Chapter 34: Minato’s Gratitude and Guidance

The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, had blond hair.

The Fourth Hokage’s wife was a member of the Uzumaki Clan and the previous Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.

On October 10th, during the Nine-Tails’ attack, the Fourth Hokage and his wife sacrificed themselves.

Naruto was born on October 10th.

The Fourth Hokage’s wife, the previous Jinchūriki, went into labor.

A mysterious man unsealed the Nine-Tails.

The Fourth Hokage and his wife then sealed the Nine-Tails inside their newborn son.

With their deaths approaching and no time to spare, Minato could only record all the ninjutsu he had mastered in a notebook and hide it somewhere.

His wife, a master of sealing techniques, sealed the location of this "treasure," along with some final words from Naruto’s parents, inside Naruto’s memories.

In the end...

They died with smiles on their faces.

Connecting all these pieces...

After making a bold series of guesses and filling in the gaps...

Uchiha Izumi’s expression changed drastically.

How could this be possible?!

Thinking about everything Naruto had endured...

How could the son of the Fourth Hokage possibly have been treated like this?

How could Konoha’s leadership have done this?

Izumi’s voice trembled with disbelief.

"Naruto..."

"Are you really the Fourth Hokage’s son?"

"You believe me?"

Naruto smiled.

"I..."

Izumi opened and closed her mouth, unsure how to answer.

It was absurd.

Completely absurd.

And yet...

When she connected all the clues, Naruto’s answer seemed almost inevitable.

The Uzumaki Clan had already been wiped out.

According to the timeline, the only known Uzumaki living in Konoha was the Fourth Hokage’s wife.

If Naruto wasn’t the Fourth Hokage’s son...

Then where had he come from?

Was it really possible that, coincidentally, during the Nine-Tails’ attack, the Fourth Hokage had somehow found another newborn descendant of the Uzumaki Clan?

Impossible.

Once every impossible possibility was eliminated...

No matter how absurd the remaining answer seemed...

It had to be the truth.

"I-I believe you."

Izumi finally nodded.

But after saying those words...

Fear appeared on her face.

She had thought of too many things.

As the Fourth Hokage’s son, Naruto should have been the hero’s child.

So why had he been treated this way?

And what role had Konoha’s leadership played in it?

The more deeply Izumi thought about it...

The more she realized she still hadn’t truly seen through Konoha.

What kind of village have I been living in?

Bright and noble on the surface...

But beneath it... filth?

Or even endless darkness?

"My father wants to meet you."

"Don’t resist."

With that, Naruto extended his hand.

Inside the sealed space, Minato straightened proudly when he heard Naruto call him "Father."

Outside...

Izumi hadn’t even realized what was happening when she suddenly felt a strange pulling force tugging at her consciousness.

The scene before her changed.

She found herself standing inside a dark sewer.

An evil, violent chakra permeated the air.

Izumi instinctively scanned her surroundings.

Then her expression changed drastically.

She immediately pulled Naruto behind her.

Her entire body trembled as she stared at the enormous cage in the distance.

Inside it...

A gigantic red-furred beast with a savage expression stared back.

The Nine-Tails.

Seeing Izumi’s terrified reaction, Naruto couldn’t help shaking his head with a laugh.

He gently squeezed the hand she was gripping tightly around his own.

Then he turned toward the Nine-Tails.

"Kurama, you’re scaring her."

"Tch, tch, tch!"

"The Uchiha brat is so timid."

Kurama clicked his tongue several times, taking the opportunity to mock the Uchiha.

He slowly closed his eyes.

Or rather...

He didn’t quite close them completely.

A narrow slit remained open.

A slit he believed was so small that nobody would notice.

He continued staring at Izumi through it.

"..."

Naruto was speechless.

If you’re curious, just open your eyes properly.

Have you looked at your own size?

That little slit is big enough to fit a fist through.

Izumi, meanwhile, was completely frozen.

Seeing Naruto casually talking with the Nine-Tails as though they were old friends...

Her brain simply stopped functioning.

On the other side...

The almost-forgotten Minato Namikaze tugged at the collar of his Hokage cloak and walked over to Izumi.

"Ahem."

After clearing his throat and finally getting Izumi’s attention, Minato immediately put on his trademark warm smile.

"Hello."

"I’m Naruto’s father, Minato Namikaze."

"H-Hello."

"I’m Uchiha Izumi."

Izumi answered instinctively, still completely dazed.

Then her pupils suddenly contracted.

After the Nine-Tails’ attack, Izumi had attended the Fourth Hokage’s funeral.

The vague image she’d carried in her memories...

Combined with the man standing before her now...

Suddenly became crystal clear.

She was meeting the person she’d admired as a child.

Izumi immediately became nervous.

Minato wore his trademark smile.

"I know who you are, Izumi."

"Thank you for taking care of Naruto during this time."

"Naruto grew up without anyone by his side."

"Your presence has made up for my inability to truly accompany him and care for him as his father."

"Seeing how much more cheerful Naruto has become recently..."

"As his father, I’m genuinely relieved."

"And grateful."

"Thank you."

At the end, Minato gave her a sincere bow.

"N-No!"

"I didn’t really do anything."

"Naruto is very smart."

"Sometimes he even complains that I’m clumsy..."

"And that my cooking doesn’t taste good."

"He can do everything better than me."

"I really don’t deserve your thanks."

"I-I really didn’t do anything..."

"I don’t deserve it..."

As Minato bowed, Izumi immediately became flustered.

Her words tumbled out faster and faster.

Then, as though she suddenly realized what she’d just said...

Her voice became quieter.

Her face turned bright red.

She slowly lowered her head.

"..."

Naruto’s mouth twitched.

Are you seriously complaining about me to my father?

He shook his head.

Then instantly teleported onto the Nine-Tails’ head.

I can’t watch this.

Minato, meanwhile, affectionately ruffled Izumi’s hair.

"It’s alright."

"Being there for someone is what matters most, isn’t it?"

"Being there..."

Izumi murmured softly.

Then she turned toward Naruto.

He was sitting lazily on top of the Nine-Tails’ head, resting his chin on one hand.

She didn’t even know why she’d immediately found him.

Perhaps it was instinct.

They hadn’t known each other for very long.

But Naruto had also been there for her during the darkest period of her life.

After being abandoned by her clan...

Izumi had stopped wearing clothes bearing the Uchiha Clan crest.

She had only lived among the Uchiha for three years anyway, and the clan had never truly valued her.

Now...

She had already begun a new life.

Aside from occasionally returning to see her mother...

She had cut off contact with the other Uchiha.

Her mother was actually relieved that Izumi had managed to escape the cage of the Uchiha Clan.

As for the Nine-Tails...

Izumi knew it had been controlled when it destroyed Konoha and caused her father’s death.

So she didn’t hold much resentment toward it.

Izumi still understood the difference between good and evil.

If someone used a weapon to kill her father...

Could she really blame the weapon?

Or, for example, if someone from the Inuzuka Clan controlled their ninken and used them to destroy Konoha, causing her father’s death...

Could she blame the dogs?

Of course...

Comparing the Nine-Tails to a dog was probably a little inappropriate.

Minato suddenly seemed to remember something.

He scratched his head before speaking.

"Right, Izumi."

"This is our first meeting, and I don’t really have a gift for you."

"How about I teach you a few ninjutsu?"

"Have you tested your chakra nature?"

"Huh?"

"I have."

"Fire, Water, and Lightning."

"But... can you really teach me?"

Izumi didn’t refuse.

Being personally taught by the Fourth Hokage was an incredibly rare opportunity.

She had simply been so overwhelmed by the sudden surprise that she couldn’t quite believe it.

"Fire, Water, and Lightning?"

"I know a little about all three."

Minato nodded modestly.

Then he continued,

"Since you’re an Uchiha, I’ll demonstrate them once."

"Keep your Sharingan activated and watch carefully."

He began demonstrating while explaining each technique.

Izumi knew this was an opportunity she couldn’t waste.

She immediately activated her Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

As Minato deliberately slowed his movements...

She watched every hand seal carefully and copied each movement.

The Sharingan’s ability to copy ninjutsu relied on its extraordinary visual perception.

It could observe an opponent’s hand seals and reproduce them.

More importantly, it could observe the flow of chakra through the opponent’s body while they performed the technique.

That was how a shinobi could reproduce a ninjutsu.

It wasn’t a simple one-button copy.

So Izumi paid extremely close attention.

She didn’t allow herself to miss a single detail.

Hearing about Izumi’s chakra natures, Naruto, sitting atop Kurama’s head, raised an eyebrow.

The Uchiha bloodline naturally possessed Yin Release and Fire Release.

He hadn’t expected Izumi to also possess Water and Lightning Release.

Excellent talent.

With Minato personally teaching her...

Naruto could save himself a lot of trouble.

Thinking that...

Naruto shifted into a more comfortable position.

Then he lay down on Kurama’s head.

Slowly...

He drifted off to sleep.