Brother Minato, do you believe in reincarnation!

The night was as dark as ink. Minato returned home after concluding his discussion with the Third Hokage and the others. A trace of fatigue flickered in his eyes, accompanied by a hint of imperceptible helplessness.

He had not expected the Third to invite Danzo and the other two advisors as well.

Although he was the current Hokage of Konoha, he was still constrained in many matters, especially by Danzo, who had actually proposed using the Root base as the location for Kushina's childbirth.

At the thought of this, even Minato's expression shifted. He knew better than anyone what kind of place the Root was; if Kushina were to go there, she might never walk out again.

Naturally, he would not agree to such an unreasonable demand. In the end, following the Third's suggestion, the delivery location was temporarily set at a secret site outside the village, and Anbu had already been dispatched to prepare the area.

Upon returning home, Minato did not head straight to the bedroom, but instead walked toward another room in the courtyard.

Naraku, who had been lying on the bed, seemed to sense something and snapped his eyes open.

He rose and opened the door. Under the moonlight, a handsome figure stood at the entrance—it was Minato.

"Naraku," Minato's gentle voice drifted over.

The two shared a tacit understanding, neither feeling surprised by the other's appearance.

They walked into the room together and sat facing each other at a small table.

Outside the room, faint, unknown seals began to flicker.

"You've activated the isolation barrier," Minato noted, his expression turning solemn as he sensed the anomaly.

For the Uzumaki clan, who were masters of sealing jutsu, mastering such a barrier was no difficult task. Of course, this barrier had been set up by Kushina in advance; Naraku only needed to operate it.

Kushina had been unreserved in teaching Naraku everything she knew about sealing arts, though because he had yet to refine any chakra, he had never actually used them himself.

"Brother Minato, do you believe in reincarnation?"

Minato, who had just managed to steady his mindset, was instantly stunned by these words. An expression of disbelief crossed his face, but as the Hokage of a village, he managed to calm himself down quickly.

"If I recall correctly, you once carried out a mission regarding Loulan. You should have met the future Naruto there," Naraku said, not giving him much time to prepare.

He was gambling—gambling that Minato had not sealed away that particular memory.

Before this conversation, Naraku had deliberated for a long time before finally deciding to reveal certain things to Minato. After all, his current strength was far too weak; even with his knowledge of the plot, he lacked the power to change anything.

Thus, he had crafted the identity of a "reincarnator" for himself.

Minato, having just regained his composure, could no longer remain calm. His once-gentle face was now filled with authority, his gaze scrutinizing Naraku. His heart was brimming with confusion: How could he possibly know about that?

Naraku had guessed correctly; Minato had indeed kept that memory of Loulan to himself. It was a secret known only to him—not even Kushina had been told.

Despite his confusion, he remained silent, knowing Naraku surely had more to say.

Minato's reaction allowed Naraku to breathe a sigh of relief. It seems the gamble paid off.

Naraku had found the clue regarding this matter in a sealing scroll about memory manipulation. While that specific jutsu could seal memories, it could only be used on others.

It was the only sealing art in the Uzumaki records capable of locking away memories, so he had surmised that Minato must have retained his own memories of the future Naruto.

"On the day of my sister's delivery, a man claiming to be Uchiha Madara will appear. He will take advantage of the weakened seal after the birth to release the Nine-Tails."

"To protect the village, you and my sister will die under the claws of the Nine-Tails. Before you pass, you will use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to lock the Nine-Tails inside the newborn Naruto."

"As for me, I will be captured by Danzo and taken to the Root, where I will be controlled by his seals for many years."

"It will only be many years later that I will manage to escape."

Aside from the parts concerning himself, Naraku followed the original plot, all to ensure Minato would believe him.

"The Nine-Tails, Uchiha Madara, and Danzo!"

Minato showed no surprise when he heard of his own death in battle.

In truth, the moment he saw Naruto in Loulan, he had recognized him as his son. From the fact that Naruto did not recognize him, he had guessed as much, but he had chosen to keep it hidden, not wanting to interfere with the future.

But now, things were different. If it were only his own death, he might have accepted it, but upon learning that Kushina would die and Naraku would be taken by Danzo, his expression grew increasingly grim.

By now, he fully believed Naraku. Not only did the boy know about his encounter with the future Naruto, but Minato had only recently mastered the Dead Demon Consuming Seal himself—he hadn't even had the chance to tell Kushina yet!

More importantly, what Naraku had just described was exactly the worst-case scenario Minato had envisioned for himself—only he had hoped he would be the only one to die, leaving Kushina to raise Naraku and Naruto.

"Uchiha Madara... wasn't he killed by the First Hokage long ago?" Minato asked, having calmed down slightly.

Naraku shook his head. "I'm not sure. My memories from the reincarnation aren't complete. It's possible that the future me never uncovered the truth."

Although he knew the so-called Madara was merely Obito in disguise, he had no intention of telling Minato that now; explaining it would only lead to more trouble.

Furthermore, he didn't want to reveal too much about the future. Just as Minato feared, the future was full of unknowns; if he changed too much, he would lose the advantage of his foreknowledge.

However, some things simply had to be done.

Seeing Naraku shake his head, Minato fell into deep thought. While he didn't know much about a legendary figure like Uchiha Madara, he had heard plenty of tales about him.

That was the "Ninja Shura" who could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the God of Shinobi.

The room fell silent as Minato digested Naraku's words.

Naraku said nothing more; due to his young age, this was all he could do.

He had tried to prevent the marriage between Kushina and Minato before, but he had failed.

Neither of them noticed that a figure had appeared outside the room.

Thump! Thump!

A knock sounded at the door, followed immediately by Kushina's voice, "Naraku, are you still awake? Come out and keep your big sister company for a chat!"

Kushina, who had been worried about Naraku the entire time, had not been able to fall asleep either.

"Brother Minato, let's head out," Naraku's voice replied.

"Mm, alright."

The moment he finished speaking, Minato had already stood up, a gentle smile appearing on his face once again.

Naraku then opened the door to the room, and the three of them chatted inside until the middle of the night, a long-lost smile finally gracing Naraku's face.

I must protect all of this, Minato and Naraku both thought to themselves at the same time.