Kushina's words made the atmosphere on Konoha's side extremely heavy. At this moment, those villagers who had once harbored hatred for Naruto panicked. The entire village fell into a strange silence after Kushina's statement. Previously, Kushina had only targeted Hiruzen Sarutobi, and they still held onto a sliver of hope. Now...
Minato Namikaze: Kushina... you...
Minato hesitated to speak. However, the next second, Kushina's voice was blocked again.
Uzumaki Kushina: Get lost! Do I need you to tell me what to do?! Continue being your dog Hokage and protect these idiots!
Inside the arena, Naruto stood blankly. "Why does Mom want me to remember their faces?"
As the referee, Shiranui Genma, who had not yet left the field, felt his eye twitch. But he did not speak. As one of the Fourth Hokage's guards, they had undoubtedly been derelict in their duty. Beyond being subordinates, how could this not be considered a failure of their personal obligations? Looking at Naruto's back, Shiranui Genma fell into a trance, as if developing a case of the village's old tradition—presbyopia.
"Yondaime..." he murmured. In a daze, he saw Minato Namikaze's back overlapping with Naruto's.
Neji's lips curled slightly. Looking at the little Naruto in the black frame, he smiled. "That's good. I just don't know if the scene of that incident will appear later. Hehe... if this black-framed Naruto heard my words, how would he treat me?" Neji couldn't help but look forward to it.
The black-framed screen continued.
"Kill the fox demon!" An old woman took an egg from her vegetable basket.
Whoosh—
Even if he didn't fully understand the situation, little Naruto remained vigilant. The egg did not hit his head; he dodged it by ducking.
Clatter—
The egg hit the ground, bursting open as the liquid splashed near little Naruto's feet. He frowned, and anger began to surge.
'Why are they doing this to me?! What did I do wrong?! A fox demon or whatever—I don't know what that is, and it isn't me!'
Just as little Naruto's anger rose, his hot head suddenly cooled. An inexplicable emotion appeared, calming his burning rage.
'No matter what they do, I have to forgive them? Impossible! Absolutely impossible! How could I even have such a thought?'
Black-framed Naruto's inner voice kept echoing. Everyone was stunned. What was going on? What was he "saying"?
Hyuga Neji's pupils suddenly constricted. Could it be... He suddenly looked at the current Naruto. Seeing the boy's utterly bewildered expression, Neji seemed to have discovered something incredible. It appeared that this Uzumaki Naruto was not just some "big landlord"!
In the Pure Land World, Uchiha Madara frowned slightly. Whether it was from the Uchiha Stone Tablet or Black Zetsu's misleading, the message was clear to him. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been a Battle at the Valley of the End.
'Is that brat this generation's Asura reincarnation? A combination of Uzumaki and Senju... it is indeed possible. No wonder I felt the golden-framed brat was a bit off before. So that's it.'
Apparently, Uchiha Madara had no intention of explaining further.
The black-framed screen continued.
Clatter—
Just as little Naruto was roaring internally, another egg flew over. It was accurate, hitting him squarely on the forehead. Instantly, egg liquid splattered and broken shells stung his skin. Pain struck, and little Naruto subconsciously covered his forehead. His clear blue eyes shimmered with tears from the stinging pain.
But at this moment, little Naruto's tears were fueled more by the inexplicable emotions appearing in his mind, which only made him angrier.
'Get away from me! Don't influence me!!!'
"Kill this shameless fox demon!!!" the villager who had started the trouble shouted again. Someone in the crowd immediately lost control.
"Fox demon, die!" Grabbing all the eggs from the old woman's basket, they threw them at little Naruto.
Clatter, clatter, clatter—
The sound of eggs bursting rang out repeatedly. In just a moment, little Naruto was covered in egg liquid. Because of the throbbing pain in his head, he couldn't even manage to dodge. He clearly saw the trajectories of the fast-flying eggs, but his body would not obey. This made little Naruto so angry his teeth were chattering. He fiercely struck his own head, then raised his face, his tear-filled eyes staring intently at the villagers who had attacked him. He firmly imprinted each person's face into his memory.
Buzz—
But in the next moment, that inexplicable Chakra, carrying soothing emotions, reappeared in his brain. It was constantly dulling Naruto's anger, trying to fade the faces of those people from his mind.
'Get... get away from me!!!'
"What exactly is going on? Was I like that back then?" Naruto rubbed his head, made to doubt himself by the scene.
"That's not you." Hyuga Neji suppressed his inner speechlessness and the urge to roll his eyes. Well, he didn't need to roll them; he could just give Naruto a Byakugan glare directly.
"What?" Naruto asked subconsciously.
"Hoo—" Neji took a deep breath. He suddenly understood why black-framed Naruto was so angry. "This is another you. Do you have any memory of the scene on that screen?"
Naruto nodded. "Seeing it a second time, I've remembered quite a bit."
"That's right. And you also heard black-framed Naruto's inner thoughts. Did you have that feeling at the time?" Neji asked again.
At this moment, in the chat room, Senju Tobirama spoke up after a moment of thought.
Senju Tobirama: Naruto, do you have any memories of that time? Were you also like this black-framed Naruto?
Uzumaki Naruto: Hmm... Second Hokage Uncle, I seem to have some impression, but I just can't quite remember it.
Naruto had just finished speaking when Kushina's message appeared, this time not muted.
Uzumaki Kushina: You must remember! Naruto, promise Mom, you must never forget a single one of their faces! It's okay if you forgot before; just remember them now, and Mom will remember them with you! Shut up, Minato! I don't want to hear you say that...
Kushina's voice abruptly stopped. Clearly, she was muted again.
Minato Namikaze: ...
He had indeed been about to speak, but Kushina had anticipated him. Inside the Shinigami's stomach, Minato Namikaze's soul sat idly with a bitter smile on his lips. Life and death were different; his thoughts were no longer bound or influenced by worldly things. Now, how could he not feel regret?
Otherwise... "Minato, Kushina is still on the verge of going berserk. I know that girl's temper better than you, so let's be quiet for a bit. By the way, if possible, I want to merge with my other self... Hmm... no one can say what the future holds, right? The risk is still too great inside you."
Otherwise, how could Minato Namikaze, the "Little Sun," have gained the approval of the Nine-Tails' Yin Half?