Chapter 50: Danzo’s humiliation

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The air in the dimly lit chamber was thick with tension, the faint scent of damp earth and aged parchment lingering in the stillness. Naruto stared down at the Mangekyō Sharingan cradled in his palm, Shisui's eye, glistening faintly under the flickering torchlight. His ambush had succeeded. Danzo, the ever-wary schemer, had never anticipated a mere child striking with such precision.

A grim satisfaction settled in Naruto's chest, but it was short-lived. His gaze swept the room, taking in the barren surroundings—no nutrient solutions, no preservation containers. Just cold stone and shadows.

"These eyes are gonna go to waste," he mused, flexing his fingers. Implanting them in himself would mean sacrificing his own vision, and handing them to another risked them falling under kotoamatsukami's influence. There was no winning move here.

A heartbeat of hesitation, then his grip tightened.

"BRAT!"

Danzo's roar sliced through the silence like a blade, raw fury twisting his features. His single visible eye burned with a venomous glare, his body coiled like a serpent ready to strike. "Do you have any idea what you're destroying?!"

Naruto tilted his head, feigning innocence. "Let me see…" His fingers clenched. The Mangekyō crumpled like brittle glass, its crimson iris fracturing into nothingness. "Huh. Must've been important." His voice wavered just slightly, but his face remained impassive, a mask of forced indifference.

Danzo's entire body locked in place, his breath hitching as Shisui's eye turned to dust. His rage was palpable, a storm barely contained beneath his skin. His gaze snapped to Hiruzen, who stood motionless at the chamber's entrance, his aged face etched with conflict.

"Sarutobi!" Danzo snarled, his voice a whip-crack of command. His hands blurred through a series of seals, summoning his Root operatives.

Silence.

No footsteps. No masked figures materializing from the shadows.

A cold realization seeped into Danzo's bones.

Then, Naruto's voice cut through the tension, dripping with mock concern. "Hey, watch your back!"

Danzo whirled.

"Too slow."

A shadow clone lunged, kunai flashing. Danzo twisted, but the blade found its mark, severing his bandaged arm cleanly. The limb hit the ground with a wet thud before the clone kicked it toward Naruto, who caught it with a casual flick of his wrist.

Danzo's snarl was pure venom. "When did you...?!"

Naruto scratched his head, his grin widening. "Heard you were plotting against me. Figured you'd notice, but… guess not. Surprise!"

Decades of battle-honed instincts made Naruto lethal, even in the body of a kid. His earlier shadow clones had already dismantled Danzo's hidden forces, leaving the old warhawk isolated.

Danzo's horror deepened. This wasn't just strength, it was calculation. A predator hiding behind a child's smile.

His glare snapped back to Hiruzen. "SARUTOBI! Are you just going to stand there?!"

The Third Hokage exhaled heavily, stepping forward. Naruto immediately raised his hands in exaggerated surrender. "Sorry, Hokage-sir! My bad. But he was trying to brainwash me. Hope you understand."

Polite words, bloodied hands. Hiruzen studied him, the cheerful facade, the crushed arm beneath Naruto's foot.

"Naruto," Hiruzen said quietly, "are you angry?"

The question hung in the air, weighted with unspoken implications. Killing Danzo now risked forcing Hiruzen's hand. Fleeing Konoha meant abandoning the people he cared about.

So Naruto smiled. "Nah, I'm good now."

Hiruzen's gaze hardened. "The village has failed you. But I know you're a good kid. Let this end here. No one will harm you again, I swear it on my life."

Naruto bowed slightly, the motion almost mocking. "Thanks, Gramps. That's a relief."

The unspoken agreement settled between them, Hiruzen would leash the elders, and Naruto would stay.

Danzo's outrage erupted. "SARUTOBI! MY EYE, MY ARM...!"

Naruto cut in, blinking in faux confusion. "Wait, what? Didn't I just clean up useless junk? Your good eye and arm are fine!" He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Actually, you owe me for the free surgery."

Danzo's face purpled. He'd lost Shisui's eye, his stolen Sharingan, his Hashirama cells, all while being unable to protest without exposing his crimes.

Naruto tilted his head. "Sir? Are those extra arms and eyes… important?"

"NO!" Danzo spat, voice strangled. "They're worthless."

Naruto beamed. "Great! Then no harm done."

Danzo trembled, fists clenched so tight his nails drew blood. Years of scheming, undone by a grinning demon in orange.

Naruto waved cheerfully. "Well, if you're not paying me, I'll head out. Bye~"

As he turned to leave, the torchlight cast long, flickering shadows across the chamber, a fitting backdrop to Danzo's silent, seething defeat.

Naruto turned back, still shouting, "That's not how this works!"

When Danzo caught sight of the golden fur, his blood ran cold.

Of course, Naruto continued, "The Hokage himself can vouch for this, my medical fees aren't cheap."

"High or low… well… let's say around three million ryō."

"But since you're an elder, I'll give you a discount, five million for breaking your bones."

"You've got until the end of the day to pay up. Otherwise, I'll hire a fox who specializes in debt collection...wait, no."

"I'll hire someone who specializes in debt collection and take back what's rightfully mine."

Danzo's eye twitched violently. Before he could muster a response, his vision darkened, and he collapsed to the floor in a dead faint.

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he looked at Naruto.

The blond simply shrugged, flashing an innocent grin. "Not my fault. His tolerance is just embarrassingly low."

He didn't leave immediately, though. Instead, he stood there, waiting, testing the Hokage's reaction.

Hiruzen exhaled wearily. "I'll handle Danzo, Naruto."

That was all Naruto needed to hear.

He wasn't really after the five million ryō. What he wanted was Hiruzen's stance, an unspoken acknowledgment that neither he nor Danzo would interfere with Naruto's life in Konoha anymore.

For a moment, Naruto considered bringing up the Root's previous attack on him. But he held back. Pushing the Hokage's patience further might backfire.

After all, the man had once been known as the God of Shinobi.

Even if his temper had mellowed with age, there was still a line.

And Naruto had already gotten what he wanted.

With nothing else to do, Naruto wandered through Konoha aimlessly.

On days when he didn't visit Iruka, train with Hinata, or hang out with Sakura and Sasuke, the village felt… empty.

No phones. No games. Just silence.

By nightfall, he finally returned home.

The sealed space had changed again, but this time, there was no movement.

Naruto sat cross-legged on his bed, closing his eyes as his consciousness slipped into the seal.

Inside the cold, damp prison, an enormous fox lay sprawled across the ground.

Having absorbed the other Nine-Tails chakra, Kurama was now at peak strength, no even stronger than before.

With his own reserves combined, his total chakra was now one and a half times his original capacity.

The moment Naruto appeared, Kurama's ears twitched.

Naruto grinned. "So, you wanna come out again?"

Kurama's tails flicked in amusement. "Tch. Now you're offering? After I just ate my fill?"

It was like finishing a meal at a friend's house, then demanding seconds before leaving.

But Naruto just shrugged. "Why not? I keep my promises."

Then, slyly, he added, "Unless… you don't want more chakra later?"

Kurama's ears perked up. "You mean… another fox like me?"

He didn't dwell on how Naruto had pulled it off. What truly mattered was his freedom… and restoring his supremacy among the Tailed Beasts.

"Obviously," Naruto said. "The Nine-Tails is staying at the hotel from now on."

Kurama bared his fangs in a grin. "Fine. I'll stick around."

"In exchange, my chakra's yours to use."

This was the advantage of befriending Kurama early.

Naruto tilted his head, a smirk playing on his lips. "Hey, so… what happened to the other Nine-Tails? You finish it off?"

Kurama's enormous tail unfurled, only to reveal a tiny, fluffy creature—no larger than a house cat. The once-mighty Nine-Tails, now shrunken and absurdly cute, bristled with outrage, its fur puffing up in defiance.

"You'll regret this!" it screeched, voice high-pitched and furious. "I'll destroy you both!"

Naruto stared. Then, after a beat of stunned silence, he burst into uncontrollable laughter.

He grabbed it by the scruff, ignoring its furious squirming. "Tch. You're almost cute when you're helpless."

"RRRGH!!!"

Its growl came out more like a squeak, utterly failing to intimidate.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Why keep it alive, though? Wouldn't absorbing all its chakra at once be faster?"

Kurama's smirk sharpened, eyes glinting with dark amusement. "Tailed Beasts don't run dry forever. Let it recover… then drain it again. Rinse and repeat."

Naruto whistled. "Sustainable farming, huh? Smart."

The Nine-Tails thrashed in outrage. "I'LL KILL YOU...!"

Naruto gave the tiny fox a few absentminded pats before casually tossing it aside.

The beast tumbled midair, landing in an indignant heap. "Wha...?! You...! After petting me like some common animal...!"

Naruto waved dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. Cry about it."

The Nine-Tails seethed.

'Fine. New plan. I'll bide my time. Grow stronger. And then…Wait, what can I even do at this size?!'

The next morning, Sasuke cornered Naruto with a demand.

"I've mastered the Body Flicker Technique. When do we start real combat training?"

Naruto rubbed his chin.

Now that he thought about it, their team hadn't taken a single mission yet.

And honestly? He was bored.

Maybe a trip outside the village would do them good.

.....

T/N: Thanks for the support from: Lam Sha, Black Widow, Hamza Masfar, Lord Of the Mysteries, Andrew, Jiri Stehule, trey hill, Agustin Monti, Tightless, Impulsionimulsion.