The Power of Belief

"Ah... that..." Naruto chuckled, propping his hands on the step behind him and lifting his gaze to the distant blue sky and white clouds.

Sasuke also looked into the distance, keeping quiet.

Hinata lay quietly unconscious beside them.

Gazing at the clouds on the horizon, Naruto murmured, "Let's set the Uchiha matter aside for now and talk about me... Do you know who my parents are? One was the previous Nine-Tails Jinchuriki—a Jinchuriki is someone like me with a tailed beast sealed inside them—and the other was the Fourth Hokage."

"..." Sasuke abruptly turned his head to stare at Naruto.

Naruto noticed Sasuke's gaze but didn't look back, just gave an unconcerned smile and sighed softly. "On the day I was born, my mother's seal on the tailed beast loosened during childbirth. A man who knew about this slipped into Konoha, extracted the Nine-Tails, and controlled it to rampage through the village..."

"As you know, the Nine-Tails was sealed by the Fourth Hokage at the time, and the container was me, his newborn son... Logically, that thing inside me is the one who killed my parents, so I should hate him to the bone, right? But, but..."

Inside Naruto, Kurama lay on the water's surface, listening to Naruto's words outside, eyes slightly closed, lost in thought.

Sasuke was visibly moved; he had never known that Naruto's background held so many secrets.

Naruto's hands gripping the step tightened slightly. After a moment of silence, he said, "My master once said that if peace truly exists, then let me seize it! I hate him, and Kurama hates me too—hates Konoha, hates everyone... Without suffering and pain, where would hatred come from? I'm in pain because my family was destroyed, but what about him?"

"From the moment he was born, he's been called 'the embodiment of hatred,' 'an ill omen'... But is that really right?"

As he spoke, Naruto was suddenly bathed in a golden light. He casually raised his right hand, aiming at a large tree in the greenery beside them.

Crack, crack, crack.

The tree visibly began to grow, rising higher, branching out, and spreading its leaves...

Sasuke was stunned. He had never known Naruto had such a state, and he could clearly feel the unprecedented pressure this golden Naruto gave him.

Sasuke involuntarily activated his Three Tomoe Sharingan to look at Naruto, and his eyes widened in disbelief.

If a normal person's Chakra was like a flickering flame in their abdomen, then in Sasuke's Sharingan vision, Naruto's abdomen now blazed like a massive sun, so dazzling and scorching...

Was this colossal Chakra really not an illusion?

Golden flames burned around Naruto—this was Chakra made tangible. "This is the real Nine-Tails Chakra. As you can see, it's a power full of life force..." The golden light faded, and Naruto exited his Golden Body Mode.

"From the First Hokage's wife onward, Kurama has been trapped in Konoha, never seeing the light of day. Since he was born under the Sage of Six Paths, he's been feared and coveted by humans... Humans are terrified of this monstrous Chakra, yet greedily want to possess its unmatched power... So where does all this hatred come from? Ancestors? War? Ninja? The Sage of Six Paths? Or Chakra?"

Sasuke fell silent, but a profound shock stirred within him.

This shock came from the realization: while he spent his days and nights brooding over his clan's revenge, Naruto, at the same age, was already pondering war and peace... This contrast stirred a genuine ripple in the proud Sasuke.

"I don't hate Kurama, really! Thanks to the experiences of that future me, I understand that Kurama is also a victim. I don't hate him, and I don't hate the one who controlled him—he's just another sacrifice in this vast hatred. I don't want to hate anyone, and I don't want to kill anyone... If peace truly exists, then let me hold onto it tightly!" Naruto's gaze became unwaveringly resolute.

Reading makes one wise; reading drives one to think.

At first, Naruto read just to be different from that future self, to make up for his shortcomings. But as he enriched his knowledge and expanded his learning, he couldn't help but use books to think and explore.

He borrowed the Hundred Trials Ninja Chronicle from his master Jiraiya and respectfully read it through again.

Suddenly, a voice sounded in front of them: "That child Itachi, at six years old, was already thinking like a Hokage, about the village and the clan..."

Sasuke looked sharply—it was the Third Hokage, appearing there without a sound. Sasuke asked in a low voice, "So... Itachi... Itachi..." His voice trembled uncontrollably, his hands clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh.

"The truth of that night—go ask Itachi yourself once you've truly gained strength." The Third Hokage took a puff from his pipe, his aged voice sounding very hoarse.

"Damn it, damn it! Why does everyone keep me in the dark?! You all know, you all know, but why won't you tell me?! Those who died were my parents, my family! Itachi, Itachi..." Sasuke growled in low anger, his body shaking uncontrollably.

"Because knowing wouldn't help," Naruto said flatly, glancing at Hinata beside him, still unconscious—probably the Third Hokage's doing.

He continued, "Since Itachi chose to hide it from you, it's clearly to turn that hatred into your driving force. His..." He almost said "his time is running out too," but stopped himself. "He needs you to get stronger, as strong as him, even stronger. The Uchiha's fall came from a power even Itachi couldn't handle... So all you have to do is keep getting stronger, just as Itachi hoped."

Sasuke looked up, first at Naruto, then at the Third Hokage, confusion in his twelve-year-old eyes.

"Turn this desire to uncover the truth into the fuel for growth, Sasuke. No matter what, you're still a ninja of Konoha." The Third Hokage puffed out a cloud of smoke.

The Third Hokage had watched Naruto's subtle influence on Sasuke over the years. He understood Naruto's intent—the kid didn't want Sasuke to be abandoned by the village like in the "original," didn't want him to be pushed to the village's fringes.

The Third Hokage knew full well Sasuke's immense future potential. Naruto worked hard to show the Third Hokage that Sasuke might not betray the village—that Sasuke was just a child who knew nothing, kept in the dark about everything.

The Third Hokage acknowledged Naruto's silent efforts, which was why Kakashi was allowed to mentor Sasuke.

In Danzo's eyes, that would be no different from aiding the enemy; the best move would undoubtedly be to kill Sasuke while he was young, with no effort at all.

But the Third Hokage chose to do this. He chose to believe in Naruto, in Sasuke, in the "Child of Prophecy," and even more in the will of fire passed down through generations. He believed Konoha's foundation wasn't about excluding dissenters, hatred, malice, prejudice, or suspicion, but about inclusion and acceptance, friendship and goodwill, tolerance and understanding—the struggles of generation after generation, the power of believing in each other.

In this chaotic ninja world, it might sound laughable, but the source of all these laughing hidden villages was this very Konoha, and Konoha's founding was based on a beautiful fantasy shared by two men in the era of warring chaos.

The Third Hokage believed in the future Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki.

He would entrust Sasuke to him.