Naruto, Dad Is Proud of You

"Kakashi-sensei? What... what's wrong?"

Sakura's confused, concerned voice came from beside him.

Both she and Sasuke had been startled by Kakashi's sudden reaction.

To them, the scene on the screen looked perfectly ordinary.

It was just a gentle, capable-looking red-haired aunt cooking. The house looked clean and cozy too. There was nothing special about it, was there?

Why was their teacher getting so worked up?

Kakashi did not answer Sakura's question.

He continued staring fixedly at the screen, murmuring inwardly, This isn't normal at all... not at all...

Sasuke looked at Kakashi's rare loss of composure, then at the cozy scene on the screen that somehow felt painfully glaring. Complex emotions flickered through his dark eyes.

He remained silent, but his slightly clenched fists revealed the turmoil in his heart.

Fragments of those brief, warm days buried deep within his memories—days spent with his parents... and that man—pierced his heart like needles.

Cold hatred churned endlessly in his chest.

On the screen, Dream Naruto seemed to have finally recovered somewhat from his initial daze.

The clean, bright living room before him...

The tempting aroma of food in the air...

And the red-haired aunt bustling about in the kitchen...

Everything felt far too real.

Warm sunlight streamed through the window and fell across his face, making him feel pleasantly warm.

He could even smell the rich scent of meat infused with soy sauce and caramelized sugar. His stomach let out an embarrassing growl.

"Where... is this? It smells so good... Wasn't I sleeping?"

Just as Naruto stood there dumbfounded, the red-haired aunt in the kitchen urged him again, "Naruto, what are you standing around for? Go wash your hands! The food's getting cold!"

Her voice was full of energy, carrying the commanding tone of the ruler of the household, yet somehow also containing a gentleness and indulgence Naruto had never experienced before.

"Mom..."

The word slipped from Naruto's mouth uncontrollably, as though by instinct.

He abruptly covered his mouth, his eyes widening.

I... I just called her... Mom?!

Even as dense as he was, he understood now!

The villagers' warm treatment of him on the street earlier... appearing in this cozy home now... and this red-haired aunt who felt so incredibly familiar...

"So... this... is my dream?!"

"And this red-haired aunt... could she... could she be... my mom in this dream?!"

An indescribable surge of bitterness and wild joy crashed over him like a waterfall, instantly washing away every other thought.

Mom!

He had actually... met his mom... in a dream?!

He had no idea what his mother looked like, but this red-haired aunt before him... she felt like Mom! She had to be Mom! That intimate sense of blood connection, rising from the depths of his soul, could not possibly be wrong!

Naruto's nose suddenly stung, and his eyes instantly grew hot. Large, burning tears spilled uncontrollably from his eyes.

How many years had it been?

Twelve years.

Countless times, in dreams and fantasies, he had imagined what his parents might look like. He had longed to have a warm home like other children, to have a dad and mom...

And now...

The scene he had yearned for over twelve years had actually... appeared in his dream.

Even if... it was only a dream...

At that moment, Naruto was willing to give up everything, if only this dream... would never end.

"Sniff... okay! I got it, Mom!"

Naruto nodded with a thick nasal voice, vigorously wiping away the tears on his face. Yet a goofy grin brighter than the sun bloomed across his face.

He answered loudly, then dashed toward the bathroom in a flash.

[Ding! Emotional fluctuations from Naruto Uzumaki detected! Emotion points +1500!]

Watching Naruto's foolish expression as he got so excited he nearly could not stop grinning, Sakura and Sasuke fell silent once more.

Sakura could not help muttering softly, "It's just a meal... does he really need to... react like that?"

Though Kakashi's earlier loss of composure had startled her, she still could not understand Naruto's emotions at that moment.

In her eyes, being called by your mother to eat was a very ordinary thing, wasn't it?

However, the moment she finished speaking, Sasuke suddenly spoke coldly from beside her, his tone filled with anger and chill she had never heard before.

"What do you know!"

"Huh?!"

Startled by Sasuke's sudden rebuke, Sakura looked at him aggrievedly. "Sa-Sasuke... I..."

She did not understand why Sasuke had suddenly snapped at her.

Had she said something wrong?

[Ding! Emotional fluctuations from Sasuke Uchiha detected! Emotion points +500!]

[Ding! Emotional fluctuations from Sakura Haruno detected! Emotion points +200!]

Sasuke did not look at Sakura again. He merely turned his gaze back to the screen, watching that blond idiot cry tears of excitement just because someone had said, "Time to eat." Deep in his dark eyes, a trace of the light Naruto had shown at the ramen shop earlier that day seemed to pass through them.

Perhaps of the three people in the audience, only he could truly understand how Naruto felt right then.

Because he had once had it too.

And precisely because he had possessed it, he understood even more deeply the pain of losing it.

Kakashi looked at his two students beside him and let out another deep sigh.

Sakura had grown up with both parents alive and a harmonious family. Perhaps she had even occasionally found her parents' nagging annoying.

At her age, she was in a rebellious phase where she yearned for independence and freedom. Naturally, she could not understand that these family routines she considered "completely ordinary" were something she could never truly empathize with when it came to Naruto and Sasuke.

But wasn't this warm scene, so painfully glaring, the same for him...

Forget it.

On the screen, the dream continued happily.

After washing his hands, Naruto dashed to the dining table. Seeing the fragrant feast spread across it, he drooled even more.

Just as he was about to pick up his chopsticks and dig in.

Click.

The front door was gently pushed open.

A tall, upright figure with the same brilliant blond short hair as Naruto, dressed in Leaf Village's classic green ninja vest, walked in with a gentle smile.

His eyes were the same clear blue as Naruto's, like a cloudless sky—clear and gentle. A faint smile that seemed capable of melting ice and snow always rested on his lips.

"Am I late?"

The man spoke with a smile, his voice as warm as a spring breeze.

Kushina, standing at the kitchen door, immediately replied with a smile, "Not at all, you're just in time. Go wash your hands and get ready to eat. I specially made Naruto's favorite braised pork and fried chicken today to celebrate him becoming a genin."

The man smiled and nodded. His gaze shifted to the blond boy sitting frozen beside the table, his eyes filled with affection and pride.

"Naruto, congratulations. You've finally become a real ninja. Dad is proud of you."

In the audience.

If Kakashi had been shocked and unable to believe his eyes when he saw Kushina earlier—

Then at this moment, when he saw the man walk through the door—

Kakashi felt as though an invisible hand had tightly gripped his heart, stopping even his breathing!

"Mi-Minato... sensei?!"

That was right!

The man who shone as brightly as the sun, known as the "Yellow Flash of the Leaf," who had become the Fourth Hokage at a young age, and who was Kakashi's most respected teacher—

Minato Namikaze!

He had actually... appeared in this dream too?

And... as Naruto's father?!

Not only Kushina... even Minato-sensei...

This... what on earth...?!

[Ding! Emotional fluctuations from Kakashi Hatake detected! Emotion points +1000!!]

And this time, it was not just Kakashi.

When Sakura and Sasuke beside him clearly saw the man who had entered, their eyes widened as well, their faces filled with disbelief.

"Th-that is..." Sakura's voice trembled.

"The Fourth... Hokage?!" Sasuke cried out in shock as well.

As top students of the Hidden Leaf Ninja Academy, they were naturally extremely familiar with the village's history, especially the appearances of its previous Hokage.

The statues on Hokage Rock.

The portraits in their textbooks.

The heroic legends passed down throughout the village.

The blond man who had walked into Naruto's "home" was clearly the legendary hero who had ended the Third Shinobi World War through his own strength, and ultimately sacrificed himself to protect the village—

The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze!

"Wh-why... is Naruto's dad in his dream... the Fourth Hokage?!"

Sakura felt like her mind had completely stopped working. "Could it be... could Naruto..."

An utterly absurd thought that nevertheless seemed capable of explaining everything rose uncontrollably in her heart.

[Ding! Emotional fluctuations from Sakura Haruno detected! Emotion points +200!]

Kakashi remained silent, his expression grim to the extreme.

Of course he knew why.

But this secret... concerned Naruto's life and safety.

It was a top secret tied to the stability of all Leaf Village.

These two children absolutely could not learn of it here!

But...

This dream...

What exactly was it trying to do?!