Naruto, Do You Hate Your Father?

"It all goes back thirteen years..."

"That night, Naruto was born. Kushina, the previous Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, suffered a loosening of the seal during labor, and the Nine-Tails was taken advantage of..."

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

Obito's face was full of doubt.

"Are you sure the Nine-Tails killed Minato? Wasn't he framed by people from the Hidden Leaf Village?"

Faced with Obito's doubts, Kakashi helplessly sighed. He knew that the situation in his village was indeed far too complicated, so it was only normal for the other party not to trust them.

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

In their eyes, a Tailed Beast only knew how to use the Tailed Beast Bomb and physical techniques. If it couldn't win, couldn't it at least run away?

Besides, could the intelligence of a Tailed Beast really compare to that of a human?

"...The Nine-Tails inflicted too much damage on the Hidden Leaf Village. The Fourth Hokage couldn't bear to let the Nine-Tails continue its destruction, so he could only enter the trap himself and use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal and the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style to control the Nine-Tails..."

"And my teacher... She voluntarily gave up her chance to live in order to save Naruto."

Nagato remained expressionless, while Kakashi and Obito were in complicated moods.

This world's Kakashi's teacher was also a variant of their own teacher.

They never expected him to have died because of that so-called responsibility...

"As for making Naruto a Jinchuriki... That was the Fourth Hokage's decision. He wanted Naruto to become the village's hero, and he wanted everyone to know that Naruto was the hero who had sealed the Nine-Tails."

"Besides, the Fourth Hokage had made too many enemies, and the situation within the village was also complicated. He was afraid that once he was gone, Naruto would be targeted for revenge. 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 his smile became.

If Minato came back to life, would he blame himself? Would he blame the Third Hokage?

Kakashi knew all too well what kind of life Naruto had led over the years.

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

The fact that Naruto had managed to survive until now was already the result of the villagers showing considerable restraint.

Kakashi also couldn't understand the Third Hokage's absurd actions. He forbade anyone from harming Naruto, yet he had made the fact that Naruto was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki common knowledge.

Naruto's head had already drooped. No one knew what he was thinking. Fortunately, the scene Kakashi had imagined, with Nine-Tails Chakra overflowing everywhere, did not appear. Everything remained so peaceful.

Nagato and the others also understood the politics behind it.

The village certainly wouldn't go to great lengths to protect the son of a dead Hokage, but as a Jinchuriki, Naruto would definitely receive the village's special protection.

"If he's specially protected, then why was no one looking after Naruto when he came out this time? And judging from his build and physique, he's clearly malnourished, isn't he? Is this how the Hidden Leaf Village treats the son of a hero?"

Kakashi wanted to explain that he was actually already very strong, but when he thought of the result of their recent battle, he ultimately chose to remain silent on that point.

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

"Every month, the Third Hokage gives Naruto a portion of living expenses. This money is provided according to the highest standard for orphans in Konoha Village, but..."

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

"But the people in the village refuse to sell me anything. Everyone says I'm the Demon Fox. Even when I offer three or four times the price, no one is willing to sell me anything!"

"No one is willing to accept me. To get everyone's attention, I often waste my money buying paint and pulling pranks..."

"Ever since I was little, I've basically lived on instant noodles and milk. Whenever someone was willing to sell to me, I'd desperately buy as much as I could. I was afraid that they wouldn't sell to me the next time I came, so I often couldn't finish it all before it expired..."

"My body doesn't get the nutrients it needs, so naturally..."

Nagato's heart ached as he looked at Naruto.

He knew everything...

Fortunately, he had the constitution of the Uzumaki Clan. Otherwise... the situation would probably have been even worse than it was now...

"You treat the son of a hero like this?!"

Obito was furious.

At first, he had thought this world's Naruto was poorly raised and completely lacking in composure.

Only now did he realize that Naruto simply had no family!

I'm the worst!

"Naruto! Join our Empire! The Minato and Kushina of our world will definitely be happy to accept you!"

This world's Naruto was not bad by nature. He could even be considered rather innocent.

Obito was confident that Minato would definitely raise him well.

However, Naruto shook his head and refused.

"No! Everyone says I'm the Demon Fox, but I'll prove to them that I'm not! I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I'm the man who's going to become Hokage!"

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

Kakashi covered his forehead, while Obito covered his face.

Damn it, this guy is hopeless!

If they were asked what was good about this world, they could say with certainty that the Brainwashing Technique was definitely better than the Empire's!

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

Kakashi hesitantly spoke, a complicated emotion in his eyes.

Naruto was silent for a moment before revealing a bitter smile. "Hate? How could I hate someone I've never even met..."

He slowly raised his head and looked into the distance, wanting to see that father he had never met through the moonlit sea.

Although his heart was filled with countless doubts and regrets, he couldn't bring himself to truly hate him.

After all, his father was a hero... the Hokage who had devoted everything to the village, the kind of person Naruto had always longed to become...

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

He silently vowed that if he ever truly got to meet his father one day, he would give him a good punch and make him understand all the grievances and loneliness he had endured over the years.

Sasuke quietly listened beside him. He couldn't help thinking of his own background, and a feeling of shared suffering welled up in his heart.

He gazed deeply at Naruto, gaining a little more understanding and sympathy for what he had been through.

At that moment, Sasuke felt that he and Naruto weren't all that different after all.

Usually, Naruto always appeared before everyone as a laughingstock. His carefree, unrestrained personality made people burst into laughter.

But at this moment, Sasuke finally understood why.

Sakura also remained silent. Tears shimmered in her eyes. She often looked down on and picked on Naruto, and now that she knew the story behind it all, shame and pain pierced her heart.

Haku quietly sat to the side, hugging his legs tightly. His eyes were distant and empty, and no one knew what he was thinking.

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

"Nagato, do you think you can release the Nine-Tails inside Naruto?"

Obito: "Rumor has it that above the Empire is an extremely mysterious organization. Every word and action of theirs can influence the Empire's policies and our efforts to conquer other worlds!"

Kakashi: "I've heard about it too. Rumor has it that this mysterious organization is connected to the penguin, the Other World creature mentioned by the Emperor! Nagato, do you know what it is?"

Nagato: "I saw their marks and ciphers on a stone tablet somewhere in the Land of Endings. It was a string of numbers. Unfortunately, I couldn't figure it out. The number seemed to be 694520991."