Never Mentioning It Isn't Because I Forgot

In the Mirrored World, Naruto's true body, under the cover of Shadow Clone Jutsu, forcibly broke through to Shikamaru's position. In the next moment, he accurately plunged the kunai in his hand into Shikamaru's heart.

'Congratulations, you have obtained training experience for the Shadow Imitation Technique.'

As the prompt sound appeared, the scene shifted, and he and Shikamaru's data puppet had exited the battlefield.

"It's been a whole week, why are the rewards still like this?"

Naruto muttered to himself. For the past week, he had been pretending to be in a coma on his hospital bed, hoping to challenge the data puppets in the Mirrored World to quickly obtain chakra of other attributes.

But so far, he had challenged all available opponents one by one. The rewards of chakra of other attributes were only obtained once before, during his fight against Itachi Uchiha's puppet. Since then, he hadn't received any valuable rewards.

Hoping to get lucky, Naruto spent a lot of time specifically on Itachi Uchiha's puppet, but he didn't get any Ninjutsu rewards. Instead, he received a lot of miscellaneous rewards like Body Flicker Technique and Substitution Technique.

Just now, he had challenged Shikamaru's data puppet again, but the result was the same as before – disappointment.

Naruto pondered the principle behind this reward mechanism as he looked at the data puppet in front of him.

"Naruto, that old man came by again, and those four medical ninjas who examined you seem to be unable to handle the pressure."

It was Kurama's voice. Naruto immediately moved his mind and arrived in the Sealed Space.

"Unable to handle the pressure? What pressure?"

After sensing the surroundings, he found that there was no one else in the room. Besides himself on the hospital bed, everyone else was outside the door.

"Because Naruto, you refuse to wake up," Minato Namikaze said, walking to Naruto's side with a solemn expression. "These four medical ninjas have made a new suggestion to the Third Hokage."

Seeing that his father's expression was a bit off, and his eyes seemed to be filled with anger, Naruto followed up and asked, "What suggestion?"

"A very excessive suggestion!" Minato Namikaze said urgently. "They suggested having Ibiki Morino, the captain of the Anbu's Torture Department, and Inoichi Yamanaka of the Yamanaka Clan come over to check on your condition. Both of them are elite ninjas skilled in Mind Sealing Techniques."

"Especially Inoichi Yamanaka, not only is he very skilled in using mind control Ninjutsu, but he also possesses the ability to probe others' thoughts and gather information."

Naruto's gaze suddenly sharpened. They were already treating him like a criminal.

To anxiously get him, the Jinchuriki, to wake up, they came up with such a bad idea. Even if those four doctors couldn't do it, wouldn't the Third Hokage have contacted his most trusted disciple, Tsunade, to come back?

"Did the Third Hokage agree?"

Minato Namikaze shook his head. "The medical ninjas just said that the reason you can't wake up is due to mental trauma. Only by understanding what's wrong with your mind can we treat it. The Third Hokage didn't immediately agree after they suggested bringing those two over, but I feel like he's very tempted."

"Tempted?" Naruto gave a cold laugh.

If they really dared to invade his mental space, Konoha would have to lose two people. The Mirrored World could forcibly capture wills that invaded one's mental world.

However, this would cause a lot of trouble. With his current strength, he would definitely be captured and studied, perhaps even dissected.

It seemed like it was time to go home. After a moment of thought, Naruto opened his eyes.

~~~~~~~~

"Hokage-sama, this is the Jinchuriki's data for the past week. You've seen it too; his body is exceptionally healthy."

Not far from the hospital room door, a medical ninja was reporting to the Third Hokage with a thick stack of text documents, his expression solemn.

"There are only two possibilities for this comatose state."

"The first possibility is that the Jinchuriki's mind is traumatized, and his self-awareness is trapped in a corner deep within his consciousness. Ninjas who survived on the battlefield have experienced similar situations before. So, as long as those two come and find the Jinchuriki's self-awareness to guide him out of it, it will be fine."

"As for the second possibility..."

At this point, the medical ninja suddenly hesitated.

"Hmm? What is the second possibility?"

The Third Hokage stared at him with a stern expression and sharp eyes, asking.

The medical ninja's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately replied, "It might be..."

Crack~

Hearing the sound, everyone turned their gaze towards Naruto's hospital room.

Only that special hospital room was open on this corridor.

The door opened, and Naruto, still wearing his home pajamas, walked out, asking with a bewildered expression, "Is that Hokage-sama?"

The Third Hokage's expression relaxed, and a gentle smile instantly appeared on his face. "Naruto, you're finally awake."

"Is this the hospital?" Naruto steadied himself and asked, "Hokage-sama, I'm a bit thirsty. Is there any water?"

~~~~~~~

Hokage's Office.

"You're saying I slept for a week?"

Naruto sat on a chair, looking somewhat confused. He was already wearing clothes that the Third Hokage had someone bring from his small house.

"Heh heh, yes," the Third Hokage said, sitting on his office chair opposite Naruto and nodding with a smile. "Do you remember what happened that night? How do you feel now? Do you have any discomfort anywhere?"

"I don't remember. I don't feel any discomfort right now," Naruto shook his head, then his expression changed as if he suddenly remembered something. "Hokage-sama, what was that thing that appeared on me that night?"

"Everyone always says I'm a Demon Fox. Is it related to the thing that appeared on me that night?"

"Am I really a monster?"

Naruto asked three questions in a row, but the Third Hokage's smile remained unchanged as he said, "Heh heh, how can Naruto be a monster? Don't think nonsense, go home and rest for a few days. I've already asked the village carpenters to fix your wall."

"Here, take this too."

The Third Hokage spoke words of comfort as he picked up a scroll from the desk and handed it to Naruto.

"What is this?" Naruto stood up and walked to the desk, taking the scroll.

The Third Hokage said with a smile, "Didn't I give you the scroll for Taijutsu basics last time? This scroll contains the training methods for the Substitution Technique and the Clone Technique."

Naruto's eyes flashed with excitement. "Thank you, Lord Hokage! I'll definitely train hard when I get back!"

"Mhm, he's a good kid." The Third Hokage was very satisfied with Naruto's attitude. He then added, "Oh, right, Naruto! Don't just stay at home all the time. Didn't you say you made some friends?"

"Go out more often from now on, and you'll definitely make new friends!"

Naruto's expression faltered upon hearing this. Could it be that Shikamaru really didn't report their conversation to the Third Hokage?

He then recalled the data collected from his father, Itachi Uchiha, and Shikamaru in the Mirrored World. If I get to know more people...

"Okay, I'll go find Shikamaru tomorrow!"

Hearing that Naruto was going to find Shikamaru the next day, the Third Hokage's smile widened. He stood up, personally led Naruto, and escorted him out of the first-floor entrance of the Hokage office building.

After leaving the Hokage office building, Naruto walked back to his small apartment with a hint of joy on his face, having received many looks of fear and disgust along the way.

As soon as he entered the house, Naruto's expression immediately turned grim.

"Naruto, that invisible guy went to the rooftop," Kurama's voice sounded as soon as he closed the door.

"I know. Ever since I entered the Hokage's office, he's been hidden by my side," Naruto said, finding a chair on the first floor and sitting down. His consciousness descended directly into the Sealed Space.

"The Third Hokage still suspects me. He sent him here to confirm some things."

"He wants to confirm if you were acting earlier," Minato Namikaze said with a grave expression. "Because the first thing he asked was if you remembered what happened that night."

"Mhm, I said I didn't remember and didn't ask what happened," Naruto said, his gaze as cold as a glacier. He weighed the scroll in his hand and spoke calmly, "Pretending to be ignorant actually led to questions about Kurama's Chakra infusion."

"Then the Third Hokage didn't answer directly, and he deliberately didn't mention what he did to me. Instead, he brought out this scroll to test me."

"After that, he even arranged for Hayate Gekko to follow me home and observe my expression. This can be considered sparing no effort."

Minato Namikaze said with a worried look, "I'm afraid Hayate Gekko will be following you from now on."

"Roar! Naruto, why didn't you just ask that old man clearly from the beginning?" Kurama roared impatiently, hearing these words.

Naruto took a gentle breath and said, "The Third Hokage's silence clearly indicates his intention to cover up the matter of the seal placed on me."

"As for why I didn't mention it, it's because I will remember it forever!"