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Naruto froze. "You—what did you just say?" The topic had shifted so abruptly that Naruto hadn't been able to keep up.

Sasuke was just about to speak when he saw Naruto walking straight toward a utility pole without a care in the world. "Hey, hey, watch where you're going!"

"?!"

It was too late, however; Naruto slammed headfirst into the pole.

Sasuke placed a hand on his forehead, looking completely exasperated. "You idiot!" He even began to wonder if it had been the right decision to tell Naruto these things at this time.

"It's not like it's my fault, you just..." Naruto grumbled indignantly, though his voice grew quieter as he spoke.

"If you don't want to know, then forget it." Sasuke spread his hands, making a move to leave.

"No, no, Sasuke, let's talk this out!" Naruto blocked Sasuke's path, trying to appease him.

"Then let's get one thing straight: don't interrupt me while I'm talking!"

"Deal, it's a deal!"

Sasuke composed himself, frowning as he began to recall the details. "The information I'm telling you now comes from Uchiha Gen, who tried to take me away earlier. If the situation is accurate, your father should be the Fourth Hokage..."

"!!" Naruto's expression shifted to shock. He wanted to ask something, but suddenly remembering what Sasuke had said earlier, he forced himself to swallow the words. The Fourth Hokage was actually—his own father?!

"According to the records, your father was a civilian ninja who became Hokage. Since your surname is Uzumaki, it's obvious that your mother must have been a member of the Uzumaki Clan. By all logic, you should have red hair as well."

At this point, Sasuke paused for a moment, then turned to the empty air behind him and asked, "Am I right?—Kakashi-sensei."

Only the sound of rustling leaves followed. Kakashi emerged, scratching his head in embarrassment. Since Sasuke had already guessed this much, there was no point in hiding it; it wouldn't be good to cause any misunderstandings.

Although he hadn't been trying very hard to hide, he had only come to check on them out of concern. To think Sasuke could discover him so easily—it seemed he had grown quite a bit. Was this the observational power granted by the Three-Tomoe?

Seeing Kakashi walk out from behind them, Naruto thought he had just arrived and wanted to repeat what Sasuke had told him, but Kakashi stopped him.

I have to say, Naruto is still as thick-skinned as ever. Is it because he trusts me?

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

Kakashi looked at Naruto seriously. "Naruto, no matter what I say next, you must always remember that you are Naruto, not the Demon Fox!" Kakashi had originally intended to wait until Naruto was older to reveal these things, but he hadn't expected it to be discovered so soon. Was it Uchiha Gen? It seemed his age wasn't what it appeared to be on the surface.

"Naruto, your father was the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, the youngest Hokage to rise from civilian status. Your mother was Kushina Uzumaki, the previous Nine-Tails Jinchuriki..." As Kakashi spoke, it was as if his memories had returned to that very day.

After Kakashi finished, the two of them fell into silence. Naruto stared blankly at his own hands; the Demon Fox that had killed his parents was inside his own body.

"..." Sasuke found it hard to believe. It was his own clansman who had controlled the Nine-Tails, leading to the deaths of Naruto's parents. How could the Uchiha Clan do such a thing?!

Suddenly, he thought of Uchiha Gen's strange attitude and how every time he wanted to say something, he would conclude that Sasuke was too weak to do anything even if he knew the truth... Was the Uchiha Clan really wiped out by Itachi?

At this thought, Sasuke's breathing grew heavy. This speculation felt like a lifeline pulling him out of his hatred. But the next moment, Sasuke's eyes hardened, and he ruthlessly severed that lifeline. Impossible! He had seen Itachi kill their parents with his own eyes. With that, Sasuke slowly suppressed his emotions.

Uchiha Gen—I must find him and get to the bottom of the truth! Unexpectedly, he thought of Uzumaki Reikawa, and Sasuke's brow furrowed. Why would he think of him? What did he have to do with this?

Naruto looked at his hands, tears welling up uncontrollably. He laughed and cried at the same time, trying to wipe the tears away with his hands. So he did have parents. He wasn't the Demon Fox. His father was the famous Fourth Hokage, the hero who saved the village!!

Seeing that Naruto hadn't spiraled into an extreme, Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief. In truth, he had broken out in a cold sweat, worried that Naruto wouldn't be able to handle so many truths at once.

Kakashi walked over, crouched down slightly, and ruffled Naruto's hair. "You haven't let your parents down. You are excellent; you are a good child."

Moved by these words, Naruto suddenly hugged Kakashi, rubbing his head hard against him. "Kakashi-sensei..."

"..." Kakashi looked at the snot Naruto was wiping on his clothes and resisted the urge to push him away, merely maintaining his dead-fish eyes. Forget it, who told me to be their teacher? And Minato-sensei, Naruto is surprisingly resilient... perhaps he really could become Hokage one day.

Once Naruto had composed himself, he looked at Sasuke, who was standing to the side without a word. He reached out and hooked his arm around Sasuke's neck, pulling him in. "Hey, I don't blame you, you know. What your clansman did is on them; you are you. I can tell the difference."

Sasuke impatiently swatted Naruto's hand away. "What you think has nothing to do with me. Even if you wanted revenge, could you even beat me?" Though he said this, his heavy heart felt inexplicably lighter.

Watching Naruto's optimistic demeanor, Sasuke was left speechless. Did this guy really not know, or was he pretending? He was the child of a hero! Although he didn't know the specific circumstances or the various entanglements, in Sasuke's view, even for the sake of secrecy, there was no reason to let those civilians bully the Hokage's child like that.

He could never be like Naruto, nor could he ever truly understand someone like him, but he did consider him a friend. It was a strange thing indeed.

"..." Naruto's mouth twitched. I really shouldn't have told Sasuke these things. "Don't you dare leave the training ground tomorrow!"

"Whatever you say." Sasuke didn't say anything more, leaving Naruto with nothing but his back as he waved a hand in farewell. He had already gotten his answer from Naruto; this was a path he was better off walking alone.

Meanwhile, far away in the intensive education classroom, Sai—who had managed to avoid the frantic cleanup efforts of Yamanaka Fu and Aburame Torune—was filled with all sorts of questions. So, you don't get punished with torture for making a mistake? Why was the teacher so concerned about him? Regardless, it felt pretty good, and the best part was that his brother was there too...

Thinking of this, Sai smiled and opened his sketchbook to draw the scene. This time, there was no combat; it was just the teacher standing at the podium.

Kurenai Yuhi had stepped in as a temporary lecturer, and another Jonin would take over next time. Their schedules were simply too packed. Looking at these children, Kurenai's eyes held a touch of pity. Teaching them was difficult, and changing their mindset was hard, but fortunately, these children hadn't been completely brainwashed yet and could still be corrected.

These children were all very talented; if nothing went wrong, they would become the pillars of Konoha in the future!