Inside the Hokage's office.
Kakashi and his team had already returned to report their mission.
Because Sasuke had fought a desperate battle against Uchiha Itachi!
And after that, he was immediately taken away by Uchiha Madara. Kakashi and the others completely lost track of Sasuke's whereabouts.
With no way to continue the mission, they could only retreat and return to the village. First report to the Hokage, then wait for further orders.
But just as Kakashi returned, Tsunade immediately summoned him over for questioning.
She had learned that Naruto had suddenly collapsed, then woke up like a completely different person—leaving the team without looking back. This puzzled both Tsunade and Jiraiya greatly.
What shocked them even more was hearing that Naruto had suddenly confessed to Hinata with a kiss.
Jiraiya jumped up in astonishment and exclaimed:
"Damn, this kid is bold! Deserves to be my student!"
Only to be silenced by one glare from Tsunade, forcing him back into his seat.
Tsunade paced back and forth in thought.
Jiraiya too fell silent, pondering deeply. Since Naruto had claimed that his Flying Thunder God and Sage Mode were taught to him by the Fourth Hokage… then how had Naruto known Jiraiya was in danger in the first place?
From Jiraiya's perspective, if Naruto hadn't suddenly appeared, he would've died there without a doubt. There was absolutely no way he could've survived.
It was too coincidental.
Almost as if Naruto had known ahead of time.
The more he thought about it, the more uneasy Jiraiya became. He decided he had to sit down with Naruto and question him carefully.
Kakashi, however, was even more shocked.
Because Tsunade had always been grooming him as her successor, she never hid important matters concerning the village from him. She even told him the details of Jiraiya's recent mission.
When Kakashi heard that Naruto had used Sage Mode, the Flying Thunder God, and Rasengan in quick succession to overwhelm the enemy and save Jiraiya, he was left dumbfounded.
This kid's growth was terrifying!
Back then, when Naruto broke free of Yamato's Wood Style restraints, it had already shaken Kakashi. After all, that was Sage Mode!
Mastering it meant strength far beyond an elite jōnin.
But the Flying Thunder God? What the hell?!
Since when did Naruto learn the jutsu of his father—his own teacher, the Fourth Hokage?!
That was simply unbelievable!
Everyone knew that space–time ninjutsu wasn't just about training—it required extraordinary talent. Even the three elite jōnin who had once guarded the Fourth could only perform basic teleportation together, and only with teamwork.
Yet according to Jiraiya, Naruto was already using it skillfully in real combat.
Kakashi was completely stunned.
On the first floor of the Hokage building, Naruto had just arrived when he saw a familiar figure running toward him.
"Naruto-kun!"
Naruto's face, which had been expressionless, instantly lit up with a smile.
"Hinata!"
He instinctively opened his arms wide, preparing to embrace her.
Because in his memory, Hinata would always throw herself into his arms in moments like this.
But this time, because of the crowd, Hinata stopped shyly at his side instead of hugging him. Naruto was left standing there, arms awkwardly stretched out, looking rather silly.
Blushing, Hinata glanced at him and whispered:
"Naruto-kun… there are children watching."
Naruto turned his head. Oh! Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon were all there. Hugging in public really wasn't the best idea.
Scratching his head, Naruto gave a sheepish laugh.
"Hehe, sorry about that, Hinata."
Behind her, Sakura snorted coldly, arms crossed.
Shikamaru frowned, hardly believing what he saw.
"Oi, oi… are those two really…?"
Kiba immediately leaned in to whisper excitedly in Shikamaru's ear:
"Of course it's real! Naruto fainted, woke up, and bam—went straight in for the kiss!"
Shikamaru was dumbstruck.
"For real?!"
"Don't believe me? Ask Shino." Kiba patted Shino on the shoulder.
Shino calmly adjusted his glasses and gave a serious nod.
Sai, worried that Shikamaru still couldn't picture it, simply drew the entire scene on the spot.
Kiba peeked at the drawing and gave a thumbs-up.
"Professional work!"
Shikamaru looked at the sketch, then at Naruto smiling outside, and finally clapped his hands with a sigh.
"Damn… impressive. Truly impressive."
After exchanging some words with Hinata and the others, Naruto more or less pieced together Sasuke's situation.
Just like in his previous life, Sasuke had fought his brother Itachi and emerged victorious, Itachi dying in the process. Then Sasuke was taken away by that masked man—Uchiha Obito, disguised as Madara.
Next, Obito would tell Sasuke the truth about Itachi. After that, Sasuke would head to the Land of Lightning, to the Valley of Clouds and Lightning, to hunt the Eight-Tails!
Looks like he'd need to pick up his pace as well.
After bidding farewell to his friends, Naruto went upstairs to the Hokage's office.
Pushing the door open, he called out cheerfully:
"Granny Tsunade, you called for me?"
Then he spotted someone else inside and blinked.
"Eh? Kakashi-sensei, you're here too."
After shutting the door, Naruto found Tsunade sitting at her desk, chin resting on her hands, staring directly at him.
"Naruto… don't you have anything to say about this last mission?"
Faced with her sharp gaze, Naruto instinctively looked toward Jiraiya—only to find the old man leaning lazily to one side, deliberately avoiding eye contact.
Naruto glared at him. Hmph, so much for saving your life!
With his teacher acting like that, he was clearly destined to be henpecked if he ever ended up with Tsunade.
Fine!
If they won't ask straight, I'll just play dumb.
Putting on an innocent face, Naruto said:
"What do you want me to say, Granny Tsunade?"
Tsunade sighed, then stood up and walked in front of the desk, folding her arms as she looked at him.
"Naruto, there's no one else here. Only me, your teacher Jiraiya, and Kakashi. All people you can trust.
Your changes have been too drastic—your growth, too unbelievable. And you still haven't explained to your teacher how you knew he was in Hidden Rain Village, or how you found him in time to save him.
I'm not accusing you of anything… but you understand, as Hokage, I must consider everything. I hope you can understand that."
Jiraiya coughed a few times and added:
"Naruto, no matter what, I believe in you. But your Granny Tsunade is more cautious, and she truly worries about you. If you explain, it'll put her mind at ease."
Naruto fell silent for a few seconds, then spoke firmly:
"Sorry, Granny Tsunade. I can't tell you."
Kakashi frowned and reminded him:
"Naruto, right now it's not Granny Tsunade asking—it's the Hokage asking you. I hope you understand that distinction."
"Of course I understand. But I also hope Granny Tsunade understands me. Everyone has their own secrets, and I'm no exception. The only thing I can reveal is what I already told my teacher—this power was given to me by my father, the Fourth Hokage!"
Both Jiraiya and Tsunade fell silent at those words. Clearly, they had already suspected as much.
Kakashi, however, was stunned.
"The Fourth Hokage? Naruto, are you saying you actually met him? How could that be? He's—"
Jiraiya interrupted:
"The Fourth left his chakra inside Naruto's Nine-Tails seal. When Naruto lost control, that chakra must have appeared, spoken with him, and passed something down. That would explain his transformation."
Kakashi blinked in realization.
"So that's it…"
Naruto then looked at Tsunade.
"Anything else?"
She frowned slightly.
"What do you mean?"
Naruto turned to Jiraiya.
"Pervy Sage, come outside with me. There's something I need to ask you."
Without waiting for a response, Naruto walked out of the office.
"Naruto—wait!" Kakashi reached out, calling after him.
But before he could finish, Naruto was already gone.
Jiraiya frowned, glanced at Tsunade. She gave a small nod. So Jiraiya followed him out.
Visit my patreon for more chapters
Advance 30+ Chapters Available
patreon.com/DazzyMonster