Origins

Naruto froze. "You—what did you just say?" The topic had shifted so abruptly that Naruto had not processed it.

Sasuke was about to speak when he saw Naruto walking straight toward the utility pole ahead without noticing it. "Hey, hey, watch where you're going!"

"?!"

But it was already too late. Naruto slammed headfirst into the pole.

Sasuke put a hand to his forehead, looking utterly helpless about Naruto. "You idiot!" He even began to wonder whether telling Naruto all this now had been the right choice.

"It's because of what you just..." Naruto protested indignantly, though his voice gradually trailed off.

"Then forget it if you don't want to know." Sasuke spread his hands and made as if to leave...

"Wait, wait! Sasuke, let's talk this out!" Naruto stopped in front of Sasuke and pleaded.

"Then let's make this clear first. Don't interrupt while I'm talking!"

"Definitely, definitely!"

Sasuke collected himself, frowned, and began recalling. "The information I'm about to tell you came from Uchiha Gen, the one who tried to take me away before. If it's true, then your father was probably the Fourth Hokage..."

"!!" Naruto's expression changed in shock. He wanted to ask something, but then remembered what Sasuke had said earlier. The words reached his lips, but he forced them back down. The Fourth Hokage was actually... his father?!

"According to the information, your father was a civilian ninja who became Hokage, while your surname is Uzumaki. Then obviously, your mother should have been from the Uzumaki Clan. By rights, you should have had red hair too."

At that point, Sasuke suddenly paused, then asked the empty air behind them, "Am I right? Kakashi-sensei."

Only the rustling of leaves could be heard. Kakashi emerged, scratching his head somewhat sheepishly. Since Sasuke had already figured out this much, he would not hide it anymore. It would not be good if there were any misunderstandings.

He had not concealed himself seriously; he had only come to check on them out of concern. But Sasuke had discovered him so easily. It seemed Sasuke had grown a great deal. Was it the enhanced perception brought by the Three-Tomoe Sharingan?

When Naruto saw Kakashi walking over from behind, he thought Kakashi had only just arrived. He wanted to repeat everything Sasuke had told him, but Kakashi stopped him.

It had to be said, Naruto was still so carefree. Was it because he trusted him?

"Sasuke guessed correctly. Everything Uchiha Gen told you was true as well, but let me fill in the details."

Kakashi became serious as he looked at Naruto. "Naruto, no matter what I say next, you must always remember that you are Naruto, not the Demon Fox!" Kakashi had originally intended to tell Naruto these things after he was a little older, but they had been discovered so quickly. Uchiha Gen? It seemed his age was not as it appeared on the surface.

"Your father was the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, the youngest Hokage ever to rise from among civilian ninja. Your mother was Kushina Uzumaki, the previous Nine-Tails Jinchuriki..." As Kakashi spoke, it was as though his memories returned to that day.

After Kakashi finished, the two before him fell silent. Naruto stared blankly at his own hands. The Demon Fox that had killed his parents was inside his body.

"..." Sasuke could hardly believe it. His own clansman had controlled the Nine-Tails Demon Fox, leading to both of Naruto's parents dying in battle. How could the Uchiha Clan have done such a thing?!

He suddenly recalled Uchiha Gen's strange attitude, and how whenever he wanted to say something, he would always conclude that Sasuke was too weak and could do nothing even if he knew... Had the Uchiha Clan truly been exterminated by Itachi?!

Sasuke's breathing grew heavy. That guess seemed like a lifeline dragging him out of hatred. But in the next moment, his eyes hardened, and he forcefully snapped that lifeline. Impossible! He had seen Itachi kill their parents with his own eyes. With that thought, Sasuke slowly reined in his emotions.

Uchiha Gen—he had to find him and get the truth out of him! For some reason, Uzumaki Reikawa came to mind as well. Sasuke frowned slightly. Why had he thought of him? What did this have to do with him?

Naruto looked at his hands, unable to stop the tears from spilling out. He laughed as he cried, trying to wipe his tears away with both hands. So he had parents. He was not the Demon Fox. His father was the renowned Fourth Hokage, the hero who had saved the village!!

Seeing that Naruto had not taken it the wrong way and gone down an extreme path, Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief. In truth, revealing so many truths at once had made him worry that Naruto would not be able to bear it, and he had been on edge because of it.

Kakashi stepped closer, crouched slightly, and rubbed Naruto's head. "You haven't let your parents down. You're outstanding. You're a good kid."

Moved by those words, Naruto suddenly hugged Kakashi and vigorously rubbed his head against him. "Kakashi-sensei..."

"..." Kakashi looked at the snot Naruto had rubbed all over him and resisted the urge to push him away. He merely wore a dead-fish stare. Forget it. He was their teacher, after all. And Minato-sensei, Naruto was surprisingly strong... Maybe one day, he really could become Hokage.

After sorting out his emotions, Naruto saw Sasuke standing silently nearby. He immediately threw an arm over Sasuke's shoulder and forcibly pulled him close. "Hey, I'm not blaming you, okay? What your clansmen did was what your clansmen did. You're you. I can tell the difference."

Sasuke impatiently slapped Naruto's hand away. "What does it have to do with me what you think? Even if you wanted revenge, could you beat me?" Though he said that, the heaviness in his heart inexplicably eased somewhat.

Watching Naruto's optimistic demeanor, Sasuke could not help feeling speechless. Was this guy truly oblivious, or was he pretending? He was the child of a hero! Though Sasuke did not know the specific circumstances or all the tangled complications, in his view, even for the sake of secrecy, they should not have allowed civilians to bully the Hokage's child like that.

And he would never become someone like Naruto, nor would he ever understand someone like him. Yet he truly regarded him as a friend. It really was a strange thing.

"..." Naruto's mouth twitched. Sure enough, he should not have said that to Sasuke. "Don't leave the training ground tomorrow!"

"Whatever." Sasuke said nothing more. He merely left Naruto with his back, waved in farewell, and departed. He had already gotten Naruto's answer. It was better to walk this road alone.

Meanwhile, Sai, who had escaped Yamanaka Fu and Aburame Torune's frenzied sweep in the centralized education classroom, was filled with questions. So making mistakes did not mean being punished with torture devices? Why did the teacher care so much about him? Still, it felt rather nice. And best of all, his brother was there too...

Thinking of that, Sai smiled and opened his sketchbook, drawing the scene. There was no battle in this drawing; it showed only the teacher's figure at the podium.

Kurenai Yuhi had temporarily come to serve as an instructor, and another Jonin would replace her next time. Their schedules were simply too full. Looking at these children, Kurenai's eyes were full of tenderness. Teaching them was somewhat difficult, and changing their way of thinking would not be easy, but fortunately, they had not been completely brainwashed and could still be corrected.

These children were all very talented. Barring any surprises, they would become Konoha's pillars in the future!