"You said your real name is Uzumaki Naruto, and you traveled here from over ten years in the future," Yoshino said, her expression darkening. She took a deep breath. "That means you're more than twenty years younger than me, right?"
She had initially thought it was just a mild age-gap romance—an older sister-younger brother situation. But now, realizing it was more like a twilight romance with over two decades between them, it was hard to accept.
On top of that, she was technically committing adultery, and Naruto already had a stunning woman like Izumi by his side.
Suddenly, what had once felt like a passionate, pure connection now seemed dirty and shameful.
Anger and pain surged in Yoshino's chest. She clenched her fist and punched Naruto in the shoulder, then collapsed into his arms.
She was furious—but he was all she had left.
Over the past month, Naruto had grown much taller, now standing at 1.66 meters. When holding Yoshino—1.65 meters tall—he no longer had to look up to meet her eyes.
He wrapped his arms around her tightly and apologized in a soft voice. "I'm sorry. I lied to you, but I did it to protect myself. You wanted to kill me back then."
He wasn't wrong. When he first arrived in this timeline, both Mikoto and Yoshino had been ready to kill him.
If he hadn't lied, he might've died before anything began.
"But my feelings for you now are real," Naruto said. "Look—I was willing to disrupt the timeline just to help you teach the Nara clan a lesson."
"This incident could have serious consequences for me. It might even cause me to disappear in the future."
Naruto's words were half true, half exaggerated. The timeline had indeed been disrupted, and while he and Izumi were doing everything they could to repair the damage, no one could predict the outcome.
He hoped the Nara clan would fall in line. He hoped Sasuke and Shikamaru would still be born on schedule, and that the rest of history would return to its intended course.
Yoshino looked moved—and guilty.
She hugged Naruto and whispered, "What should I do? I don't want you to disappear."
Seeing her reaction, Naruto knew his plan was working. He gently patted her back and comforted her.
"There's still a chance to fix everything. As long as the timeline doesn't stray too far, it probably won't affect me."
"Then tell me what to do," Yoshino said, helpless but determined.
"In the original timeline, you were the wife of the Nara clan head and gave birth to a child. You need to stay with them."
Naruto then raised his head at a poetic 45-degree angle toward the sky, letting two sorrowful tears roll down his cheeks. "But... if you truly don't want to, we can run away. I'll take you far from here and we'll live out whatever time I have left."
Watching this unfold, Izumi nearly burst out laughing.
That earlier line about "potential disappearance" may have had some effect, but now Naruto was basically saying: "We'll run away together, and I'll just die sometime later."
Yoshino was horrified. "No, I don't want you to die! If staying with the Nara clan means you'll live, then I'll do it. I don't care what they make me do—I just want you to survive."
Naruto sighed gently. "Don't worry. I won't let you suffer. You'll be treated like a pampered elder in the Nara clan. I'll handle everything else."
Yoshino hesitated, then asked softly, "But... you said I would still have a child in the Nara clan. If that happens, will you still forgive me?"
Of course not.
Naruto could forgive himself for cheating.
But no way would he tolerate someone cheating on him.
Still, he wiped her tears away and whispered, "Silly. It's our child. We'll just raise him in the Nara clan."
"???" Yoshino blinked in confusion. "You mean… the Nara clan will raise our child?"
Naruto nodded. "Exactly. Once the danger's passed, we'll change his surname back."
You always recognize your own blood in the end.
The only question was—when Shikamaru learns that his 'brother' is actually his father... would he be happy?
"Will they agree?" Yoshino asked, glancing toward the council room.
"They'll agree," Naruto said, pulling out the videotape.
"You're awful!" Yoshino huffed and collapsed into his arms again, her eyes blurry and red.
She had always been a grateful person—and Naruto had done so much for her. Gratitude quickly turned into devotion.
Uchiha Izumi, watching their intimate scene, silently turned away and looked up at the sky.
To be Naruto's wife, the most important skill was pretending not to know when he was cheating with someone else's wife—and standing guard for him.
But unexpectedly, just when Izumi thought she was only here to cover for him...
She had become a contestant.
[Ding!]
[Reward (Uzumaki Shikamaru) successfully distributed!]
After generously devoting himself to both Izumi and Yoshino, Naruto brought them into the council chamber again.
The chrysanthemums planted in the hall were now dyed with blood.
The gruesome scene made Yoshino dry heave—and even Naruto, hardened as he was, nearly lost his composure.
"Beast! You beast! I'll kill you!" Nara Naoya staggered to his feet. His face, usually arrogant, was twisted in heartbreak and rage, like a dying flame flickering in the wind.
If Naruto could connect his chakra to the music of his past life, he'd have played "Kikukatai" over this tragic moment.
Naruto sneered. "You should focus on stopping the bleeding first. Otherwise, you'll die before you can even curse me."
"You little bastard!" Naoya screamed, his lungs close to bursting. Then he turned on Yoshino. "And you, slut! Don't think you'll get away with this. If I die today, Konoha will avenge the Nara clan!"
With that, he raised a kunai, ready to stab it into his neck.
Naruto calmly held up the videotape. "You already know what's on this. If you die, I'll make it public—and then revive you using Impure World Reincarnation. That way, you can watch how the whole world sees your Nara clan's performance."
Not only destroy the body and mind—but even whip the corpse for good measure.
Death wasn't an escape anymore.
"Ahhh!" Naoya's face turned crimson. His body trembled with rage. Then, unexpectedly, he laughed.
And cried.
Then collapsed to his knees.
"Why are you doing this to us?" he pleaded. "When did our clan offend you? I'll pay you back—whatever you want."
His pride had shattered, but for the clan's reputation, he could only beg.
"That's more like it," Naruto said with a satisfied nod. "And actually, I don't need money. I only have one request."
"Take care of Yoshino for me."
Naoya felt his stomach drop.
Why would Yoshino—now clearly Naruto's woman—still need the Nara clan to care for her?
Then Naruto spelled it out: "Yoshino will remain the wife of the Nara clan head. Any children she bears will be Nara clan members. But only I can touch her."
In other words, they must continue to support Yoshino and her son as family—but no one is allowed to lay a hand on her.
"You—" Naoya wanted to explode again.
Naruto gave him a sharp glare. "You what?"
"…Nothing," Naoya sighed. "As for Shikaku, I'll figure it out."
For the Nara clan's reputation, even his son would have to endure this humiliation.
He'd just secretly find Shikaku a few more women later.
Still, if he ever got a chance to destroy that tape—he would risk his life to take Naruto down.
"I don't care what you're plotting," Naruto said. "As long as you obey me, I won't cause the Nara clan any more trouble."
He flashed a devilish grin. Then, in front of the trembling elders, he pulled Yoshino into his arms and led Izumi toward the resting quarters of the clan leader.
Naruto wasn't worried about any leaks.
After all, the Nara clan wanted to keep this hidden even more than he did.
He knew they would cover it up thoroughly.
Sure enough, as soon as Naruto left, the elders exploded with rage.
"Shameful!"
"Disgraceful!"
"One day, we'll make those two pay in blood!"
Tables, chairs, even lanterns were smashed in their fury.
They wanted revenge, but they didn't have the strength.
They wanted help—but asking outsiders would mean exposing their shame, a fate worse than death for the clan.
Naoya looked at the others grimly.
"No one else can ever know what happened here. Otherwise, we'll be cursed for all eternity. Understand?"
"…The Yamanaka memory retrieval technique is a problem," one elder muttered.
"Problem?" Naoya snapped. "You want this memory burned into your brain forever?"
He continued, "Write everything down. Then go to the dungeon and ask the old man from the Yamanaka clan to erase our memories."
Very few knew that a long-dead genius from the Yamanaka clan, killed in the First Ninja War, had been secretly held in the Nara clan's dungeon.
The "Ino-Shika-Cho" alliance only worked when all three clans were equal.
Once the Nara clan mastered the other two's techniques… they would dominate.
The next day...
A shocking news broke: the Nara clan had been attacked by an unknown enemy. Dozens of clan members and guards were killed, including the Anbu and Root operatives assigned to monitor them.
The Third Hokage was furious. The old patriarch and many elders were summoned and interrogated.
But their testimonies were airtight. Their injuries all matched the reports.
The incident caused a major stir in Konoha.
People began to imagine a terrifying enemy that moved in the shadows, capable of slipping in and out of the village undetected.
The fear lingered for over a week.
Eventually, Konoha officials, fearing panic, deliberately suppressed discussion of the event.
And the people… slowly forgot.
Early autumn.
Green leaves turned to gold, and a cool breeze carried them through the streets.
At Konoha's main gate, villagers of all ages crowded along the sides of the road, all eyes fixed toward the horizon.
Click!
Footsteps echoed down the path.
Minato Namikaze's team returned to the village. His golden hair and warm smile lit up the street.
"Everyone—we defeated Iwagakure!"
"We won!"
With Minato's announcement, Konoha erupted in celebration.
Cheers, applause, camera shutters—an endless stream of joy.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, Danzo Shimura, and the Legendary Sannin all appeared to greet him.
"Welcome back, Minato!"
Everyone smiled—except for Orochimaru, whose gloomy face betrayed his frustration.
But it was clear to all: Orochimaru had lost his chance. The Fourth Hokage would be Minato.
After filing his report, Minato didn't go home to see Kushina, as he normally would.
Instead, he headed straight to the Uchiha district to find Fugaku.
He needed answers.
Who exactly was this so-called "brother"? Was he really related to Kushina? What were his intentions?
Minato would protect Kushina—at all costs.
"Minato, you're here," Fugaku greeted him at the door, as if he had been expecting him.
"So you knew I was coming?" Minato asked.
Fugaku shook his head. "Your brother said you'd come. He's been waiting at my house all morning."
Minato frowned deeply.
He was now certain—this "brother" had ulterior motives.
"I hope whatever scheme you're cooking up won't hurt Kushina or the village," Minato said coldly.
Then he followed Fugaku inside.
Bang! The door opened.
Minato's eyes widened in shock.
Blonde hair. Blue eyes. A youthful face strikingly similar to his own—but even more handsome.
Younger. Stronger. Better.
He didn't look like Kushina's cousin.
He looked like Minato Namikaze's younger brother.
Or rather…
"Minato," Fugaku said, backing out. "I'll leave the rest to you two."
As Fugaku's footsteps faded, Naruto waved and smiled.
"Well? Have you figured it out yet?"
"Father."
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