"Iruka, what do you think?"
"I... I don't have any objections," Iruka said. "I'm just a little worried about how Naruto will react when he finds out he killed someone. More importantly..."
"What will everyone else think of Naruto...?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled faintly. "You really do always put Naruto's feelings first..."
"Having you look after Naruto was absolutely the right choice..."
"Iruka, Naruto values you more than anyone right now. He was even willing to risk his life for you. That's a bond unique to the two of you..."
"But it's also because of how well you've treated him all this time..."
Iruka's tears streamed down his face. "I... I feel so guilty, and I'm still shaken by how close we came to disaster..."
"I understand..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed and glanced at Naruto, who had passed out. His own feelings were just as complicated.
Fortunately...
After Naruto passed out, the system's punishment stopped automatically.
At least...
Kurama breathed a sigh of relief.
But he had also witnessed the madness Naruto had unleashed for Iruka. That so-called bond moved him ever so slightly, leaving him deeply shaken...
Of course, he would never admit it...
Kurama had lived for a thousand years and had naturally seen plenty.
He had witnessed countless human joys and sorrows, partings and deaths.
And yet...
Naruto Uzumaki was still just a child.
How could such a powerful bond, such intense emotion, burst forth from a child like him?
What's more...
Kurama, just like Naruto Uzumaki, had been enduring the system's Baptism of Lightning Release.
He felt that pain more keenly than anyone.
But even amid such intense agony, Naruto Uzumaki had still braved the lightning strikes to save Iruka and kill Mizuki, who had hurt him!
What kind of terrifying obsession was that?!
Kurama knew he could