Once he had set aside his concerns, 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 married into the family."
Minato: "..."
He didn't care what surname his son had; no matter what, he was still his son. But being told by his own son that he'd married into the family left him feeling rather conflicted.
Minato turned to Kushina, hoping she could help explain.
Kushina nodded solemnly, looking as if she was saying, Leave it to me.
Then, suppressing a laugh, she said, "That's right, Naruto. Your dad married into the family, so you mustn't follow his example."
Minato looked aggrieved. "Kushina..."
At least leave me some dignity.
On the way out of the house and toward the forest,
Minato suddenly suggested, "If you're short on money, why not simply ask the Third Hokage to return the assets Kushina and I left behind?"
The couple had completed numerous high-ranking missions and left behind a sizable fortune, enough for Naruto to live comfortably until he came of age.
"Just ask him?"
Naruto froze, then shook his head. "No. Asking directly would expose your existence."
"If we're exposed... it wouldn't really matter."
If anything, it would be better. They could speak openly with the Third Hokage.
But...
Seeing that Naruto wasn't swayed, Minato sighed. This child... his prejudice against Konoha ran too deep.
Minato didn't give up and continued trying to persuade Naruto.
"I think the Third Hokage may already know I'm here. After all, your Taijutsu has improved so quickly, and your style is a lot like mine. As long as the Third Hokage isn't stupid, he can probably guess some of the truth."
At that, Naruto stopped walking for a moment, then continued on and said calmly, "Not necessarily. Judging by the things the Third Hokage has done, he might just be stupid."
In the forest,
Sasuke was imitating Naruto by punching trees.
Because of his physique, hitting a tree too hard might leave him in ruins, so Sasuke had wrapped a blanket around the trunk to protect his fists.
"Morning..."
Naruto arrived and greeted Sasuke.
As they'd grown more familiar, the two had started training together a week ago.
Sasuke stopped, returned the greeting, then went back to punching the tree.
Thud, thud, thud...
Naruto went to a nearby tree and started punching it.
Bang, bang, bang...
The two sets of thuds rose and fell in turn without pause.
Several hours passed.
Sasuke sat on the ground, tired, and rested. Sweat beaded on Naruto's forehead, but he kept punching the tree.
Ten minutes later, Sasuke stood up. "I'm rested. Let's start."
Combat training was something the two did every day.
Naruto stopped punching the tree without taking a rest and began fighting Sasuke instead.
The two moved swiftly, their figures flashing back and forth. If Iruka had been there, he would have been astonished.
In just a few short months, the two had already reached Genin-level Taijutsu.
Their rapid progress was due not only to their hard work, but also to Minato's guidance.
Well, Minato had guided Sasuke too, through Naruto.
After more than sixty exchanges, Naruto caught Sasuke off guard with a kick and sent him flying, defeating him.
"Cough, cough... I lost again."
Clutching his aching chest, Sasuke got up from the ground, his eyes full of frustration.
Again and again, after so many fights, he hadn't won a single one...
Am I really a genius?
He'd lost confidence and even wondered if he really was just a failure, like that man had said.
Seeing Sasuke looking so dejected, Naruto said, "Don't compare yourself to me. At least... don't compare yourself to me right now. You know how strong my physique is. At this stage, you can't beat me."
Children this age had little Chakra and couldn't use many jutsu, so Taijutsu was the deciding factor in a fight.
Against an upgraded Naruto, Sasuke could only win by cheating.
But Naruto was the one with the cheat, so Sasuke's chances of victory were even slimmer.
Sasuke considered it. "I can't beat you at this stage? What about later, once I awaken the Sharingan..."
Actually... he still couldn't!
Naruto's mysterious eye technique seemed even stronger than the Sharingan.
Sasuke glanced at Naruto's eyes and felt pessimistic about his prospects.
Was he going to be stuck under the blond brat forever?
No!
Absolutely not!
The skies had cleared, the rain had stopped, and Second Pillar was fired up again.
Ignoring the injury to his chest, Sasuke tore the blanket off the tree trunk and furiously punched the tree with his bare fists.
Soon his hands were bloody and mangled, a gruesome sight.
Naruto hurriedly stopped him.
"Could you stop being so stupid? If you want to hurt yourself, go do it somewhere else. Don't do it in front of me."
Sasuke said nothing and silently turned to leave.
"What are you going to do?"
"Go somewhere else."
"..."
You've got to be kidding me...
Naruto rubbed his forehead and asked his parents in his heart,
Can I just leave him alone?
Respect other people's fate and let go of the urge to help... This was a principle Naruto had always kept in mind.
If Second Pillar wanted to hurt himself, then let him.
However...
Sigh!
At Kushina and Minato's insistence, Naruto brought Sasuke back.
Kamimusubi healed his injuries, and Ukanomitama strengthened his soul.
After experiencing the Rinnegan's eye-technique package, Sasuke opened his eyes to reveal a pair of scarlet One-Tomoe Sharingan. He looked at Naruto with longing.
Two words—he wanted it!
Naruto turned his face away in disgust. "Don't look at me with that gay gaze. There's no such thing as a free lunch. I can help you train, but what can you give me?"
Sasuke thought for a moment, then replied without hesitation, "I can give you everything I have."
Naruto rolled his eyes. "You make it sound generous, but you don't have anything... Wait, I'm short on money right now. Do you have any?"
"I do!"
Sasuke sounded confident.
In the desolate Uchiha Clan Compound, Sasuke searched through the family's possessions until he finally scraped together five hundred thousand ryo.
"That's it?"
Naruto didn't believe him.
By now, the entire Uchiha fortune had fallen into Sasuke's hands.
Five hundred thousand?
Who did he think he was fooling?
"Don't tell me you're reluctant to part with your money?"
Naruto looked at him suspiciously.
Sasuke flushed, feeling insulted.
He didn't even care about his own life when it came to killing that man. How could he be reluctant to part with money?
"The village is holding most of the Uchiha fortune. They'll return it to me after I graduate. This five hundred thousand is all the money I have..."
So the village had cheated you out of your money too...
Naruto understood at once.
There was no way the Uchiha money would ever be returned. It hadn't been returned in the original story, and after Sasuke defected, the village had confiscated all the Uchiha land as well, swallowing up every last bit.
Sakura paying off her mortgage in Boruto was proof enough.
"I can't get my hands on more money right away, but I can make it up to you in other ways."
For the sake of getting stronger, Sasuke was willing to go all out.
He gritted his teeth. "What do you think of this Uchiha compound? Nobody lives here anyway, so I can give you all of it..."
He paused, remembering his wish to revive the Uchiha Clan, and changed his mind. "I can give you half of the compound."
Before you continue