Naruto: Thrown Into the Leaf

"This isn't a social call."

Silence.

Then Hiruzen gestured. "Speak."

Danzō moved to the desk and placed a scroll down. It was Marked: ROOT - Observation Record.

"He's developing faster than anticipated and Chakra control is increasing. Precision… unnaturally high."

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow.

Danzō continued.

"He has no clan, no kekkei genkai. Yet he is matching — in some ways exceeding — genin-level results in his chosen method."

"Throwing stones?"

"Chakra-infused projectiles," Danzō corrected.

Hiruzen tapped his pipe. "I've read the basics. Why are you here?"

Danzō's face didn't move.

"I want to test him."

Hiruzen narrowed his eyes.

"Test… or recruit?"

Silence again.

Then a twitch in Danzō's jaw.

"He has no allegiance," Danzō said. "No friends. No clan. His rent is paid by the village."

Another puff from the pipe.

"Then what do you want, Danzō?"

Danzō took a breath.

"The boy is dangerous."

Hiruzen didn't flinch.

"So was Itachi. So was Kakashi. So were we, once."

Danzō leaned forward now.

"I'm not asking for execution. I'm asking for Supervision. If he slips — if his loyalty wavers — it must be dealt with quickly."

"And what do you base this on?"

Danzō tapped the scroll.

"Because he trains like a soldier, not a child. Because he looks at enemies like prey, not peers. Because he doesn't ask for help."

A pause.

"And… because he's already being watched."

Hiruzen's pipe stopped in midair.

"By who?"

"By the Hyūga heiress."

That got a raised brow.

Danzō almost smirked. Almost..

"She follows him. Observes his routines. Mimics his training. And recently began cooking."

"You think it's romantic?"

"I think it's influence. The kind of influence Root cannot allow to spread without control."

Hiruzen was silent for a long while.

Then, he looked up — as if speaking to smoke — and said:

"The strongest stones are made under pressure, Danzō. But not all should be turned into weapons."

Danzō stepped back. "Then keep watching him. But mark my words…"

He turned toward the door.

"…either he becomes Konoha's hidden blade… or one day, he breaks Konoha's bones."

The door slid shut.

Hiruzen stared at the scroll.

Then out the window — toward the distant sound of the river.

He whispered:

"Let the river flow. Let the stone choose its path."

And behind the words…

He didn't know if he was praying or warning.

There was a feeling that remained behind Hiruzen's ribs like a warm knife: regret

He took a long pull from his pipe.

Letting the smoke curl 

"Bring him in," he said to the masked ANBU standing silently at the door.

The agent nodded once and disappeared in a blink of black cloth and chakra.

Alone again, Hiruzen let the air settle.

He looked not at his paperwork — not even at the file marked "Otis" — but at the small photo tucked beneath a half-burnt candle on his desk.

It was old and faded.

The woman in it smiled — tired but bright and her hair tied back. Eyes clear. She was holding a blanket in her arms.

He closed his eyes.

The memory was still sharp:

Now, a decade later, that memory burned brighter than the candle.

Hiruzen set the photo back down just as the ANBU entered.

Kneeling.

"Report."

The agent's voice was crisp.

"Otis continues his routine. Morning strength drills. Afternoon precision throws. Evening chakra control at the riverside."

"Anyone approach him?"

"Only Hyūga Hinata. Observing from a distance. No direct contact."

Hiruzen nodded slowly.

"And his condition?"

"Mentally stable. Physically healthy. Exceptionally self-regulated."

A pause.

"Do you see danger?"

The ANBU hesitated.

Hiruzen looked down at his hand again.

The one where the handprint had appeared in the dream.

He flexed it.

As if the stone Otis threw had landed there instead.

"Continue watching," Hiruzen said softly.

The ANBU paused.

Then bowed, slower this time.

"I understand."

When the door shut again, Hiruzen whispered into the smoke:

"I made a promise. even if the village forgets…

I won't."

The door clicked shut as the ANBU left.

Hiruzen didn't move at first.

He just sat in the stillness, with pipe cradled in his fingers and the smoke rising.

Then—his voice, firm:

"Are there any Root agents observing the boy?"

From the shadows behind the bookshelf, another presence stirred.

The ANBU Commander, clad in black, stepped forward quietly.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. Two, stationed at alternating shifts. Per orders issued by Danzō Shimura—"

"Cancel them."

The Commander hesitated.

"Sir?"

Hiruzen finally turned his head, and though his face remained calm, his voice carried a quiet weight that cut through the air like a drawn blade.

"I said: remove all Root surveillance from the boy. Effective immediately."

"Understood…"

The commander stepped back.

But Hiruzen wasn't finished.

"And if Danzō questions it…"

"…remind him that I am still Hokage. Not him."

He rose slowly, bones creaking beneath his robes and moved to the window, overlooking Konoha's rooftops.

The river glittered in the distance, far away — where a boy trained alone,

"You've taken enough children from the shadows, Danzō," Hiruzen muttered to the glass.

"This one… belongs to the light."

The ANBU Commander didn't move as the Root order was revoked.

He stood in silence — posture perfect, with his ANBU mask in his hand.

Young face and Sharp eyes.

Itachi Uchiha.

Hiruzen turned to him fully now, pipe resting on the windowsill.

"You disapprove?"

Itachi shook his head.

"No. I agree with the decision."

Hiruzen studied him — the lines of exhaustion under the boy's eyes, the weight in his voice that no child should carry.

"You know what Root is capable of, Itachi."

"I do."

"Then hear this well…"

Hiruzen stepped closer, his voice dropping like stone into still water:

"If Danzō ignores this order…"

"…you are authorized to remove Root agents on sight."

A pause.

"Lethal force if necessary."

Itachi blinked once.

"Understood."

"I trust you, Itachi."

That made the boy hesitate

Trust was rare in his world.

Hiruzen turned back toward the village, voice quieter now.

"Otis is not like the others. But he's not our enemy."

"He's still a child."

"Do not let anyone — not Danzō, not even me — turn him into a tool."

Itachi bowed his head.

"I will protect him. As if he were… my own brother."

Hiruzen gave the faintest of smiles.

"Spoken like someone who still believes."

Then—just as Itachi turned to leave—Hiruzen asked,

"How is Naruto?"

Itachi paused at the door.

His voice came softer now.

"He's loud. Lonely. Hungry for attention."

"He doesn't know what's sealed inside him… but the villagers do."

"They look at him the same way Root looks at Otis."

Hiruzen closed his eyes briefly.

"Two children," he murmured.

"One too loud for them to love."

"The other is too quiet for them to notice."

Itachi bowed and then vanished.

(Pic)

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