The Name of the Fox Demon! Kushina's Plea, Minato's True Concerns...

Still no response...

Sasuke shrugged indifferently. He didn't care; it was still early, after all.

At the same time, he didn't strictly require Minato's presence, though having him would certainly make the plan much easier.

Of course, there was also a bit of dark humor at play in his heart...

After all, the idea of the Fourth Hokage turning against his own village was quite amusing to contemplate.

Turning his gaze to the scene of Naruto, he saw that the boy had already arrived at a small park near his residence. Facing the children waiting in line for the swings, Naruto said with a look of pure innocence and anticipation, "Everyone, c-can I play with you?"

Naruto is so brave, keep it up! Kushina and Minato felt a sense of relief, silently cheering him on while simultaneously worrying that the children wouldn't accept him, their hearts tightening with anxiety.

Just then, a boy around three or four years old who had just hopped off a swing looked Naruto up and down. "Who are you? Do you live around here too? I've never seen you before."

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto patted his chest, then pointed toward a certain street. "I live on the street just ahead. Grandfather Hokage only just gave me permission to come out today."

"Uzumaki Naruto?" The three children exchanged glances, finding the name somewhat familiar. But when they heard the words "Grandfather Hokage," they were shocked. "You actually know Lord Hokage?"

"Yeah! Of course I do!" Naruto nodded vigorously. "Grandfather Hokage comes to visit me often and even brings me little gifts. Grandfather Hokage is the best person in the whole world!"

"Wow~!" Hearing that Naruto not only received visits from the Hokage but also got gifts, the three children looked at him with instant admiration and envy.

"By the way, Naruto, you call him Grandfather?" one child asked curiously. "Could it be that you're Lord Hokage's grandson?"

The Hokage's grandson?

The other two couldn't help but look at him with newfound reverence.

"No, that's not it!" Naruto waved his hands in a panic, then scratched his head in embarrassment. "Actually, I just know him; I'm not Grandfather Hokage's grandson."

"And... I don't even know who my parents are..."

He couldn't hide the disappointment in his voice as he said this.

He doesn't know who his parents are? The three children looked at each other. One of them couldn't help but remark, "That's so weird, not even knowing your own parents."

"Yeah." Another child seemed to have noticed something. He leaned into the other child's ear and whispered, "Look at his face. He actually has six whisker marks. Just like the fox demon my mom talks about..."

As he spoke, the child finally realized what he had said. He shrank his neck back and turned his head mechanically.

!!!! The other children were also shocked, their gazes snapping to Naruto's face.

Six whisker marks!

The three children felt a chill shoot straight to their scalps, as if they had fallen into an ice cellar!

Immediately after, with a loud whoosh!

Terrified, the three children turned and fled in a panic.

"Fox demon! Run!"

"There really is a fox demon! Dad! Mom! I won't do it again!"

"Waaah~! Don't eat me, help!"

Fox demon? Me? Naruto looked on in confusion, then quickly chased after them, shouting urgently, "Don't run, I'm not a fox demon! I won't eat people, I'm Uzumaki Naruto!"

In his desperation, he lost his footing and fell to the ground.

"Sss~ that hurts!" Even so, he still reached out toward the retreating figures of the children. "Don't go, I'm really not a fox demon, I won't eat people!"

Until the backs of the three children had completely disappeared, a dejected Naruto continued to mutter, "Really... I'm not a fox demon... why did you run..."

!!!

Soul Space.

"How could this happen?!"

"Why even the children..."

Seeing the children's reaction and watching Naruto's state, Minato and Kushina looked ashen. It felt as if their hearts were being tightly gripped by something, and they couldn't even breathe.

They truly couldn't have imagined that everything had been fine just a moment ago!

Naruto was just about to make friends!

He could have played happily with children his own age!

But why, why did it take such a sharp turn for the worse in the end?

Fox demon... heh! Just like back then...!

Kushina couldn't help but turn her head. "Sasuke, why is it like this?"

Sasuke shrugged and explained, "Ever since the news that the fox demon had turned into an infant spread through Konoha two years ago, whenever children don't listen, their parents use the fox demon to scare them."

"Yeah, they even say the fox demon can disguise itself as a child to get close to them, then lure them to a secluded place to transform back and eat them."

"In Konoha now, the fox demon has replaced vengeful spirits as the go-to tool for disciplining children."

"And the identifying feature of the fox demon is the six whisker marks on the child's face."

!!! Child + six whisker marks!!

"How could it be like this!" Kushina couldn't help but cry out.

He had thought that after two years, the villagers would gradually forget, but he never expected the situation to turn out like this. He felt a deep hatred for the ninja who had originally labeled Naruto as the Nine-Tails.

Sasuke had no intention of saying more; after all, it was one thing to let it slide normally, but there was no need to rub salt into their wounds in this situation.

Feeling that it was about time and that there was no need to stay any longer, Sasuke said his goodbyes: "Alright, it's time for me to head back. See you later, Uncle Minato, Aunt Kushina."

With that, he focused his mind, and his figure vanished.

A long silence followed.

Kushina gripped Minato's hand tightly, her voice filled with pleading: "Minato..."

Even children believed Naruto was a demon fox; the kind of suffering he would have to endure in the future was already painfully obvious...

As a mother, this was something she found impossible to accept, and her heart ached for him.

Minato took a deep breath; how could he not know this?

He closed his eyes in agony, patted the back of Kushina's hand, and said, "Wait a little longer, Kushina. Give me some more time to think... alright?"

"You should also understand that until the critical moment arrives, Sasuke cannot possibly resurrect us..."

"Let me use this time to think it over carefully, okay?"

Kushina's expression faltered.

That's right... until the critical moment, how could Sasuke possibly resurrect them?

If she were in his shoes, wouldn't Sasuke be afraid that they might ruin his plans or take Naruto and escape using the Flying Thunder God, hiding their identities forever?

Realizing this, she could only nod: "Alright."

As she spoke, she gripped Minato's hand back: "Minato, no matter what decision you make, I will support you."

"You don't need to be troubled; I just wanted an answer."

"An answer to whether or not I should keep hoping..."

"Kushina..." Minato Namikaze's face grew heavy, and he sighed helplessly.

He understood that Kushina's words were insincere; she just didn't want to put pressure on him.

But the more she did this, the more uncomfortable and guilty he felt.

If he hadn't been the Fourth Hokage of Konoha, perhaps he would have agreed to Sasuke long ago.

Unfortunately, he was.

At the same time, he understood that Sasuke's persistence in choosing him wasn't because he coveted his power, but because of his status as the Fourth Hokage!

He had even roughly guessed Sasuke's plan.

Military coups could not win the hearts of the people.

As early as the second day he was trapped in the Soul Space, Sasuke had said that to seize power, one needed to occupy the moral high ground, have a legitimate reason, and use grand, righteous excuses to fool the masses.

He knew Sasuke had been monitoring the Konoha high-ranking officials, aiming to collect evidence of their corruption to strike at their prestige at the critical moment!

When the time came, he would only need to use his identity as the Fourth Hokage to raise the banner of "Clear the Emperor's Side" and restore order, providing both the moral high ground and the excuse!

Once the high-ranking officials were ousted, he—the man who could have reclaimed the Hokage position from the Third Hokage but instead dragged Konoha into the quagmire of civil war for the sake of venting his anger and personal desire—would only need to resign in disgrace. By appointing the Uchiha, who had shone brightly in purging Konoha's rot, as the next Hokage, they could logically take over the position and successfully rule Konoha!

He understood clearly that the role Sasuke needed him to play was that of a scapegoat and a fig leaf for the Uchiha's ambitions.

He also believed that Sasuke would portray the Uchiha as loyal subjects who followed the orders of the Fourth Hokage, dedicated to restoring peace to Konoha, ultimately reaping fame, status, and power all at once!

If everything was just as he imagined, he would be relatively at ease; being the villain was a price he could pay.

What he feared most was that he, Kushina, and even Naruto would be treated as sacrifices, dying heroically in the battle against the high-ranking officials. Then, Sasuke would turn around, raise the banner of avenging them, slaughter the high-ranking officials with thunderous force, and use Naruto's rampage to stir up the painful memories and fears of the villagers regarding the night of the Nine-Tails. Finally, he would appear as a savior to turn the tide, suppress the Nine-Tails, and become the hero of Konoha!

It was no wonder he speculated on Sasuke's motives with such malice; after all, he was the former Fourth Hokage of Konoha!

His status and age dictated that as long as he lived, he would inevitably be a problem!

Only by truly dying could he completely extinguish the thoughts of certain Konoha ninja and allow them to rest easy.

He needed to spend more time and try harder to see through Sasuke's character before making a final decision.

When he was alive, he hadn't even been able to see through the Third Hokage, and yet he had sacrificed himself for the greater good, entrusting his child to him, only for his child to end up in such a state.

A lesson from the past!

He did not want to gamble his family's lives again, only for it to end in nothing, with Naruto losing his life in the process!

Suddenly!

A flash of inspiration struck Minato; he remembered Sasuke's words from just moments ago...

The Nine-Tails!

If I could control Kurama's power, then...

He didn't know if he could contend with Sasuke after controlling the Nine-Tails' power, but at least it would give him some leverage, wouldn't it?

Of course, he didn't want to rebel against Sasuke.

He was already sick of politics and sick of the scheming.

If they could truly be resurrected, he only wanted to live as an ordinary family of three with Kushina and Naruto...

As the former Fourth Hokage, living within the Ninja World and caught in the midst of its schemes, it was clearly no easy task to simply be an ordinary person.

"Kurama, it seems we should have a proper talk..."

Inside the Sealing Space, Kurama lifted his eyelids slightly, a look of disdain crossing his face.

"Having already tasted the might of my power, you find yourself unable to resist the temptation, don't you?"

"Fourth, you are just another mortal who wishes to exploit the power of us Tailed Beasts."

Facing Minato, he was at it again...

Minato did not deny it; he truly did wish to borrow Kurama's power, but...

"Don't you want to get out of here? Kurama."

!!!!

He wanted to! How could he not!

Out in the world, he could at least catch glimpses of the outside through the Jinchuriki!

But here?

Damn it, every single day it was either watching that couple being lovey-dovey, or watching them fret over Naruto...

The only thing that brought him even a shred of amusement was when Sasuke came in to act all snide, watching the couple fly into a helpless rage!

But he had had enough of this life!

How could he possibly not want to get out!