That afternoon.
A ninja bird flew in from the south, gliding across the sky above the Hidden Leaf Village before disappearing into the rear mountains of the village.
Shortly after, at the Hokage's office in the Hokage Tower—
"That Haruto Saito, he must have betrayed our Hidden Leaf Village!" Danzo's harsh voice echoed through the office. "He clearly knows we're looking for him, yet he deliberately avoids the reconnaissance squads and refuses to accept your orders. Hiruzen, you cannot afford to be soft-hearted any longer! He is a threat that must be dealt with as soon as possible!"
Sitting behind his desk, Sarutobi Hiruzen maintained a stoic expression, silently contemplating. This wasn't the first time Danzo had spoken such words.
It had been over ten days, and there was still no word from Haruto Saito. Moreover, there was solid evidence proving that he had been avoiding the Hidden Leaf's reconnaissance teams. Even Hiruzen himself was beginning to doubt his initial judgment.
Haruto Saito was the only one who knew the exact whereabouts of the Uzumaki treasure.
If he was merely being greedy for the treasure, there was no need for him to remain in hiding for so long—after all, that was not a sustainable plan. And even if he had other thoughts, as long as he hadn't defected, he should have reached out to the Hidden Leaf to explain the situation.
Yet, he said nothing. He simply stayed hidden, which was undeniably suspicious.
"That doesn't necessarily mean he's a traitor," Hiruzen finally spoke. "Just a few days ago, we received intelligence that he had been eliminating Hidden Mist reconnaissance squads. He is still carrying out the mission I assigned to him, which means he remains in the Land of Whirlpools and has not joined the Hidden Mist. He has no reason to betray me!"
"Then why is he hiding? Why is he deliberately avoiding your orders?" Danzo retorted.
Hiruzen fell silent. He had no answer.
It simply didn't make sense.
In reality, Haruto Saito was avoiding returning to the Hidden Leaf too soon. He needed to continue eliminating enemies—only through combat could he earn rewards and rapidly increase his strength. That was all there was to it!
However, such a rationale, tied to his unique system, was beyond anything Hiruzen could reasonably deduce.
"I believe he is conspiring with the Hidden Mist!" Danzo made a bold assumption. "How else could he so effortlessly track down and kill the Hidden Mist's reconnaissance squads? Never making a mistake, never failing—it's too perfect, and that itself is suspicious!"
"Hmm." Hiruzen hummed, acknowledging the point.
Indeed, it was a valid concern.
This was illogical—Haruto Saito truly seemed to have an almost supernatural ability to locate the Hidden Mist's spies with pinpoint accuracy. Explaining this purely with observational skills seemed far-fetched. Of course, if Haruto Saito had remained in contact with the Hidden Leaf, it wouldn't have been an issue—people would simply see him as exceptionally capable.
But his prolonged silence transformed his extraordinary success into a red flag.
Current reports suggested that Haruto Saito had wiped out most of the Hidden Mist's reconnaissance squads, effectively dismantling their intelligence network.
However, this conclusion was based purely on the number of reported casualties among the Hidden Mist spies. Was the intelligence network truly destroyed?
No one could say for certain.
"I am convinced that Haruto Saito has betrayed the Hidden Leaf!" Danzo declared. "He has joined the Hidden Mist! This entire thing is a deception to mislead us. His real goal is to divert our attention, allowing the Hidden Mist to seize the treasure undetected… Then, once he resurfaces and reestablishes contact with us, it will be too late—the Hidden Mist will have already taken the treasure. And Haruto Saito will remain in our village as their planted spy!"
"Why would he side with the Hidden Mist?" Hiruzen asked.
"It doesn't have to be defection—it could be that the Hidden Mist has offered him special benefits!"
"And what does he gain from that?"
"Hiruzen, don't forget—Haruto Saito originally came from the Hidden Rain Village. Right now, both the Hidden Rain and the Hidden Mist are our enemies. That means the two villages have a shared interest…"
If Haruto Saito were here, he would have applauded Danzo's imagination.
Truly impressive!
Hiruzen remained silent, frowning slightly. Although he found Danzo's theory to be overly far-fetched, he couldn't deny that anything was possible. The biggest issue remained—Haruto Saito had yet to contact them. As long as that continued, all suspicions remained valid.
**WHOOSH!**
Suddenly, a figure appeared in the office, materializing right in front of the Hokage's desk.
"Father! Urgent intelligence from the Land of Whirlpools!" the newcomer reported.
It was none other than Sarutobi Hiruzen's son, Sarutobi Shinnosuke, an assistant leader of the Hidden Leaf's Anbu forces.
With White Fang absent from the village, it fell upon him to deliver this critical intelligence.
Hiruzen's eyes lit up with anticipation as he grabbed the scroll. "Is it about Haruto Saito?"
"Yes!" Shinnosuke confirmed.
Hiruzen swiftly unrolled the scroll, and Danzo leaned in to read it as well. Both men's expressions quickly changed—Hiruzen's filled with delight, while Danzo's soured like he had swallowed a bitter pill.
**Intelligence Report:**
Two nights ago, Haruto Saito launched a surprise attack on the Hidden Mist's advance camp. Using an enormous number of explosive tags, he obliterated the entire base. Over a thousand enemy ninjas were killed or injured. Haruto Saito then disappeared once again.
"Hahaha! Excellent! Hahaha! Well done!" Hiruzen slammed his desk, laughing heartily.
"I knew it—Haruto Saito could never betray the Hidden Leaf! He is no traitor!" Hiruzen cast a sideways glance at Danzo as he spoke.
Danzo said nothing.
What could he say?
With such a massive strike against the Hidden Mist, there was no way Haruto Saito would ever side with them now. And the biggest beneficiary of his actions was, without a doubt, the Hidden Leaf! The fact that he was the Hokage's personal student only served to bolster the village's reputation.
From a strategic standpoint, the Hidden Mist's heavy losses had shifted the balance in favor of the Hidden Leaf, accelerating the resolution of the Land of Whirlpools conflict.
Though this attack could potentially escalate tensions between the two villages into full-scale war, that conflict had already been brewing since the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist attempted to assassinate Tsunade and her team.
Thus, even if war erupted, Haruto Saito would not be to blame.
Hiruzen's excitement soon gave way to calm reflection.
He felt both admiration and frustration toward Haruto Saito.
"Very well," Hiruzen said after a moment of contemplation, turning toward Danzo. "You will personally lead the Root division to the Land of Whirlpools…"
---
Three days later.
The vast ocean stretched endlessly, its salty breeze carrying the scent of the sea. A massive merchant ship, having departed from the northern port of the Land of Whirlpools, sailed toward the eastern harbor of the Land of Fire.
They were now in the waters where the northern sea of the Land of Whirlpools met the eastern sea of the Land of Fire.
It would take another three days to reach the Land of Fire.
On the ship's deck, Haruto Saito lounged in a chair, wearing sunglasses and sipping a fruit drink, enjoying the momentary peace.
Out in the distance, several small boats floated on the ocean—not fishing but seemingly idling on the waves.
"Uncle Bork, what are those boats doing?" Haruto Saito asked.
Bork, a tanned and scruffy sailor, glanced over and chuckled. "Them? A bunch of treasure hunters."
"Treasure hunters?" Haruto Saito raised an eyebrow.