The faint scent of disinfectant lingered in the hospital room.
Mui sat upright on the bed, his body still weak, listening quietly as the Third Hokage recounted the events that had followed Hōzuki Castle's destruction.
His voice was calm and steady, each word deliberate—like a verdict handed down from the heavens.
The Box of Paradise had been sealed. The remnants of Kusagakure's forces had been handled. And the artifact itself would remain under Konoha's custody.
As Hiruzen spoke, his keen eyes never left Mui's face, silently observing his every reaction.
Mui's expression was a mixture of guilt and exhaustion. There was no trace of resentnt toward Konoha's decision—only self-reproach and a faint sense of relief that it was all over.
"...Muku and Ryuzetsu," Hiruzen said lightly, as though in passing. "Those are the nas of the two children, correct?"
At once, Mui's composure cracked. The dullness in his eyes flared with urgency.
"Hokage-sama," he said hurriedly, voice trembling, "the responsibility lies entirely with . Muku and Ryuzetsu only followed orders—they trusted their superiors. Please, I beg you, don't punish them for my mistakes!"
Hiruzen blinked once—a feigned surprise.
"Punish them? What punishnt?" he asked mildly. Then, without missing a beat, he changed the subject.
"I was simply wondering whether those two might be fit to represent Kusagakure in the upcoming Chūnin Exams."
He smiled faintly. "Surely, Kusa's previous promise to participate wasn't empty?"
Mui froze.
The Chūnin Exams?
He had braced himself for judgnt, not diplomacy. Was Konoha not holding Kusa accountable for the disaster? Why were they suddenly talking about an exam?
The Third Hokage simply watched him—eyes gentle, unreadable.
After a long pause, Mui finally lowered his head. "...Yes. Muku and Ryuzetsu can participate."
"Excellent," Hiruzen said, nodding in satisfaction. "Then you, Mui, shall serve as their team leader."
Mui's eyes widened. "Hokage-sama… I'm grateful for your kindness, but—I was one of those who stood against Konoha. Surely—"
"There's nothing wrong with wanting to protect your village," Hiruzen interrupted softly. "Your mistake was not your intention—it was your thod."
He leaned forward slightly, his voice low but firm.
"Running from responsibility after a mistake is the true failure of a shinobi. Kusagakure has lost much—if even its Jōnin lose heart, who will lead the survivors? Who will face the next generation and tell them to endure?"
Hiruzen's tone gentled further.
"Go back, Mui. Face what must be faced. Do it for Kusagakure. For Mui and Ryuzetsu."
Mui lowered his head deeply, his eyes glistening. "…Understood."
Deep underground, within the hidden corridors of Root, silence reigned.
Shimura Danzō sat alone in his vast chamber, one hand gripping the armrest of his chair, the other tapping a slow, rhythmic beat against it.
His single eye was closed, his face as still as stone.
The Box of Paradise affair had, admittedly, freed him from his semi-confinent—a small, temporary victory. His authorization to act had been restored.
And yet… he could feel it. The slow, irreversible decline of his influence.
Decisions that once required only his nod now needed the Hokage's approval. Orders that would once have been carried out without question were now "reviewed" or "postponed."
Even when his suggestions were correct, they were ignored.
But that was not what angered him most.
It was that Hiruzen's tolerance had beco his cage.
He knew the old man's style well—as long as the result benefited Konoha, Hiruzen would often turn a blind eye to the thods used. But that era was gone. Now, what the Hokage did not sanction was forbidden. What he did not say was undone.
When had it all changed?
Ah, yes. It began with that man.
Roshi.
A man who should have died—but returned.
He had taken Itachi under his wing. Gained Fugaku's trust. Reunited remnants of the Senju line.
And in doing so, he had quietly stolen the weight of Root's purpose and support.
By bringing back Tsunade, Roshi had sealed Danzō's fate. The more the Leaf stabilized, the less Konoha needed him.
"A tool," Danzō muttered, his voice low, "in the wrong hands becos wasteful… or dangerous."
Their current leniency toward the Uchiha was proof enough. Compassion and restraint—foolish ideals that would only invite disaster.
He had seen it before.
The Nine-Tails Incident had been born from that sa weakness.
And if things continued like this, Konoha would one day pay for its sentintality again.
Danzō's single eye opened slowly, cold and resolute.
"It's ti," he whispered, "to rethink the plan."
West of the village—the old Senju residence.
Roshi lay sprawled across the bed, arms and legs splayed, eyes vacant as he stared at the wood-grained ceiling above.
It was one of those rare, almost alien monts of stillness. His mind, for once, had no plans to chase, no missions to calculate, and no burdens to shoulder. Just silence—and the quiet creak of old timber.
He'd been thinking about the Third Hokage's offer: to officially join the Anbu.
After weighing it carefully, his answer was clear—no.
Anbu work might look glamorous on paper—full of high-level missions and honors—but to him, it reeked of chains. Endless, thankless missions done in the dark. No freedom, no rest.
A normal jōnin's life suited him far better.
There were still plenty of missions, sure, but he could pick his pace. Sotis take a ten-day trip for a three-day journey, maybe sneaking in a detour or two on the way ho. It was freedom—modest, but his own.
Even with that decision made, Roshi wasn't rushing to inform the Hokage. He'd discuss it later, perhaps over tea in the Hokage's office.
For now, after the long mission outside the village, even Lady Tsunade had shown rcy—she hadn't dragged him straight into another pile of paperwork.
When he finally woke up the next afternoon, his body felt light for the first ti in weeks. The fatigue that had clung to him like mist had all but vanished.
Leaving the Senju house, he made his way toward the village center—and imdiately noticed it.
Sothing in the air was off.
The usual liveliness of Konoha seed muted. The laughter in the streets was replaced by hushed voices and uneasy glances.
Snippets of conversation floated past—words like "border," "casualties," and "monster."
He understood imdiately.
When Satori's rampage had reached the Land of Fire, it must have devastated the border outposts. Many had died.
"Border duty always gets hit first," Roshi, himself being a victim, thought grimly as he turned toward Ichiraku Ran.
But at a crossroads, sothing caught his attention—a small, solitary figure moving through the crowd.
A boy. Barely four years old.
He wore a green long-sleeved shirt under a too-large white short-sleeved top, marked with a red Uzumaki crest on the chest.
Sunlight caught his tousled blond hair, and the faint whisker-like markings on his cheeks stood out against his round face.
Uzumaki Naruto.
Roshi's steps slowed.
Could Naruto move around the village freely at this age?
He'd always assud the boy was kept under close watch—the orphaned Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails, cared for by assigned attendants and rarely seen in public. Since his arrival in this world, Roshi had never once crossed paths with him.
Maybe they'd loosened the restrictions now that he was older.
But seeing him in person—this tiny, lonely child—made all those stories hit harder.
Across the crowd, adults glanced at Naruto with thinly veiled disdain. Fear, disgust, and discomfort twisted their expressions. Parents quietly tugged their children away, murmuring warnings under their breath.
The scene was almost absurd.
The "secrecy" surrounding the Jinchūriki's identity was a farce—in a village as tightly knit as Konoha, no secret lasted long. The glares alone told the story.
Roshi's eyes flicked briefly toward a shadowed rooftop. There—a faint chakra signature. Anbu. Watching over Naruto from a distance.
So the boy was protected—but not defended.
Even if the Third Hokage visited often, this kind of open hostility was poison that no watchful guard could block.
Without changing his pace, Roshi stepped forward—his tall fra passing between Naruto and the crowd.
The villagers' stares faltered as they noticed the flak jacket and headband. Their whispers didn't stop, but they looked away, uncomfortable.
For a brief mont, Naruto's world grew a little quieter.
As Roshi passed him, the child tilted his head—his wide, ocean-blue eyes following the retreating figure.
For just an instant, the oppressive weight of the crowd had disappeared.
Sothing about that man's presence had cut through the suffocating atmosphere.
Later, after finishing his ran, Roshi made his way to the Hokage Building.
The Third Hokage wasn't there—but as luck would have it, Tsunade was just stepping out.
"Lady Tsunade," Roshi said flatly before she could speak, "whatever it is, no overti today."
Tsunade scowled imdiately, lowering the hand she'd been about to raise. "You're getting bolder every day, brat. If you're not here to work, what do you want?"
"On my way here, I saw a child," Roshi replied evenly.
Her expression darkened instantly. "Don't tell you're trying to 'steal' soone again."
"…It was soone from the village," Roshi said. "If I'm not mistaken—the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki."
Tsunade's face grew serious. "Naruto? What about him?"
"That child—he's barely four. Is he really allowed to live on his own?"
"What exactly are you getting at?" she asked warily.
"I saw him walking alone in the streets," Roshi said quietly. "Even if he's under constant guard, shouldn't the villagers be told to control their behavior around him?"
He t her eyes. "I understand the losses from the Nine-Tails incident. I understand the resentnt. But letting people treat him that way—it's no better than punishing a child for being born."
Tsunade's lips pressed into a thin line.
He was right—but it wasn't that simple.
Her grandmother had been the first Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki. Even as the wife of the God of Shinobi, Uzumaki Mito had endured whispers and wary looks her entire life. Tsunade knew that weight intimately.
Even Jiraiya, even Kakashi—none of them had ever spoken out against Naruto's situation.
And Minato, Naruto's father… had surely foreseen this fate when he sealed the beast within his son.
Such was the reality of their world. The fate of a Jinchūriki was isolation. No village was exempt.
Finally, Tsunade exhaled softly.
"…I understand," she said at last. "I'll make arrangents."
Roshi nodded, his expression unreadable.
Neither of them said it aloud—but both knew the truth.
What they could do for Naruto now was not protection.
It was rcy.
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