Uzumaki...

At the hospital, Sasuke had been settled in.

An Anbu named Kakashi had stepped forward and handled all the paperwork.

Naruto sat beside the hospital bed with Kakashi, keeping watch over the unconscious Sasuke.

They had to prevent Uchiha Itachi and that mysterious Masked Man from attacking again.

Although Kurama's senses told him that both the Masked Man and Uchiha Itachi had already left Konoha, there was no guarantee they would not suddenly come back.

Only now that things had quieted down did Naruto have the chance to sort through everything that had happened tonight.

"The mysterious Masked Man with a Mangekyo, together with Uchiha Itachi, slaughtered the Uchiha Clan."

"According to Itachi, he committed the atrocity of massacring his entire clan to test his own capacity. The reason he left Sasuke alive was to wait for him to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan as well, then obtain even greater Pupil Power."

"Kurama had always said that Uchiha Madara possessed Pupil Power stronger than an ordinary Mangekyo, and that his eyes would not lose their light. It was called the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, but I don't know how such Pupil Power is obtained."

"If obtaining the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan requires taking the eyes of a blood relative, then Itachi's reason for not killing Sasuke can be confirmed as genuine."

"But what was that mysterious Masked Man's motive for acting? He already bore hostility toward Konoha. Was it because destroying the Uchiha Clan would effectively weaken Konoha's overall strength?"

"Besides that, Konoha's higher-ups seemed to have known that something like this would happen tonight. That was why the entire village was under lockdown, and there were more Anbu than usual monitoring and protecting me."

"As far as I know, the village's higher-ups had always been at odds with the Uchiha Clan. Had their conflict now reached the point where they could no longer coexist? Was the lockdown meant to prevent trouble before it happened?"

"Then what did Uchiha Itachi joining forces with that mysterious Masked Man to slaughter his own clan have to do with the conflict between the Uchiha and the village's higher-ups?"

For a time, Naruto's thoughts were a tangled mess.

Combining it with things he had noticed in his daily observations, Naruto thought of many possibilities, but the doubts in his heart only grew.

Inside the Sealing Space, Naruto asked the Little Fox in his arms.

"Kurama, your Evil Intent Sensing is one hundred percent accurate, right?"

Kurama had completely calmed down by then. Ever since the mysterious Masked Man had vanished beyond his sensing range, he had gone back to being the Otaku Fox who only watched shows and played games.

Kurama was watching a show at its most exciting moment when he heard Naruto's question.

After pausing it, he turned around and said irritably, "Are you doubting this old man's abilities? This ability of mine has never been wrong. As long as something can think, I can sense whether it is good or evil.

"Unless it isn't thinking at all—some vegetative person with no mental activity whatsoever."

Hearing Kurama say that, Naruto immediately thought of even more possibilities.

"Since Kurama's ability can't be wrong, it's certain that Itachi held no malice toward Sasuke or me."

"But the powerful killing intent I felt from Itachi then, as well as the attack he made against me, were not fake either."

"The fact that his thoughts and actions completely contradicted each other can only mean that Itachi had his reasons for this series of actions. I don't know the exact reason, but it definitely isn't as simple as it appears."

"Was he forced by that Masked Man? Did he have no choice but to make such a painful decision in order to protect Sasuke? Did he have to put on a cruel act, pretending he spared Sasuke only for his Sharingan?"

"No, it's also possible that he truly liked Sasuke, and by extension thought highly of me too, but still wanted greater Pupil Power. That was why he committed all these evil deeds."

"After all, humans are such complicated creatures. The books and films I've seen were full of people who said 'I love you' while raising a butcher's blade against the ones they loved most."

"So what exactly was the truth?"

Raising his head, Naruto looked at the white-haired Jonin sitting on the windowsill, absorbed in a book called Make-Out Paradise.

"Are you Kakashi? Hello, I'm Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto's words drew the white-haired Jonin's attention.

"Uzumaki..."

He murmured softly.

Ever since seeing Naruto, Kakashi's mind had been in turmoil.

Even though he had been reading, not a single word had entered his mind. By now, Kakashi was completely certain.

The child sitting not far from him was the son of his teacher, Minato Namikaze.

It made him think of eight years ago, when Minato Namikaze had assigned him to protect Naruto while he was still in his Master's Wife Kushina Uzumaki's womb.

At that time, he had only just managed to emerge from the blow dealt by his father's suicide, only to experience the death of his teammate Obito.

Then, because of an accident, he had personally killed Rin, whom Obito had entrusted him to protect no matter what.

A heart that had only just begun to feel warmth closed itself off once more after that string of blows.

Yet Minato Namikaze's arrangement had allowed him to witness the entire process of a small life, from conception to birth. It made him understand the preciousness of life once again and realize that he was not alone.

There were still people in this world who cared about him.

But not long afterward, his teacher Minato Namikaze and his Master's Wife Kushina Uzumaki died one after another during the Nine-Tailed Riot. It made the barely recovering Kakashi feel this world's darkness once again.

He changed, losing his passion for life.

He became indifferent to everything, living mechanically as an Anbu and carrying out mission after mission. With every enemy he killed, his heart fell deeper and deeper into the abyss of darkness.

It was only today that he learned his teacher's child was still alive and had not died with his parents on that blood-soaked night.

In Kakashi's numb mind, it was as if some color had appeared at last.

"Hello, Naruto. I'm Kakashi—Kakashi Hatake."

A gentle smile appeared on Kakashi's face beneath his mask, softening even the lone dead-fish eye exposed outside it and making it seem lively.

"Did you know Sasuke's brother, Itachi? Uchiha Itachi. He used to be Anbu too. I'd like to hear what you think of him."

Kakashi's gentle expression made Naruto pause.

Another person who, after learning his name, did not look at him strangely.

Without thinking too deeply, Naruto asked the question he most wanted answered.