Konoha Village.
Knock, knock!
The Naruto shadow clone opened the door and was slightly taken aback to see the white-haired, middle-aged man before him.
"…I thought that since you live alone, there might be some strange smells," Jiraiya said, craning his neck in to take a sniff, looking somewhat surprised.
"Please come in," Naruto gestured. After all, he was about to leave this place he had lived in for seven or eight years. Plus, having not dared to wander around much these past few days, he had thoroughly cleaned the room inside and out.
"There's not much to offer you." He placed a glass of plain water in front of Jiraiya.
"Want to go out for a walk?" Jiraiya asked suddenly after taking a sip.
"I can go out anytime now," Naruto said, glancing towards the window where an ANBU operative was stationed.
"I can take you out," Jiraiya stated, looking him earnestly in the eyes.
"…There's no need, Jiraiya-sensei." Naruto shook his head gently.
"Is that so." Jiraiya drained the glass of water in his hand, then stood up and said, "If you have any other thoughts before tomorrow, you can still come find me."
Naruto nodded and saw him to the door. Standing in the shadow of the doorframe, looking at the figure outside bathed in sunlight, he said softly, "Goodbye, Jiraiya-sensei." With that, he slowly closed the door.
Jiraiya gazed at the closed door, his expression unreadable.
"Has Naruto exhibited any special behavior these past two days?" Jiraiya asked, having found one of the ANBU monitoring Naruto.
The ANBU operative naturally knew Jiraiya's identity and shook his head gently. "He's been very well-behaved these two days, staying inside his room."
'Well-behaved.' For some reason, hearing this word, Jiraiya felt a pang of desolation.
"Besides that, he also thoroughly cleaned his room," the ANBU operative added.
Jiraiya's pupils contracted. He whipped his head back to look at the room with its tightly shut door. This kind of behavior…
Night.
The bright moon hung high, and the stars were dim. For most people, Konoha tonight was not much different from any other night. After dinner, families sat together, chatting idly about the day's events, occasionally teasing each other—a life plain, yet sufficiently warm.
"Shikamaru, this is for you." Shikamaru's mother handed him a letter. "A child asked me to give this to you during the day."
"A letter? Who would write me something like this?" Shikamaru took it, puzzled, and opened it.
"To Shikamaru, With utmost respect: It has been a great honor to know you. I vaguely remember that it was in a bleak midwinter, when all things had withered, that you and I first met…"
Shikamaru's pupils contracted. He quickly skipped his gaze to the end of the letter—'Uzumaki Naruto.' Connecting this with Naruto's recent situation, his expression changed drastically. He shot up from his seat and rushed out of the room.
"Slow down!" Shikamaru's mother quickly called after him.
On the cliff above the Hokage Rock, the Naruto shadow clone overlooked the brilliant tapestry of lights below. This afternoon, he had delivered all his farewell letters to his familiar companions.
From today onwards, the old story ends, and a new chapter begins!
"Goodbye, Konoha!"
Poof!
His figure dissolved into a puff of smoke and vanished from the spot.
A town in the Land of Wind.
Inside a hotel room.
Naruto, lying on the bed, opened his eyes and sat up cross-legged.
"From now on, you are a rogue ninja. Are you prepared?" Kurama, naturally understanding what had happened, asked softly.
"Naturally," Naruto said with a smile. He had been prepared from the very moment he made the decision.
Looking at the empty, tidy room before him, Shikamaru let out a soft sigh. It seemed he had really left. Regarding his friend's sudden departure, he felt no distress or dissatisfaction; only sincere blessings. Due to his family's connections, he knew, more or less, something about Naruto's status as a jinchuriki. With the sudden change in the current situation, it was better for Naruto to flee to distant lands than to be imprisoned in Konoha. He believed that with Naruto's strength, once he left Konoha, he would be like a roaming dragon entering the sea—the vast world his oyster, free to go wherever he pleased.
"The Honorable Advisors summon you." An ANBU operative wearing a white cat mask appeared behind him.
Shikamaru, seemingly having expected this, put down the cup in his hand and calmly followed behind the ANBU.
"Go on in." The ANBU operative pushed open the office door and gestured for him to enter.
Shikamaru walked in. In the not-so-small office, three elderly figures were present, some standing, some sitting. He recognized all three of them: the advisors and elders, Koharu Utatane and Mitokado Homura; and the elder and leader of Root, Shimura Danzo.
"You seem to know why we've summoned you?" Koharu Utatane, seated in the central armchair, asked, looking at the unfazed youth before her.
"Mhm." Shikamaru nodded.
"Is that so." Koharu Utatane thought of his surname, nodded slightly, then asked, "Where do you think Uzumaki Naruto will go after leaving?"
Shikamaru shook his head.
"How did you know Uzumaki Naruto was leaving?" she pressed.
"Naruto gave me a letter. It's at home." Shikamaru answered truthfully. He didn't think he could hide these things from these people. In fact, he had reason to believe that before he had even stepped through this door, that letter was already in the hands of these three elders.
"How long have you known Uzumaki Naruto?" Mitokado Homura, standing by the window, asked.
"Almost eight years."
"Why do you think Uzumaki Naruto left?" Homura asked.
"…I don't know." After a long silence, Shikamaru shook his head again. Some things, both sides actually knew clearly in their hearts, but they could say them; he could not. Words were not without weight; on the contrary, their weight was immense, heavier than anything else.
"Is that so…" Mitokado Homura seemed to believe he genuinely didn't know. "You may go back."
Watching the door close again, Koharu Utatane looked at her former comrades-in-arms and asked, "We've asked what needed to be asked. What's the next step?"
Actually, the best way to find Uzumaki Naruto's whereabouts was to let the Interrogation Unit handle it, not engage in foolish questioning like they were doing now. Or rather, if any of Naruto's playmates had been of commoner birth, the Interrogation Unit would have taken over all of this long ago. But unfortunately, among the few who got along well with Naruto, not a single one was a pushover. They were all scions of prominent clans; none could be handled recklessly. Then again, besides those types, who else would dare to ignore their directives and approach a jinchuriki?
"That Uchiha Sasuke…" Koharu Utatane seemed to be wary of something. She hesitated for a moment before saying, "Should we increase surveillance on him?" From intelligence received not long ago, it seemed that fellow Orochimaru had some serious designs on the last of the Uchiha clan.
"…Increase the surveillance. We cannot lose another Uchiha," Mitokado Homura said after a long silence.
"Leave the matter of the jinchuriki to Root," Shimura Danzo, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke.
Koharu Utatane and Mitokado Homura both gave him a deep look but didn't say much more. It was the only way.
"Root will bring the Nine-Tails back as soon as possible." Having said this, Shimura Danzo rose as if to leave.
"Danzo…" Koharu Utatane suddenly called out to him. "If possible, spare Uzumaki Naruto's life… After all, he is Minato's child…"
"I understand." Shimura Danzo slowly walked into the darkness.