My Sign-in System in Naruto

Inside Kakashi's residence in the Hidden Leaf Village.

Uchiha Itachi arrived at the agreed-upon time and saw the Wood Clone Haru had left behind. "The Third Hokage has left the village. What's your plan?"

However, what shocked Itachi the most was that if Haru hadn't told him in advance that he would leave a Wood Clone to assist, he wouldn't have been able to tell the difference between the clone and the real Haru.

To confirm, Itachi even activated his Mangekyō Sharingan.

There was no denying it this left Itachi utterly stunned.

There were many techniques known as "solid clones," such as the Shadow Clone, which was the most famous in the Leaf Village.

By evenly distributing chakra, it became difficult to detect any flaws.

But for someone like Itachi, who possessed the Sharingan, he could easily see through Shadow Clones.

Other clones were even easier to spot.

Yet, the Wood Clone Haru had created showed no flaws whatsoever.

Itachi even began to wonder: between the Haru who had stayed behind and the one accompanying the Third Hokage to the Land of Iron, which one was the real Haru?

Or perhaps…

Was it possible that the Haru everyone interacted with on a daily basis was actually a Wood Clone in disguise?

While the real Haru remained hidden in the shadows?

Itachi narrowed his eyes, even going so far as to activate his Mangekyō Sharingan.

But even then, the Haru standing before him felt as real as the original.

"What else can we do? Danzo must die."

Haru stretched his limbs and then pulled out a set of prepared clothes and a mask from the wardrobe.

Since Itachi was already wearing his Anbu uniform, Haru simply tossed him a mask.

"A Root mask." Itachi caught the mask mid-air and glanced at the pattern on it.

The masks used by the Anbu were designed based on various animals, but Root's masks were different.

This was one way to distinguish between the two organizations.

"Are we infiltrating Root?"

"Yes." Haru nodded, having already changed into his own outfit.

It wasn't for disguise his real body wasn't even in the Leaf Village right now. He was with the Third Hokage.

Even if someone saw them, it wouldn't matter.

The reason for wearing Root's uniform was to get closer to Danzo.

"Now that the Third Hokage has left the village, Danzo will definitely gather all of Root."

"Is that so?" Itachi glanced at Haru, then at the mask in his hand.

In truth, after casting a genjutsu on Tenzo to put him in a coma, Haru had specifically extracted information about Root.

Before Tenzo left Root, Danzo had a habit of holding secret meetings.

Now that the Third Hokage was absent from the village, with only Koharu and Homura left in the higher-ups, Danzo wouldn't care about them at all.

Even if Danzo didn't cause trouble now, he would still hold a secret meeting.

And as long as Haru and Itachi could infiltrate it, they could get close to Danzo.

Then, he would be as good as dead.

"Root's system is extremely strict. Infiltrating it won't be easy," Itachi said without hesitation.

"That's why you're here," Haru replied casually, adjusting his mask.

"With your genjutsu, sneaking in unnoticed shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"Fū Yamanaka has also been tricked into becoming the Third Hokage's guard."

"By the time Danzo senses us, it'll already be too late."

As Haru spoke, he began walking, ready to leave.

"What about the Third Hokage? How do you view him?" Itachi quickly followed Haru as they headed toward Root's headquarters.

Along the way, Itachi brought up the topic of the Third Hokage.

Itachi held great respect for the Hokage. "According to your plan, after eliminating Danzo, will you also remove the Hokage?"

"How should I put it?" Haru glanced at Itachi. "I don't really care whether the Hokage lives or dies."

"Huh?"

"My plan is indeed to become Hokage and carry out reforms, to make the daimyo a thing of the past and have the Hokage rule the Land of Fire. But I'm in no rush." Haru explained to Itachi.

If Itachi hadn't asked, Haru wouldn't have said any of this.

It was probably just a spur-of-the-moment thing, Haru thought to himself.

Before becoming Hokage, his real body still had a lot of things to do.

For example, solving the issue of the Uchiha clan being a hidden danger to the Leaf Village, and gaining the loyalty of the Hyuga, Yamanaka, Nara, Akimichi, Inuzuka, Aburame, and Sarutobi clans.

Perhaps his strength could conquer everything, but what he wanted wasn't a world full of holes and fear.

Nor was it the illusory world of Infinite Tsukuyomi that Madara Uchiha sought.

"Why?" Itachi couldn't help but ask. This was something that troubled him.

If Haru planned to remove the Third Hokage, how was that any different from the Uchiha clan's coup?

In other words, this was also Itachi's way of testing Haru.

However, Haru's clone didn't notice this.

Not because he wasn't wary of Itachi, but because he simply didn't care.

So what if you're testing me?

I don't need to make a move against the Third Hokage. His death is inevitable.

He is destined to die by the Reaper Death Seal, at the hands of Orochimaru.

Why should I bother with someone who's already doomed?

Most importantly, when the Third Hokage dies, the Leaf Village will not only need a Hokage but also the strongest individual to deter other villages.

This is why Koharu and Homura would ask Jiraiya to take the position instead of pushing for Danzo.

From their perspective, they didn't know Danzo had Kotoamatsukami, Wood Release, Izanagi, and all sorts of other abilities.

They thought Danzo was weak and unfit for the role, which is why they preferred Jiraiya bringing back Tsunade over accepting Danzo.

But now, why would the higher-ups go out of their way to bring back Tsunade?

I am the strongest in the village.

"Right now, I have no conflict with the Third Hokage. He trusts me, at least on the surface, and he accepts my requests. He understands my importance."

'So why would I remove someone who's already destined to die?'

'As for the Third Hokage's questions, I can just make something up.'

'I was terrified at the time' no one would believe such nonsense anyway.

"We're here."

Soon, Haru stopped. He and Itachi had arrived at Root's headquarters.

The guards quickly noticed them.

As planned, Itachi immediately cast a genjutsu on them.

"Lord Danzo is summoning all of Root," the guard said in a low voice, signaling for Haru and Itachi to follow.

"Just as you predicted," Itachi said, taking a deep breath. He now understood that Haru wasn't planning a coup but intended to take over as Hokage after Hiruzen stepped down.

"You've passed, Haru." Itachi touched his eyes but didn't specify what Haru had passed.