Impending Destiny

Naruto walked out of the Hokage's office building, the sun already high in the sky, not far from noon.

After the Third Hokage confirmed that Naruto hadn't even mastered the Shadow Clone technique in two months, he was quite relieved. However, he still found an excuse to thoroughly check the Five Elements Seal on Naruto's body in his office. After repeatedly encouraging Naruto's studious and hardworking attitude upstairs, he happily escorted Naruto out of the main entrance himself.

"Naruto, when that old man was praising you in his office just now, his expression was exactly the same as when he fooled those idiots from the Senju Clan into doing experiments back then."

"He's truly formidable. He's clearly wary of you, yet he manages to act as if he cares for you deeply."

After walking a considerable distance away from the Hokage's office building, Kurama, having just reined in his Chakra, couldn't help but start complaining.

"Well, isn't that normal? He's the Hokage."

"As a ruler, he knows very well that love is a more reliable way to ensure the loyalty of the villagers than fear."

The streets gradually became more crowded. Naruto quickly walked through a few alleys and arrived at a quiet stone pavilion.

Sitting on the bench inside the stone pavilion, he pondered two things.

First, he didn't know what the Third Hokage was thinking, but he was sure that Hayate Gekko was no longer following him.

Second, he was searching through the plot points he knew, wondering how to obtain Shisui Uchiha's corpse or personal intelligence in the near future.

Speaking of Shisui Uchiha, that person's mind was seriously flawed. With just a few words from the Third Hokage, he was tricked into handing over the secret of his most powerful brainwashing Genjutsu.

What ruler wouldn't fear such an ability? Who knew when you might use Kotoamatsukami to control the Konoha higher-ups.

It was truly terrifying that someone like Shisui Uchiha, who possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan, had a saintly heart. Even more fatally, he believed the Third Hokage's nonsense about the Will of Fire.

It seemed he needed to find time to scout out the Naka River in advance, otherwise—

"Naruto, are you still thinking about the Sharingan?"

Suddenly, Minato Namikaze's voice echoed from the Sealed Space.

"Oh? Father, why do you ask?"

Naruto's gaze sharpened, and his consciousness descended directly into the Sealed Space.

Minato Namikaze replied with a serious expression, "I can tell. Besides, after being with you for so long, many of the questions you ask have a very clear purpose."

Naruto's eyes flickered slightly. "Father, I showed you Itachi Uchiha's memories before. What do you think will be the fate of the Uchiha Clan in the future?"

"Hmm?"

Minato Namikaze looked surprised at this.

What did that mean?

Naruto had specifically taken him to see Itachi Uchiha's memory fragments. From those scenes, he knew that the current conflict between the village and the Uchiha was gradually deepening.

But the tone of Naruto's words suggested that the Uchiha Clan's future outcome was not looking good.

"Father, the ones who initially founded Konoha were the Senju and the Uchiha. You already know how the Senju disappeared. It's now time for the Uchiha Clan."

"Naruto, what have you discovered?"

"There's nothing to discover. Think about it carefully. Starting with the Second Hokage, he exploited the Uchiha's desire for power, making them willingly take on the most hated position, the Police Department. This made it impossible for everyone in the village to have a good impression of the entire Uchiha Clan."

"Although insidious, this move was truly brilliant."

"Furthermore, several years ago, when that mysterious person was controlling Kurama, many people saw its eyes under the control of a Sharingan."

"This directly caused the entire Konoha to become suspicious of the Uchiha. Under this suspicion, the Konoha higher-ups forced them to move to a remote area far from the village center. The Uchiha Clan was also extremely dissatisfied with this, which further exacerbated the conflict between the Uchiha and the village."

"You were Hokage. This kind of conflict is escalating now. What do you think will happen?"

Hearing this, Minato Namikaze was startled, "Could it be that the Uchiha Clan will..."

"Why is this jinx here!"

"Who knows if what happened in the village last night has anything to do with him."

"Yeah! This filthy guy is too annoying."

A group of villagers suddenly arrived at the stone pavilion. Seeing Naruto sitting there, they immediately started muttering and cursing. Minato Namikaze's words were interrupted before he could finish.

"Sigh, Naruto, let's just go back."

"Father, why the sigh? I didn't believe it when someone praised me, but I must listen when people curse me. Besides, they aren't wrong. I did get involved in what happened last night."

Naruto calmly surveyed the surroundings. All the voices outside the stone pavilion immediately fell silent. He then got up from the bench and walked out of the pavilion.

Outside the crowd, a little girl suddenly walked over. Her eyes lit up when she saw Naruto.

She tilted her head and asked the adult beside her, "Who is that child?"

"Miss Hinata, please don't get involved with that child."

"Why?"

The adult shook his head slightly without answering. He glanced solemnly at the Hokage Rock standing on the cliff in the distance and said, "It's time to train. Let's go back."

Time passed. As night fell, Naruto, clad in a black robe, appeared by the Naka River.

Before leaving, he noticed the Third Hokage leading a group of people with secretive movements towards an office building with a barrier. So, he used a Shadow Clone as cover and came here to begin his arrangements.

There were a total of seven waterfalls here, so he had to leave a Flying Thunder God mark on the reef beneath each one.

Naruto couldn't just approach Shisui Uchiha recklessly, so this was the only way. Although it was a bit troublesome, it was the only way.

"Naruto, why are you marking this area of the Uchiha Clan Compound?"

Naruto had already left a mark in the Hokage's office during the day, and now he was here again at night. Minato Namikaze had a feeling Naruto was preparing for something.

"Father, I just passed by a few cliffs. If it were you, where would you choose to jump to commit suicide?"

"Suicide? Don't tell me Naruto, you know someone is going to jump off a cliff here, so you're leaving marks to save them when it happens?"

"Father, can you stop being so humorous?"

"Uh."

Naruto's calm reply made Minato Namikaze, who was in the Sealed Space, very awkward.

"Then what are all these Flying Thunder God marks for?"

After standing at the edge of the cliff and sensing the location of all the marks, Naruto looked indifferently at a nearby waterfall. "To pick up bodies, of course."

"What! Pick up bodies!" Minato Namikaze's mind went blank, and then he asked with a grave tone, "Whose bodies? What's the point of you picking up bodies?"

"You'll know in the near future, Father."

Minato Namikaze's expression was filled with surprise. "This is the Naka River, the Uchiha Clan Compound. Could it be someone from the Uchiha...?"

"Father, I can't answer your question, and even if you knew, it wouldn't be of any use."

After replying calmly, Naruto looked up. The starry sky made the night feel exceptionally quiet, yet the gears of fate had already begun to turn.