A Multiverse Tale: Hope in Another World!

A deathly silence fell over the Root's interrogation room. 

Danzo: ??? 

Shimura Danzo swore he'd never met a punk as shameless as Takuma Kirie in his entire life. 

This kid had no conscience whatsoever! 

"So, what do you want?" 

There had to be something to sway him. Shimura Danzo kept his poker face, but inside, he exhaled in relief. 

"The Scroll of Seals!" 

Takuma Kirie didn't miss a beat. 

"The Anbu guard it, but for you, Lord Danzo, snagging the Scroll of Seals is a breeze, right? Let me study its forbidden jutsu to my heart's content, and I'll join Root." 

Danzo's lip twitched. Like master, like student—Orochimaru obsessed over bloodlines, and this kid was hooked on forbidden techniques? 

"And if I say no?" 

Shimura Danzo, ever the control freak, probed cautiously. 

"I've got eight hundred explosive tags on me." 

Kirie flipped open his jacket, revealing a stash of tags lining the inside. 

Danzo's eyes bulged as the kid pulled stack after stack from—where else?—his pants, like some four-dimensional arsenal. 

"Lord Danzo, no need to lift a finger. Worst case, we all go down in flames together!" 

Thanks to the Multiverse Roulette's private pocket space—rarely used but clutch now—Kirie's tag stash was a game-changer. 

Staring at this, Shimura Danzo, still sans Sharingan, went quiet. 

Wait—hadn't he been the one threatening Kirie a second ago? 

Why did it feel like he was the hostage now? 

In the end, Danzo summoned his Root grunts and ordered the Scroll of Seals fetched. 

"Oh, and grab some Uzumaki sealing jutsu books too. The ninjutsu room with the scroll's bound to have 'em." 

"Takuma Kirie, don't push it!" 

Danzo's face blackened—this brat didn't give a damn about his authority! 

"Lord Danzo, misunderstanding!" 

Kirie launched into full PUA mode on the old man. 

"Think about it—once I'm branded with the Self-Cursing Seal and Tongue Calamity Seal, I'm your most loyal soldier, right?" 

"Give your ace a few extra sealing books, and when I grow up, I'll be punching Uchiha, kicking Hyuga, and paving your way to Hokage!" 

"As the boss, if you can't spare that tiny investment, how can you expect a perfect prospect like me to deliver big returns?" 

"So… it's not me wanting the Scroll of Seals and sealing jutsu—it's for you that I need them!" 

Danzo: "…" 

For a split second, he almost bought it. 

Snapping out of it, the old fox opened his mouth to argue, but Kirie cut in. 

"I'll take the Self-Cursing Seal and Tongue Calamity Seal first. That'll put you at ease, right, Lord Danzo?" 

"Fine! Accept the seals, and I'll have them brought!" 

With both seals in play, Danzo didn't believe Kirie could slip his grasp. Brimming with confidence, he sealed the deal. 

As the final strokes of the Self-Cursing Seal and Tongue Calamity Seal locked in, a smug Danzo tossed Kirie the Scroll of Seals along with Adamantine Chains and Four Symbols Seal books. 

Regaining his lofty air, Danzo's voice dripped with menace. "Takuma Kirie, from now on, you answer to me alone—got it?" 

"Got it, Lord Danzo!"

"But, uh, you might wanna survive first." 

Before Danzo could blink, Kirie hurled all eight hundred tags and silently commanded: Return! 

The barrage of explosions turned the room into a blazing inferno. Flames devoured half the Root base, the collapsing roar and blasts too loud to hide. 

Root ninja scrambled with jutsu to clear the wreckage. Suddenly, a figure burst through the rubble. 

No surprise—it was the freshly smug Lord Danzo himself. 

Shimura Danzo emerged, charred and howling like a demon clawing out of hell. 

"That damn brat! Dig him up—alive or dead, I want him!" 

--- 

Within minutes, word spread through Konoha: Root, under Orochimaru's name, had snatched Takuma Kirie in the night. The base explosion hit every faction's ears soon after. 

"Danzo! Get out here, you bastard!" 

Tsunade roared like a lioness, her chakra shattering the floor. Hokage Tower ninja scattered, keeping their distance. 

Sarutobi Hiruzen, hearing her bellows from afar, nearly had a heart attack. 

As his splintered doors flew open, Tsunade stormed in. 

"Does Konoha have no room for the Senju anymore?!" 

"Even the last Senju bloodline has to die?!" 

Her voice echoed through the building. Nara clan members and others bolted; Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado played dead on the spot. 

No one dared touch that line. 

Even Sarutobi Hiruzen inwardly cursed Danzo's stupidity, but he still had to clean up the mess. 

"Tsunade, calm down. Takuma Kirie's likely still alive," he said, wiping sweat. "The blast just happened. The Uchiha rushed to Root's base, but aside from Danzo's burns and some casualties, no body was found." 

"The Hyuga checked with Byakugan—he's gone, like he vanished. He probably escaped and hid." 

Tsunade reined in her chakra, reason returning. With a deep breath, she bolted toward the blast site. 

--- 

The distant explosion jolted Yuhi Kurenai awake. 

Takuma Kirie's words flashed back. She leapt from bed, raced to his house, and retrieved two letters from the desk drawer's hidden slot as instructed. 

One for Yuhi Kurenai, one for Mitarashi Anko. 

Under moonlight, Kurenai read hers long and slow, then tucked it away reverently. Her ruby eyes fixed on the moon, her soft voice firm: 

"I'll get stronger before you come back, Kirie!" 

That night, Mitarashi Anko, handed her letter by Kurenai, didn't sleep. 

The next day, facing Orochimaru, she spoke with resolve: "Sensei, I'll work hard to catch up to Kirie's pace." 

"Mm." 

Orochimaru didn't look up, eyes on his test tube. 

"Kirie asked me to tell you: barring surprises, peace won't last. The Third Ninja War's coming in a few years." 

"Kirie-kun's always sharp—I agree," Orochimaru said, voice flat as a still pond. 

"He also said he'll help you claim the Hokage seat then, to thank you for looking out for him." 

A crack spidered across the test tube's glass. 

Orochimaru set it down, washed his hands, and turned to Anko. 

"Then when the time comes, you can pass my thanks back to him." 

"Huh? Why not tell him yourself, Sensei?" 

Orochimaru turned away, silent.