Naruto, Do You Hate Your Father?

"It all dated back to thirteen years ago..."

"The night Naruto was born, Kushina, the Nine-Tails' previous Jinchuriki, had her seal loosen during childbirth, and the Nine-Tails was exploited through that opportunity..."

"To prevent the village from suffering further harm and countless more deaths, and to protect Naruto in his swaddling clothes, both Minato-sensei and his wife were pierced by the Nine-Tails' claws..."

Obito's face was filled with disbelief.

"Are you sure the Nine-Tails killed Minato-sensei? He wasn't framed by the Hidden Leaf Village, was he?"

Faced with Obito's doubts, Kakashi sighed helplessly. He knew the situation in his village was indeed far too complicated; it was only natural that they did not trust him.

"Yeah, Minato-sensei could use the Flying Thunder God Technique, right? He was also proficient in space-time ninjutsu, and he was the Fourth Hokage. How could he possibly have been killed by the Nine-Tails?"

In their eyes, Tailed Beasts only knew how to use Tailed Beast Bombs and taijutsu. If they could not win, could they not at least run away?

Besides, could a Tailed Beast's intelligence compare to a human's?

"...The Nine-Tails dealt too great a blow to the Hidden Leaf Village. Sensei could not bear to let it continue destroying everything, so he could only stake his own life on it, using the Dead Demon Consuming Seal and the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style to restrain the Nine-Tails..."

"And Kushina... she willingly gave up her chance to live in order to save Naruto."

Nagato was expressionless, while Kakashi and Obito felt conflicted.

This was the teacher of the Kakashi from this world, as well as a counterpart of their own teacher.

They had not expected him to die for this so-called responsibility...

"As for making Naruto a Jinchuriki... that was Sensei's decision. He wanted Naruto to become a hero to the villagers, wanted everyone to know that Naruto was the hero who sealed away the Nine-Tails."

"Also, Sensei had made too many enemies, and the situation within the village was rather complicated. He feared that once he was gone, Naruto would suffer retaliation. Sealing the Nine-Tails inside him was both to make Naruto the village's hero and to protect him..."

The more Kakashi spoke, the more bitter the corners of his mouth became.

If Minato-sensei came back to life, would he blame him? Would he blame the Third Hokage?

Kakashi knew exactly what kind of life Naruto had lived all these years.

In Konoha Village, even a dog could be said to have lived with more dignity than Naruto.

The fact that Naruto had survived until now was already because the villagers had shown considerable restraint.

Kakashi could not understand the Third Hokage's absurd actions either. He did not allow anyone to harm Naruto, yet he made it common knowledge that Naruto was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

Naruto had already lowered his head. No one knew what he was thinking, but fortunately, the scene Kakashi had imagined—Nine-Tails Chakra overflowing everywhere—did not occur. Everything was peaceful.

Nagato and the other two also understood the politics behind it.

The village certainly would not go to great lengths to protect the son of a dead Hokage, but as a Jinchuriki, he would definitely receive the village's highest priority protection.

"Since he was supposedly protected as a priority, why was there no one taking care of Naruto when he came out this time? And his build makes it obvious that he's malnourished, doesn't it? Is this how your Hidden Leaf Village treats the descendants of heroes?"

Kakashi wanted to explain that he was actually already very strong, but when he thought of the outcome of the battle just now, he ultimately chose to remain silent on that matter.

Kakashi looked at the silent Naruto and let out a deep sigh.

"The Third Hokage gave Naruto living expenses every month. The amount was based on the highest standard for orphans in Konoha Village, but..."

Before Kakashi could finish, Naruto raised his head. Tears were already streaming down his face.

"But the villagers wouldn't sell anything to me. Everyone said I was the Demon Fox. Even when I offered three or four times the price, no one was willing to sell me anything!"

"Not a single person was willing to accept me. To get everyone's attention, I often wasted money on paint and pranks..."

"Ever since I was little, I basically only ate instant noodles and drank milk. Whenever someone was willing to sell to me, I desperately bought extra because I was afraid they wouldn't sell to me the next time. So I often couldn't finish it before it expired..."

"If my body couldn't get nutrition, then naturally..."

Nagato's heart ached as he looked at Naruto like this.

He knew everything...

And fortunately, Naruto had the Uzumaki Clan's physique. Otherwise... things would probably have been even worse than they were now...

"Is this how you treat the descendants of heroes?!"

Obito was furious.

At first, he had thought the Naruto of this world had poor upbringing and was far too immature.

Only now did he realize that Naruto had no family at all!

I'm such an idiot!

"Naruto! Join our Empire! The Minato-sensei and Kushina-sensei in our world would definitely be willing to take you in!"

The Naruto of this world was not bad by nature; he could even be called pure-hearted.

Obito was confident that Minato-sensei would certainly raise him well.

However, Naruto shook his head and refused.

"No! Everyone says I'm the Demon Fox, but I'll prove them wrong! I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I'm the man who'll become Hokage!"

Naruto clenched his fists and repeated once more the words he had said countless times in his heart.

Kakashi covered his forehead, while Obito covered his face.

Damn it, this guy is beyond saving!

If they were asked what this world did better than theirs, they could say with certainty that its Brainwashing Technique was definitely superior to the Empire's!

"Naruto... do you hate your father?"

Kakashi spoke hesitantly, a trace of complicated emotion in his eyes.

Naruto fell silent for a moment, then a bitter smile appeared on his face. "Hate? How could I hate someone I've never met..."

He slowly raised his head, his gaze drifting into the distance, as if he wanted to see the father he had never met through the moonlit sea.

Although his heart was filled with countless doubts and regrets, he could not summon any genuine hatred.

After all, his father had been a hero... a Hokage who had given everything for the village, the very person Naruto had always longed to become...

Of course, deep in Naruto's heart was still an indescribable emotion.

He silently swore that if he truly got the chance to meet his father one day, he would definitely punch him hard and let him understand all the grievances and loneliness he had endured over the years.

Sasuke listened quietly beside him, unable to stop himself from thinking of his own past. A feeling of shared misery rose within him.

He looked deeply into Naruto's eyes, gaining a little more understanding and sympathy for what Naruto had gone through.

At that moment, Sasuke felt that he and Naruto were not so different after all.

Usually, Naruto always appeared before everyone looking ridiculous. His carefree, heedless personality often made people laugh.

But now, Sasuke finally understood why.

Sakura also remained silent, tears glimmering in her eyes. She had often looked down on and put Naruto down; after learning the story behind it, she felt a wave of shame and pain.

Haku sat quietly to one side, hugging his legs tightly. His gaze was lost and hollow, and no one knew what he was thinking.

Perhaps he was also recalling his own past, feeling the unpredictability and helplessness of fate.

"Nagato, can you see whether the Nine-Tails inside Naruto can be released?"

Obito: "Legend says that above the Empire, there is an extremely mysterious organization. Every word and action they take can influence our world-conquering efforts and the Empire's policy direction!"

Kakashi: "I've heard of it too. Legend says that this mysterious organization is connected to the otherworldly creature the Emperor mentioned—Penguin! Nagato, do you know what it is?"

Nagato: "I saw marks and code words they left behind on a stone slab somewhere in the Land of Endings. It was a string of numbers, but unfortunately I couldn't understand it. The number seemed to be 694520991."

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