had no idea what was going on. Staring at the barely conscious Danzō, his face turned grim.
Damn it!
Don't die here, Danzō!
If you die now… who's my buddy Sasuke going to take revenge on!?
Damn it, who stole his kill!?
If I find out who did this, they're dead meat!
Naruto rushed over to the medics, concern written all over his face as he anxiously circled them, shouting.
"Doctor! Is this old man going to be okay?"
"He's so old, how could anyone do this to him?"
The medics were too busy to pay attention to the blonde-haired kid buzzing around them.
Left with no choice, Naruto stood off to the side, silently praying for Danzō's survival.
But as he continued watching…
He noticed something odd.
The wounds on Danzō's body… they looked like damage from Wind Release techniques.
And then, it hit him like a bolt of lightning.
I get it now!
It's Orochimaru!
We're close to the Chūnin Exams, so Orochimaru must've teamed up with the Sand Village to ambush Danzō in order to set the stage for his plan to destroy Konoha!
Damn you, snake bastard! You stole Sasuke's kill!
Naruto glanced sympathetically at the pitiful Danzō, then walked over to the man's head, speaking with righteous indignation.
"This is terrible!"
"Who the hell used Wind Release to hurt this poor old man from our village!?"
The Third Hokage: …
Kakashi: …
If Naruto had just kept quiet, Danzō might have been fine. But as soon as he spoke, Danzō's blood pressure spiked.
Still semi-conscious, Danzō immediately lost all awareness the moment he heard that damned blond brat speak.
In his final moments of consciousness, his mind was filled with curses directed at the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki.
Damn it! That wretched jinchūriki did this on purpose!
"Not good!"
"Danzō-sama's blood pressure is skyrocketing!"
"Hurry! Get him to the hospital! Move, move, move!"
The Third Hokage massaged his temples, his face darkening as he called out to the still-clueless Naruto.
"Naruto, stop distracting the medics."
"Come here!"
Reluctantly, Naruto shot one last concerned glance at Danzō before stepping away, but not without glancing back repeatedly, as though he were Danzō's closest family member.
The Third Hokage's blood pressure rose sharply as he watched this scene. He hurriedly pulled out a bottle of medicine from his drawer and swallowed some blood pressure pills.
Once the medics had finished tending to Danzō's external wounds, they swiftly carried him out of the office.
At that moment, the ninja sent to retrieve the mission reward returned. The Third Hokage took the payment for Team 7's mission and handed it over to Kakashi.
This mission had earned them over 18 million ryō. Kakashi accepted the money and evenly split it among his three subordinates.
Naruto stared at the 4.5 million ryō in his hands, then glanced over at the Third Hokage, who was puffing on his pipe. His eyes gleamed with a sly idea, and a mischievous smile spread across his face.
Thud—
Naruto slammed his share of the money onto the Hokage's desk, then looked up with an innocent expression.
"Gramps, I'd like to issue an S-rank mission!"
"I suspect there's a spy from the Sand Village in Konoha! I'm hiring Team 7 to investigate for a full month!"
As soon as Naruto said that, all eyes turned to him.
Team 7 was collectively stunned.
Wait… you can do that!?
Hiring your own team to investigate a fake spy for a month…?
Kakashi realized instantly that Naruto was trying to prevent a repeat of what happened last time, when someone paid 20 million to send them off on a mission outside the village.
The Third Hokage's face stiffened. He was caught off guard by Naruto's sudden request to spend his own money to commission a mission. For a long moment, he was speechless.
His first instinct was to reject this absurd idea.
But…
The village's higher-ups had indeed used a similar tactic to send Team 7 out of the village not long ago. If he refused Naruto now…
The Hokage could already picture the destruction Naruto might cause.
His secretary, noticing the Third Hokage's hesitation, quietly leaned in and whispered.
"Lord Third…"
"Jiraiya-sama recently sent word that he'll be returning to the village soon…"
The Third's eyes widened in joy, turning to his secretary with a look of pure elation.
Finally!
After all these years of waiting, Jiraiya was coming back to the village!
The Third Hokage was so overcome with happiness that he momentarily forgot about Danzō's critical condition.
"Hahahahaha!"
"Naruto, I accept your mission!"
"The task of finding spies in the village is now yours!"
The Third Hokage laughed heartily. He no longer cared about Naruto's flimsy excuse for a mission—it was just a pretense, after all.
With a wave of his hand, he had his secretary write up the mission scroll. Naruto paid the fee, accepted the scroll, and left the office with Team 7.
As Kakashi prepared to lead his team out, the Third Hokage called after them.
"Oh, right."
"In a little while, the village will be hosting the joint Chūnin Exams with other villages."
"I'll inform you of the exact date later."
With that, he waved them off, signaling their departure.
Then, a thought crossed his mind, and he turned to his secretary.
"Have the village's top-genin…"
"Have they completed enough missions to qualify for promotion?"
The secretary pulled out a notebook, flipping through it before responding.
"Almost, Lord Third."
"As long as Naruto doesn't run off to complete more missions in the next few days…"
"Everyone should be able to finish their remaining missions within three days and qualify for the Chūnin Exams."
The Third Hokage nodded, though he felt a pang of helplessness.
There was no denying it—Naruto had been completing missions at an alarming rate. And worst of all, he'd been cramming them in just before the exams.
This had left many genin unable to reach the mission requirements for promotion in time.
While the Third Hokage and his secretary discussed the upcoming Chūnin Exams, the door to the office swung open, and in walked Hiashi Hyūga and Shikaku Nara.
"Lord Third…"
"We'd like to issue a 20 million ryō C-rank mission…"
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