Winter gave way to spring.
Beneath the gentle spring breeze, people discarded their heavy winter clothes.
Snow melted and buds began to bloom on once-bare branches.
The Hidden Leaf Village regained its lively and flourishing atmosphere.
Mirai Uchiha stepped out of a dessert shop and made his way directly to a two-story residential house.
After knocking on the door, a woman with bright red hair quickly peeked her head out.
Seeing Mirai Uchiha, Kushina Uzumaki's face lit up in surprise: "Mirai? What brings you here?"
Mirai lifted the gift in his hand and smiled: "Minato has been appointed The Fifth Hokage. I'm here to offer my congratulations."
Kushina Uzumaki quickly stepped aside and called out: "Minato Namikaze, Mirai is here!"
"Minato Namikaze's voice came from inside the house. Mirai Uchiha slowly stepped indoors.
Just as he entered, a noisy voice rang out: "Mom, who's here?"
Mirai looked up and saw a blond-haired boy running out happily while hugging a teddy bear.
The boy was dressed neatly and looked very adorable.
His pair of bright blue eyes sparkled with liveliness.
Mirai Uchiha easily guessed the boy's identity.
Naruto Uzumaki.
Unlike the original tale, Naruto lacked whisker-like markings on his face, making him look like a pure little angel.
"Naruto, this is your Uncle Mirai. Say hello quickly."
Upon hearing that, Naruto's face lit up with excitement: "So you're Uncle Mirai?"
Mirai twitched his lips.
Uncle?
This kid sure knows how to talk without holding back.
Seeing that Mirai didn't respond immediately, Naruto continued on his own: "I often hear Papa and Mama talking about you. They say you're the strongest Ninja in the ninja world."
"Hehe… Finally got my chance to fight you! If I beat you, I'll be the strongest Ninja ever, right?"
Mirai casually dug into his ear: "You just say something?"
Naruto laughed out loud: "I said I'm gonna beat you, Uncle! You better watch out!"
Naruto tossed his teddy bear onto the floor, pulled out a wooden *kunai* from his pocket, and charged toward Mirai Uchiha.
He first circled the sofa seriously four or five times before choosing an angle and rushing at Mirai again.
But in the next second, Naruto's body flew backward at an even faster speed.
"Hey hey hey! Mirai, you went too far! Naruto is still just a child!"
Seeing Naruto being thrown back, Kushina Uzumaki murmured, her voice tinged with heartache and concern.
She walked over and picked Naruto up into her arms, asking worriedly: "Naruto, are you hurt?"
Looking at Kushina's worried gaze, Naruto sniffled and his eyes immediately became moist.
Just then, Mirai Uchiha's voice sounded: "Kid, you're not some crybaby, right?"
"If you're gonna start crying over something like this, you shouldn't talk big about becoming the strongest ninja in the world later."
Upon hearing this, Naruto froze, tilting his head up at a forty-five-degree angle while trying hard to hold back his tears: "I-I'm not crying."
Mirai Uchiha smiled: "That's more like it."
"Although we're rivals, you're not bad."
Hearing Mirai's compliment, Naruto's face lit up with surprise: "Mama, Papa, did you hear that? Uncle Mirai acknowledged me!"
"Just wait until next time before mocking me again, believe it!"
Minato Namikaze walked out from the kitchen, with a look that said, "Go ahead and spoil him," gently saying, "Naruto really is amazing. He surpassed even Papa's expectations."
"You should take a nap now so you can grow properly."
Upon hearing this, Naruto nodded, walking over to Mirai and extending his fist: "Uncle, next time we meet, I'll definitely become stronger."
"When that time comes, I won't lose to you as easily as today."
Mirai extended his fist and bumped it against Naruto's: "Is that so? Then I look forward to it."
"Just remember to wipe your nose before making plans with others next time."
Naruto blushed slightly and quickly picked up his teddy bear from the floor, running back to his room.
Seeing this scene, Minato expressed some surprise: "Mirai, I never thought you had this side to you."
In his impression, Mirai was quite sarcastic toward those close to him and extremely ruthless toward enemies.
He didn't expect Mirai to be this gentle with children.
Mirai spoke indifferently: "I get along well with this kid."
In his past life, he both loved, hated, and pitied Naruto.
He sympathized with Naruto's situation, admired his persistence, and was frustrated by his forgiving nature...
He had imagined countless times what he would do if he were Naruto.
Now, he finally had this opportunity.
He wanted Naruto to experience a life completely different from the original story, guiding him on what's right and what's wrong.
It's okay to love others, but don't be too selfless.
Thinking about it, this would also be quite an interesting experience.
Kushina smiled: "Mirai, when we first met, you had barely graduated from the Ninja Academy. Never thought that before long, Naruto would already be three years old."
"It's also about time for you to have a child."
Huh!
Mirai nearly spat out his mouthful of tea.
Who would've thought—after reincarnating into the ninja world, he's still being pressured to have kids...
"Kushina Uzumaki and I agreed to hold off on starting a family for now. But why did we decide to give the boy the surname Uzumaki?"
Seeing Mirai Uchiha's puzzled look, Minato Namikaze explained, "The Uzumaki Clan was annihilated. The surname 'Uzumaki' has almost completely disappeared from the ninja world."
"Kushina Uzumaki and I didn't want the Uzumaki Clan to disappear completely, so we decided to pass on her surname through Naruto."
Mirai Uchiha nodded.
Although many Uzumaki Clan members were scattered throughout the nations of the ninja world, most had already abandoned the Uzumaki surname long ago.
Minato and Kushina Uzumaki's decision made sense.
This decision made sense as well. If he had been named "Naruto Namikaze," it would have felt quite unnatural.
Thinking about this, Mirai Uchiha spoke up, "Minato, the Hokage inauguration ceremony was a week ago. How is the transition going?"
Minato Namikaze smiled and nodded. "Everything is going very smoothly. Tomorrow I'll be able to work on my own."
"Mirai, we're truly grateful—you've helped us realize both Kushina Uzumaki's and my dream."
Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki stood up and solemnly bowed deeply to Mirai Uchiha.
Without Mirai Uchiha, Minato's wish to become Hokage might never have come true.
Furthermore, had Mirai not thwarted the masked man's scheme back then, it would have been uncertain whether Kushina Uzumaki and Naruto could have even survived.
A debt like this could only be repaid with their very lives!
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