A jinchūriki should obediently become the village's weapon!
Rasa stared at the black-framed screen showing Sarutobi Hiruzen, his expression full of frustrated disappointment.
Handling things like this only created instability.
Better to hand him directly to Shimura Danzō.
At least in this regard—
Danzō thought the same way he did.
Family, affection, friendship—
for a jinchūriki, they were all burdens!
Hmph!
Even if it was his own son—
everything was worth it for the sake of the village!
Of course, Rasa didn't speak these thoughts aloud.
After all, he had not only turned his youngest son into Shukaku's jinchūriki—
he had repeatedly attempted to assassinate his own child.
And in the end, he had even deceived his son using his brother-in-law's life.
Such beastly behavior was no less despicable than the Konoha F4.
What Rasa himself never expected was that—
following the gold-frame Naruto timeline,
after being revived via Edo Tensei, all he needed to do was stay silent.
Eventually, everything would be reframed as silent fatherly love.
Everything he did—out of love.
Ah—washed clean.
—
[Time passed swiftly.]
[In the blink of an eye, a month went by.]
[During this time, little Naruto grew wildly, like a weed greedily absorbing nutrients.]
[In just one month—]
[his weight increased by five kilograms, and his height grew by one and a half centimeters.]
[This was how he should have been growing at this age.]
[His short blond hair had grown a little long.]
[But standing in front of the mirror, little Naruto didn't find it ugly.]
[He had seen plenty of men with long hair.]
—
Knock. Knock. Knock.
[While he was thinking, someone knocked on the door.]
[Little Naruto froze.]
[Who could it be?]
[Aside from him, there was basically no one else in this building.]
[The shinobi monitoring him disguised as "neighbors" didn't count.]
[He opened the door—and froze.]
[Standing there was none other than the old man from that night.]
[Compared to last time, today's attire matched Naruto's expectations.]
[A Hokage robe, a Hokage hat.]
[Hands clasped behind his back, smiling kindly.]
[In that instant, Naruto felt most of the surveillance around him fade away.]
["Hokage Grandpa?!" Naruto exclaimed in apparent surprise.]
[For the past month, he had been thinking every day about how to earn the bastard leader's trust.]
[He had even rehearsed it in his mind several times.]
[But he rejected every plan.]
[Because he didn't believe his clumsy acting could fool that bastard leader.]
[Then it hit him—playing along with the other party's goal was the best method.]
[So why not act a little warmer? Act like he trusted him?]
—
"Hahaha~"
"Surprised, Naruto?"
Little Naruto nodded repeatedly and pulled Sarutobi Hiruzen inside.
The moment he entered, Hiruzen's gaze swept the room.
However, he failed to notice the vegetables hidden in pots outside the balcony behind the curtain.
Otherwise, Naruto might have experienced having his crops stolen and destroyed.
Hiruzen didn't feel much about Naruto's physical changes.
But seeing Naruto's slightly longer hair, his eyes narrowed.
"Take a look at this," Hiruzen said, getting straight to the point.
He placed a bulging envelope on the table.
"What's this?"
Naruto opened it—
inside were bills, all in thousand-ryō denominations.
A rough glance suggested around twenty notes.
"Wow!"
"Grandpa, you're so generous~!"
Seeing Naruto's excitement, Hiruzen patted his head smugly.
"Of course."
"But you mustn't tell anyone."
"This kind of preferential treatment is only for you."
"Mm!!" Naruto nodded hard.
Hiruzen was smiling, but his heart sank.
Too similar.
If he let that hair keep growing…
too many people might recognize Naruto's identity.
The thought passed, and Hiruzen resumed his gentle smile.
"You need to plan how you use this money. Don't waste it. I won't be able to give you special treatment next month."
"I know!"
"Oh, right—Hokage Grandpa."
"Yes? What is it?" Hiruzen asked warmly.
"I want to learn how to read. I heard that learning helps people grow. And I want to understand the Will of Fire you talked about."
Hiruzen hesitated when he heard about learning.
But when Naruto mentioned wanting to study the Will of Fire, he changed his mind.
"Alright. I'll prepare those things for you."
"Someone will deliver them tomorrow."
Hiruzen's smile deepened.
Naruto then described his life over the past month according to the Will of Fire he had heard.
There were no lies—because he knew the shinobi monitoring him would report everything.
So he simply aligned his thoughts with the Will of Fire.
Everyone bullies me, but I don't mind.
I'll work hard quietly and earn everyone's recognition.
At the end, Naruto suddenly had an idea.
"Hokage Grandpa… if I'm like this, can I become Hokage in the future?"
For a split second, Naruto saw shock and delight flash across Hiruzen's face.
He quietly let out a breath.
It worked.
At this point—
the chatroom fell silent.
Senju Tobirama: "What a pity. If this child had been born during my tenure as Hokage…"
Uchiha Izuna: "Heh. Then he'd have been killed by your four disciples."
Senju Tobirama: "..."
So infuriating!
Why can't I think of a rebuttal?!
Tobirama's coffin lid rattled violently.
Haruno Sakura: "So smart… if it were Shikamaru, he'd probably do the same."
Yamanaka Ino: "Heh. Sounds like you have a pretty good image of Shikamaru in your heart."
Yamanaka Ino: "If their identities were swapped, you'd be watching a Naruto lying at home eating and sleeping all day."
Yamanaka Ino: "That guy would be too lazy to think. Knowing ANBU and the old bastard wouldn't let him die, he'd just stay home. Going outside is too much trouble—lying down is best."
Nara Shikamaru: "Hey, hey, Ino, that's going too far!"
Akimichi Chōji: "I think what Ino said is pretty accurate… uh, just kidding."
Sakura twitched at the corner of her mouth.
Then Sasuke's face surfaced in her mind.
If Sasuke and Naruto swapped identities…
No. Impossible. There's no way there'd be such an unreliable Uchiha dead last.
—
[After a short while.]
[Sarutobi Hiruzen stood up slowly.]
["Very good. Keep it up."]
[He smiled and left Naruto's home.]
[Saying he had more work to do protecting the village.]
[Naruto's eyes lit up. He waved goodbye and promised to keep working hard.]
[Hearing that, Hiruzen's smile was dazzling.]
[He completely forgot to 'remind' Naruto to cut his hair short.]
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