Naruto Senju : Konoha's Ice Dragon

Chapter 36 - The Forest of Death

TWO HOURS AGO - HOKAGE'S OFFICE

Naruto went to see Hiruzen, a few hours before the second test was about to start. He wanted to discuss with the old Kage, regarding the note he gave to Ibiki yesterday, regarding a certain Silver-haired boy.

"Ibiki told me about your message, Naruto-kun. I find it quite.....troubling." Hiruzen said.

"Sarutobi Sensei, I've known you all my life. You never once lied to me, ever since you told me the truth about who I am. I've always trusted you, so I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt. But how could YOU, the fuc-freaking Hokage, not know that a boy with Nono Yakushi's name, has been in YOUR village for FOUR years?!" Naruto asked slightly angry.

".....I honestly don't know what to tell you, Naruto-kun. I have personally registered every-single Konoha Shinobi and Kunoichi for the past 14 years, ever since I retook the position of Hokage. And even in my old age, I can still remember every single name. But I NEVER registered a Kabuto Yakushi before." Hiruzen said honestly.

Naruto was still angry, but he knew his Jiji would never intentionally keep something like this from him. So he decided to trust in his surrogate-grandfather, like he always does.

"....Sigh......okay, I believe you, Jiji. It's just....if he is here for that long....there's a chance, that Mother Nono is....that she's...." Naruto couldn't bring himself to finish that sentence.

"I know, Naruto-kun.......I'm so sorry."

Naruto was clearly upset, knowing that his surrogate mother is likely dead, but he knew he needed to focus on the task at hand.

"....Is...is there anyone else, that has the power to register Shinobis in the village, besides you?" Naruto asked with a serious tone.

"Aside from me, only the Elders. But why would they..." Hiruzen's eyes widened, as does Naruto's, as they came to the same conclusion.

"DANZO" Hiruzen and Naruto said in unison, with venom in their voices.

"That goddamn war-hawk. But the real question, is why though? Do you think Kabuto is in league with ROOT?" Hiruzen asked his apprentice.

"Maybe. There's a high chance he could be a spy for ROOT, but my gut is telling me something else. Danzo and his agents always work in the shadows, but Kabuto was showing-off like a damn peacock, when I first met him. I don't know why he wanted to 'help' us, by revealing very confidential info, but I have a feeling he was trying to win someone over." Naruto summarized.

"I assume he wanted to play on your naivety, to gain your trust, since you are all rookies. You told me his chakra reserves is around High-Jonin Level, and that he knows Medical Ninjutsu. That's a really rare skill to have nowadays. And with how he was able to acquire extensive info from every single candidate in the exam, including you, shows that he is a very capable spy. As for this mysterious Kusa Kunoichi you speak of, her name is Shiore. Not much I can tell you about her, except a couple D-ranks and C-ranks in her record. She's practically an ordinary Genin, if you ask me. But I trust your abilities to identity threats, Naruto-kun. But given that Shiore is a Chunin Exam candidate from Kusa, we can't really do anything about her, unless she broke our laws within the village. But I CAN bring Kabuto in, for questioning." Hiruzen suggested.

"......No. If we capture him now, whoever he works for, will be alerted to our awareness. And whatever their planning, will just become bad to worst. We need to preserve the illusion that he is still in control, and find out what he's up to, so we can come-up with a counter strategy." Naruto said.

"I see your friendship with young Shikamaru has made you sharper, Naruto-kun. I'm impressed. I hope you have a plan, my boy." Hiruzen said.

"I've already placed my Hiraishin Seal on Kabuto. Wherever he goes, I can follow. I'll keep my distance and find out what he's up to, in the second test. Have your ANBUs stationed around the perimeter, in case anything happens. I'll notify Anko-neechan later, AFTER she makes her announcement. I don't want to give Kabuto a reason to be suspicious if she suddenly acts differently around him." Naruto practically ordered the old Kage.