Looking at the blond youth in front of him, Hayashi already understood one thing clearly. Naruto was the reincarnation of Ashura.
For someone like Naruto to become a reincarnation, it was never something random. It followed a fixed pattern. First, the vessel had to be a descendant of Ashura or Indra. Second, the next reincarnation only appeared after the previous one had died.
Uchiha Madara had lived far too long. After his death, Ashura seemed to search for a suitable successor, but the options were almost nonexistent.
The Senju Clan had already declined heavily, leaving only Tsunade. Nagato belonged to the Uzumaki Clan, but he was too old by the time the conditions aligned and no longer fit.
Only Karin had appeared at the right time, slightly earlier than Naruto. She technically had potential, but there was one problem, she was a girl. Ashura could not reincarnate into a female vessel.
If Karin had been born male, things would have been completely different. Naruto might not have even existed as the chosen one. The entire story could have shifted into something absurd, with Karin and Sasuke crossing paths at Orochimaru's base and developing a dangerous, obsessive bond. The general direction would still revolve around an Uzumaki and an Uchiha, but Sasuke's fate would likely have been completely overturned under that intensity.
At that point, even Sasuke's preferences would have been questionable.
It was clear that Uchiha Madara's existence influenced generations far more than most people realized.
If he had died immediately at the Valley of the End, then after Hashirama's passing, Nawaki, the only male heir of the Senju Clan, would most likely have become Ashura's reincarnation instead.
Meanwhile, among the Uchiha of the same generation, Hayashi himself might have ended up as Indra's reincarnation.
If that had happened, the two would have been destined to clash repeatedly. At the very least, neither of them would have died young.
When viewed that way, everything really seemed to trace back to Madara.
In this timeline, because of Hayashi's presence, many things had already changed.
First, Nawaki had survived and grown up properly.
Naruto was no longer the only candidate for reincarnation. He now had competition.
The final outcome depended on whether Nawaki or Minato would have a son first.
At this point, it was no longer a battle of strength, but a race of timing, depending on which lineage produced a male child first.
Unfortunately, speed was not Nawaki's strong point.
Even though he and Yakushi Nonou had a child first, it turned out to be a girl.
One could only call it unfortunate timing. He had wanted a daughter, after all.
Minato was not far behind and also had a daughter, naming her Rin.
Nawaki thought he still had a chance, but a year later Naruto was born, completely shutting down his hopes.
The struggle for Ashura's reincarnation ended there.
Hayashi himself had very little chance in the matter.
Even though Yusuke carried Uzumaki blood, he also had Uchiha lineage, so Ashura was unlikely to choose him.
---
"Uncle Hayashi, why are you staring at me like that?"
In a corner of Rōran, Naruto held his chest and looked at Hayashi cautiously, as if guarding against a thief.
Even though he shared a name with the Naruto from the original timeline, his personality was completely different.
At first glance, he looked innocent and slightly dull, but in reality, he was extremely mischievous.
The kind of person who smiled harmlessly while doing something completely chaotic.
Take Kakashi for example.
Not long after meeting him, Naruto was already calling him "Brother Kakashi," and the next moment he had used a Thousand Years of Death on him. Kakashi was still on the ground twitching from the impact.
Now, under Hayashi's scrutinizing gaze, Naruto immediately put on that same innocent expression again, pretending nothing had happened.
"Explain. What is going on?" Hayashi asked.
Naruto replied with an exaggerated fearful look, "In the future, that's how people greet each other."
"Is that so?" Hayashi raised his right hand slightly. "Then I'll try it."
"Don't…" Naruto quickly backed off. Even now, he knew he was no match for Hayashi.
He hurriedly explained, "When I was still a Genin, Kakashi-sensei used that move on me. And he never pays for food either, he always uses my mission money…"
Naruto went on listing Kakashi's so-called crimes, but the more Hayashi listened, the more familiar it all sounded.
He cleared his throat. "You misunderstood. Your Kakashi-sensei is just trying to help you grow. You should understand his intentions."
Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Could it be you taught him?"
Interesting. Sharp kid.
Hayashi immediately replied, "Nonsense. Why would I do something so tasteless? Kakashi learned it from Tsunade-sensei and Jiraiya."
"Is that so?" Naruto still looked unconvinced.
Hayashi sighed internally.
The Naruto from his previous life had no parents and used pranks to get attention. That at least made sense.
But this version was even more unpredictable.
Minato and Kushina must have had a difficult time raising him.
Then Naruto suddenly spoke again.
"Uncle Hayashi, I noticed something strange."
"What is it?"
"You and Aunt Kushina look exactly the same as you did twenty years later."
Hayashi blinked. "Is that so?"
Had he also learned the Yin Seal from Tsunade?
Naruto snapped his fingers. "Ah, I remember! You said you learned some long life technique from that old toad on Mount Myōboku. I didn't believe it before, but it might be true."
Hayashi's expression twitched slightly.
There were too many problems in that sentence, especially the "old toad" part. It was "Toad Sage," not something casual like that.
He decided to ignore it.
Instead, Hayashi focused on something else.
"Before this, I've been curious. Why do you and Rin have a Tailed Beast-like aura?"
At first, he thought they were Jinchūriki, but after closer sensing, that was not the case.
Naruto shook his head. "No, it was you and Aunt Himeji who created it."
Hayashi frowned slightly.
Naruto continued, "You used some technique to split the Ten-Tails into many smaller living entities, then named them creatures like summon beasts. Every ninja adopts one when they turn ten."
Hayashi paused.
Splitting the Ten-Tails into smaller entities was theoretically possible. Even the Sage of Six Paths had divided it into the Nine Tailed Beasts.
So refining it further into different lifeforms was not impossible.
"This is how I solve the Tailed Beast issue in the future," Hayashi muttered.
If the power was divided further, each individual creature would be much weaker. Even when fully grown, they might not reach Kage level.
And if they were too numerous and diverse, no one could ever collect them all again.
That was a practical solution.
"The future me is still thinking logically," he said calmly.
Then he added, "Although the name is terrible."
Naruto suddenly became excited again. "Then do you want to see mine?"
"Show me."
Naruto reached into his neck and pulled out a pendant.
"Key that hides the power of darkness, release your seal under my command, Naruto who has made a pact with you, I command you, unseal."
Hayashi stared at him silently.
Too dramatic.
A puff of smoke appeared, and a small creature emerged.
It was yellow, round, with long ears tipped in black. Red circles on its cheeks, a lightning shaped tail, and brown markings at the base.
Hayashi fell silent.
This looked suspiciously familiar.
"So," Hayashi finally spoke, "do you also have something like an Indigo League?"
Naruto nodded proudly. "Yes, of course. As expected of Uncle Hayashi, you know everything."
"And your performance?"
"My grades are good…"
"Have you ever won a championship?"
"…Not yet."
"Then you should change your name to Ash," Hayashi said flatly.
Naruto froze. "Wait… the future you said the same thing. Who is Ash?"
"Someone who kept trying and never really gave up," Hayashi replied. "He traveled, battled, collected companions, and kept losing championships."
Naruto's eyes lit up immediately.
"So I will become that kind of person in the future?"
Hayashi looked at him for a moment, then sighed slightly.
"This idiot… still doesn't understand what that really means."