"They say if this world didn't have Danzō stirring the pot, it wouldn't even know how to function… It sounds crude, but there's some truth to it. Every critical moment, he's the one pushing things forward."
"That old schemer Danzō—again the key instigator! I can already guess what those 'materials' are about. Naruto's parents. The truth about the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki, Kushina Uzumaki. Heroes who died protecting the village—while their son bore the name 'demon fox' and suffered alone."
"Who could endure that?"
"Naruto was already starting to doubt Konoha—the leadership, the system, everything."
"And now he finds out he's the son of heroes. That he should have been honored and protected. Instead, the very elders he trusted kept the truth from him and let him grow up under cold stares and bullying…"
"That kind of betrayal is enough to shatter anyone's faith."
"The cruelest part isn't just the secret—it's who kept it."
"Think about it. Who did Naruto trust most? The Third Hokage. Kakashi. Jiraiya. Tsunade."
"They all knew. And none of them told him. None of them reached out when he needed it most. How is he supposed to feel? How is he not supposed to break?"
"Just watch—next comes the rage. Then despair. Then Naruto turns completely and begins his path of destruction!"
"It can't be that simple. Destroying Konoha for revenge? Maybe. But destroying the entire world? There has to be more."
"Something else must happen later. That's what truly pushes him toward annihilation."
Speculation spread like wildfire across the shinobi world.
There was sympathy for Naruto's possible tragedy—and tense anticipation for what the truth would bring.
Within the heavens' projection, the instant Danzō reappeared, even the chakra in the air seemed to stagnate.
Neji's Byakugan had already perceived dozens of shadowed presences lurking along rooftops and within treelines. He subtly shifted his stance closer to Naruto, remaining on guard.
"Hmph. The Hyūga brat is still here." Danzō's single eye swept over Neji dismissively. "No matter. Telling you is no different from telling the whole village."
Naruto stepped forward half a pace. His blue eyes were steady—rarely had his voice sounded so composed.
"You know the kind of person I am. If I give my word, I keep it. That's my ninja way."
"Of course," Danzō rasped, leaning on his cane. "After all… you are Konoha's hero."
"Yeah…" Naruto grinned. In the light of the setting sun, the smile looked almost radiant. "I am a hero."
Only Neji caught the razor-thin edge of self-mockery hidden in that laugh.
Without another word, Danzō withdrew several aged booklets from his sleeve and tossed them forward.
They arced through the air.
Naruto caught them firmly.
His fingers tightened as he flipped open the top one—almost impatiently.
One glance.
The forced smile on his face froze instantly.
His pupils contracted violently.
Slowly, his gaze lifted from the page, passing over Danzō's shoulder and fixing on the distant Hokage Rock.
Neji's heart lurched.
"Naruto?"
Danzō spoke at the perfect moment, voice flat and unhurried.
"Your father was the Fourth Hokage—Minato Namikaze. Your mother was Kushina Uzumaki, a kunoichi from the Land of Whirlpools."
"Minato Namikaze?!" Neji blurted out. The name alone shattered his composure. "That's impossible!"
He knew exactly what that name represented.
Danzō offered no explanation—only a faint, almost cruel curve of the lips.
"Yes… how could it be?"
Naruto suddenly let out a quiet laugh, breaking the suffocating silence. His blond bangs fell forward, shadowing his eyes.
"I'm the Hokage's son. And he died protecting Konoha…"
His voice gradually grew louder, laced with a strange, tightening mirth.
"But from the time I was little, anyone could spit on me. Throw stones at me."
"I ate expired bread. Drank spoiled milk."
"I was shorter than Sasuke. Shorter than Sakura. Malnourished."
He raised his head.
The smile on his face was dazzling—almost twisted.
"Asuma-sensei was the Hokage's son too. He served the Fire Daimyō. He was respected."
"Konohamaru is the Hokage's grandson. Everyone dotes on him. Protects him. He gets the best tutors."
Naruto's voice began to tremble. His knuckles turned white as veins stood out against his skin.
"But me?"
"I'm the Hokage's son too!!"
The final words tore out of him in a near roar.
The face that once radiated sunlight was now consumed by grief and fury unlike anything seen before.
Nothing is crueler than comparison.
"Naruto! Calm down!" Neji snapped, casting a wary glance at Danzō.
Danzō narrowed his eye. Even he hadn't expected such an explosive reaction from the boy who had always embodied the Will of Fire so purely.
This wasn't the profile his intelligence reports had described.
Naruto exhaled sharply.
Then he laughed again.
"Luckily… I've already met my parents."
Danzō's expression changed. "Where?"
Naruto didn't hide it.
"They left fragments of their chakra within me."
"When Pain attacked Konoha and the Nine-Tails nearly broke free… they appeared. They helped me suppress Kurama."
"They just… didn't tell me this part."
Danzō's expression shifted subtly.
"They probably couldn't bring themselves to say it," Naruto continued, his face twisting in pain. "Chakra can resonate. They knew everything about my life… They must have felt it."
"After all, the village they died protecting treated their child like that."
Neji's expression darkened. For the first time, he truly understood.
"And why?" Naruto demanded, fury blazing in his voice.
Danzō finally sensed something was different about him. This was no longer the same Naruto.
But for his own ends, he pressed forward.
"Why?" Danzō said coldly. "To control Konoha."
Naruto and Neji both turned toward him.
They already knew who he meant.
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