Naruto: Menma Exiting Infinite Tsukuyomi

Chapter 138: Only Seeing the Chessboard, Not Knowing One is Already a Piece in the Game

"Old grandpa, do you know me?"

Looking at the gently smiling Naruto before him, a bold idea suddenly arose in Danzō.

"Could it be... this is the last chance heaven has given me?!"

Root was down to just a cat or two, and he was carrying the heavy blame for the clan extermination. It could be said he was now a target of public criticism, completely unpopular.

The Hokage position he had fought for half his life was now almost hopeless.

However, others still had hope.

Looking at Naruto, whose aura was similar to Namikaze Minato's, Danzō's eyes began to flicker erratically.

Uzumaki Naruto, the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, son of the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato.

His dream is to become a great ninja like the Fourth Hokage, to become a flame, illuminating Konoha, warming everyone.

And that fellow Sarutobi seems to want Uzumaki Naruto to inherit his Will of Fire, and then cultivate Uzumaki Naruto to become the Sixth or Seventh Hokage.

In the intelligence Danzō had secretly gathered,

Uzumaki Naruto could be said to have perfectly inherited his father Namikaze Minato's ninja talent and kind heart, as well as his mother Uzumaki Kushina's Uzumaki physique and gentle appearance.

However, in Danzō's view, Naruto and his father were fundamentally different.

-- Humans are like trees. The more they yearn for the sunlight above, the deeper their roots must extend into the darkness below.

A character who could utter such words, how could he possibly be as naive and childish as Namikaze Minato?

Uzumaki Naruto must be hiding an extremely deep darkness in his heart!

And he, Shimura Danzō, as the Darkness of Shinobi, was best at guiding the darkness in people's hearts.

"Perhaps, this old man can win Uzumaki Naruto over from Sarutobi's side?"

The more Danzō thought about it, the more it made sense. His single eye, looking at Naruto, grew brighter and brighter.

Since he couldn't be the Hokage, then he would be the man behind the Hokage.

Thinking this, Danzō's posture instantly straightened.

He imitated that fellow Sarutobi's appearance, trying his best to make his own smile appear kind.

"Naruto, ah, what a coincidence."

He looked at Naruto, reminding him in a kind tone: "Have you forgotten this old man so quickly? We just met a week ago."

Naruto sized up Danzō, with his comical smile, like a clumsy imitator.

Although he couldn't help but laugh inwardly, the smile on his face gradually faded.

"Oh, so it's you. The fierce, non-knocking, impolite old grandpa."

Fierce... non-knocking... impolite... old grandpa?

A vein couldn't help but pop on Danzō's forehead. He forced a smile and said: "That was just an accident, just an accident."

"This old man, Shimura Danzō, is actually a very polite and good person."

Hold it in!

Since Sarutobi Hiruzen could sideline Namikaze Minato, then he could naturally sideline Uzumaki Naruto.

The plan to push Orochimaru to the Hokage position failed back then, but the reason was that Orochimaru was too opinionated and too presumptuous.

Uzumaki Naruto, however, was still very young now, like a pure white canvas yet to be painted on.

With careful planning against the unsuspecting, he wouldn't necessarily lose to that fellow Sarutobi!

So, absolutely must hold it in!

"So it was an accident? But that doesn't matter."

Naruto forcefully suppressed the urge to punch that old face, the coldness on his own face gradually turning into an innocent smile.

"You know Grandpa Third, so you must be a good person too. As long as you know your mistakes and correct them, you are still worthy of respect."

With that, not minding Danzō's smile that he could no longer maintain,

He looked up at the gradually setting sun, then turned his head to Danzō with a concerned expression and asked: "Old grandpa, do you need me to walk you home?"

"After all, I accidentally bumped into you. And at your age, it's not very safe to be outside alone."

As soon as these words were spoken, Danzō, who was on the verge of losing his temper, was instantly stunned.

Immediately, a smile returned to his face.

"Alright then. Naruto really is a good child who respects the old and loves the young."

"Don't be polite, old grandpa who knows how to correct his mistakes~"

At the same time, Naruto, sensing the emotional change in Danzō, also smiled.

"The prey... has entered the trap."

Danzō thought meeting Naruto was heaven's last chance for him.

But little did he know, all coincidences in the world are inevitable.

His whereabouts and psychological profile had long been in Naruto's grasp.

Naruto knew very well that this person, Shimura Danzō, had always been obsessed with the Hokage position.

Even as the Hokage's Assistant and a Konoha Elder, seemingly only a step away from the Hokage position, in reality, it all came down to a single word from Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Without Sarutobi Hiruzen's tacit approval, no matter what he did, he could not succeed.

He simply didn't understand what conditions were needed to become Hokage, let alone what the Hokage position signified.

As long as someone else sat in the Hokage's seat, Danzō could only hide in dark corners like a rat.

So Naruto, through simple suggestion, disguised himself as the prey.

Making Danzō psychologically feel that he himself was already old, and subconsciously want to support Naruto to ascend to the Hokage position.

But he never considered,

Whether the "moral coercion" that Sarutobi Hiruzen used on Namikaze Minato, and that he himself used on Sarutobi Hiruzen, would be effective on a cynical person like Naruto.

"Let me see how much utility value you have."

"After squeezing you dry of your value, I'll just kick you away."

The old and the young, each harboring their own sinister designs, smiled at each other, both calculating how to outwit the other.

However...

One only saw the chessboard, yet did not know he was already a piece in the game.

The other had already laid out the chessboard, waiting for his opponent to fall into his game.

The two walked and talked all the way.

Finally, before the sun set, he escorted Danzō to the Shimura clan grounds.

Shimura Danzō didn't try too hard to keep Naruto from leaving.

He just watched his departing back, already making plans in his heart for another "chance encounter."

...

In the following days, Konoha seemed no different.

Sasuke, discharged from the hospital, also walked the streets as before, but without his past arrogance and smiles.

The fan emblem of the Uchiha clan on his shoulder seemed so jarring, so ironic at this moment.

"That child must be the last Uchiha clansman, right? Truly pitiful."

"But with the whole clan gone except for him, still wearing the Uchiha clan emblem is really an unnecessary act."

"Hahaha, don't say that. Isn't his older brother still alive?"

"You mean that beast who killed all his clansmen, including his parents?"

Listening to the piercing words constantly coming from his side, feeling the pitying gazes he had never felt before,

Sasuke suddenly stopped, looking at the discussing crowd with an increasingly cold gaze.

"Huh? Is he looking at us?"

"What's there to be afraid of? Does he still think he's the proud Uchiha?"

The crowd, sensing his gaze, was only slightly stunned.

Immediately, as if offended, they glared back fiercely, their discussion becoming even more unbridled.

The Uchiha clan was a clan in name only now. Could this brat dare to commit violence in the street?

"These guys..."

Sasuke grit his teeth, just about to teach them a lesson.

But just as his foot took a step forward,

Slap!

(End of Chapter)

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