Little Naruto grinned at Naruto from the other timeline...
Kushina and Minato looked at their son with satisfaction...
What a thoughtful kid!
But in truth, Naruto—raised personally by Kushina and Minato, who also frequently went to Mito and the Nine-Tails to train in the Ten Thousand Seals Body Integration Seal and had become Uzumaki Shio's disciple—had grown up into a book-loving, well-read kid...
He couldn't exactly be called a walking encyclopedia, but he was certainly clever and mischievous...
Compared to the Naruto from the other timeline, he wasn't quite as "innocent"...
Take the way he kept putting food into the other Naruto's bowl, for example.
On one hand, Naruto genuinely felt sorry for this older boy who looked somewhat exhausted and disheveled. On the other hand, he'd already eaten his fill at Ichiraku Ramen...
And if he didn't finish his own portion, Kushina would scold him.
Giving it to the older Naruto solved both problems at once, and everyone was happy...
"Delicious! This is so good!"
Naruto from the other timeline wielded his chopsticks like a Rasengan, sweeping through the dishes like a whirlwind while his mouth worked like an excavator, shoveling down mouthful after mouthful...
Part of it was because he really was hungry, but the main reason was that he'd finally learned the truth about his origins—and had even gotten to meet the parents he'd dreamed of seeing for so long...
Strictly speaking, Kushina and Minato weren't actually his parents...
But since Naruto had never met the Kushina and Minato from his own timeline either, all those intense feelings naturally transferred onto the two of them.
Kushina and Minato didn't reject them.
Under the light of the Will of Fire, they had so, so much love to give...
Obito stood awkwardly off to the side, not daring to take a seat.
Little Naruto looked at him curiously. "Obito-nii, why aren't you eating? Dad told me you were missing for more than a year. You should eat more and get your strength back..."
"Come on, sit down! You can have my meat!"
Before Obito could refuse, Little Naruto walked behind him and pushed him down into a chair.
Then he hurriedly brought the food over and placed it in front of him.
Feeling the warmth of Little Naruto's hand on his shoulder, Obito let out a long sigh.
At some point, his face had turned bright red...
'What the hell was the me from that other timeline doing?!'
'Why would he attack Konoha and get Minato-sensei and Kushina-san killed?'
'That's completely insane...'
Ever since the meeting ended, Obito had been thinking about it...
He couldn't believe anyone could actually be stupid enough to believe in the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Wasn't that obviously the kind of plan some relic from the Warring States period would come up with on a whim?
And worst of all, that idiot was him from another timeline!
"That's enough, Obito."
"You're my student. He isn't."
Minato's expression softened. Borrowing the same approach he'd heard from Hokage-sama and Orochimaru, he said: "I only recognize you as my student. What happens in other timelines isn't my concern!"
"Even Hokage-sama acknowledged your Will of Fire..."
Kushina sighed. "Maybe the versions of us in that other timeline simply weren't good enough!"
Obito could barely keep his composure after hearing that.
Just from the nostalgia and regret on Yamato's face when he'd spoken about the Fourth Hokage, it was obvious that the Minato and Kushina from the other timeline had been good people too...
"Sensei, Kushina-san, just like you said, that bastard only happens to share my name."
"If I ever get the chance, I'll kill him myself!"
A fierce glint flashed through Obito's eyes.
"I think I'll handle cleaning up my own student..."
Minato nodded, looking somewhat pleased.
"But neither of us may get the chance. Even if the Dragon Vein has been preliminarily stabilized, given Hokage-sama's personality, there's no way he'd send a large force through all at once..."
"My guess is that two-man teams will be the limit. They'll be sent over one at a time as reinforcements, and they'll need to establish space-time markers as well..."
"Those spots in the first group are going to be fiercely contested..."
Minato spoke meaningfully.
After all, practically everyone had done something over there, so each of them had some embarrassing history waiting for them in that other timeline.
Even if the Hokage didn't care...
Every single one of them certainly did!
Whether it was to put their own minds at ease or erase that embarrassing history, they were all extremely motivated to travel to the other timeline and give those bizarre versions of themselves a thorough beating...
So there was obviously going to be a line.
As far as Minato was concerned, Fugaku would definitely fight for a spot. Orochimaru too...
Little Naruto blinked as he listened, then fell into thought.
'From the sound of it, Obito-nii did something terrible to our family in that other timeline...'
'But it's already happened, and it has nothing to do with the Konoha I'm living in. I can't let Obito-nii carry that burden...'
Little Naruto cleared his throat and met Obito's eyes with his own large, watery ones.
"Obito-nii, I believe in you too! To me, you're a shinobi who can become Hokage..."
"So keep it up!"
Obito looked at Naruto's smiling face and suddenly felt a little dizzy.
'What an adorable kid!'
'I'd spoil him rotten if I could, and that bastard from the other timeline actually did those things to him?!'
Minato watched the scene with a smug smile.
As expected of his son...
He already knew how to flash that sunny smile, inheriting the Hokage lineage's true gift for winning people over!
Just then...
Obito's phone vibrated. He instinctively picked it up and checked it.
It was a message from Kakashi.
[I heard what happened to you. Heh.]
[Looks like you really loved Naruto in that other timeline too...]
[You were in such a hurry to hold him that you rushed over the moment he was born. I bet you even brought him a nice big present, didn't you?]
[I'm thinking of changing my Shinobi Forum ID. What do you think of "Kamui Can't Hide These Tears"?]
Obito froze.
Then his face went black.
[Those were fucking explosive tags!]
[And what the hell is with that username?!]
[He killed Sensei and Kushina-san and attacked Konoha, and now Kamui is supposed to be hiding his tears?!]
[Who the hell is supposed to be crying here?!]
After sending the messages, Kakashi revealed a mysterious smile beneath his mask. He and Sakumo were strolling around Konoha with Tenten and Sakura, gathering information while taking the two kunoichi shopping.
A handsome older man paired with a handsome younger man was naturally quite popular.
More importantly, Kakashi and Sakumo were among the very few people with relatively clean records in the other timeline...
Obito, however, was starting to crack.
He'd known the day would come when people started making fun of him, but he hadn't expected it to come this quickly!
"You'll regret this, Kakashi..."
"Weren't you supposed to become my aide and assistant?"
"I'm the future Hokage, damn it!"
Obito ground his teeth, but there was nothing he could do.
Even if he came up with a name like "Cold-Blooded Kakashi," it wouldn't have anywhere near the same destructive power...
For now, all he could do was endure the "desensitization training" Kakashi was forcing on him and wait for the day he could finally travel to that other timeline...
Then he'd wipe away this humiliation once and for all!
"Minato-sensei, Kushina-san, Naruto..."
"I swear on the Will of Fire that I'll always treat all of you well!"
Obito took a deep breath and spoke with utmost seriousness.
Before Minato could respond, Little Naruto smiled brightly and beat him to it. "I've always believed that, Obito-nii. The essays we're studying right now even use stories about you as examples..."
"You're my idol!"
Minato gave his son a rather surprised look and thought: 'My son has the makings of Hokage!'
It could only be said that the Asura lineage's distinctive personal magnetism had manifested in Little Naruto at a very young age...
"Eat up, Obito."
Kushina raised an arm high into the air. "I made plenty today!"
Only then did Obito finally relax and begin enjoying the meal Kushina had made with love.
After an unknown amount of time...
"I'm full..."
Naruto from the other timeline finally finished eating. When he raised his head, he found Minato, Kushina, Little Naruto, and Obito all looking at him warmly.
He'd actually been listening the entire time, but he hadn't dared interrupt...
Because he felt that the moment he opened his mouth, he wouldn't be able to control his emotions anymore, ruining this hard-won chance to enjoy a meal made by his mother...
But when Minato's family looked at him that way, for some reason tears began gathering in his eyes, his bright blue pupils seeming to blur beneath a layer of mist.
The three people before him—even Obito—
Somehow felt just like his father, mother, older brother, and younger brother...
It was worth mentioning that Obito was actually younger than Naruto from the other timeline.
But after the Warring States-style hellish training and modifications he'd undergone at the Mountains' Graveyard, his build was a full size larger than Naruto's.
The Hokage lineage had one defining feature: they were built tough!
"It hasn't been easy for you all these years, has it..."
Kushina sighed softly and stroked Naruto's cheek. "Don't worry. You're home now."
Minato stroked Naruto's head.
Obito and Little Naruto placed their hands on his shoulders, one after the other.
Naruto froze. The emotions in his heart could no longer be held back. A whirlpool called happiness burst through his tear ducts, and he couldn't help but cry...
At that moment, Naruto from the other timeline felt incredibly lucky.
'Thank goodness I took this Dragon Vein mission!'
Naruto cried for quite a while before finally managing to stop. Somewhat embarrassed, he blew his nose and scratched his head.
"I got a little too emotional..."
Minato waved it off, then frowned and squeezed Naruto's shoulder.
"Your physique isn't right... Well, that makes sense. You never built a proper foundation. You didn't eat properly growing up, did you? They didn't tell you that you were the Hokage's son, but surely they at least gave you money?"
Naruto froze.
"They did give me money. Third-ojiichan would come see me every month too, and he'd grill fish and play with me. It's just that I was too young back then. I didn't understand expiration dates or how to balance meat and vegetables..."
Minato nodded thoughtfully.
Just as he'd expected.
Although the other Hokage merely shared Hiruzen's name, he wasn't actually a bad person either. The fundamental problem was that his own capabilities didn't match the situation he had to deal with.
As for giving Naruto money without properly taking care of him...
That seemed perfectly normal to Minato, because it was exactly how an ordinary Warring States-era shinobi would think.
To them, simply being alive was already good enough. Expecting them to understand humane, attentive care was asking far too much.
You couldn't expect them to be like Konoha's sun, who had even organized the Ninja Academy's meal plans down to the last detail...
"Besides..."
"My body isn't actually that weak, right? I've always had pretty good chakra reserves..."
Naruto asked cautiously.
The Nine-Tails inside him, however, fell silent.
Naruto certainly had an enormous amount of chakra, but if they were talking about the amount he could actually control, there were far too many shinobi in this terrifying Konoha who surpassed him...
"You should still be able to stay for a few more days."
"During that time, I'll apply to have Hashirama-sama's cells transplanted into you. I'll also help you complete the combination of Wind Release and the Rasengan. Then go to the Research Department for a compatibility test and see whether you can take a Kekkei Genkai back with you..."
"Given your style, Lava Release should be relatively easy for you to master. It's useful for both offense and defense."
Minato thought for a moment before continuing, "As for the Nine-Tails inside you, I'll have to ask you to cooperate with your jinchūriki. I'll find a way to adjust how you're treated..."
"At the very least, don't interfere. Otherwise, you'll make things difficult for me."
Minato smiled gently.
But faced with that veiled threat, the Nine-Tails inside Naruto didn't react with its usual fury.
Because Konoha had at least nine different ways of dealing with it!
Besides the mysterious Sarutobi Hiruzen, there were heavyweights like Hashirama and Mito, not to mention all those Uchiha with Mangekyō Sharingan and all those Uzumaki...
Now wasn't the time to bare its fangs.
Naruto from the other timeline felt as though one unexpected gift after another was being dropped into his lap...
All of them raining down on him at once...
'So this is the Will of Fire?'
Naruto thought blissfully. At that moment, he also developed an intense curiosity about the Hokage.
He wanted to learn more about the Hiruzen of this timeline...
The most brilliant Third Hokage!
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