Leaf.
Hokage Building.
Sarutobi Hiruzen furrowed his brows. These past few days, he had been feeling restless, as if something major were about to happen.
His old friend Shimura Danzō had also grown increasingly distant from him. Still, it was a relief that three geniuses had emerged from the Uchiha Clan.
And all three of them were fiercely loyal to the Leaf.
Sarutobi Hiruzen could hardly contain his delight.
"Three Elite Jonin, at the very least. Shimura Danzō, what can you possibly use to compete with me?"
With these three Elite Jonin from the Uchiha Clan, his position would be rock-solid.
But soon, Sarutobi Hiruzen furrowed his brows.
"Who could have caused so much destruction in the Forest of Death?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen stared at the photographs that had just been taken and fell into deep thought.
The extent of the damage was definitely beyond what an ordinary ninja could cause.
Even he would need some time to inflict that much damage on the Forest of Death.
And he was old and frail now.
He no longer had that much chakra.
Sarutobi Hiruzen felt a headache coming on.
A ninja this powerful was rampaging within the Leaf, and not only did he know nothing about it, he had no idea where to even begin investigating.
"Lord Third, something terrible has happened!"
Murakami Ichiro rushed into the Hokage Office in a panic without even knocking.
As a rule-abiding ninja, this was the first time he had ever been so disheveled and panicked!
His face was deathly pale.
Uchiha Gray was terrifying. He was absolutely no ordinary Genin.
And he didn't seem as loyal to Lord Hokage as he appeared to outsiders. Otherwise, why would he have forced his way into Uzumaki Naruto's home?
Perhaps Uchiha Gray had been pretending all along.
All to gain the Third's trust!
It was terrifying. Uchiha Gray was still so young.
"What happened? Why are you in such a panic?"
Although Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't reprimand him, a flicker of displeasure crossed his face.
He hated ninjas who didn't follow the rules!
His expression was displeased.
No matter how serious the matter was, what could happen?
With him, the Third, here, what could possibly go wrong?
"Lord Third, something terrible has happened." Murakami Ichiro still hadn't noticed the displeasure in Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes.
He said anxiously, "Uchiha Gray ignored our attempts to stop him and barged into Uzumaki Naruto's home!"
After saying this, Murakami Ichiro broke out in a cold sweat and watched the Third nervously.
He was afraid Sarutobi Hiruzen would reprimand him for failing to do his job.
"And he already has..." Murakami Ichiro hadn't finished speaking before Sarutobi Hiruzen cut him off with an angry shout.
"Why didn't you say so sooner, you fool!"
Why would Uchiha Gray disobey his orders?
It was impossible. Had Uchiha Gray been deceiving him from the very beginning?
Uzumaki Naruto was the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki, and Uchiha Gray was a member of the Uchiha Clan. He had tried to get close to the Nine-Tails.
Could the Uchiha Clan have designs on the Nine-Tails?
In an instant, countless thoughts raced through Sarutobi Hiruzen's mind.
He vanished on the spot.
Murakami Ichiro stared after him, stunned.
"Lord Third actually gets that flustered too. And I hadn't even finished telling him that Uchiha Gray already has the Three-Tomoe Sharingan..."
But Sarutobi Hiruzen could no longer hear him.
Uzumaki Naruto gazed sadly out the window.
His bright blue eyes were filled with confusion.
"Why does everyone hate me? I haven't done anything wrong."
"I just want to play with the other kids. Why do they hit me?"
"Why won't those shopkeepers even sell me food when I try to buy some?"
Uzumaki Naruto's eyes grew even sadder.
Tears welled in them.
He couldn't understand. He hadn't done anything wrong.
Why did everyone bully him?
Was it because I hadn't tried hard enough?
"No, you haven't done anything wrong. You've done just fine."
In Uzumaki Naruto's view, a handsome young man with a head of black hair appeared before him.
The young man's eyes were full of warmth.
Little Naruto had never felt such kindness before. He stammered, "Big brother, who are you? Why are you in my house?"
"My name is Uchiha Gray. I'm someone who's going to change your life."
Uchiha Gray smiled.
In truth, for every Naruto fan, Uzumaki Naruto was a treasured memory of their youth.
So Uchiha Gray couldn't help feeling close to the boy.
But more than the version who suffered in the original story, he preferred the Naruto who had turned dark.
After the world had bullied him so badly, he still ended up becoming such a noble, shining presence. Uchiha Gray found it laughable.
"This isn't the place to talk. Let's go somewhere else." Uchiha Gray smiled.
The Three-Tomoe Sharingan appeared in an instant!
Its light flickered, strange and eerie.
The scene shifted in the next moment.
The two of them arrived in a dark, damp underground passage!
A vast, terrifying presence filled the entire space. It felt as if some monstrously powerful creature lived there, making Uzumaki Naruto tremble.
"Where is this?" Little Naruto looked confused.
There was an aura here that felt very familiar to him, but at the same time, it frightened him.
"This is your Mental Space, Naruto. Didn't you want to know about your past?"
Uchiha Gray looked at Naruto's hurt, sorrowful expression, his own face full of pity.
This was the son of the Leaf's hero.
He should have been cherished by everyone as the Leaf's hero.
Instead, he was treated as the Demon Fox's child!
"My past?" Naruto's eyes widened. He stared intently at Uchiha Gray.
"Big brother, do you know? Could you be my family?"
Uzumaki Naruto looked at him hopefully.
If he had family, then maybe people wouldn't bully him.
The young man before him had an exceptionally familiar aura—bright and warm, like the sun.
Without meaning to, Naruto felt as if he were family.
Why had his family never come to see him all these years?
Was it because he'd been disobedient, so they had lost him?
"Don't be sad."
Uchiha Gray walked slowly up to Uzumaki Naruto and gently tapped him on the forehead with two fingers.
"Your parents were both powerful, outstanding ninjas. They just couldn't protect you because of various circumstances."
"Your father's name was Namikaze Minato, and your mother's name was Uzumaki Kushina."
Uzumaki Naruto looked confused. He was only four years old and didn't know what the name Namikaze Minato meant.
"Namikaze Minato! Uzumaki Kushina! Mom and Dad!"
But the next moment, Uzumaki Naruto's eyes lit up. He didn't know what the name Namikaze Minato meant.
But now he knew his parents' names!
"What kind of people were they, Gray?" Hope filled Uzumaki Naruto's eyes.
In his heart, his parents must have loved him very much.
Some special circumstance must have forced them to leave him.
"Your father, Namikaze Minato, was the Fourth Hokage!" Uchiha Gray looked at Uzumaki Naruto's hopeful face.
His expression calm, he slowly spoke the words.