Kurama's Scheme

The truth was this unreasonable; it did not even give him time to process it...

Minato knew that, one day in the future, some irreversible tragedy had probably occurred.

Something so grave that he, the Fourth Hokage, had no choice but to personally seal the most terrifying beast in the Shinobi World inside an innocent child.

And neither he nor Kushina had survived that day.

This child... had never even seen what his parents looked like since he could remember.

He had grown up alone to the age of sixteen in this cruel Shinobi World.

Minato did not dare think any further.

What kind of looks and treatment would an orphan carrying the Nine-Tails receive in a place like Konoha?

He knew better than anyone how sharp the village's darker side could be.

If he kept thinking, he feared he would completely break down right here in the street.

Minato took a deep breath and forcibly swallowed the grief that was nearly tearing his chest apart.

He put on that perfect smile again, the smile befitting a Hokage.

Gentle, proper, and carrying just the right warmth an elder showed a junior.

Ye leaned against a pipe in the shadows. Seeing Minato's smile made his chest feel tight.

That was the problem with people who were too smart.

No one needed to explain anything to them. Give them a few clues, and they could piece together the bloodiest truth themselves—then swallow it on their own.

"Old man who looks like the Fourth! Where did you learn that awful habit of pausing for dramatic effect?!"

Naruto finally recovered from his shock and casually patted his still-bleeding chest.

Being as thick-skinned as he was, he completely failed to notice the different expressions on everyone's faces.

He complained to Minato, "I thought you took