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

Still, there was no response...

Sasuke shrugged indifferently. He didn't care; there was still plenty of time.

Besides, he didn't absolutely need Minato. It was just that having him on board would make the plan much easier.

Of course, there was also a little mischievous delight stirring in his heart...

After all, the thought of the Fourth Hokage turning against the village was amusing.

He turned to look at Naruto's scene. Naruto had already arrived at the little park near his home. Facing the children lined up to take turns on the swings, he looked innocent and hopeful as he asked, "Everyone, I... can I play with you?"

Naruto, you're so brave. Come on!... Kushina and Minato were relieved. They silently cheered Naruto on, but at the same time, worried the children might reject him, they couldn't help feeling nervous for him.

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

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki!" Naruto patted his chest, then pointed somewhere. "I live on the street up ahead. Grandpa Hokage only just gave me permission to go outside today."

"Naruto Uzumaki?" The three children exchanged glances, as if the name sounded familiar. But when they heard the words "Grandpa Hokage," they couldn't help being surprised. "You actually know Lord Hokage?"

"Yep! Of course I know him!" Naruto nodded emphatically. "Grandpa Hokage comes to visit me all the time, and he even brings me little presents. Grandpa Hokage is the best person in the whole world!"

"Wow~!" Hearing that Naruto not only got visits from the Hokage but presents too, the three children immediately looked up to him with envy and admiration.

"By the way, Naruto, you call him Grandpa?" one child asked curiously. "Does that mean you're Lord Hokage's grandson?"

The Hokage's grandson?

The other two couldn't help looking at him with newfound respect.

"N-no, that's not it!" Naruto hurriedly waved his hands, then scratched his head sheepishly. "I just know him. I'm not Grandpa Hokage's grandson."

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

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

You don't know who your parents are?... The three children exchanged glances. One of them couldn't help blurting out, "That's so weird. You don't even know who your parents are."

"Yeah." Another child seemed to notice something and leaned close to the other's ear. "Look at your face. You've got six whisker marks. Just like the fox demon Mom told me about..."

Only after saying this did the child seem to realize what he'd said. He shrank his neck and turned around mechanically.

!!!! The other children were startled too, their eyes turning toward Naruto's face.

Six whisker marks!

The three children felt a chill shoot straight through them, as if they'd been plunged into an icy cellar!

Then, with a whoosh!

Terrified, the three children spun around and fled.

"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 stared blankly, then hurried after them, crying out, "Don't run! I'm not a fox demon! I don't eat people! I'm Naruto Uzumaki!"

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

"Ow~ That hurts!" Even so, he reached toward the three children's retreating figures. "Don't go! I really am not a fox demon, and I don't eat people!"

Even after the children had disappeared from sight, Naruto remained there, utterly dejected, murmuring, "Really... I'm not a fox demon... Why did they run..."

!!!

Soul Space.

"How could this happen?!"

"Why even the children..."

Seeing the children's reaction and looking at Naruto, Minato and Kushina turned ashen. It felt as if something had clenched their hearts, and they could barely breathe.

They had never imagined this. Everything had been going so well just moments ago!

Naruto had been so close to making friends!

He could have happily played with children his own age!

But why? Why had everything taken such a sudden turn for the worse?

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

Kushina turned to Sasuke. "Why did this happen?"

Sasuke shrugged and explained, "Ever since the news that the fox demon had turned into a baby spread through Konoha two years ago, parents have been using the fox demon to scare their kids whenever they misbehave."

"Yeah, they tell them the fox demon will disguise itself as a child and approach them, then trick them into going somewhere deserted. There, it will transform into a fox demon and eat them."

"Now in Konoha, the fox demon has replaced evil spirits as a way to scare children into behaving."

"And the way to identify a fox demon is a child with six whisker marks on their face."

!!! A child + six whisker marks!!

"How could this happen!" Kushina cried out.

She had thought the villagers would gradually forget after two years, but she never expected things to turn out this way. She hated the ninja who had branded Naruto a demon fox in the first place.

Sasuke didn't say anything more. Under normal circumstances, that would be one thing, but there was no need to rub salt in their wounds now.

Feeling that this was about enough, and there was no need to stay any longer, Sasuke said goodbye. "All right, I should be heading back. Goodbye, Uncle Minato, Aunt Kushina."

With that, he willed himself away, and his figure vanished.

A long while later.

Kushina clasped Minato's hand tightly, her voice pleading. "Minato..."

Even children thought Naruto was a fox demon. It was already obvious what kind of suffering he would have to endure in the future...

As his mother, she simply couldn't accept it. The thought was unbearable!

Minato took a deep breath. How could he not know?

Unable to bear it, he closed his eyes and gently patted the back of Kushina's hand. "Wait a little longer, Kushina. Give me some more time to think it over... all right?"

"You should understand that Sasuke won't bring us back until the crucial moment..."

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

Kushina's expression froze.

That's right... Sasuke wouldn't bring them back until the crucial moment.

Putting myself in his shoes, wouldn't Sasuke worry that they might ruin his plans, or just take Naruto and escape using Flying Thunder God, then disappear under new names?

Once she understood, she could only nod. "All right."

As she spoke, she clasped Minato's hand in return. "Minato, whatever you decide, I'll support you."

"You don't have to feel troubled. I just want an answer."

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

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

He understood that Kushina was only saying this to keep from putting pressure on him.

But the more she did that, the worse he felt, and the more guilty he became.

If he hadn't once been Hokage of Konoha, he might have already agreed to Sasuke's proposal.

Unfortunately, he had been.

At the same time, he understood that Sasuke was fixated on him not because he wanted Minato's strength, but because he wanted his identity as the Fourth Hokage!

He could even guess the rough outline of Sasuke's plan.

A coup carried out by force wouldn't win the people's support.

Back on the second day after Minato had been trapped in Soul Space, Sasuke had said that seizing power required the moral high ground and a just cause, and that fooling the people called for a noble, righteous pretext.

Minato knew that Sasuke had been keeping the Konoha High Command under surveillance, with the aim of collecting evidence of their corruption and undermining their credibility at the crucial moment!

Then, all Sasuke would have to do was use Minato's identity as the Fourth Hokage and call for clearing the emperor's side and setting things right. That would give them both the moral high ground and a pretext!

Once the Konoha High Command had been brought down, Minato would only need to resign to atone for his crimes. He had been perfectly capable of taking the Hokage Position back from the Third Hokage, yet had dragged Konoha into the mire of civil war out of spite and selfish desire. Then he could appoint the Uchiha, who had distinguished themselves in ridding Konoha of its rot, as the next Hokage. They would be able to take the Hokage Position legitimately and successfully take control of Konoha!

Minato knew all too well that Sasuke needed him to serve as the scapegoat, a banner to hide the Uchiha's ambitions behind.

And he believed Sasuke would portray the Uchiha as loyal servants who obeyed the Fourth Hokage's orders and were devoted to restoring peace and justice in Konoha. In the end, they would gain fame, status, and power!

If everything really was as he suspected, he could still live with that. He could bear being made the villain.

What worried him most was that he, Kushina, and even Naruto might be sacrificed in the fight against the Konoha High Command. Sasuke might then turn around and use their deaths as an excuse to avenge them, swiftly eliminate the Konoha High Command, and exploit Naruto's rampage to stir up the Konoha Ninja and villagers' painful, fearful memories of the Night of the Nine-Tails. Finally, he would appear as a savior, rescue Konoha from disaster, suppress the Nine-Tails, and become the village's hero!

It wasn't that he wanted to assume the worst of Sasuke. After all, he had once been the Fourth Hokage of Konoha!

His identity and age meant that as long as he was alive, he would inevitably be a problem!

Only if he were truly dead would certain Konoha Ninja finally let go of their hopes and be able to sleep soundly.

He needed to spend more time trying to see Sasuke's true character before making his final decision.

When he was alive, he hadn't even seen through the Third Hokage. He had given his life for the village and entrusted his son to him, only for his child to end up like this.

A lesson from the past!

He didn't want to gamble his whole family's lives again, only to end up with nothing—and lose Naruto too!

Suddenly!

A flash of inspiration struck Minato, and he remembered what Sasuke had just said...

The Nine-Tails!

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

He didn't know whether controlling the Nine-Tails' power would let him stand against Sasuke, but at least it would give him more confidence, wouldn't it?

Of course, he wasn't actually thinking of opposing Sasuke.

He was sick of politics, sick of scheming.

If he really could come back to life, he only wanted to live as an ordinary person with Kushina and Naruto, the three of them together...

But as the former Fourth Hokage, living in the Ninja World and caught up in its affairs, becoming an ordinary person clearly wouldn't be easy.

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

In the Sealing Space, Kurama raised his eyelids, looking disdainful.

"You've already felt my immense power. You can't resist the temptation, can you?"

"Fourth Hokage, you're just another ordinary man who wants to use our Tailed Beast powers."

Facing Minato, it was acting tough again...

Minato didn't deny it. He did want to borrow Kurama's power, but...

"Don't you want to get out, Kurama?"

!!!!

It did! How could it not?

In the outside world, it could at least look at the world through its Jinchuriki's eyes!

But in here?

Every damn day, it either had to watch the couple get all lovey-dovey, or watch them fret over Naruto...

The only thing that brought it a little joy was when Sasuke came in to needle them and watch the couple rage helplessly!

But it was sick of this life too!

How could it not want to get out?!