Uchiha Fugaku: Today, Mikoto and I are both a little uneasy.
Uchiha Fugaku: Naruto's words made me decide, no, they made me decide to leave a spark for the Uchiha Clan.
Uchiha Fugaku: That child Itachi… Forget it, he is my son. As a father, I should trust him more. I believe he will make his own choice; after all, Uchiha blood also flows within him.
Uchiha Fugaku: Let Mikoto explain the pros and cons to Izumi.
Uchiha Fugaku: If it truly is the worst outcome… With Naruto and Izumi's talents, the Uchiha Clan will surely be revived in the future. Reviving the Uchiha Clan also means reviving the Uzumaki Clan, which will lessen Mikoto's guilt towards Kushina.
Uchiha Fugaku: Let Mikoto handle this matter. No matter what, I am still the head of the clan. This kind of ideological work about having children is better handled by Mikoto.
Uchiha Fugaku: Finally, if the coup succeeds… Naruto will be a great helper. By then, I should also fulfill my previous promise. I actually prepared these historical documents a long time ago.
Beep—
This is already the last page.
Naruto looked at the book in his hand.
He remained silent for a long time.
Even the usually lively Ino dared not make a sound, fearing she would disturb him.
Hinata also sat obediently, not daring to hold Naruto's arm anymore.
Sensing the abnormality.
Shikamaru was no longer sleeping, and Choji was no longer secretly eating potato chips.
Sakura nervously clenched her small hands.
They didn't know what happened; Sasuke had uncharacteristically taken the day off, and Naruto's state seemed off again.
Even Iruka-sensei was much quieter than usual today.
Just then.
Ring, ring, ring—
The dismissal bell rang.
Iruka seemed to let out a sigh of relief, bidding farewell to his students and reminding them not to oversleep and be late in the afternoon.
Then he immediately left the classroom.
Unlike when he used to avoid the little ones, this time he seemed to have a genuine emergency.
"Hey, hey, hey!"
"Did you guys hear?"
"What, what?"
"I heard my dad say… this morning when he passed by the Uchiha Clan, they had already set up a cordon!"
"Something big seems to have happened to the Uchiha Clan!"
"What?!"
"That's the Uchiha Clan?!"
"I heard too, it seems there was a terrorist attack last night!"
"Many, many people from the Uchiha Clan died!"
"Ah?!"
"No wonder Sasuke-kun suddenly took the day off… Sasuke-kun won't be in trouble, will he?"
"Right, right, I didn't see anyone from the Uchiha Clan today, um… from the Police Force. My mom was so happy today because the great Third Hokage finally made those annoying Uchiha get lost and not be the Police Force. The Sarutobi Clan will temporarily take over… those people are indeed much better than the Uchiha!"
"…"
On the way home from school, the students chattered about what happened last night.
Suddenly.
A thought flashed through Naruto's mind.
'Mom's sealing jutsu definitely wouldn't be bad.'
'Sealing the Nine-Tailed should be no problem.'
'But… why did Minato Namikaze die?'
'Could it be that he committed suicide to follow her in death?!'
'Even if he's a slave to the Will of Fire, he should still have his wits about him; otherwise, Mom wouldn't have fallen for him. He definitely wouldn't do something like commit suicide for love.'
'Besides… I should have just been born, right?'
'It must be like the deaths of Nawaki, Dan, and Sakumo.'
Thinking of this, Naruto unconsciously clenched his fists.
He felt a lump in his chest, making him very uncomfortable.
Senju Hashirama: *cough cough*… Yes, I think Black-Framed Naruto makes a lot of sense.
Senju Hashirama: After all, sealing that little fox doesn't require anyone to die.
Uzumaki Mito: Kushina's talent is not low, and she has pure Uzumaki blood. Even if the Nine-Tailed is extracted from her body, she wouldn't die immediately.
Uzumaki Mito: Kushina could even suppress the Nine-Tailed. I felt the power of her bloodline back then. Perhaps, when the Nine-Tailed was resealed into Kushina's body, Kushina had already initially awakened the Adamantine Sealing Chains.
Uzumaki Mito: So, even if Kushina was on her last breath, as long as she still had Chakra, she could easily suppress the Nine-Tailed with the Adamantine Sealing Chains.
Kurama (Yang): "It was just this fox's momentary carelessness!"
Kurama (Yang): "That damn Minato!"
Kurama (Yang): "How dare he use the Reaper Death Seal on me! Splitting me in two!"
Kurama (Yin): The Third Hokage, that Old Thing, also knows the Reaper Death Seal, and I still haven't figured out why Minato would willingly get caught.
Uzumaki Mito: Reaper Death Seal… No wonder.
Senju Tobirama: "Because the Nine-Tailed's full form is too powerful, and the newborn Naruto couldn't bear it."
Uzumaki Naruto: "Are you kidding me?"
Uzumaki Naruto: "The Fourth Hokage and Mom… how could they make their newborn child a Jinchuriki?"
Uzumaki Naruto: "Right?"
Uzumaki Naruto: "Mom is also a Jinchuriki, she definitely wouldn't want that…"
Uzumaki Kushina: "For balance, that person said so."
Uzumaki Kushina: "Naruto, Uzumaki Clan blood also flows within you, so you are the best candidate."
Uzumaki Kushina: "I agreed because that so-called Fourth Hokage had already used the Reaper Death Seal, and he was sure to die."
Kushina's voice was very calm.
Inside the Shinigami's belly, Minato opened his mouth.
He couldn't make a sound.
Naruto was stunned.
So that's how it was.
So that's how it was… 'Dad must have had his own reasons…'
Naruto's eyes drooped. This time, he finally understood what his Black-Framed self's whisper meant.
Neji and Inoichi Yamanaka exchanged glances.
Neji subconsciously raised his hand.
If Naruto's reaction was like a silly, naive saint, he would immediately slap him.
Inoichi Yamanaka thought the same way.
And, it felt quite natural to hit him.
However.
When Neji and Inoichi Yamanaka raised their hands.
They unexpectedly found that their bodies couldn't move.
Furthermore, if they tried to continue hitting him, their hearts felt as if an invisible hand was crushing them.
The two looked at each other with disbelief.
Then, they both said simultaneously: "During the comparison viewing, all aggressive behavior is prohibited!"
Then both looked at Naruto.
They saw Naruto's lips curve slightly.
He looked like he was smiling, but tears welled up in his eyes, somewhere between sadness and happiness.
Perhaps being manipulated was something he could accept more easily.
But to know that one of the culprits behind why he lived such a difficult life was his own father.
Naruto couldn't accept it.
And his Black-Framed self had already expressed his stance.
At this moment, for the first time in his life, Naruto resisted the whisper in his mind.
Sensing Naruto's unusual state, the little ones asked questions to no avail and could only worry.
However, at the school gate.
"It's that guy!"
"Damn it, how dare he swagger out the main entrance?"
"Why didn't this kid… like the Uchiha Clan…"
"Shh!"
"Don't talk nonsense!"
"Hmph, this damn brat is really shameless!"
"…"
Over the years, the words of these people had ceased to affect Naruto.
But now, Naruto could hear them clearly.
He slowly raised his head, looking at the faces of that group of people.
Pitiable, pathetic, hateful.
Living their entire lives in the great village of the Will of Fire, meticulously crafted by the Old Thing.
'Great Fox, you must have finished watching too. I never closed our mental link.'
'What I said still stands. I… want to meet you.'
The Great Fox's voice quickly echoed in Naruto's mind.
"Hmph!"
"This fox consumed a lot of energy helping you yesterday!"
"This fox is already asleep now… Hmm?"
"Don't call this fox randomly anymore!"
"This fox really consumed a lot, a lot of energy! It's time to sleep! Stupid brat, don't repay kindness with malice!"
Beep—
With that, the Great Fox closed the mental link channel.
Naruto was momentarily stunned, his lips involuntarily curving into a slight smile.
"Don't say anything, that kid looks a bit off!"
"Let's go, let's go, stay away from that kid, after all, he's a fox…"
The parents who came to pick up their children hurried away.
"Naruto…"
The little ones looked at Naruto worriedly.
Naruto turned to look at them.
"Go home, all of you. Stop training for now, and wait for Sasuke to return."
With that, Naruto smiled and waved his hand, then said nothing more and turned to leave.
However, the little ones were all dumbfounded.
Did they see that right?
Weren't Naruto's eyes blue? How were they… red just now?