['Hanzou joined forces with the darkness of konoha, the Root Organization, to nip the Akatsuki Organization—which threatened Hanzou's rule—in the bud.']
['Danzo personally went out on this mission.']
['There are no detailed records of what exactly happened back then...']
['Ultimately, the goal was achieved. Danzo took many people with him when he left, but when he returned, he was the only one left.']
['The Akatsuki Organization fell silent.']
['The leader, Yahiko, died.']
['What happened during that time?']
[Naruto frowned slightly.]
[Vaguely, he seemed to have found some key information.]
[But the clue slipped away again.]
[While he was thinking.]
[Hydrangea had already returned to Konan's side.]
[She subconsciously glanced at Konan.]
[Her eyes flickered.]
[What's wrong with Master?]
[What is she looking at... so intently?]
[Following Konan's line of sight.]
[Hydrangea: "..."]
[She turned her head back in disbelief, looking at Konan's pretty face.]
[Still cold and aloof, carrying her unique charm.]
[Only...]
['How long are you two going to keep staring at each other?']
[Naruto naturally didn't know; at this moment, his thoughts had already drifted far away.]
[On the Clan Massacre Night.]
[That beast Uchiha Obito... only showed one eye.]
[His Mangekyo Sharingan.]
[Is the matter of Amegakure related to him?]
[Hidden Mist Village... Rin Nohara... Village Hidden in the Mist... the controlled Fourth Mizukage... Mangekyo Sharingan.]
[Uchiha Madara's backup plan.]
[All Creation... Rinnegan.]
[Where is the Rinnegan?]
[Amegakure... Yahiko, Nagato, Konan.]
[The 'God' whose body is covered in black iron rods?]
[Intuition told him that all of this seemed to be connected.]
[If they could be logically linked, then the truth wouldn't be far off.]
[Is what Uchiha Madara planned the Eye of the Moon... Is the Akatsuki Organization also one of Uchiha Madara's backup plans, etc.]
[...]
Uchiha Izuna: Sigh... there are shadows of a certain person's teachings again.
Uchiha Izuna: Bad seeds really do live for a thousand years~
Senju Tobirama: "..."
Senju Tobirama: "Ahem, the focus now isn't that. Indeed, where is Madara's Rinnegan?"
Senju Hashirama: Hahaha~
Senju Hashirama: It really is like Madara's habit; it's impossible for him to only leave Uchiha Obito as a backup.
Uchiha Madara: Hmph~!
The black-framed large screen's images continued:
['What is he looking at?']
[Konan's elegant brows furrowed slightly.]
['Has he noticed Pain's intentions?']
[Konan's thoughts were also drifting.]
[At the same time.]
[Below.]
[Gekkō Hayate waited for a moment, and after confirming everything was correct, he was about to announce the combatants for the fourth round of the selection matches.]
["Safe!!!"]
["Woof woof woof~!!!"]
[Kiba and Akamaru, man and dog, looked as if they had just survived a disaster.]
[Just now, when the name on the right settled on the three characters for Inuzuka Kiba.]
[Kiba almost cried out.]
[Others might not know how powerful Naruto is, but could they not know?]
[And in this kind of setting.]
[It was definitely going to be just going through the motions.]
[Where would Kiba dare to actually fight?]
[He would rather face that strange, powerful, and bloodthirsty... eyebrow-less red-haired kid with the sand gourd from Sunagakure than face Naruto.]
[Even if Naruto wouldn't actually hurt him.]
[But... if he dared to make a move while going through the motions.]
[Well... Sakura, Ino, and Tenten's 'greetings' would be one thing.]
[If Hinata got angry because of it... he might mysteriously be beaten until he coughed blood one day by a Hinata who 'didn't control' her strength well.]
[As for the strange looks from others?]
[Heh!]
[To that, Inuzuka Kiba unceremoniously gave two mocking 'hehs' back.]
[Look down on us, one man and one dog?]
[If you're so capable, you go up there!]
["You guys have no idea how terrifying Naruto-kun is!"]
["Woof woof woof~!"]
[Kiba crossed his arms over his chest, and after receiving Akamaru's response, he nodded in great agreement.]
[And on Kiba's head, Akamaru also mimicked Kiba's posture, crossing his paws over his chest and nodding incessantly.]
[After saying that, Inuzuka Kiba even specifically glanced at Kankuro.]
[Kankuro's eye twitched.]
[Because... the original version of what Inuzuka Kiba just said was—You guys have no idea how terrifying Gaara is!]
['Damn it!']
['That guy who reeks of dog!']
[Kankuro glared at Inuzuka Kiba.]
[Kiba naturally glared back, refusing to be outdone.]
[Akamaru did the same.]
['Useless trash carrying a bunch of broken wood!']
[The two of them had a staredown.]
["Naruto-kun~ Good luck~!"]
["Darling, do your best~!"]
[The girls all stepped forward to cheer Naruto on.]
[Naruto finally snapped back to reality.]
[Seeing that Konan was still looking at him.]
[He gave a gentle smile.]
[He nodded and then withdrew his gaze.]
[Is it my turn?]
[The fourth round... not bad, not too fast and not too slow.]
[Then he subconsciously glanced at the Old Thing.]
[The Old Thing was currently suppressing his anger and giving him a kind smile.]
[As if nothing had ever happened.]
[Naruto's attention hadn't been on the large screen in the dojo, so he hadn't witnessed the Old Thing's shamelessness.]
[Opposite the second-floor viewing platform.]
[Temari, who had originally been crossing her arms and preparing to watch the show, was also stunned.]
[How did it suddenly become her name?]
[Just now... wasn't it Kankuro's name?]
["Damn dog-scented Konoha Genin!"]
["Hmph!"]
["Temari, give those Konoha Genin a shock and let them know how powerful we are!"]
["It's just Uzumaki Naruto... defeat him, and those Konoha Genin will definitely behave!"]
[Temari: "..."]
[You make it sound... so simple~!]
[Whatever.]
[No matter what, he's her little brother.]
[And he's also cheering her on, so Temari won't lower herself to his level.]
['Who is it?']
['Teacher Sarutobi?']
[Orochimaru was also stunned.]
[This is way too obvious, isn't it?]
[He's not even trying to hide it... could it be that besides himself and Teacher Sarutobi, there's a third person who has the ability to alter the match list?]
[Orochimaru narrowed his eyes slightly.]
[Thinking about the upcoming Konoha Crush Plan, he didn't want any accidents to occur.]
["Not even pretending anymore?"]
["I'm seriously fed up!"]
["Is it possible that all the matches later will be exactly what he wants to see?"]
[Ino couldn't help but complain.]
[Her voice wasn't too loud or too soft.]
[However, looking at the change in expression over there.]
[Clearly, Ino's words had reached them.]
[But Ino didn't care.]
[If they heard it, they heard it.]
["Ahem..."]
["Well then, would the two of you please enter the arena as soon as possible."]
[Gekkō Hayate coughed twice and hurried them along.]
[Temari glanced at the handsome boy across from her who made her heart flutter.]
[Just as she was about to enter the arena.]
[Suddenly, Gaara, who had been silent for a long time beside her, said:]
["Temari."]
["You can't win. Forfeit."]