"Expectations are often met with the worst results."
A voice rang in his head.
Without even blinking his eyes, Naruto knew it was Kurama talking to him.
"When I was expecting just a normal night, Madara came to control. When I was expecting to be left behind, Hashirama sealed me."
"When Kushina gave birth to you, she was expecting a happy life. When Fourth Hokage sealed me within you, he expected you to live a happy life."
"But not all expectations can be met with good results."
"Naruto, you are expecting something. Those memories gave you knowledge of your past, knowledge brought expectation, and expectation brought misery."
"You, of all people, should know the pain of loss."
At this moment, a slight reveal of Chakra released a new memory in his mind.
A memory of the time when he was having a hard time breathing under the snow.
"You think this is because of Sasuke and me?"
Kurama asked, and suddenly, Naruto was met with the new memories.
The memory was very vague or even suppressed. Because these memories didn't come from himself.
But rather the darkness within him.
While he thought that the breathing problem came from Chakra overload, the pressure of bringing back Sasuke, and the pressure of losing control.
That was just one part of the situation.
Another part was his anger, hatred, sadness, and even unwillingness to forgive the people of Konoha.
Why? Because after Pain's battle, he learned that his father was the Hokage.
The Fourth Hokage.
He had some doubts before, but he always suppressed them because he thought his father wouldn't seal Nine Tails inside his son.
But when it was revealed, he suppressed those emotions, only for them to be amplified within his dark self.
And after he met his mother, he learned more about Jiraiya and his parents' past.
At that moment, he wasn't thinking much.
How could he have any other thoughts when Madara had started the Fourth Great Ninja War just to take Nine Tails from him?
So, even though he merged with his darkness, he suppressed those negative thoughts because there was something more important than his tantrums.
Kurama was the one connected to him. He could feel the inner turmoil in Naruto.
That's why, despite his hatred against humans, he put away those emotions for the greater good of the world.
After that, Naruto became Hero of the Ninja World. He also found love. He got a family and the respect he deserved.
He achieved everything. So, why would he suddenly start throwing tantrums for no reason?
Even if he had some anger issues with some people, he would simply keep them suppressed in his heart.
At this moment, the young Naruto was stunned.
He had seen most of the memories now. Especially since he no longer tried holding them back.
But he never saw this perspective.
"See? Even that Naruto who has the heart of gold, even that Naruto who forgave the people that hurt him, had the inner darkness within him."
"So, why do you think you are a perfectly stable person, Naruto? You are just a brat who hasn't even lost a single thing."
"He learned to forgive his father because he understood the importance of power."
"He learned to forgive Nagato because he saw no future in continuing that cycle of hatred."
"He chose to bring back Sasuke because he saw the pain and loneliness Sasuke would go through."
"You? You haven't seen anything. You can't even see the reason behind these memories. You are so afraid that you hide these memories."
"But that's to be expected. You are, after all, just a brat."
'I am not a brat.'
Naruto roared in his mind as his tears dried up a little. He wiped away the remaining tears and sat on his bed.
'I am not a brat. I just don't know what I should.'
He replied.
"Then, why think too much? Brat, you forgot that you don't need some connections to achieve something."
"Just look at that man's memories once more. What Godfather? What brother? What friends? What family?"
"He had nothing. Then, look ten years into his future, and he got a good teacher. He got a good brother-in-arms. He got many friends."
"He found a wife and has two children. He has a family. He got a house. And, he will soon become the Hokage."
"Brat, you don't need to expect something from others. Did you forget what Itachi said during the Fourth Great Ninja War?"
Naruto paused and replied.
'You can't gain recognition from others by becoming the Hokage. You can only become Hokage when you gain the recognition of others."
"That's it! You don't need to be hopeful that Jiraiya comes back and recognizes you as his godson."
"You don't need to feel angry that Hiruzen never revealed anything about your parents. You just need to do what you want to do."
"Do you think your future-self wouldn't have understood your current mindset? But even so, he sent these memories to you."
"Why? Because he believed that you would make the correct choice, not out of cold calculations but out of your emotions."
Hearing that, Naruto slowly calmed down. He sniffed a few times before walking out of the bed and heading to the bathroom.
He stood in front of the sink and washed his face before looking into the mirror.
At this moment, he felt refreshed. Although there was some anger and hatred in his heart, at least his mind had calmed down.
"You forgot one thing, Kurama. He sent these memories because knowing if I ever encounter something I can't solve, you can help me."
"And, looks like, he wasn't wrong."
As he said that, a little bit of the anger that he had against Nine-Tails for all the misery it had caused him disappeared.
Why little?
Because even if he was emotional, he knew that Nine-Tails was just a puppet used by his real enemy.
And, without Kurama, he wouldn't have achieved what he did.
So, he owed a lot to Kurama.