The Hokage's Office.
Watching the Anbu vanish at the entrance with a Body Flicker, Saiki turned his attention to the door in front of him, knowing that Hiruzen Sarutobi was waiting behind it. Back in his Academy days, Hiruzen would frequently visit to lecture on the "Will of Fire," so Saiki had seen him before. However, this was his first time facing the Hokage alone, and he felt a slight flutter of nerves.
Taking a deep breath to clear his mind of stray thoughts, Saiki knocked on the door.
"Enter!"
Pushing the door open, Saiki walked in.
The first thing he saw was a mountain of paperwork and Hiruzen Sarutobi sitting behind his desk.
Saiki cast a quick glance toward the empty corners of the room. The concealment was excellent, but it couldn't fool Saiki's perception; he knew Anbu operatives were hidden there, guarding the Hokage.
"Greetings, Lord Hokage. May I ask why you summoned me?"
Having already met Danzo, the "Darkness of the Shinobi," and having seen Hiruzen before, Saiki felt no stage fright whatsoever.
Hiruzen, buried in his work, raised his head. A kindly smile graced his face as he narrowed his eyes, assessing the boy before him.
After running around outside the village for over half a month, Saiki had changed into casual clothes the moment he got home. He wore a white t-shirt with the word "Guts" written across the chest, black capri pants, and a pair of flip-flops—an incredibly laid-back look.
Compared to his standard ninja attire, and without a forehead protector "sealing" his looks, Saiki's undeniably handsome face was on full display.
He had slightly long, messy black hair, clear dark eyes, and fair skin that would make any girl jealous. His features were refined, radiating a gentle, sunny aura.
He wasn't the cold, aloof type like Kakashi or Sasuke; he was the warm, sunny type like Minato Namikaze. However, Saiki firmly believed he was better looking than Minato.
After all, during their Academy days, Minato's dorky demeanor had even annoyed Kushina, whereas Saiki had always been incredibly popular with the girls.
As Hiruzen sized him up, Saiki boldly sized the Hokage up in return.
Saiki didn't want to dwell too much on Hiruzen's character. Since the start of his administration, the Senju and Uchiha clans—the founding pillars of Konoha—had essentially vanished, leaving only Tsunade and Sasuke as their respective sole survivors in the village.
Meanwhile, clans like the Sarutobi, Mitokado, Utatane, and Shimura—which were just average clans during the Warring States period—had expanded endlessly within Konoha, monopolizing almost every department.
In the era of the Seventh Hokage, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane still firmly held their positions as Konoha Councilors, and Konohamaru Sarutobi was positioned as a likely candidate for the Ninth Hokage. It was clear just how ironclad their grip on the village's power truly was.
Netizens calling Danzo the "Pot Shadow" (the one who takes the blame) wasn't wrong at all. If Hiruzen hadn't needed Danzo to shoulder the dark deeds, he would never have allowed the man to act with such impunity.
Compared to the frail, elderly Hiruzen seen at the start of the original series, the current middle-aged Hiruzen was vigorous and at the absolute peak of his physical and political power.
In terms of combat strength, Saiki was confident he could kill an average Jonin without breaking a sweat, but against Hiruzen, he had no idea how long he could last.
However, running away shouldn't be a problem.
The current Hiruzen Sarutobi—whether in chakra volume, Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, or overall combat prowess—was undoubtedly at the absolute pinnacle of Kage-level strength. In this era, devoid of Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju, his titles of "Strongest Hokage" and "God of Shinobi" were entirely justified.
In a one-on-one duel across the entire shinobi world, perhaps only the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, with his Particle Style capable of dismantling anything at a molecular level, or the Third Raikage, A, with his ultimate Lightning Style Chakra Mode—boasting the strongest spear and shield—could rival or suppress Hiruzen.
Yet, in a life-or-death struggle, possessing the Uzumaki clan's Reaper Death Seal alongside countless secret techniques from Konoha's various clans meant Hiruzen was more than capable of forcing a mutual kill against anyone.
Looking at Saiki, who met his gaze without a shred of intimidation, a benevolent smile spread across Hiruzen's face. "Your name is Saiki Shiroya, correct? I just have a few questions for you."
"Yes, that's me. What would you like to ask, Lord Hokage?"
Having aligned his story with Tsume Inuzuka, Saiki knew Hiruzen would summon him, so he wasn't panicked. At worst, he would just hand over Raikiri and Rasengan as his explanation!
Of course, things wouldn't be that simple. After exposing this much power, staying low-key would be exceedingly difficult.
Moreover, Saiki had essentially made a fool out of Danzo.
Knowing how powerful Saiki was, would Danzo set his sights on him? Saiki knew the answer was an absolute yes. If Danzo didn't scheme against him, he wouldn't be the shinobi world's premier "villain manufacturer."
A boy not even ten years old had developed and mastered two A-rank jutsu, both possessing the potential to be elevated to S-rank.
Add to that the sheer combat power required for a nine-year-old to single-handedly slaughter a Cloud squad consisting of a Jonin, two elite Chunin, and six Genin. How could Danzo possibly resist sinking his claws into such talent and strength?
"During this escort mission, did you single-handedly kill a Jonin and six Genin?"
Despite the calm tone of the question, Hiruzen's eyes were brimming with anticipation.
"Yes, I did," Saiki replied with perfect composure.
Hearing Saiki confirm it himself, even though Hiruzen knew Tsume wouldn't falsify a mission report, the excitement in his heart practically spilled out of his eyes.
It was unavoidable; Saiki was only nine, and they had faced a fully staffed nine-man squad led by a Jonin.
While Tsume had certainly helped, Saiki was undeniably a monstrous genius. If he continued to develop at this rate, he would be the next shinobi to rival Minato Namikaze, the master of the Flying Thunder God.
Minato was truly a prodigy; when Kushina was kidnapped by several Cloud Jonin and Chunin, he had rescued her all by himself.
As for Kakashi, who graduated at five and became a Chunin at six, Hiruzen felt Saiki's potential eclipsed even his.
Watching the overly excited Hokage, Saiki's mouth twitched. He took a step back and muttered, "Lord Hokage, please don't look at me like that. It's creeping me out."
There was a calculated reason for speaking to Hiruzen this way: unlike Danzo, if you acted too mature and sensible, Hiruzen would become suspicious. It was better to be blunt and straightforward, which fit the natural persona of a child.
Seeing the look of disgust on Saiki's face, Hiruzen's excited heart skipped a beat, and his expression darkened. Recalling the report card he had just reviewed—where the boy barely passed "The Will of Fire"—Hiruzen thought, What an unlovable brat.
"Alright, tell me exactly how it happened," Hiruzen demanded, his face still a bit dark.
But instead of complying, Saiki fired back a question: "Uh, Lord Hokage, shouldn't it be written clearly in the mission report?"
Hiruzen's face grew even darker. "Just speak when you're told. That's an order."
Saiki let out an "Oh," mentally reviewed the combat sequence he and Tsume had fabricated, and began his recounting.
Whether it was a side effect of the Flower-Flower Fruit or his chakra nourishing his spiritual energy, Saiki's memory was excellent; otherwise, he might have slipped up mid-story.
Listening to Saiki's brief, clinical summary—which was even shorter than the written report—Hiruzen assumed the boy simply wasn't good at describing combat. Still, he asked with a tone of marvel, "Such outstanding talent. Could you demonstrate these jutsu for me?"
While Hiruzen had a rough idea of the jutsu's power from Saiki's description, he needed to see them with his own eyes.
"Demonstrate them here?" Saiki asked, looking around the office.
At a training ground in the mountains behind Konoha.
Saiki's hands blurred through three signs: Ox, Rabbit, Monkey!
"Raikiri!"
Bzzzt! Bzzzt! Bzzzt!
A massive concentration of chakra gathered in Saiki's right hand, forming a high-intensity electrical current. The condensed lightning emitted a brilliant blue-white glow, accompanied by the iconic sound of a thousand chirping birds.
In a flash, Saiki broke into a sprint. Stimulated by the Lightning Style chakra, he erupted with terrifying speed and effortlessly plunged his hand through a massive wooden training post. The solid log exploded into splinters under the sheer piercing force of Raikiri.
Watching from a distance, Hiruzen's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
With his vast experience, he naturally saw that Raikiri was incredibly powerful, but what impressed him more was Saiki's reaction speed. Navigating at such extreme velocities while under neural stimulation from lightning chakra was not something just anyone could handle.
After dispelling the Raikiri, Saiki wasn't finished.
He raised his hand!
Chakra began to coalesce in his palm once more. This time, it was a highly condensed, rapidly rotating sphere of energy. It was the absolute pinnacle of shape transformation—a glowing orb of pure chakra hovering above Saiki's hand.
"Rasengan!"
Saiki casually pressed the sphere against another wooden post. The moment the glowing orb made contact, the solid wood was violently ground into a cloud of sawdust.
Standing to the side, Hiruzen was genuinely astounded. With his deep theoretical knowledge, he could tell immediately that the Rasengan was an incomplete jutsu—and remarkably, one that required no hand signs.