Konoha: Naruto, trained by Aizen

According to Neri, the woman with eyeliner, Naruto is not against human experimentation, and many of his ideas are even consistent with the Root's thinking.

Faced with the question, Naruto decisively replied, "I think human experimentation is an essential method for a ninja village to become powerful. Although it may be inhumane and against the laws of nature, human experimentation allows us to better understand the bloodline limits within our bodies, and can even create powerful individuals, which is the only way to protect Konoha. Moreover, as far as I know, the Second Hokage developed various forbidden techniques through human experimentation, and these powerful forbidden techniques have benefited Konoha to this day."

“That’s right, you’re absolutely right.” Danzo’s eyes were filled with undisguised admiration.

The ninjas of the Third Hokage lineage have always shared a common flaw: naivety.

But Naruto has absolutely no such trait.

He is as warm and polite as a spring breeze to his own people.

He showed no mercy to his enemies and was ruthless in his methods.

He understood the price of becoming stronger and fully accepted the darkness.

This is the only candidate to inherit the Will of Fire and the Will of Root.

"Naruto, now, do you understand Root?" Danzo asked in a low voice.

“Of course, where there is light, there will be darkness. The strength of a ninja village cannot be brought about by benevolence and prosperity; it also requires darkness like a reflection.” Naruto’s eyes were firm as he said softly, “This is also why I joined Root. If Konoha is a big tree, then Root is the root that is rooted in the soil and provides nutrients to the tree.”

"That's right, you're absolutely right." Hearing Naruto's sincere words, Danzo's eyes suddenly became a little blurry.

This was his original intention in founding Root; he has already sacrificed far too much for Konoha.

Although he used his fellow villagers for human experiments, joined forces with Orochimaru to launch the Konoha Crush plan, and even hid behind the scenes when Konoha faced a crisis...

But in the end, it's all about becoming Hokage!

Only by becoming Hokage can one truly benefit Konoha.

"What...do you think of Orochimaru?" Danzo asked after a moment's hesitation.

The darkness at the roots is beyond human imagination.

Danzo originally intended for Naruto to gradually understand and accept Root through subtle influence.

However, given the current situation, this process can be accelerated.

“Orochimaru is a very good researcher; I think he’s a talented person,” Naruto said after a moment of contemplation.

“But he carried out the Konoha Crush plan,” Danzo added with a benevolent expression.

"Yes, I don't know him well enough, so I can't give much of an evaluation."

"What if," Danzo changed the subject, "that you cooperate with Orochimaru for research purposes?"

Naruto paused for a moment, then smiled gently: "I think there's absolutely no problem. There are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests. The Konoha Crush plan is a done deal, and there's no use in regretting it now. If cooperating with Orochimaru can bring better development to Konoha, then I think it's feasible."

I was impressed and shocked.

A mix of emotions swirled in Danzo's eyes.

Just as he expected, Naruto was the perfect candidate for Root.

Perhaps soon, Naruto will be able to access the core Root mission.

However, Naruto's sense of belonging and loyalty to Root has not yet been fully established. If he is given direct access to the most core secrets, things could very well go wrong.

Danzo did not doubt Naruto.

just.

In order to cultivate root leaders in a more standardized way, it is extremely important to establish the psychological foundation for accepting darkness.

Therefore, Danzo decided to give Naruto a few requests first to lay the groundwork.

"I have a new request for you," Danzo said with a smile.

"The Land of Snow is currently in turmoil. The faction led by the princess of the Land of Snow has asked our Konoha for help. If nothing unexpected happens, Kakashi and Guy will be accompanied by Sasuke Uchiha, Tenten, and Neji Hyuga to help the princess restore her kingdom."

"Your mission is simple: secretly collect all the Snow Ninja corpses, and it would be even better if you could capture them alive. The prosperity of Konoha has never been sustained by a single mission."

"What we need to do is to make Konoha stronger from the root. Ice Release is a very good ninjutsu. Through countless studies, perhaps in the future, our Root can create a bloodline limit for Ice Release," Danzo said with a smile.

Finally, he added, "This mission is quite difficult. If there are any special circumstances, you can reveal your whereabouts, but you must never reveal your identity."

"If the Konoha ninjas try to stop us, we can intervene." Danzo said, giving Naruto a meaningful look.

"I understand. This request is very interesting." Naruto smiled gently.

"I will complete the mission perfectly."

As Naruto's figure disappeared, Danzo fell into deep thought.

After a long pause, he finally spoke: "Lead your men to Orochimaru's side and discuss further cooperation with him."

"Yes, Lord Danzo." Several ninja voices rang out from the darkness, followed by the sound of something cutting through the air.

Silence fell in the room again, and after a long while, Danzo's mutterings could be heard.

"Hollow, spiritual pressure..."

Chapter 142 Naruto Will Grow According to My Plan

"A mission from the Land of Snow? An escort mission? There must be a lot of strong people here, right?" Sasuke, who had just received the mission, was filled with excitement and a desire to fight.

"Finally, I'll be taking on these challenging missions too! That's more like it; only this way can I gain combat experience, and soon I'll catch up with Naruto, hahaha! Naruto definitely never imagined I'd have the chance to fight a ninja skilled in Ice Release. He'd be so envious if he knew!!"

Sasuke threw his head back and laughed wildly, feeling extremely happy.

After being suppressed by Naruto for so long, he finally stood up.

“But Sakura’s not here, and isn’t Sai temporarily back at Root dealing with an emergency mission?” Sasuke then looked at Kakashi with a puzzled expression, as if he had just realized something.

"Ah~ that's the reason. It was with that in mind that I had Team Kai join us on this mission." Kakashi's tone was as languid as ever.

"Eh? With Neji and the others? No need, I can manage on my own. I don't need any burdens." Sasuke snorted.

Neji Hyuga was defeated by Naruto in the Chunin Exams with overwhelming force.

If I were to cooperate with Neji, wouldn't that be a way of proving that he's inferior to Naruto and that I need to cooperate with his defeated opponent?

“I, Uchiha Sasuke, have never been inferior to anyone in my life. Kakashi, I am sufficient to go alone.”

"The one wearing a mask, your disciple is too strange. Can we not bring him along?" Kazahana Koyuki, who was standing next to Kakashi, said expressionlessly.

"Who are you, woman?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes, revealing his displeasure.

"I'm the person you've been tasked with protecting." Feng Hua Xiaoxue looked at him with disdain: "You're quite handsome, but you seem a bit dim-witted."

"Tch, woman." Sasuke looked at Kakashi with deadpan eyes: "Hey, Kakashi, why do you always take on escort jobs? Do you have some weird fetish?"

"Emmmm," Kakashi said with a deadpan expression, looking utterly helpless.

"Hey, you decent-looking kid, how old are you this year? Still a genin, huh?"

Throughout the journey, Fuuka Koyuki constantly mocked and ridiculed Sasuke.

Sasuke was so angry his face almost twisted in rage.

"Hey, woman, stop talking nonsense. I'll protect you this time. Don't underestimate me, hmph." He crossed his arms and said coldly.

Soon, they reunited with Kai's team.

After exchanging pleasantries, they embarked on their journey to the Land of Snow.

During their journey, they also talked about Rock Lee and Naruto.

They all felt deeply sorry for the partners who joined the root group, but also expressed their understanding.

"Joining Root would be great, after all, Root is a department on par with the Anbu," Kakashi said.

"Roots? I don't think I've ever heard of that before."

Seeing the students' puzzled expressions, Kai and Kakashi explained, "This is a very mysterious department."

Hearing this, Fuuka Koyuki chimed in, "Hey, your two comrades who joined Root must be really strong, right? You're both ninjas who failed to advance, aren't you?"

These words were like a knife plunged into Sasuke's heart.

He angrily retorted, "What do you mean by 'failed to advance'? Root isn't anything special!! Besides, I'm no worse than Naruto, I'm very strong."

But his explanation was so weak.

Instead, it resembles a powerless, furious little lion.

......

Meanwhile, Naruto appeared on the other side of the forest, concealing himself and following behind Sasuke and the others.

Considering that Aburame Nerei's ninjutsu is too distinctive and easily recognized as originating from Konoha, and given Rock Lee's poor performance in the last mission, he will be going alone this time.

Perhaps Danzo's trust in Naruto increased, or perhaps Root was short-handed, so he did not send any Jonin to monitor and follow him.

To be fair, the roots are still relatively free.

Just after Naruto left the village again, the Third Hokage found Danzo and asked him with great dissatisfaction, "Why is Naruto always leaving the village to do missions?"

For the village, Naruto is an extremely important strategic resource. If anything were to happen to him outside, it would be a significant loss for Konoha.

Danzo scoffed, "Jinchūriki raised in a greenhouse can never stand on their own. Naruto is my disciple now. My concern for him is nothing like your hypocrisy. He's the man I've chosen to succeed as the leader of Root. Both his strength and his bloodline limit are more than enough for him to perfectly complete the mission, and even if he fails, he can escape unscathed. He's a ninja who can use his brain to execute missions, unlike you, who had an arm cut off by your own disciple, Hiruzen."

Faced with Danzo's mockery, the Third Hokage angrily smoked his pipe, but was powerless to refute him.

In terms of combat intelligence, Naruto absolutely crushes his contemporaries.

Add to that the monstrous ability of Kyoka Suigetsu, and it would be extremely difficult for a Jonin to kill Naruto.

"Then you must pay attention to Naruto's growth. I don't want the Root to hinder Naruto's growth." The Third Hokage gave Danzo a deep look and said.

"Don't worry, I have a complete plan. Naruto will grow according to my plan, and in the future, he will become Konoha's most powerful sword!"

"Hmph!!" The Third Generation, filled with resentment, turned and left.

"Bang." Hearing the pleasant sound of the gate being admired, Danzo was filled with mixed emotions.

Finally, it wasn't me who left.

He looked intently at the Hokage Building.

When will it be my turn to get that position?!

......

In a quiet town.