Half for You

After setting aside his worries, Minato Namikaze asked in confusion, "Naruto, since when did our family have a tradition of marrying into the wife's family?"

Naruto immediately replied, "My surname is Uzumaki, so... just admit it, Dad, you're the one who married into the family."

Minato: "..."

Although he didn't care what his son's surname was—since he was his son regardless—being told by his son that he had married into the family left him feeling a bit conflicted.

Minato turned his head to look at Kushina, hoping she would help explain things.

Kushina nodded solemnly, wearing an expression that said, "Leave it to me."

Then, suppressing her laughter, she said, "That's right, Naruto, your dad did marry into the family, so you mustn't follow in his footsteps."

Minato looked at her with a resentful expression: "Kushina..."

At least give me some face.

Leaving the house and heading toward the forest.

Minato suddenly suggested, "Since you're short on money, why not just ask the Third Hokage to return the assets Kushina and I left behind?"

Having completed many high-level missions, the couple had left behind a considerable fortune, enough for Naruto to live comfortably until adulthood.

"Ask him directly?"

Naruto was stunned, then shook his head: "No, asking directly would expose your existence."

"Exposing it... actually wouldn't be a big deal."

If anything, it might be better to expose it so they could speak openly and honestly with the Third Hokage.

However...

Seeing that Naruto remained unmoved, Minato sighed softly. This child... his prejudice against Konoha was too deep.

Minato didn't give up and continued trying to persuade Naruto.

"I think the Third Hokage might already know about my existence. After all, your taijutsu has improved so quickly, and your style is very similar to mine. As long as the Third Hokage isn't a fool, he could guess some of the truth."

Hearing this, Naruto paused his steps, then continued walking, saying indifferently: "Not necessarily. Judging by the things the Third Hokage has done, he might just be a fool."

The forest.

Sasuke was imitating Naruto by punching trees.

Due to his physical constitution, punching them directly might lead to his hands being pulverized, so Sasuke had wrapped the tree in a quilt to protect his fists.

"Good morning..."

Naruto arrived and greeted Sasuke.

As they grew more familiar with each other, the two had started training together a week ago.

Sasuke stopped, returned the greeting, and then went back to punching the tree.

Thud, thud, thud...

Naruto went to a spot not far away and started punching his own tree.

Bang, bang, bang...

The two different sounds of punching trees rose and fell, echoing incessantly.

Several hours passed.

Sasuke was exhausted and sat on the ground to rest, while Naruto, with sweat on his forehead, continued to punch the tree.

Ten minutes later, Sasuke stood up: "I've rested enough, let's begin."

Sparring was something the two did every single day.

Naruto stopped punching the tree and, without resting, began to fight Sasuke.

Their movements were swift, their figures flickering back and forth; if Iruka were here, he would surely be shocked.

In just a few short months, both of them had already attained the taijutsu strength of a genin.

Their rapid progress was due not only to their own hard work but also to the guidance of Minato.

Yes, Minato had also been guiding Sasuke, through the mouth of Naruto.

After more than sixty moves, Naruto caught Sasuke off guard, kicked him away, and defeated him.

"Cough, cough... I lost again."

Clutching his aching chest, Sasuke climbed up from the ground, his eyes filled with frustration.

Time and time again, they had fought so many times, and he hadn't won even once...

Am I really a genius?

He lost his confidence, even doubting that perhaps, as That Man had said, he was just a failure.

Looking at the somewhat dejected Sasuke, Naruto Uzumaki said, "Don't compare yourself to me, at least... not right now. You know how strong my constitution is; you can't possibly beat me at this stage."

Children at this age have meager Chakra and can't use many Ninjutsu, so Taijutsu is the key factor that determines victory or defeat.

Facing the enhanced Naruto Uzumaki, the only way for Sasuke to win is to cheat.

But since it is Naruto Uzumaki who is cheating, the hope of Sasuke winning is even slimmer.

Sasuke pondered, "Not at this stage? Will I be able to later? Once I awaken the Sharingan..."

It seems... that won't work either!

The mysterious ocular jutsu Naruto Uzumaki possesses seems even stronger than the Sharingan.

After glancing at Naruto Uzumaki's eyes, Sasuke felt his prospects were bleak.

Am I going to be suppressed by this little blondie for the rest of my life?

No!

Impossible!

I will absolutely not accept this!

The sky cleared, the rain stopped, and the Second Pillar was fired up again.

Ignoring the pain in his chest, Sasuke tore off the blanket wrapped around the tree trunk and began punching the tree bare-handed with a frenzy.

Soon, his hands were a bloody, mangled mess, a sight too gruesome to behold.

Naruto Uzumaki hurriedly stopped him.

"Can you stop being so stupid? If you want to self-harm, go do it somewhere else, don't do it in front of me."

Sasuke said nothing, silently turning to leave.

"Where are you going?"

"Somewhere else."

"..."

You damn...

Naruto Uzumaki rubbed his forehead, asking his parents in his heart.

"Can I just ignore him?"

Respecting the fate of others, letting go of the urge to help... this is a principle Naruto Uzumaki has always kept in mind.

If the Second Pillar wants to self-harm, let him be.

However...

Sigh!

Urged on by Kushina and Minato, Naruto Uzumaki pulled Sasuke back.

Kamimusubi healed his injuries, and Ukanomitama bolstered his soul.

After experiencing the Rinnegan ocular jutsu package, Sasuke opened a pair of scarlet Single Tomoe Sharingan, his eyes filled with longing as he looked at Naruto Uzumaki.

Two words--I want it!

Naruto Uzumaki turned his face away, disgusted, "Don't look at me with those gay-ass eyes. There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world. I can help you train, but what can you give me?"

Sasuke thought for a moment and said bluntly, "Everything I have, I can give to you."

Naruto Uzumaki rolled his eyes, "You talk big, but you have nothing... wait, I happen to be short on money. Do you have any?"

"I do!"

Sasuke was full of confidence.

In the desolate Uchiha compound, Sasuke rummaged through all his family's wealth and finally scraped together five hundred thousand ryo.

"Only this much?"

Naruto Uzumaki didn't believe him.

By now, the entire Uchiha family fortune had fallen into Sasuke's hands.

Five hundred thousand?

Who are you trying to fool?

"You aren't being stingy with the money, are you?"

Naruto Uzumaki looked suspicious.

Sasuke's face flushed red, feeling insulted.

He didn't even care about his own life in order to kill That Man; how could he be stingy with money?

"The vast majority of the Uchiha family wealth is being held by the village. They won't return it to me until I graduate. This five hundred thousand is all the money I have..."

So you were also embezzled by the village...

Naruto Uzumaki understood immediately.

It was impossible for the Uchiha to pay back the money; in the original story, they never did, and after the defection, the Uchiha land was confiscated entirely and swallowed up clean.

Sakura still paying off her mortgage in Boruto was proof enough of that.

"I can't come up with more money on such short notice, but I can compensate you in other ways."

In order to increase his strength, Sasuke was willing to go all out.

He gritted his teeth and said, "What do you think of the Uchiha clan grounds? No one lives there anyway, so I can give you the whole..."

He paused mid-sentence, remembering his desire to revitalize the Uchiha clan, and changed his words: "I can give you half of the clan grounds."