Kuro and Naruto's "Reunion"

Just as Kakashi was suffering, Naruto was walking home alone.

A night breeze blew gently from behind, causing his short, blond hair to sway slightly.

As Naruto walked, his pace involuntarily slowed down, and he subconsciously glanced back at the deserted street behind him.

"Kakashi should be fine, right?"

He muttered to himself, and the image of Kakashi looking so cowardly just now involuntarily flashed into his mind, causing him to grin.

But a faint trace of worry lingered in his clear blue eyes.

"Huh? If you're really worried, you can go back to him and go back with him?"

"Who wants to go back to him! It was Kakashi himself who said I didn't need to do anything!"

Hearing Minato's teasing words echoing in his mind, Naruto turned his face away, pouted, and his voice carried a clear hint of guilt and awkwardness:

"In the end, it's all that guy's fault for suddenly saying those weird things, leaving me speechless!"

"W-What do you mean Kakashi's words actually make sense?! Even you, Mom, agree...?"

Just as Naruto was trying to continue arguing with the parents inside his body, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a blurry figure standing alone on the road ahead.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, a hint of surprise flashing in his blue eyes.

It's so late, why are there still people wandering around outside like me?

Just as he was about to quicken his pace to check the situation, his mother's nagging voice suddenly exploded in his mind.

"Don't talk to strangers in the middle of the night? Oh, Mom, don't worry, there are no strangers. Who in Konoha doesn't know me now!"

Besides, if he really is a bad guy, wouldn't that be perfect? It'll save me the trouble of looking for punching bags tomorrow!

Naruto grew more and more excited as he spoke, completely ignoring the voices still echoing in his mind, and eagerly rushed straight towards the blurry figure ahead...

At this moment, within Naruto's consciousness space.

"Naruto! Naruto!!"

Kushina called out to Naruto loudly, but the only response was the sound of Naruto's increasingly rapid footsteps.

She stood there stunned for a long while, then could only sigh helplessly, put her hands on her hips, and her long red hair stood on end in anger.

"Honestly, this child is getting more and more disobedient! Who does he take after in this respect?!"

"Hahaha..."

Minato, seeing his wife's complete lack of self-awareness, could only offer an awkward smile.

He reached out and gently patted Kushina's shoulder, offering words of comfort:

"Don't worry so much, Kushina. After all, we're in Konoha. Naruto won't encounter any danger."

Moreover, even if they encounter bad guys, they're most likely just ordinary people. Not to mention that Naruto himself could handle them, Kakashi isn't far away either.

He'll come running the moment he hears any noise.

Kushina listened to her husband's words of comfort, but the worry in her eyes did not dissipate; instead, it deepened.

"That's true, but what if Naruto encounters some powerful opponent!"

For example, like the Kumogakure back then, Naruto bastard sneaks into Konoha, trying to harm Naruto, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!

"Uh... I don't think it's that much of a coincidence, is it?"

Minato responded weakly, and couldn't help but look through Naruto's perspective at the blurry figure getting closer and closer.

Kushina felt increasingly uneasy and said urgently:

"No! We absolutely cannot continue to indulge Naruto like this!"

We must train his safety awareness properly, otherwise, if this situation happens again in the future...

"Kushina."

Minato suddenly spoke, interrupting his wife's anxious words.

Minato met Kushina's questioning gaze, a relieved smile appeared on his face, which had just shown some worry.

"Don't worry, Kushina, it seems that at least this time, Naruto hasn't encountered anyone dangerous."

"In front of Naruto is a child."

This is the real world.

"Hey! What are you doing here all alone so late?"

On the dimly lit street, Naruto casually struck up a conversation, his eyes filled with deep curiosity.

Standing in front of Naruto was a child who looked to be about seven or eight years old. He had an ordinary appearance and was dressed no differently from other children of the same age in Konoha.

She wore a black short-sleeved shirt and small sandals, and her dark brown hair was slightly blown up by the night breeze.

Unlike other children, he was not accompanied by any adults, and his plain face did not show the fear and anxiety that a child his age should have when walking alone at night.

The moment he heard Naruto's voice, the boy's gaze slowly shifted from the Hokage Rock of the Fourth Hokage, which was bathed in moonlight, and landed on Naruto, who had arrived beside him as planned.

"Shouldn't I be the one asking you the same question?"

Using the Transformation Technique to transform himself into an ordinary child, Kokoro looked at Naruto, who was curiously examining him. His feigned childish voice carried a subtle hint of reproach.

"It's so late and you're still wandering around on the street without anyone with you. Aren't you afraid of running into bad guys? You're really fearless!"

Naruto listened to Koko's clearly displeased tone, but instead of feeling impatient as he usually did when being lectured, he felt a strange sense of novelty.

"How dare someone in the village talk to me like that... Don't you recognize me?"

Hearing Naruto's illogical question, a look of confusion flashed quickly across Kokoro's eyes.

But his years as a veteran actor have long since enabled him to handle any unexpected situation with ease.

In a fraction of a second, he perfectly suppressed the confusion in his eyes, replaced it with an expression of complete indifference, and nodded:

"Of course I know, Naruto Uzumaki! With your reputation, it's hard not to know you."

"Reputation? Ha... more like infamy!"

Naruto curled his lip in disdain, his eyes narrowing slightly:

"Since you've heard of my illustrious name, Naruto, how can you remain so calm?"

Aren't you... afraid of me at all?

"Afraid? Why should I be afraid of you? We're meeting for the first time today, aren't we?"

Looking into Naruto's blue eyes, which shone brightly under the streetlights, a faint smile slowly appeared on the ordinary-looking child's face.

That smile was ordinary, yet it left Naruto stunned.

"You were just showing concern for me, weren't you? Why would I be afraid of a kind person who cares about me?"

"... A good person."

Naruto repeated those two words in a low voice.

He looked at the boy, a complete stranger of the same age, whose eyes, usually so arrogant and unruly, were now filled with deep shock!

Meanwhile, Naruto's inner world.

"Minato, you must have noticed it by now!"

Kushina stared intently at Minato, who was also observing the unfamiliar boy through Naruto's eyes, and said in a low voice...

"Ah."

Minato responded in a deep voice.

Through Naruto's gaze, he fixed intently on that seemingly ordinary "child":

"This child... is strange!"

In the real world, Naruto seemed completely oblivious to the worried words of his parents in his mind.

He just stared blankly at the unfamiliar boy he was meeting for the first time, his heart churning with complex emotions that he himself couldn't explain.

For some reason, this person, who was the same age as him and whom he didn't know at all, gave him an extremely strong sense of familiarity.

It's like the feeling of being with my parents, Kakashi, and Sasuke —a feeling called "family."

(Note: As mentioned earlier, Kō had secretly taken care of Naruto for a period of time.)

Naruto looked at the boy in front of him and couldn't help but ask:

"Um, haven't we... met somewhere before?"

Kou smiled but did not directly answer Naruto's question.

He simply reached out and pointed to the bench by the roadside, then turned his head to meet Naruto's blue eyes, which were filled with confusion and expectation, with his feigned clear eyes.

"If you don't mind, could you have a proper chat with me?"

"Uzumaki... Naruto."