Coming Clean

Naruto smiled faintly and said, "Uncle Hiashi, I've already met my parents. Inside the seal in my stomach, I also met the Nine-Tails and learned the whole truth."

"Naruto, you really know?" Hiashi Hyuga still found it hard to believe. What if this clever kid was just trying to trick him? If he accidentally revealed Naruto's identity and caused irreparable consequences, the Hyuga Clan might truly be finished. The Third Hokage might even secretly make things difficult for them afterward.

Seeing that Hiashi Hyuga was still probing him and hesitant to believe, Naruto decided to tell him everything after putting a nicer spin on the facts.

"Uncle Hiashi, don't worry that I'm trying to trick you. I really know everything. My name is Naruto Uzumaki. My father was Konoha Village's Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and my mother was Kushina Uzumaki, a descendant of the Uzumaki Clan. I, Naruto Uzumaki, am the true son of heroes, as well as the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki of this generation. Am I right, Uncle Hiashi?"

Hearing Naruto state his identity so clearly, Hiashi Hyuga slowly turned around and faced him. "Naruto, since you already know your identity, what do you think of the Hidden Leaf?"

He had to get this straight. If Naruto had a revenge-driven personality, Hiashi Hyuga would immediately report him to the Third Hokage. They could not leave such a ticking time bomb in the village.

"Uncle Hiashi, I don't want to lie to you. Some people in the village deserve to die, don't they? My miserable childhood was all thanks to them. Sooner or later, I'll make them taste pain. As for the other villagers, ignorance is no sin. The greatest torment for them is not tormenting them at all—letting them remain in a dazed state of mind every day. Isn't that better?"

Naruto was speaking honestly. Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura, and the two Hokage advisors would only hinder the Hidden Leaf's development if they remained. Sooner or later, they had to be removed.

Seeing that Naruto was not a typical extremist who saw everything as black or white, Hiashi Hyuga breathed a faint sigh of relief. That meant there was still room for discussion.

"We support your decision. Now that you know you are the Fourth Hokage's son, let us return to the previous topic. We believe you have a very good chance of becoming Hokage. Your background is impeccable. Only your status as the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki somewhat affects your competitiveness."

After all, no one wanted to be led to greater strength by someone who could not control his own power and might lose control at any moment.

"Don't worry, Uncle Hiashi. I've already reconciled with the Nine-Tails inside me. Once my body has fully matured, I'll be able to completely master the Nine-Tails' power and become a true perfect jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails!" Naruto revealed a little of his hand to Hiashi Hyuga.

"What? You mean you can already control the Nine-Tails? Was this a contingency plan left behind by the Fourth Hokage and Kushina Uzumaki? That's terrifying!"

Hiashi Hyuga looked utterly disbelieving. This was the Nine-Tails—the strongest of all the tailed beasts. Even half of the Nine-Tails could easily crush every tailed beast except the Eight-Tails!

"Not control, Uncle Hiashi. We became friends!" Naruto smiled faintly, his expression full of confidence.

Hearing that, Hiashi Hyuga was somewhat convinced. After all, anyone who learned the truth and realized that the Nine-Tails inside them had caused them so much trouble would surely resent it at first. It was because of its existence that they had suffered all those years!

Yet Naruto's every word conveyed trust in the Nine-Tails, as well as the word "friends." That meant they truly might have become friends.

"Then Naruto, tell me, what is your current strength?" Hiashi Hyuga asked curiously. From Naruto's confident words, he could tell that Naruto should already possess considerable strength.

Could he be stronger than Neji, the one called a genius? That was truly something to look forward to.

If Naruto learned that he was still being compared to Neji Hyuga, he would laugh his head off. As he was now, even if Neji Hyuga went all out, he could not defeat him.

"Uncle, you have the Byakugan. Why not see for yourself?" Naruto could not help complaining. He clearly had the Byakugan, yet was reluctant to use it. If not now, then when?

"Hahaha, I forgot! Let me take a look!" Hiashi Hyuga laughed awkwardly. He had been so focused on observing the strength of the surrounding ANBU that he had subconsciously overlooked Naruto.

"Byakugan, activate!" Hiashi Hyuga activated his Byakugan. Veins bulged around his eyes as he turned his gaze toward Naruto, only to be instantly shocked by Naruto's chakra.

"Naruto, how can you have so much chakra at your age? It has already reached the standard of an elite jonin. Even if you possess Uzumaki Clan blood, it shouldn't boost your chakra by this much!"

Hiashi Hyuga voiced his doubts.

"Uncle Hiashi, all I can say is that it's talent. Everything is decided by fate! I'll reveal a little more—under normal circumstances, my strength is around the level of an elite jonin." Naruto dropped another bombshell, instantly shocking Hiashi Hyuga.

Konoha Village was a place that produced many geniuses, but even among geniuses, there were geniuses among geniuses.

For example, Kakashi Hatake. At the age of five, after his father, the White Fang of the Leaf, committed suicide, he applied for early graduation. By the age of twelve, Kakashi was already a jonin. That showed just how extraordinary his talent was.

Then there was Itachi Uchiha. He entered the Ninja Academy at six, graduated successfully at seven, awakened the Sharingan at eight, and became the first genius to pass the Chunin Exams alone at ten.

Yet even those two geniuses could not compare to Naruto. At six years old, he had already reached the strength of an elite jonin.

"Uncle Hiashi, are you already this surprised? I haven't even told you about my hidden strength yet." Seeing Hiashi Hyuga's stunned expression, Naruto decided to strike while the iron was hot.

Hiashi Hyuga's current appearance was a stark contrast to the composed, calculating manner he had displayed earlier.

"What? Naruto, you still have hidden strength? Tell me quickly, what else are you hiding?" Hiashi Hyuga looked unconvinced. Possessing the strength of an elite jonin at six was already absurd enough. Yet Naruto had apparently been holding back. What other methods did he have?

"Could it be the Nine-Tails' power?" Hiashi Hyuga quickly thought of it.

"That's right, Uncle Hiashi. I can already completely control the Nine-Tails' power. In battle, the Nine-Tails will continuously provide me with chakra. That is my advantage. And as I mentioned before, inside the seal in my stomach, I met my father and mother."

"With their help, I successfully broke the Nine-Tails' seal. Before my father left, he gave me one final gift."

Naruto paused, but Hiashi Hyuga began questioning him again.

"What? Naruto, with the Nine-Tails' help, how far can your strength reach? Kage level? But you probably don't know many techniques yet, right? What did Minato leave you before he departed?"

Hiashi Hyuga turned into a curious child, endlessly firing questions at Naruto.

"With the Nine-Tails' help, defeating the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, is no problem! As for the gift my father left me, it was the technique that made him famous, the Flying Thunder God Technique, as well as the hand-signless ninjutsu, the Rasengan!"

Naruto's words brought Hiashi Hyuga an enormous shock. He no longer knew how many times he had been stunned today!

"Naruto, are you saying the Fourth Hokage left you the Flying Thunder God Technique and the Rasengan? Have you mastered them both?" Hiashi Hyuga asked.

"I only learned the hand-signless ninjutsu, the Rasengan. The Flying Thunder God Technique is much more difficult to practice, so I haven't learned it yet!" Naruto would not tell Hiashi Hyuga too many details.

He only stated that he had learned the Rasengan. Hiashi Hyuga's jaw had already dropped—and it was not coming back up.

This was the Fourth Hokage's most famous offensive ninjutsu, the Rasengan.

The Flying Thunder God Technique, meanwhile, was a space-time ninjutsu, notoriously difficult to learn. Hiashi Hyuga could still accept that Naruto had failed to learn it, but mastering the Rasengan was still outrageous. It was an A-rank ninjutsu, and it was far from easy to learn.

"Naruto, your current strength has already reached the level of an elite jonin. With the Nine-Tails' help, you can even gain strength somewhat greater than Kage level. So what are your plans lately? You aren't planning to immediately make a move against certain people in the village, are you? That would not be a good thing for you!"

Hiashi Hyuga asked anxiously. If Naruto intended to act against people in the village, the most likely targets would be Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura. Those two were currently among Konoha Village's upper ranks. If Naruto truly succeeded in assassinating them, he would have to abandon some of his bonds within the village and seek a place to settle elsewhere.

"Of course not, Uncle Hiashi. If I wanted to assassinate someone, I might have acted long ago. Why would I wait until today?" Naruto did not elaborate.

"Then Naruto, how do you want me to handle everything you told me today? Should I report the situation to the Third Hokage?" After learning that Naruto might unleash destruction exceeding even that of the Nine-Tails in the past, Hiashi Hyuga was somewhat afraid. What if he mishandled this and the Hyuga Clan was wiped out?

"If possible, I hope you can keep it secret, Uncle. Wait until I have the freedom to move about the shinobi world before reporting it to the Third Hokage."

Since Hiashi Hyuga had asked that question, it meant he did not want Hiruzen Sarutobi to know too much either. In his view, the Third Hokage's downfall was inevitable. After all, he was getting old.

Naruto, meanwhile, was a rising new star. He had to cling tightly to Naruto.

"Understood, Naruto. With your potential and strength, along with your identity as the son of heroes, I imagine becoming Hokage in the future will be quite smooth for you!"

Hiashi Hyuga regained his confident expression. So Naruto knew everything. Then he no longer needed to worry that the village's words would have any effect on Naruto.

"So, Uncle Hiashi, I hope the Hyuga Clan can support me. If I become Hokage in the future, I trust the Hyuga Clan will receive the rewards it deserves."

"Naruto, since you've said that, then I will definitely support you. I only hope that after you become Hokage, you won't forget people like us!"

"Uncle Hiashi, I promise you, I won't. It's settled, then. If I become Hokage, I won't marry into the Hyuga family, but I will definitely marry Hinata."

After learning so much, Hiashi Hyuga's fate had become tightly bound to Naruto's. Hiashi Hyuga smiled. "Then it's a deal!"

"It's a deal!"

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