"Naruto…"
Namikaze Minato's expression grew increasingly complicated. He closed his eyes softly. After a long pause, he reopened them and spoke:
"There's something I've always wanted to ask you."
Naruto lifted his head, his clear blue eyes meeting Minato's directly.
"What is it?"
Minato looked into those eyes, and the struggle in his own gaze deepened.
He asked quietly,
"Do you truly hate Konoha?"
Naruto's expression remained calm.
"That's an interesting question," he replied.
"From your perspective, Father—aside from hatred, what emotion do you think I should feel toward Konoha?"
"Or…" he continued,
"are you confused because my behavior doesn't quite match what you expected?"
Minato shook his head, disoriented.
"I don't know. From the moment we met, nothing has gone the way I imagined."
"Every time our chakra connects, I can feel it… that coldness buried deep in your soul. At first, I thought I was imagining it. But now I understand—you've known the truth for a long time."
"About yourself. About your identity. About the Third Hokage watching you."
"You've known all of it."
"If I hadn't been watching you grow up from inside the seal… if I hadn't seen with my own eyes that no one tampered with you…"
Minato swallowed.
"I would have started to wonder whether you were really my son."
"There were moments when I even thought… maybe you were born knowing everything."
Naruto smirked faintly and studied Minato with interest.
"I was wondering when you'd finally bring this up."
He tilted his head slightly.
"Now that you have… have you reached your own answer?"
Minato took a deep breath and nodded.
"Yes. At first, Kurama thought the same."
He gestured toward the Nine-Tails.
"But then it gave me a reason—one I could accept."
Naruto's gaze shifted.
"And what reason is that?"
The massive fox didn't even open its eyes. With a lazy flick of a claw, it muttered,
"Fourth Hokage, could you not say everything in one breath?"
Minato looked embarrassed.
"Uh… wasn't it you who figured it out, Kurama? You even said there was only one possible explanation."
Kurama stirred, nine tails swaying as it opened one sharp eye and looked at Naruto.
"You have the Mirror World," it said flatly.
"All those data clones. All those borrowed memories."
"Of course you know secrets you logically shouldn't."
"Especially the first time you entered the Mirror World—when you saw the data clone of the Fourth Hokage."
"That's when I realized."
Minato nodded.
He remembered that moment clearly—during a chakra replenishment session, when he had drifted into thought, wondering how Naruto could possess such a mature worldview.
Kurama had noticed immediately and pointed him toward the answer.
Naruto's abilities in the Mirror World explained everything.
Otherwise, Minato might truly have believed Naruto was born omniscient.
Naruto watched the two of them with a flat expression.
They misunderstood something.
He had only granted them guest access to the Mirror World. They didn't know how data was gathered, how updates occurred, or even when the system had activated.
The time discrepancy between the real world and the Mirror World only deepened that misunderstanding.
But if it kept them from asking further questions—
There was no reason to correct it.
"Since you've reached your own conclusions, Father…"
Naruto rested both hands on the iron gate of the seal.
"I'll answer your original question."
Minato straightened slightly, his expression turning serious.
Naruto spoke calmly:
"Konoha has taken many things from me—things that should have been mine."
"So yes," he continued evenly,
"of course I should hate Konoha."
"But hatred is just a negative emotion. Everyone has it. Sometimes, negative emotions even strengthen one's resolve."
"And after all this time," Naruto added,
"I'm sure you've realized something, Father."
"I don't allow myself to be consumed by emotions."
"I'm not like the Uchiha—those emotionally unstable lunatics who let their feelings drive them to extremes."
He paused briefly.
"No, I understand what you're worried about."
"You're afraid that one day I'll lose control and turn that power against Konoha."
"But that's not what I'm after."
Minato hesitated, then asked,
"Then what are you after, Naruto?"
Naruto turned, his gaze deep and sharp.
"What I seek…"
"…is power that transcends all things."
Minato's expression darkened.
"You already possess tremendous power," he said gravely.
"But chasing strength endlessly will only make you lose your way."
Naruto shook his head slowly.
"You don't understand, Father."
"I know what you mean—but what I pursue isn't what you think it is."
Kurama, who had been silent, suddenly raised a fist.
Naruto didn't hesitate.
He bumped it.
Kurama withdrew its paw, eyes gleaming.
"Naruto," it said,
"if you really achieve that… you'll surpass even the Sage of Six Paths."
"No human in this world views reality the way you do."
Naruto smiled faintly.
"That's why I don't believe in grand ideals."
"If the world doesn't make sense…"
"…then force it to."
Kurama burst into laughter.
"Hah! Kid, I'm looking forward to that day. It'll be a hell of a show!"
Minato looked between them, completely lost.
Something had clearly passed between Naruto and Kurama during that exchange.
"What were you two just talking about?" he asked.
Kurama waved a paw dismissively.
"Hmph. Fourth Hokage—you wouldn't get it."
Minato turned back to Naruto, confused—
—but Naruto only shook his head in silence.
That silence frustrated Minato more than any argument.
"Naruto… about the explosive tags—"
Naruto's eyes turned cold.
"That's not up for discussion."
Minato's face twisted in pain.
"But Naruto… if you detonate that many explosive tags, so many people will die!"
"Families living peaceful lives—gone in an instant. And those who survive… how can they live with that pain?"
Naruto remained unmoved.
"I'll only trigger a small portion. The goal is to destroy the crystal ball."
"If the mechanism accidentally triggers the rest and causes a chain reaction…"
"…that has nothing to do with me."
"Besides," he added quietly,
"I've never understood what happiness even means."
"So why should I grieve for others?"
Minato's eyes lit with a desperate idea.
"If all you want is to destroy the crystal ball… couldn't you disable the connection to the other tags?"
"Don't go any further, Father."
Naruto cut him off.
His expression turned strange—almost hollow.
"I may have a kind heart…"
"But my hands are cold—and powerless."
"If Konoha wants a happy ending…"
"…it depends on where its story stops."
He thought of the timing he had chosen.
Then his voice hardened.
"I'll let you see for yourself how much filth lies beneath Konoha's polished surface."
Minato's expression darkened.
"What do you mean?"
Naruto answered calmly:
"It won't be long now."
"You'll see."
"I won't even need to lift a finger."
"Others will prove it to you—again and again."
"Konoha was never destined for a good ending."
(End of Chapter)
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