Who Was the True Wife?

"Mm, does it hurt?"

When Naruto woke up, he found that he still could not move. Memories of last night surfaced in his mind—he was still tied to the wooden post by Neji and had not been rescued.

"Did I hurt you? I-I'm sorry."

He raised his head and saw Hinata's worried face. Her injured hand held a medicine bottle as she used a cotton swab to apply medicine to the places where Neji had hurt Naruto last night. When their eyes met, she shyly lowered her head again, clutching the bottle at a loss.

"Ah, ah, this little injury is nothing."

"Naruto-kun, why did you come in the middle of the night?"

"Of course, it was to complete your Dad's test, but I think I got something wrong."

Naruto grinned. He did not suspect that the Nine-Tails had set him up, simply assuming that he had made a mistake himself.

"U-um, do you really want to marry into the family that badly?"

Hinata bit her lip. She realized that Naruto's smile was truly beautiful. Perhaps beautiful was not quite the right word, but she could feel strength in his smile—a strength that made people feel at ease.

"Once I marry into the family, Hinata will be my wife. I'll treat you well, um... I'll treat you really well."

Naruto thought for a long time and realized he did not know what to say. After all, he was still a child with a limited vocabulary, and it took him a while to get the words out.

"Umi~"

Steam rose from Hinata's head, and then she fell straight over. She simply could not withstand Naruto's blunt words.

"Hinata, Hinata."

"It's you again! What are you doing to Hinata?!"

Naruto called out to Hinata several times as she lay on top of him, but she did not react. Instead, he summoned Neji. Seeing this scene, Neji's fury flared again, and without holding back at all, he gave Naruto another brutal beating.

"You hit me again! One day, I'll hit you back!"

"You? Then come at me if you've got the guts!"

Uchiha Clan

"Sasuke, are you still angry?"

Itachi looked helplessly at Sasuke, who was sulking. Sasuke sat on the hallway floor, staring blankly into the courtyard. Hearing Itachi's words, he puffed up his cheeks in displeasure.

"I'm not angry. Brother has been too busy ever since becoming a ninja."

"Forgive me, Sasuke. It would be nice if you had a playmate your age too."

As usual, Itachi gently tapped Sasuke on the forehead. He felt both heartache and helplessness. Sasuke was the youngest child in the Uchiha Clan. Everyone born before him had already become a ninja, while children outside did not dare approach the Uchiha Clan. Even the children of the major families had been warned by their parents not to associate with the Uchiha. Sasuke was actually very lonely.

"Brother Itachi, I've brought the delivery."

Just as Itachi finished speaking, Naruto walked into the courtyard carrying a box and said with a smile.

"Brother is mine! You're not allowed to call him that."

Sasuke was very unhappy to hear Naruto call out like that. He hugged Itachi's arm, asserting his ownership.

"Thanks for your hard work, Naruto. Were you busy today?"

Itachi raised his other hand and scratched his cheek awkwardly before asking warmly.

"Not really. Once I go back, I won't have anything to do."

"If you don't mind, stay for a glass of juice. I need to go out later, and I'm worried about leaving Sasuke home alone."

"Brother, why are you keeping this guy here?!"

Before Naruto could say anything, Sasuke objected first, pointing at Naruto's nose in irritation.

"It's just a glass of juice. Does the master of the Uchiha Clan not even have that much generosity?"

Itachi patted Sasuke on the shoulder, hinting that Sasuke would be the next head of the Uchiha. Sasuke was pleased by the coaxing and reluctantly agreed.

"Hmph. Leave after you finish drinking."

"Whew, that was delicious."

Naruto gulped down the drink Itachi had poured for him in one go, then lay down on the floor without a shred of decorum and stared blankly at the sky.

"What terrible manners."

Sasuke looked down on Naruto's lack of upbringing. He sipped his juice bit by bit, though deep down, he actually wanted to talk to Naruto. He just could not put aside his pride and could only keep pretending.

"Sasuke, actually, I really envy you. You have a house to live in, parents, and a brother."

"Come to think of it, you're already working at such a young age. Where are your parents?"

"I don't have any. Ever since I can remember, people have been chasing me down and beating me. Every day was spent running away, though things have gotten a little better recently."

"Is that so?"

Sasuke fell silent. He felt a little sorry for Naruto. Such a young child had to work hard to support himself. Compared to him, Sasuke was far more fortunate.

"Oh, right. Do you have any girls in your family?"

"Huh?"

Sasuke simply could not understand Naruto's train of thought. He had been so sad one second ago, and the next, his thoughts had jumped somewhere else entirely.

"Someone about my age who'd let me marry into the family."

"There's no one like that! And what does marrying into the family even mean? Is it literally what it sounds like?"

"Yeah, yeah. After I marry in, I'll change my name to Uchiha Naruto. Sounds good, right?"

"Good my ass! You kid have no ambition at all!"

"Aren't you a kid too?"

"How can a man let himself be bound by a woman and let her run the household? You might as well become a woman yourself."

"If it's becoming a woman, I think the Transformation Jutsu can do that."

"...Get the hell out!"

Sasuke was left speechless. He grabbed a broom and fiercely chased Naruto out.

"Goodbye, Sasuke. Let's play together again next time."

Naruto waved goodbye to Sasuke. For some reason, Sasuke began to feel a faint sense of anticipation toward Naruto's words, looking forward to their next meeting.

"Nine-Tails, this feels awful. Why are you making me watch this?"

Inside Naruto's body, Naruto, who had finally managed to enter, was forced by the Nine-Tails to watch one bloody scene after another. It was basically people killing people, then being killed themselves. The entire scene was thick with the stench of blood, making Naruto's stomach churn, though he could not throw up.

"Shut up. Watch carefully."

"Nine-Tails! You've gone too far. Naruto is still a child. What are you trying to do?"

Minato's hands and feet were bound, and he could only watch helplessly as Naruto was tormented, powerless to do anything. He glared at the Nine-Tails and demanded an answer.

"What am I trying to do? Everything I showed him is fact—things that have happened in the ninja world. Did you see me fabricate even the slightest detail?"

"Even so, I don't want him exposed to these things so early. I want him to have a better childhood..."

Naruto was still a child. These things should have waited until he was older. But as Minato spoke, he could not continue.

"That's right. From the moment you sealed me inside this brat, it became impossible for him to have a good childhood. This is all your fault. You forced him into becoming like this."

The Nine-Tails revealed a malicious smile, constantly using its words to attack Minato's heart.

"I won't regret it. He is my child, and I believe he can overcome these hardships! In the end, he'll become a hero."

A crack briefly appeared in Minato's heart, but it immediately healed.

"Then let's make a bet. Let's see whether he ultimately becomes a monster drowning in slaughter, or a flower blooming amid slaughter."

The Nine-Tails watched Naruto gradually get used to the scenes before him, no longer feeling sick, and spoke with great interest. Naruto had already become a toy in its hands, free for it to shape however it wished. If Naruto became a monster that only knew how to kill, that meant his potential went no further than that. Then it would seize his body at the first opportunity.

"Dad, why do people kill each other?"

Naruto raised a finger and pointed at the people in the scene. Still so young, he could not understand why they were dying.

"Naruto, none of these people are engaging in meaningless slaughter. They are all fighting desperately to protect their own villages."

"Villages?"

"That's right. The world outside the village is not as peaceful as what you have seen. The reason people in the village can laugh together with their families is because of the sacrifices of people like them. So remember this: one day, you will become one of them too, fighting to protect the village."

"Is it okay to kill those people in order to protect it?"

"Yes!"

Looking at his son's innocent face, Minato could only give the cruelest answer to such a question. Naruto was the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki. No matter what, he could never live as an ordinary person. Minato could only harden his heart and teach him.

PS: Time to beg for votes again. The most important things for a new book are recommendation votes and bookmarks.

PS: The more I wrote, the stranger it felt. The Nine-Tails is like a strict father who wants the child exposed to society right away, while Minato is like a worried mother who wants to delay it longer... Why is Kushina in the crowd wearing a green hat?