Resolution

10 advanced chapters on my Patreon: Fiction Haven

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[Uzumaki Naruto's POV]

I was not in a favorable situation. The cards were stacked against me this time. Although Itachi and Kisame were nowhere near as powerful as Hashirama and Tobirama, they were more troublesome. Fighting against Kisame using Chakra was the same as powering him. However, fighting without Chakra with Itachi around would make me an easy target for his Genjutsu.

I had to deal with them separately. I created a Kage Bunshin and instructed him to busy himself with Kisame. You might think my clone wouldn't be able to do much as a hit was already enough to dispel it, but that was a gross misconception. The anime did Kage Bunshin dirty.

Contrary to popular belief, Kage Bunshin only dispelled once they sustained an attack that would kill the owner of the clone. Given how sturdy I was, it would be hard to dispel my clone who possessed half of my enormous Chakra.

Crack!

Lightning sparkled around Kiba. Itachi immediately assumed his fighting stance, anticipating my attack. I teleported beside him, but he readily responded to my attack. We traded blows at lightning speed. Sparks of fire flew off as Kiba and his kunai clashed. His Sharingan spun madly, watching each of my movements meticulously.

Boom!

A bolt of lightning struck the ground between us and immediately shrouded us. Itachi only managed to avoid the lightning bolt but not the shroud. His body spasmed as lightning coursed through it. He attempted to negate the lightning but quickly gave up on that and chose to escape instead.

He was dubbed a genius for a reason. It was hard to keep him in one place. Itachi and I looked at each other. His Sharingan allowed him to copy everything and gave him a faster perception. My eyes gave me absurd analytical prowess and made me more in tune with Chakra. As long as he didn't activate his Mangekyō, he would never be able to beat me.

"So, you indeed have a Dōjutsu."

"Looking for an excuse for your inability to beat me?"

"That has never been my intention, Uzumaki-san."

Itachi glanced at Kisame who was enthralled in his fight with my clone.

"Our job is complete, Kisame. It is time to leave."

"Huh!? I am still having fun!"

Itachi frowned at the same time Kisame dispelled my clone. He was about to say something when Kisame was launched past him by a staff. Not a moment later, Hiruzen stood beside me. Itachi briefly looked at the Hokage before returning his attention to me.

"Watch your back, Uzumaki-san. It won't end well the next time we meet."

With that as the parting word, Itachi turned around and left the place with the disoriented Kisame. Hiruzen looked at Itachi's disappearing back silently. I could feel immense guilt coming from him. He recovered as soon as he felt my gaze on him. He asked me if I was fine and I told him everything was fine as I recollected my Hiraishin kunai.

"So, that is Akatsuki. The band of S-Rank rogues who hunt Jinchūriki for a living." Hiruzen sighed. "It seems we need to up your training if we don't want you to end up dead, Naruto-kun."

"I can already fare well against them. I would have to bet on everything I have, but I can kill them with my current power," I stated.

"In a tight battle, cheap shots often become the deciding factor. We have to make immensely more powerful than them, so cheap shots don't work."

"Geez, it's not like I don't want to train, Old Man. I told you I could beat them without your help."

"I see…" Hiruzen chuckled.

A few seconds later, a group of Anbu, Asuma, Kurenai, Gai, Kakashi, and Tsunade arrived at the place. Hiruzen told the group that Itachi and Kisame had left with a wry smile. On his side, I explained to Tsunade that I was fine with a wry smile. We returned to the village after everyone had calmed down.

Hiruzen deemed it was time to hold the council meeting, so he ordered the Anbu to summon the clan heads. I thought I wouldn't be involved in the meeting, but Hiruzen ordered me to follow him to his office. Unfortunately, I wasn't granted the time to laze around. Thankfully, Tsunade was also with me, so I had someone to talk to.

"We were lucky that Itachi and his partner decided to leave as soon as you appeared, Sensei. Your body is still not ready to fight," Tsunade said as she tended to Hiruzen.

"I didn't feel anything wrong with my body, though," Hiruzen countered. "I don't even feel anything now."

"Orochimaru is great at making poison. Why do you think it is hard to treat you?" Tsunade asked with a glare.

"Uh… pray tell."

"I can't purge the poison completely because it resides deeply in your organ. It mixes with your Chakra and you know it is hard to purify Chakra. The only way to purge this poison is to wait till it accumulates in your organ. It will take a long time and the more often you use your Chakra, the longer it will take."

Hiruzen was about to say something, but Tsunade shut him up with a glare.

"I don't have to tell you what will happen to your body if you use your poisoned Chakra, do you?"

"Crystal."

Tsunade sighed exasperatedly. Hiruzen faced my way wryly, prompting me to smirk. You could never mess with a doctor, especially one who was as good as Tsunade. I turned to Tsunade and found her frowning. As a proud medic, she must be frustrated that she hadn't found out the way to cure Hiruzen. I already figured out the way.

"Purifying Chakra can be easily done with Senjutsu."

Rustle!

"Did someone mention Senjutsu?"

Jiraiya entered the office through the window. He was grinning as usual, but his eyes were scanning Hiruzen meticulously.

"Are you all right, Sensei? I heard Itachi come knocking on our door."

"I am fine, Jiraiya. Naruto-kun took care of most of it."

"Oh, yeah?"

A flash of indescribable look mar Jiraiya's face as he landed his gaze on me. I quirked my eyebrow, attributing his reaction to disbelief. He wouldn't have doubted me had he seen me in action. Hence, I wondered where had he been when Itachi visited Konoha.

"Sorry, I wasn't present when Itachi was here. I was summoned to Mount Myōboku."

The toads had something to tell him. Judging by Hiruzen's reaction, he seemed to know about what it could be. None of them wanted to talk about it and their silent conversation told me even Tsunade would be excluded from the discussion. Nonetheless, I didn't care about it.

Not long after, an Anbu personnel knelt before Hiruzen and informed him that everyone had gathered. Hiruzen immediately stood up and led us to the meeting room. As soon as we entered the room, all eyes were on us. A lot of them landed on me, but the ones with the most intense gaze belonged to Danzo.

Hiruzen gestured for us to take the empty seats before sitting on his seat. I sat beside Tsunade and Jiraiya decided to stand beside Hiruzen.

"I believe everyone in this room is capable enough to already figure out that Uchiha Itachi paid a short visit to our village with his criminal colleague roughly an hour ago. A fight broke out and our new Jōnin, Uzumaki-san managed to force them to retreat."

Various clan heads sent nods of acknowledgment my way. I ignored all of them.

"The very reason Uchiha Itachi came to this village was as the paper I distributed provides." At this, the clan heads frowned as they looked at the paper before them. "Akatsuki is hunting for Jinchūriki and Uzumaki Naruto-san happens to be the target."

"Hokage-sama." Danzo raised his hand, gaining everyone's attention. "Given Uzumaki-san's importance to our village, I think it is only prudent to give the best facility to him and prevent him from taking any mission outside for the time being."

Hiruzen nodded his head, causing Danzo's eyes to sparkle.

"Then, I shall take over—"

"That is the very reason why I have taken young Naruto as my apprentice. Given my guidance, he will be strong enough not to care about the threat from Akatsuki. In other words, we don't have to hold him back from exploring."

"Hokage-sama, don't you think it is a reckless decision?"

"Hoh? Are you doubting my ability, Shimura?"

Danzo shut up. The mood became tense and everyone was silent. The old man might have gone senile as he acted as if he didn't realize what was going on. Jiraiya and Tsunade seemed to think the same. However, I liked this Hiruzen.

"Given my decision to focus on young Naruto, I have decided to step down from the Hokage seat. I am already too old for this shit." Some people gasped. "Tsunade will be my successor, but she won't take over until we settle our business with Suna. She will be officially appointed after she represents our village in the negotiation with Suna."

Hiruzen gave a once-over to the room.

"Any input on the matter?"

The clan heads looked at each other and decided not to say anything. Hiruzen turned to his old teammate, giving him a chance to disagree. Danzo only stared at Hiruzen silently. A tense second later, the old hawk shook his head.

"Then, the meeting is hereby adjourned."

Hiruzen had just gained my respect.