Grace: A Naruto Fanfiction (Book 1)

Chapter 12: ROOT

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Naruto narrowed his eyes right at Danzo. This guy was a cunning and sly man, Naruto just knew it. He was a cunning and sly boy himself. What was his motive behind this all?

"What is ROOT?" Naruto asked, getting straight to the point. He suddenly felt the weight of the ropes that were tied around home slowly vanish out of thin air. Naruto looked behind him.

There was Anbu there, cutting his ropes as the two spoke out.

"ROOT is a subdivision of Anbu that I have created myself. I am its leader, Shimura Danzo," responded Danzo, observing Naruto's actions as he answered the question about ROOT.

"Does the Hokage know about this?" Naruto asked, suspicious of what Danzo was currently planning. And to his surprise, Danzo nodded at the question that Naruto had just asked him. "Of course, Hiruzen knows. Although, it seems he is on the brink of disbanding ROOT itself," said Danzo. His keen eyes were on Naruto like a hawk.

"And what is your motive with me?" Naruto followed up with another question that needed to be answered. Danzo stayed quiet for a few moments. It seems he's trying to get as much information as possible. Danzo thought, narrowing his free eyes towards Naruto.

"I have a proposal for you, Ahihcu Naruto," Danzo said, an ominous vibe was all Naruto felt down his spine. He stayed silent to let Danzo continue and to know what the proposal actually was.

"Do you know what that proposal is?" Naruto shook his head, although he had a clue on what the proposal/deal actually was. Danzo's voice range throughout the room that they were in.

"The proposal is quite the prestigious one — you are one of the few people that I have met directly. You should feel honor." Naruto did not say anything, already coming to the conclusion that fits the words that were about to come next.

"I would like to invite you as an Anbu for ROOT," said Danzo, letting Naruto widen his eyes for a split second before letting his eyes turn back to its original form once more. "And why is that exactly?" Asked Naruto, his face staying neutral.

"Your abilities. . . they are way too exceptional to be wasted upon. You are young and yet your abilities to succeed in the shinobi arts are on prodigious levels that people have only seen in people like Uchiha Itachi, Hatake Kakashi, and Namikaze Minato." There were many more, but these 3 are one of the most notable people in recent generations.

"You sent your ROOT Anbu after me. Was your goal to tire me out to the point where I was most vulnerable? And you were willing to sacrifice the life of your subordinates to catch me. Why?" Naruto asked another question, it seemed continuous and endless at this point.

"Yes, that was exactly the goal. But it seemed like hold lots of stamina like what my Anbu has reported. And the reason why I was willing to sacrifice the life of one my Anbu is quite simple. . ." There was a eery silence that created much suspense to Danzo's words.

"It is because," Danzo's voice was menacing. "Self-sacrifice is the way of true shinobi. The person that fought you sacrificed himself for the greater cause, which was my plan." Naruto narrowed his eyes at him.

So this is Danzo's way? Naruto thought, eyes still narrowed at Danzo. "By the tactic that you pulled, it seems like the old man doesn't want you to recruit me to ROOT." Naruto saw Danzo widen his eyes for a nanosecond before his look returned back to normal.