Chapter 115 - 15

Chapter 15: Dreams, Future Goals"Mom, Dad, you guessed wrong.""I didn't bring you here to help me suppress the Nine-Tailed."Minato and Kushina were both taken aback."Then what is it?" Minato asked."I brought Dad and Mom here from the deepest layer of the seal, not to have you help me hold down the Nine-Tailed, but rather..."Naruto paused slightly, then enunciated every word clearly: "I want to ask you to be my teachers and teach me Ninjutsu."The golden space was quiet for a moment."Teach you Ninjutsu?" The couple asked in unison once again."That's right." Naruto nodded, his tone firm and serious: "I just graduated from the Ninja Academy, and although I can handle ordinary enemies by relying on Shadow Clone and my amount of Chakra, I keep repeating the same few moves, and my combat system is extremely monotonous.""Once I encounter a real expert, I will be seen through very quickly.""I need stronger Ninjutsu—not the basic kind, but the Ninjutsu you were most proud of during your lifetimes, the kind that will allow me to truly hold my own.""Once I have enough power, I won't need your help; I will be able to control Nine-Tailed Chakra on my own. I have that confidence."Minato fell silent.He looked into Naruto's blue eyes. When this child spoke these words, there was not a trace of hesitation or timidity in his eyes. His logic was clear, his goals were defined, and he had a sober understanding of his current situation and shortcomings. He wasn't just hot-bloodedly shouting slogans, but had truly planned out a path.What to learn, why he needed to learn it, and what to use it for after learning—he had thought it all through very clearly.This level of calmness and decisiveness was out of place for any twelve-year-old child he knew.In the other's serious gaze, he trance-like caught a glimpse of something he was once intimately familiar with.It was a habit that belonged to himself: deducing a plan completely before acting, and locking in both the retreat route and the goal before making a move.This child was indeed his, Minato Namikaze's son. Some things in his bones did not need to be taught.Minato slowly opened his mouth, his voice a few degrees softer than before, filled with an indescribable layer of tenderness and determination:"Naruto, although we will certainly give our all to teach you, there is one prerequisite you must understand.""Your mother and I are now just remnants of Chakra, not complete souls, and certainly not living people.""Our amount of Chakra is limited. Once it is exhausted, we will completely dissipate from this mental space."Minato's tone was calm, but the weight of his words was heavy."As long as we are still here, we can accompany you for a stretch of the road, but you must remember that this road is not long.""All we can do is hand over as much of the most important things to you as possible, so that when you face forces that can truly threaten you, you won't be empty-handed.""And because we are only Chakra entities."Kushina took over from Minato, her tone tinged with a little heartache: "Our actions are limited to within this mental space.""We cannot demonstrate moves for you, nor can we take you out to practice physical techniques. All you will be able to hear is theoretical explanation and oral accounts of our insights.""All practical training can only be completed by your own body outside of this mental space.""So listen well, Naruto."Minato said in a deep voice: "What we can give you is the spark.""But it is you yourself who must ignite the fire."Naruto looked at them.Looking at the serious-faced Minato, looking at Kushina, who had tears hidden in the depths of her eyes but still stubbornly straightened her back.Naruto nodded heavily.Minato and Kushina exchanged a glance.The meeting of their eyes took less than a second.The tacit understanding developed over years of fighting together allowed them to complete silent communication in an instant: time was precious, Chakra was limited, there was no time for basics, they could only go directly to their respective most core, most efficient Ninjutsu that Naruto could learn at his current stage."Before we officially begin..."Minato suddenly spoke, straightening up again, looking at Naruto with a calm and solemn gaze: "I have one more question I want to ask you, as the Hokage, and also as your father."Naruto nodded, responding with a serious expression."Naruto..." Minato asked: "What is your dream? What path do you want to walk in the future?"He did not ask Naruto how he viewed Konoha.This child had suffered so much since he was young; this question should not be posed in such a sharp manner.He would first ask about his dream, ask what kind of person Naruto wanted to become, and then see his attitude towards himself and Konoha.This was Minato's final consideration and respect as a father and Hokage.Naruto knew what this question meant.Before Minato poured out everything he had learned in his life, he needed to confirm what path the person receiving these Ninjutsu would walk in the future.Naruto thought about his wording for a moment, then looked directly into Minato's eyes."I want to become Hokage."He said this sentence very seriously.Naruto was not lying; he did indeed want to become Hokage, but not on the path of the original Naruto, which was "let everyone acknowledge me."The original Naruto became Hokage to gain the love and acceptance of the villagers, out of a compensatory mentality after long-term lack of love in his childhood.But he wanted to be Hokage because he needed an indisputable command authority.There was also a more far-reaching plan: to unify the entire Ninja World, end the centuries-long cycle of war between the Five Great Nations, and integrate all the scattered forces of the Ninja Worldinto a single community to counter the Ōtsutsuki Clan that would descend from beyond the heavens in the future.However, Naruto did not say these words out loud.The reason was simple: no matter how much Minatotrusted him, he was still the Fourth Hokage of Konoha.His loyalty to the Will of Fire was carved into his bones.If he were to put words like unifying the Ninja Worldout on the table, Minato would definitely ask, "What method do you intend to use to unify it?"And no matter how Naruto answered, it would cause this father to fall into a rift between loyalty and paternal love.Not saying it was out of consideration for Minato, and also his tenderness as a son."Good child, then what is your view on Konoha?"Upon learning that Naruto's dream was to become Hokage, Minato immediately felt relieved."Konoha Village..." Naruto lowered his eyes, pondered for a moment, then raised his head, continuing in a calm tone: "I know that Old Man Third had his own hidden difficulties in concealing my identity.""Although I suffered a lot because of it when I was young, given Konoha's situation at the time and the sensitivity of being a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, whoever had been in that position would have acted more or less the same."This was true. Although he had seen various conspiracy theories about the Hokage in his past life, one thing could be confirmed: if the Third had really announced Naruto's identity to the world at that time, the consequence would have been that the news would have been sent out in the morning, and the gates would have been kicked open by noon.Not to mention the Tsuchikage, who hated Minato Namikaze to the bone; just the Raikage A of the Land of Lightning alone, having witnessed the power of the Flying Thunder God Technique, would definitely not have allowed a second Yellow Flash of Konoha to appear.Rather than having such things happen and enduring endless assassinations by various Ninja villages, it was better to simply conceal Naruto's identity.However, knowing is one thing, but the accounts that should be settled still need to be settled.