Ōnoki: "The funniest joke I've ever heard is—'For Naruto's protection, his identity as the hero's son must be hidden.'"
Terumī Mei: "That's not all. Kushina-senpai even said she personally asked the Third Hokage to take care of Naruto before she died."
Kurotsuchi: "And then this rotten old man 'accidentally' leaked Naruto's identity not long after."
Even Kurotsuchi couldn't stand it anymore.
Kurotsuchi: "Honestly, this rotten old man would be better off dying together with Grandpa."
Ōnoki: "…What a family tragedy! This unfilial granddaughter—sigh, what can I even do?"
Yūhi Kurenai: "To be fair, Black-Frame Naruto really does look a lot like Minato-sensei!"
Yūhi Kurenai: "If you remove the whisker marks, he might look exactly like Minato-sensei as a child!"
Yūhi Kurenai and Kakashi were from the same generation.
And because of Yūhi Shinku's position, it was normal for Kurenai to have known Namikaze Minato.
Standing beside Kurenai, Mitarashi Anko raised an eyebrow.
Namikaze Minato?
As Orochimaru's disciple, Anko had followed him around and naturally seen many big names.
"He is handsome. Kurenai, didn't you once say you really envied Rin?"
Kurenai immediately stuffed a dango into her best friend's mouth.
In the Pure Land, Kushina snorted angrily.
"Not alike at all!"
"Hmph!"
"When I get revived, I'll dye Naruto's hair red. If he ends up looking like that Fourth Hokage, I'll be furious to death!"
Uchiha Mikoto jumped in fright and quickly tried to calm her down.
"Kushina… Minato seems to regret things too."
"Huh?!" Kushina shot her a glare.
Her eyes had already turned crimson.
Uchiha Mikoto's eyelid twitched.
Sis, you were a jinchūriki, sure—but you're already dead!
The Nine-Tails is sealed inside your son now.
So why is there still Nine-Tails chakra inside you?
Don't tell me you're still the Nine-Tails itself?!
The black-framed giant screen continued.
[After Sarutobi Hiruzen left, little Naruto closed the door.]
[The feeling of being watched disappeared once again.]
[The smile on little Naruto's face vanished instantly.]
[He felt uncomfortable—slightly nauseated.]
[Even though he hadn't sensed the same malice from Sarutobi Hiruzen as from others, the feeling still repulsed him.]
["That old guy seemed really concerned about my hair earlier. 'Fox demon,' do you know why?"]
[Every time the surveillance vanished, little Naruto would habitually ask this question.]
[He didn't know that the giant fox lying in the sealing space did hear him.]
[But because little Naruto still hadn't learned chakra extraction and had no usable chakra, he couldn't establish contact with the fox's chakra.]
[So he never received a response.]
(In this world, chakra existed in everyone—but without refinement, it could not be consciously used. Everyone has chakra, but chakra cannot be stored—when needed, it must be refined, even during combat.
[As usual, receiving no reply, little Naruto shook his head and muttered, "I'll put on an act when
I go out these next few days."]
[With that thought, he tidied up the room and took the trash downstairs.]
[He avoided crowded areas.]
[Little Naruto was afraid that if he heard more curses and insults, he might lose control and attack someone.]
[Clang—]
[After walking for a while, little Naruto suddenly noticed an uneven aluminum can at his feet.]
[Children's laughter sounded nearby.]
[He expressionlessly prepared to walk around it.]
[Because he had been deep in thought, he hadn't paid attention to his surroundings.]
[Before he realized it, he had reached a park that children his age liked to gather at.]
["Hey!"]
[Little Naruto didn't respond—he hadn't even listened.]
[It was probably just more insults from brats.]
[Yesterday, he wouldn't have minded ruining their game.]
[But today, he had just made a promise to that bastard leader, so he needed to restrain himself.]
[More importantly, little Naruto believed he had to learn to read.]
[Without external information, no amount of thinking could reconstruct past events, and his reasoning would remain limited.]
["Hey!"]
["Can you please kick the can over here~!"]
[There was no malice in the voice.]
[It sounded like casual conversation between playmates.]
[For little Naruto, being treated normally was rare.]
[Curious, he turned around.]
[He saw a chubby boy and a spiky-haired boy calling out to him.]
"Chubby boy?"
"Damn it!!!"
Chōji, who had been eating chips, immediately rolled his eyes and went berserk.
But because all aggressive actions were prohibited during the comparison viewing, he quickly returned to normal.
Scratching his head in confusion, he continued eating chips while watching little Naruto on the black-framed screen.
Shikamaru was startled badly.
Fortunately, it didn't last long.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have known what to do.
Yamanaka Ino: "Pfft~ Isn't that Shikamaru and Chōji?"
Yamanaka Ino: "Didn't expect them to meet so soon."
Haruno Sakura: "And Black-Frame Naruto seems interested in them too."
"…I think I saw you guys in the corner of the screen earlier… playing house."
"You're awake?" Ino turned around.
Hinata had already woken up and was looking at Ino and Sakura with envy.
Ino immediately saw through Hinata's feelings.
Her eyes curved into crescents.
"Hinata, don't tell me you're jealous that we get to meet Black-Frame Naruto?"
"N-no… I'm not…"
Hinata stammered, unable to form a complete sentence.
Little Hanabi tilted her head, unfamiliar with her sister's state.
But it felt cute and interesting—something she wanted to protect.
[Clang—]
[Little Naruto nodded.]
[There were quite a few children who didn't harbor malice toward him.]
[But most were warned off by the children around them.]
[Little Naruto wasn't enthusiastic about making friends—he even found it troublesome.]
[Children as strange as these two were rare.]
[So he kicked the aluminum can over with one foot.]
["Thanks~!" Chōji waved happily.]
[Little Naruto glanced at them and waved back without turning his head.]
[Watching his departing figure—]
["Is that him?"]
[Shikamaru froze.]
["Shikamaru, that kid… he's always alone. Can we invite him to play with us?"]
[Seeing little Naruto's slightly lonely back, Chōji asked softly.]
["Of course." Shikamaru thought for a moment and nodded.]
["Dad said not to care about what others think or say. If you meet someone you like and want to get to know them, just do it."]
["Eh? Uncle Shikaku said that too?"]
[At that moment, a playful voice rang out.]
"Cough, cough—Hinata, that's the other version of me, not me from our world."
"So Naruto's kindness still belongs only to you."
Ino heard the familiar voice and saw the familiar petite figure.
She instantly recognized herself.
But she was sure she had no memory of this from childhood.
She was also worried Hinata might get jealous, so she hurried to explain.
However, she had no idea how devastating those words were to Hinata.
"No… that's not… I didn't…"
Hinata's head began steaming again, her small mouth slightly open.
"Kindness… only…"
"Uh—"
This time, Hinata didn't just steam—mist puffed from her mouth.
"Huh?!" Ino was stunned.
Hanabi blinked, then tentatively said:
"Big sister, Black-Frame Naruto said he doesn't want to play with other girls except you."
—The scene cut off abruptly.—
Hinata's eyes rolled back, her soft body going stiff.
Ino: "..."
"What an adorable child," Yamanaka Lino said with a shake of her head and a smile.
She had been that age once—she knew how overwhelming those feelings were.
Of course, this was her first time seeing someone faint from embarrassment.
Wait!
Yamanaka Lino's pupils shrank. She rushed forward, caught Hinata, and pinched her philtrum.
["It's Ino. You know that kid too?" Shikamaru glanced at the cute short-haired girl.]
["Yeah. People in the village have been talking about him a lot lately." Ino nodded.]
[Then she took a deep breath and looked at little Naruto's back.]
["Hey~!"]
["Do you want to come play with us~?"]
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