Sasuke snapped his head up, voice slicing to its highest pitch. "You knew from the start that training with shadow clones would have side effects like this!"
Naruto nodded as if stating a simple fact. "Yes."
Sasuke's pale face flushed scarlet. "Then why didn't you tell me!"
Naruto met his eyes, the look turning colder. "Seems your head is still a little foggy. Want me to clear it for you?"
Sasuke's heart tightened. Facing that indifferent gaze, he finally understood. Naruto had no obligation to warn him. He had already received help from Naruto that no one else could provide.
The lesson, at least, stuck. Calming down, he suddenly saw clearly how he should handle shadow clones in the future. A handful of training plans flashed through his mind.
Even so, he didn't know what to do right this moment.
He had already said his piece. Apologizing was out of the question.
Silence stretched. The air drew tight. Just when Sasuke thought Naruto might make a move, an ill-timed sound broke in.
Gurgle.
Sasuke's expression turned painfully awkward. His already red face darkened toward a liverish purple. He lowered his head for a long beat before the color finally eased.
Naruto watched with a half smile. "You should go eat. I did remind you."
Sasuke nodded, stepped past him, and strode off. After several quick paces he turned back, puzzled. "You're not eating?"
"I already ate. I'm on my way back," Naruto said evenly.
Poof.
The boy in front of him burst into smoke.
"Damn it. I should've known it was a clone!"
Scowling, Sasuke broke into a run. Not long after, he passed a stranger coming the other way.
They brushed by. Instinct tugged. Sasuke stopped, looked back at the figure receding into the distance, and studied it.
"Transformation, huh..."
After a long stare, he glanced once toward his route, formed the seals, changed into another face, and kept walking.
At the Nara compound, Shikamaru had just finished lunch and was about to head for the academy when his father, Nara Shikaku, called out.
"Shikamaru, don't rush off. I suggest you revise your report on Naruto."
Shikamaru blinked. "Revise the report?"
Shikaku nodded, grave. He pointed to the stack on the table, the copies of Shikamaru's notes since he'd met Naruto. "Or better yet, add a supplement now. The Third has been busy. The report you gave me yesterday hasn't been submitted yet. I looked it over. It's not much different from your earlier ones."
Shikamaru's eyes sharpened. He understood. After a brief think, he stepped into the side room, pulled a sheet of paper, and began to write.
That afternoon, when the Third Hokage read Shikamaru's new submission, a rare, puzzled look crossed his face.
If he had not misunderstood, young Naruto seemed to like a certain girl—and that girl seemed to like Naruto as well.
Shikamaru had done well. It was the best news the Third had seen in a while.
His gaze slid past the Fourth Hokage's photo. In many ways, Naruto's situation was startlingly similar to the previous jinchuriki's, and puppy love at the academy was nothing unusual.
But the girl belonged to the Hyuga. The clan head's eldest daughter. The future heir of the main family.
At that thought, the Third's expression grew serious. He took a few deep draws on his pipe, then suddenly chuckled.
In some respects, a main-house heir was even better...
Time slipped by. In a blink, it was October.
Inside the sealing space, Minato Namikaze and Naruto faced each other, their figures mirroring in the dim light. Off to the side, Kurama lay with eyes closed, dozing as usual.
"The time is almost up," Minato said, voice catching. "Naruto, I have to go."
Naruto watched him quietly. "Father, if one day I can bring you and Mother back to life, would you become my obstacle?"
Minato froze. "Bring us back? That's impossible..."
Naruto shook his head. "Just answer whether you would stand in my way. You know it: in the future I will be standing opposite Konoha."
"And I've also been raising another enemy for Konoha. You've seen his potential these past months."
Minato looked lost. "I don't know."
Naruto's eyes flickered. "Thank you. I'm glad you told the truth. In many ways, you let me know what it's like to have a father."
Minato's face twisted with complicated emotion. Meeting Naruto's unreadable gaze, he lowered his head. "Naruto, I know what Konoha has done has hurt you, but I truly don't know..."
"You misunderstand, Father." Naruto's voice was calm as he cut in, then brightened slightly. "Because of my special situation, I don't see influence as good or bad. All influence is unethical."
"By and large, they can't really influence me at all. Personal grudges are another matter, and those have nothing to do with influence."
Hearing that Naruto hadn't been affected, Minato let out a breath. As for personal grudges, he truly had no say.
He was, after all, already dead.
Feeling his chakra construct thinning, Minato spoke again. "Naruto, your mother, she's..."
"I know." Naruto placed a hand on the great gate of the seal. "I know Mother has always been there."
Minato's eyes reddened and a tear slid down. "It seems I've been a poor excuse for a father. It's a pity I'll never see the day Kushina and you meet again..."
"Not necessarily." Naruto smiled. "That wish may actually come true. I might really be able to bring you and Mother back."
Minato's expression changed. "Don't tell me you plan to steal the Scroll of Seals and use that jutsu Orochimaru used in the Forest of Death, the Impure World..."
Naruto shook his head. "Not that. I mean a real resurrection."
Hearing it wasn't Edo Tensei, Minato relaxed a little. "Naruto, the dead can't truly return to life."
"If souls can be summoned back from the Pure Land, then return to life is only a matter of time," Naruto said, as if it were simple.
Minato opened his mouth to reply, but he could feel his chakra avatar already unraveling.
Naruto waved. "It's all right, Father. Everything is hard at the start, then it's hard in the middle, and finally..."
"The ending is hard," Minato finished with sudden vigor.
"Hm?" Naruto looked at his body fading to near transparency. "Father thinks so too?"
Almost fully transparent now, Minato suddenly grew agitated and shouted, "Naruto! You're on the floo-"
"What? What did you say?"
Before Naruto could catch it, Minato vanished completely.
What was Father trying to tell him at the very end?
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