"Of course. How could I possibly not know?" Naruto smiled faintly, his tone carrying a trace of confidence and calm.
"Although I was isolated by the people in the village ever since I was little, I found out about my parents long ago."
"Though I never told anyone, don't take me for a fool and think I know nothing."
Orochimaru's expression changed slightly. He had not expected Naruto to admit it so calmly.
By his estimation, Naruto should have known nothing about his parents. After all, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo had always kept the matter hidden.
Orochimaru could more or less guess why Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō had done so.
First, Uzumaki Kushina was the last bloodline of the Uzumaki Clan. Before Hashirama Senju's wife, Uzumaki Mito, passed away,
she left quite a substantial inheritance to Uzumaki Kushina.
That was no small sum! Add Minato's inheritance on top of that—who would ever complain about having too much money?
Second, they wanted to keep Naruto firmly under their control. When the ignorant villagers continuously directed their malice at him,
they could then step forward and pretend to care about him. That would make it easier to win Naruto's favor, secretly brainwash him, and turn him into Konoha's most powerful Jinchuriki weapon!
That was also why they changed Naruto's surname. Otherwise, he should have been called Namikaze Naruto.
But when it came to concealing his identity, they had really concealed nothing at all.
Whether Naruto bore the Namikaze surname or the Uzumaki surname made no real difference to his identity.
The Namikaze surname was rare to begin with, while the Uzumaki Clan had already been wiped out. Anyone with an interest only needed to ask around a little to guess that Naruto was Konoha's Jinchuriki.
And that he was very likely