Never Be Moved by Yourself

"Naruto! Most of the people in the village are innocent!"

Minato Namikaze's voice carried a trace of pleading.

"I know."

That was Naruto's final response before leaving the Sealed Space. His voice remained as cold as ever, devoid of any unnecessary emotion.

Thinking of Naruto's icy, indifferent gaze from earlier, Minato Namikaze suddenly found himself unable to describe how he felt.

He could not help but recall every moment from when he and Naruto had first met until now.

Why had Naruto become like this?

Scenes from his life in the village flashed through his mind. In the end, only one figure he had longed for day and night remained in his heart—a woman with vivid red hair.

"Kushina, do you blame me? I failed to protect you, failed to protect Naruto, and now I can't even protect the village anymore."

All kinds of emotions surged into his heart. Tears streamed down Minato Namikaze's face, yet he gritted his teeth.

Though his heart twisted with pain, he did not dare cry out loud.

He regretted it.

He regretted sealing the Nine-Tails inside Naruto all those years ago.

If he had not made that decision back then, perhaps things would not have reached this point.

He had truly been wrong.

Naruto had left the Sealed Space mainly because he had suddenly sensed the Third Hokage approaching, with Gekko Hayate leading the way.

He took two steps to the window, his gaze sweeping over the snow-covered ground below as he began to speculate.

What had the Third Hokage come for at this hour?

Had Genma been exposed?

But that was not right. Naruto carefully sensed the area, and Genma's Chakra was clearly still on the street where he lived.

Still, Naruto's heart sank at the thought. He suddenly realized he had overlooked a critical issue.

Given his identity in Konoha, anyone who had interacted with him would probably be investigated.

Except Ninja Tool Full Point Hall.

When Naruto had bought the mechanism crossbow used to fire multiple Kunai, he had specifically confirmed that the owner behind Ninja Tool Full Point Hall had connections to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.

The confidentiality of buying equipment there was reliable. The fact that the Third Hokage had yet to discover what Naruto had purchased proved as much.

But other people were different.

He would have to be more careful from now on!

As he pondered in silence, a faint but persistent irritation crept into his heart, and Naruto's expression gradually darkened.

After a long while, Naruto calmly shut the window. His eyes became deep and unreadable once more. The Third Hokage would arrive soon.

As for why he had come, Naruto would find out shortly.

Knock, knock, knock!

"Naruto! You're home, right?"

Before long, knocking sounded at the door, followed by the Third Hokage's strong voice from downstairs.

Naruto sneered inwardly as he descended from the second floor. The instant he gently opened the door, a perfectly timed look of surprise appeared on his face.

"Lord Hokage, why have you come?"

"Hehe." The Third Hokage wore his trademark kindly smile. "I happened to have some time to stroll around the village today, so I stopped by to see you."

Naruto showed a hint of gratitude. "Thank you, Lord Hokage."

"Hehe, don't be so formal." As he spoke, the Third Hokage walked through the door. After looking around, he sat down on a chair. The moment he sat, he suddenly said, "I seem to remember you mentioning that you had made a friend from the Nara Clan."

You heard it from me? You're quite the actor.

Naruto grumbled inwardly, but nodded without changing expression. "His name is Shikamaru. Recently, he introduced me to another new friend."

Surprise flickered across the Third Hokage's face, but he smiled and asked, "Have you been playing with them lately?"

Hm? The Third Hokage had come just to care about his social circle?

Wouldn't he know whether Naruto had gone to see Shikamaru and the others lately? Wasn't Gekko Hayate, who was currently hiding on the second floor, following him every day?

In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through Naruto's mind. Yet his face immediately showed a look of disappointment. "They both come from major clans."

"After spending time with them, I felt like we couldn't really get along, so I didn't want to seek them out anymore."

A sharp glint flashed through the Third Hokage's eyes, though his smile remained unchanged. "Why would Naruto think that?"

"They know powerful ninjutsu." Naruto's eyes revealed envy. "And the two of them are very strong when they work together."

"Hehe!" The Third Hokage smiled kindly. "Doesn't Naruto know ninjutsu too?"

Naruto shook his head. "What I know is useless. The Transformation Jutsu can't be used in a fight, and Taijutsu is all I have left to barely deal with their moves."

"That's only because they hold back for me! I still can't beat the two of them by myself." Naruto's face showed indignation. "It's a shame the clones I make with the Clone Technique aren't physical."

"If I had physical clones, I could handle both of them alone!"

The Third Hokage nodded. Just as Shikamaru's report had guessed, Naruto had developed resistance while interacting with them because of his own lack of strength. Fortunately, the Third Hokage had come prepared.

"Creating physical clones is not difficult, actually."

As the Third Hokage spoke, he pulled a scroll from the wide sleeve of his Hokage Robe.

"This is the Shadow Clone Jutsu. It uses Chakra to create physical clones. They can move and fight just like the user."

Naruto's eyes lit up. Looking at the scroll in the Third Hokage's hand, his gaze filled with hope as he asked, "There's really a ninjutsu like that?"

"It can make physical clones that can fight too?"

The Third Hokage was extremely pleased by Naruto's expression. He directly held the scroll out before Naruto and smiled. "Hehe, this is specially for you. Next month, I need to go to the capital of the Land of Fire to report the village's affairs to the Daimyo."

"The round trip will take about two months. Practice the ninjutsu on the scroll first. If there's anything you don't understand, you can come directly to the Hokage's Office and ask me after I return."

Naruto excitedly accepted the ninjutsu scroll. He lowered his head and impatiently unrolled it for a look, then solemnly bowed. "Thank you, Lord Hokage!"

"Hehe." The Third Hokage rose to his feet and looked at Naruto with a kindly expression. "Work hard! I'll be going now."

After taking two steps toward the door, he suddenly stopped and turned back. "Naruto, don't stay home alone all the time. Go out more. Training with friends is more fun too."

"Yes!" Naruto immediately bent at the waist in agreement.

The Third Hokage waved and stepped out the door.

Several breaths later, Naruto, who had kept his head lowered, sensed that the Third Hokage had gone far away. Gekko Hayate, however, remained motionless on the second-floor balcony.

Looking at the ninjutsu scroll in his hand, Naruto straightened up. As he gently shut the door, an inscrutable light flickered in his eyes.

The corner of his mouth curled up. The Third Hokage had actually given him the Shadow Clone Jutsu. And next month, he would be leaving the village to visit the Daimyo.

Naruto had been planning to find a chance after entering the Flying Thunder God to use Shadow Clones and inspect the Explosive Tag trap Genma had set.

This was like being handed a pillow just when he was sleepy.

Sitting in the chair, Naruto thought it over briefly and understood a little. The act he had put on before Gekko Hayate had been quite successful. It had actually made the Third Hokage so confident in the Five Elements Seal placed on him.

That explained why he had said Naruto could ask him for guidance after he returned from seeing the Daimyo of the Land of Fire if Naruto failed to learn it.

Kurama had previously considered leaking Chakra through the gaps in the seal to slowly erode it. As long as Naruto, the Jinchuriki, stirred up enough negative emotions and resonated with its Chakra to the extreme, Kurama might be able to break free.

But that was no longer necessary. It had reconciled with Naruto, and Naruto no longer needed to use his own Chakra to suppress Kurama.

After learning that the Five Elements Seal worked by disrupting the Chakra it leaked out to suppress Naruto's growth in strength, Kurama said it could completely restrain its Chakra and stop even the slightest trace from leaking through the seal's gaps.

So now, aside from making Naruto somewhat uncomfortable, the Five Elements Seal could not affect him at all.

"Father, after watching from inside my body for so many years, what kind of person do you think the Third Hokage is?"

With a thought from Naruto, his consciousness descended into the Sealed Space.

"The Third Hokage..." Minato Namikaze seemed very hesitant.

If this had been before his death, the Third Hokage's first impression in his eyes would absolutely have been that of a good person.

Gentle and tolerant, he was Konoha's loving father, Konoha's light that illuminated the entire village. Before becoming Hokage, Minato Namikaze had regarded the Third Hokage as his idol.

But ever since he had watched everything Naruto suffered from childhood to adulthood within the seal, he had become lost.

"Father, let me tell you instead." Naruto looked coolly at Minato Namikaze. "The Third Hokage is a good person! He can even make everyone living in Konoha inexplicably move themselves."

"What?" x2.

Minato Namikaze and Kurama spoke at the same time.

Naruto waved a hand. "You heard me correctly. I said he is a good person."

"He has always preached the Will of Fire in Konoha. Whenever he has time, he gives emotional lectures about protecting comrades, protecting Konoha, preserving world peace, and things like that."

"For the village's construction and development, he has devoted himself completely. With a steady smile, he is the guardian of Konoha, the ninja village that shines upon the village."

Not a single adult or child in the village has failed to be moved by him. Especially the children—every one of them strives to become Hokage as their life goal, driven throughout their growth by that inexplicable feeling of being moved.

"Am I right?"

Minato Namikaze nodded. Becoming Hokage had been the dream he had striven for since he was very young, and he had persisted in that dream through that feeling of being moved.

In the end, his dream had come true, though he had been Hokage for less than a year.

A glint flashed through Naruto's eyes. "Did you notice? The Third Hokage has never revealed any dark side."

"His entire image is bathed in light. Aren't you curious where his dark side went?"

"Forget what he did to me, a Jinchuriki. Father, tell me with the mature judgment of an adult: is someone with no dark side worthy of trust?"

"Naruto, I don't know how to answer that." Minato Namikaze shook his head with difficulty. "But I understand what you mean. Right now, I only hope you can reconsider what you said about detonating the Explosive Tags."

"The ordinary people in the village are innocent. Many of them have settled in Konoha since their ancestors' time, and only after enduring several Shinobi World Wars did they gain the stable and happy lives they have today."

"I have considered it." Genma's figure flashed through Naruto's mind, and he smiled faintly. "I will definitely detonate the Explosive Tags at the right time. Otherwise, how will I destroy that Crystal Ball in the Hokage's Office?"

"I know everyone has the right to happiness, but do they have the ability to keep it?"

"Whether they can survive this calamity will depend on fate."