Chapter 63 – Danzo’s Madness: Still Taking the Fall After Death
Naruto, now transformed with the chakra of the Seven-Tails, thrashed violently as Yamato's Wood Release struggled to contain him. The tailed beast chakra was only growing stronger, and the jutsu could only hold him for so long.
...
Inside Naruto's Mindscape—
Naruto had completely lost consciousness, consumed by the overwhelming chakra of the Nine-Tails. Slowly, he walked toward the prison gate where the beast was sealed.
"Faster! Just a little more!" the Nine-Tails said, its voice full of excitement. This was the closest it had come to regaining freedom in years.
Naruto reached out, his hand about to tear off the sealing tag that held the beast back. But just then, another hand stopped him.
A calm and familiar voice echoed through the mindscape.
"Naruto, are you really going to hurt your comrades in Konoha?"
That one sentence was enough to clear away the darkness clouding Naruto's mind. His eyes regained focus.
"Dad!"
Naruto turned and threw himself into his father's arms, tears streaming down his face like a broken dam.
Minato Namikaze looked at his son with loving eyes, gently ruffling Naruto's blonde hair.
"What's troubling you, my son? Talk to me. Maybe I can help clear your doubts."
Naruto pulled back slightly, urgency in his voice.
"The other day, an ANBU being chased stumbled into our house and gave me intel. It listed a bunch of schemes orchestrated by Hiruzen Sarutobi."
"Ever since I was born, the villagers have treated me like I'm the Nine-Tails itself. They bullied me constantly—because Konoha needed a scapegoat to vent their frustrations."
"And how did the masked man know exactly where Mom would give birth? That was supposed to be top-secret information!"
"It was Sarutobi who leaked it! He wanted to kill you, take back the Hokage title, and hoard power for himself!"
"And the one who killed you and Mom was your own student—Uchiha Obito. He did it out of hatred, because you couldn't save Rin Nohara, the girl he loved."
Naruto poured out everything he knew. The weight of it left Minato stunned.
Minato's brow furrowed deeply. "No… The Third isn't the kind of man who craves power. And Obito—he died years ago."
Naruto shouted in response, "I also know that when you were Hokage, Sarutobi kept interfering with village policies! He couldn't give up his authority!"
"And Kakashi-sensei's Sharingan—it matched Obito's perfectly! His eye evolved from two tomoe to three. That means Obito survived. He must've learned about Rin's death too."
From the sidelines, the Nine-Tails chuckled darkly.
"There's one thing I'll vouch for—the brat really did take on a lot of my sins himself."
The beast sent a sliver of chakra into Minato's body. In an instant, a flood of memories flashed through his mind.
He saw Naruto being isolated by other children, chased away by adults, forced to drink spoiled milk and live off instant noodles. The images hit Minato like a blow to the gut.
He never imagined it would be like this—not only was his son not honored as a hero's child, he hadn't even been treated as a normal orphan.
Minato's face grew tight. He couldn't argue back—Naruto's intel answered every question surrounding the Nine-Tails attack. It all made too much sense.
He thought back to the end of the Third Great Ninja War, when the Third Hokage resigned in shame. Why had he recommended Minato as his successor instead of Orochimaru, who had more seniority?
Was it because Minato was stronger? Hardly—Orochimaru was no weakling.
Was it because Minato had more charisma? Orochimaru had loyal followers too.
No—it was because Minato was easier to control. He had no political foundation.
Minato remembered how hard it was to get anything done as Hokage. Every attempt to ease tensions with the Uchiha was blocked by the Fire Daimyo's advisors.
Minato, always brilliant, finally saw the pattern he'd missed before.
He crouched down to meet Naruto's eyes. "I'm sorry, son. There are things I didn't do right."
"Go find Jiraiya. He'll help you investigate. He's my teacher—you can trust him."
"Tell him everything you just told me. He'll get to the bottom of it."
"You mean that pervy sage?" Naruto blinked, picturing the white-haired man who'd trained him to control the Nine-Tails.
Minato gave an exasperated smile.
"He might be a bit... unrefined, but he's dependable when it counts. I even named you after the protagonist of one of his books."
"What?! From one of those dirty novels?" Naruto gaped.
Minato sweatdropped.
"Of course not! It was a very inspiring book!"
"Oh… got it."
As Minato's figure faded away, Naruto returned from his mindscape.
...
Back in the Real World—
Tsunade and a group of ANBU stared in growing dread as Naruto's transformation into the Eight-Tails state escalated. The fully-formed Nine-Tails was about to emerge.
Yamato's Wood Release was beginning to crack and shake. It wouldn't hold much longer.
But Konoha didn't have another Fourth Hokage to make a sacrifice.
Just as Tsunade prepared to give her life to reseal the Nine-Tails...
The beast suddenly went still.
Its tails slowly receded. The chakra shrank back into Naruto's body. His transformation reversed.
Naruto fell from the sky. Tsunade leapt forward and caught him mid-air.
In a way, Naruto had just saved Konoha. His sudden rampage had forced the village to divert attention, avoiding a simultaneous crisis involving both Chiba Mokushū and the One-Tail.
An ANBU appeared at Tsunade's side. "Lady Tsunade, we found this in the Root's base."
He handed her a scroll. Tsunade opened it—and what she read made her blood run cold.
...
The scroll read:
The Hidden Sound Village promises to eliminate Danzo's obstacles to becoming Hokage.
In return, upon assuming the Hokage seat, Danzo shall provide the following to the Hidden Sound:
Clause 0: Lease Uzumaki Naruto to the Land of Fields as a weapon of war for ten years.
Clause 1: Provide a one-time economic aid of 2 billion ryo, plus yearly purchase of 1,000 tons of grain from the Land of Fields at 10% above market rate.
Clause 2: Send ten elite instructors to serve in the Land of Fields for ten years.
Clause 3: Provide funding to establish a research base for the Hidden Sound.
Clause 4...
Clause 8: Fund the construction of an orphanage in the Hidden Sound Village.
Every line was a betrayal—Danzo had conspired with foreign powers, selling out Konoha just to become Hokage.
Tsunade clenched her jaw so hard she could barely speak.
"Even if he did become Hokage through this scheme… no one would recognize that title! Konoha, the village my grandfather founded, is not a tool for Danzo to realize his twisted ambitions!"
The ANBU bowed. "Danzo has disappeared. The two Hokage advisors suggest we accept Clauses 1, 2, and 3 as compensation… to minimize the damage."
"What? They want to submit to a backwater like the Hidden Sound?" Tsunade was shocked.
"In extreme circumstances, yes," the ANBU confirmed.
Tsunade let out a long breath. "I understand."
She wasn't blind to the bigger picture. Even if they defeated the Hidden Sound, Konoha would pay a steep price. After losing the Third Hokage, the village couldn't afford further destruction.
She handed Naruto over to two nearby ANBU, then turned toward the direction where Gakuya and Jiraiya were still fighting.
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