The shadows

ch11

Naruto went about his day as usual. He trained on his speed when casting Jutsu. He had a good repository of Jutsu but didn't like using elemental ninjutsu. Similar to his previous life, he used Kage bunshin extensively but not in fights anymore. He used them to enhance his training speed.

For elemental Jutsu, he preferred to do pure elemental manipulation similar to the Nidaime. He also knew a lot of high-ranking elemental Jutsu, but he was working on perfecting them. According to his training which he agreed with, a Jutsu wasn't perfect unless it could be performed without the hand signs.

This way, there was less chance of the opponent finding out the Jutsu was being used until the last moment. Another reason that Naruto tried to avoid the elemental ninjutsu was that during the war, he learned the importance of saving the chakra.

In war, you will never know when you will get to rest or what tricks your opponents can pull, so it is best to always be ready for the worst, and chakra was necessary in these cases. Having enough chakra to cast a substitution can mean the difference between life and death.

It was around noon, and Naruto was told to change into formal attire. It was simple navy blue kimono without any designs. Naruto took a quick shower and got ready. He met Danzo near the entrance of the base.

He couldn't kneel without disheveling his clothing which he knew Danzo wouldn't appreciate, so instead, he gave a deep bow.

"Hokage-sama invited us to join him for lunch along with elders Homura and Koharu. I will formally announce you as my ward and future heir to the council afterward." Danzo proceeded to tell Naruto about what was expected of him.

They made their way toward an old Japanese restaurant. They were the first to arrive, so they sat at a table, waiting for others. Danzo ordered himself a cup of tea while Naruto sat quietly. After a short while, the others arrived.

The introductions were short and polite. Naruto was mostly silent and looking down while letting Danzo answer questions. He answered the few questions he was asked directly. The story that Danzo and Sandaime came up with was that Naruto was an Uzumaki orphan found by ANBU.

His parents were dead when he was found, so they brought him to the village. He had medical problems and couldn't stay in the orphanage, so Danzo decided to take him in. He was trained early on due to his strong chakra and became a genin.

He has the skills to become a chunin. He just needed a few C-rank missions, which he would start soon. He will be on teams assigned by the Hokage for those missions. If he performed adequately, he would be given a field promotion since he didn't have a team to enter the exams.

Another reason for not entering him into a team was that the plan was for him to lead ROOT in the future, so there wasn't much point for him to join regular forces. In this world, ROOT was an official division after the Kyubi attack.

ROOT was in charge of missions that needed stealth and infiltration. These missions usually also had a danger factor that if the ninja was caught, they needed to self-destruct and leave nothing that could relate them to Konoha.

They were basically sacrificial pawns. While they were also highly skilled professionals, they still had higher mortality rates due to the nature of their missions. Other types of missions that they usually took were assassinations and political missions.

If they wanted a high-ranking profile from another village assassinated, ROOT was the best option. Basically, they took care of all the all the dirty missions of the village to keep the hand of others clean.

During lunch, Naruto did his best to be perfect. Pouring sake for everyone and making sure to leave a good image. When the lunch ended, they all went to the council room. All the clan heads and civilian representatives were sitting around the table.