The shadows

ch50

Naruto woke up groggy and disoriented. The days after surgery were all the same. He would be discharged from the hospital today, but he couldn't help feeling anxious. He was ordered to return to the ROOT base as soon as he was released.

Naruto was amazed at Danzo's patience. Danzo was a realist, and he was already searching for a suitable vessel to take Naruto's place as the Jinchuuriki and his heir. Of course, Naruto was helping along as well.

While he didn't plan on dying, he knew it was a possibility. And he was grateful Danzo was allowing him to live for now. He knew it was primarily because of the efforts Danzo put into his upbringing and how it would all be a waste if he died.

So while they were getting ready for the possibility, the best outcome for Danzo would always be the cure. For now, Naruto had other duties to take care of. There were current missions of ROOT and training instructions.

They were a bit shorthanded with a lot of agents out there searching for cures or working in labs, so Danzo was giving more duties to Naruto to take care of.

Naruto waited for the doctor to perform the final examination and signed his papers to leave. Fu and Torune were waiting for him and accompanied him to the base. Naruto went to his office, which was a small room right across from Danzo's office.

The room was simple, with no decorations and only a desk and a chair and shelves of documents attached to the walls. Naruto sat behind his desk and looked at the mountain of paperwork on both sides of his desk before taking a deep breath to calm his mind and starting with his work.

It took Naruto a few days to finally find some time off. He decided to visit Shisui. He knew that since Itachi was the clan heir, it would be near impossible to see him in the current situation, but Shisui was more lax.

So he made a box of fresh mochi and headed to the Uchiha district. The guards in front of the compound were familiar with him, so they easily let him in. Naruto exchanged a few pleasantries with a few of the Uchiha he knew before finally getting to his destination.

He knocked on the door and heard Shisui's familiar voice say, "Coming." As soon as Shisui opened the door, he tried to tackle and jump on Naruto, but he was caught by his father mid-jump, pulling him back. "Calm down, Shisui. He is still recovering from the surgery. You can't just jump on him." Kagami said.

Shisui looked like a kicked puppy before letting out a sheepish chuckle. "Sorry." He said.

Kagami sighed before letting go of the back of his shirt. Shisui immediately hugged Naruto. Although he was mindful and didn't put too much pressure into the hug. They both then headed inside to the living room and sat around the table.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't come to visit you, Naruto. Fugaku-sama banned me and Itachi from leaving the compound until we are cured. He is so worried we would do something stupid, so he even assigned guards to watch over us." Shisui said.

"It's ok. I've heard about it from my father. Fugaku-sama told him the situation, and I don't blame him. Honestly, you and Itachi are both workaholics. I'm sure that as soon as you find an opportunity to train, you will do so. So, it's for the best." Naruto said.

"Oh, come on, like you are any better. The only reason you are going around so much is because of those seals preventing you from any chakra use. But still, we were so worried about you." Shisui said. He looked sad and defeated.

"Don't worry. I have complete faith that everything will turn out fine. Let's talk about something else. I've made you some mochi." Naruto said as he opened the box filled with different flavors of mochi.