Rebuilding Inazuma

Iruka walked into the classroom and felt a wave of relief upon seeing the two students who had been absent for a week finally arrive; as long as they were safe, that was all that mattered.

However...

Noticing the cold and heartless Sasuke, Iruka felt a pang of heartache. Such a fine child, sigh...

He secretly decided that he must have a talk with Sasuke; he could not allow him to remain immersed in hatred forever.

"Class is dismissed... Sasuke, come out with me for a moment."

Sasuke stood up, frowned, and followed Iruka out of the classroom.

"What could Iruka-sensei want with Sasuke..."

Since it concerned Sasuke, the girls in the class were quite curious.

They hid by the classroom door, poking their heads out to peek.

The boys curled their lips, saying nothing.

Naruto Uzumaki came over and sat down next to Hinata, asking, "Is there something you wanted to tell me?"

During class, Hinata had been stealing glances at Naruto, and unlike her usual shyness, this time... Hinata was looking at him with an expression of grievance, distress, and a desire to cry.

It had made her Byakugan look like red eyes.

"I... I don't know."

Hinata lowered her head, feeling aggrieved.

She didn't know why, but a few days ago, her father had suddenly told her not to get too close to Naruto.

She didn't want to agree, but she dared not defy her father's words.

She was caught in a dilemma!

"Don't be afraid, Hinata, I'm here. You can tell me anything..."

--The handsome guy strategy!

Naruto held Hinata's soft little hand, a sunny smile appearing on his youthful face.

"Naruto-kun..."

The sunlight pierced through the darkness, shining into the depths of Hinata's heart.

She slowly raised her head, looking at Naruto's face, and suddenly felt her body filled with courage--her father or whatever didn't matter for the moment.

"Oh, so your father told you to keep your distance from me..."

After hearing Hinata's words, Naruto let go of her hands, his face lost in thought.

On the night of the Uchiha massacre, he had been most worried about a Byakugan user appearing and seeing through his disguise.

And judging by Konoha's reaction and Hinata's words.

The Hyuga must have discovered something, but for some reason, they hadn't told Konoha, only telling Hinata to stay away from him. It was actually good news, dispelling his last lingering concern...

With her hands released, Hinata felt a sense of loss. Seeing Naruto deep in thought and silent, she assumed he was worried about their future interactions.

Hinata gathered her courage and said firmly, "Naruto-kun, Father is wrong. I will not leave you, Naruto-kun."

Don't be ridiculous, you're making this sound like a tragic drama.

Naruto twitched the corner of his mouth: "Thanks, but no one is making you leave. Your father just told us to keep our distance, he didn't say we couldn't be friends. And friends... that's what we've always been. Things are the same as they were before, don't overthink it."

For a seven or eight-year-old little girl, even if it was Hinata, his canonical wife from the original story, Naruto didn't have many thoughts.

After all, as a human being, one shouldn't be a beast.

"You understand? What do you understand? You don't understand anything at all! You haven't experienced it yourself, so it's impossible for you to understand my pain..."

Sasuke's roar came from the hallway; it seemed his talk with Iruka had fallen apart.

"Quick, quick, Sasuke is coming back."

The little girls hiding behind the classroom door hurriedly scattered and returned to their seats.

Some started chatting, others pretended to fix their makeup, all acting as if they hadn't been peeking.

However, it was all in vain; Sasuke had noticed them long ago.

With a cold snort, Sasuke ignored them and returned to his seat.

Right on cue, the bell rang, and Iruka stepped into the classroom, casting a weary look at Sasuke.

This child... is even harder to deal with than Naruto.

"Class begins."

Sealing Space.

Naruto didn't have to wait long before Shadow projected herself into the Sealing Space using the Magic Lantern Body Technique of the Rinnegan.

"I have already mastered the original abilities of that body: the Three Basic Jutsu, Fire Style, Lightning Style, Sharingan, Genjutsu, plus a portion of the Rinnegan's power..."

Looking at Naruto Uzumaki, Shadow said earnestly: "I believe my strength is sufficient to protect myself. Can I go down the mountain now?"

"Hmm... I suppose you can."

A father worries when his daughter travels a thousand miles. As Shadow's creator—in a sense, her father—Naruto Uzumaki was deeply concerned about her encountering danger while traveling the Ninja World.

Thus, he had suggested she lay low in the mountains to familiarize herself with her abilities.

At the same time, he also had her come to the Sealing Space every day to receive his life experience, so she wouldn't get knocked out by someone after taking only a few steps.

"Please be sure to be cautious. The ninjas in this world are very insidious, especially those few ninjas I specifically marked for you. If you meet them, don't believe a single word they say..."

After rambling on for a while, Naruto Uzumaki looked at the drowsy Kurama beside him.

"Kurama, with your thousand years of experience wandering the Ninja World, do you have any advice for Shadow?"

"Hmph..." Kurama opened his eyes and yawned, saying, "Don't trust humans. Humans are all a bunch of despicable and shameless..."

"Hey, hey, Kurama, I'm still here." Naruto Uzumaki reminded him with dissatisfaction.

Kurama glanced at him sideways: "Am I wrong?"

"You are. You should say most humans except for me."

On a deserted hill in the Land of Fire, Shadow, who had been sitting cross-legged, opened her eyes, her mood quite excited.

She could finally go down the mountain!

The Shogun's voice echoed in Shadow's mind.

"Have you thought about what to do next?"

Shadow said confidently: "Of course I have. I am going to rebuild Inazuma in the Ninja World. In the future, when Naruto Uzumaki leaves Konoha, he can come and live in Inazuma."

The Shogun pondered for a moment and said: "I fully support your decision."

Inazuma... an important component of the Way of Eternity.

Shadow looked satisfied and said: "Good, since you agree too, let's start now."

The first step to rebuilding Inazuma—traveling the Ninja World to find a suitable country to take over.

After Shadow left the Sealing Space, Naruto Uzumaki waved at Kurama and prepared to leave as well.

"Wait, Naruto, I have something to tell you."

Naruto Uzumaki turned his head: "What is it?"

Kurama sat up, a flash of hesitation in his eyes, "Naruto, are we friends?"

"Of course we are!"

Naruto Uzumaki was very certain.

"All these years, do you miss your parents?"

"Occasionally, though I never met them."

"If I told you... that I caused your parents' deaths, would you still be willing to be friends with me?"

Naruto Uzumaki fell silent, looking up at Kurama without saying a word.

Kurama, however, seemed to have let it all out. Although he felt uneasy inside, he told Naruto Uzumaki everything that happened back then, point by point.

The Masked Man, the Nine-Tails Incident, the Fourth Hokage, Kushina...

Finally, Kurama concluded: "Although I was controlled and had no choice, regardless of how you put it, I bear some responsibility for your parents' deaths... so whether you forgive me or not, I can accept it."

Although he said that, if Naruto Uzumaki did not forgive him, Kurama would likely feel very uncomfortable.

In fact, Kurama felt he was not at fault at all, because as he had said, he was forced and was also a victim.