On the screen, the Rasengan in Naruto's hand grew larger and larger—a blue sphere of chakra swelling in his palm like a star being born.
Eventually, its light illuminated the entire night sky, making even the moon seem dim in comparison, while Naruto himself looked small beside it.
Seeing this scene, Minato's eyes shone with a look of quiet pride.
'You infused the Rasengan with Wind Release chakra, didn't you? You've become a splendid Hokage.'
'…One even better than me.'
He looked at the masked figure before him, and the Rasengan in his hand—one that could destroy the almost anything—and felt a complex swirl of emotions.
This was his Ninjutsu, and his son had taken it and made it even greater.
The student surpasses the teacher—that was exactly this.
Then in Minato and Kushina's stunned eyes, Naruto leaped high into the air and slammed the Rasengan against the Nine-Tails' Tailed Beast Ball.
A violent gale erupted!
Both Minato and Kushina struggled to keep their eyes open. Kushina instinctively turned her head, using her arm to shield the infant Naruto in her embrace.
While Minato's long hair blew backward, his cloak flapping loudly, and his eyes squinted as he stared at the point of light in the sky.
"Hm?"
Even the Nine-Tails was stunned—its Tailed Beast Ball had been completely neutralized by some unknown guy's Jutsu.
At the same time, Naruto suddenly leaped onto the Nine-Tails and patted it's head.
"Calm down for a bit… my friend."
The already shocked Nine-Tails was even more dumbfounded. Its eyes slanted toward Naruto, as if asking, 'What did you just say?'
How could it possibly be friends with a human?
"Sorry about this..." Naruto said as his right hand pressed down firmly.
The Nine-Tails also sensed something wrong, its pupils narrowing into vertical slits, "This is the old man's—"
Before it could finish, its eyes slowly closed.
The Nine-Tails' massive body lost its support and crashed heavily to the ground, raising a cloud of dust. Though its breathing was steady and slow, as if it had fallen asleep.
When the scene shifted again, the sealing formula was once again inscribed on the infant Naruto's belly.
Adult Naruto stood in his Hokage cloak, his back to Minato and Kushina, moonlight casting a long shadow behind him.
"The side effects of the seal have been minimized," a slightly muffled voice came from Naruto's mask.
Minato looked at his back and said softly, "Seventh Hokage, thank you... Without your help, we would have been terrible parents."
Hearing that, Naruto's voice cracked slightly with emotion, "That's not true."
"Even… even if I hadn't come…"
His voice choked up slightly, but with his back to the two of them, he extended his right hand and gave a firm thumbs-up.
"You would both have been incredible and amazing parents!"
The screen then cut to Naruto's front, and although his fox mask hid his expression, the tear-soaked collar of his cloak couldn't deceive anyone watching.
---
[Konoha, Year 50. Hokage Office]
Kushina stared at the screen, weeping uncontrollably.
Minato's eyes were also glistening, and red-rimmed. But he still comforted Kushina—one hand gently patting her back, the other holding her hand, fingers intertwined.
"Kushina, it's okay. This time, we will definitely be there to watch Naruto grow up."
He paused, then added, "And… even in the worst-case scenario, Naruto is still our child. He took on the responsibilities we couldn't fulfill and became a wonderful shinobi."
Meanwhile, on the screen, Naruto was giving his final instructions to Minato and Kushina. "By the way, you should go into hiding for a while. Don't show yourselves—not even to your child."
"Above all… don't get involved in the Uchiha affair. Just save one person."
"Uchiha…?" Minato looked a bit puzzled.
His brows frowned, his mind racing.
The Uchiha affair? What would happen to the Uchiha in the future? Why was he being told to stay out of it? And why only save one person? And save who?
---
But in Konoha Year 52, the Uchiha clan grounds had already erupted with outrage.
"This Seventh Hokage is just as scheming as the rest!"
An Uchiha clansman stood up, veins bulging on his forehead.
"Exactly! Exactly!"
"Why should the Fourth Hokage stay out of our affairs after surviving? Just sit back and watch our clan get massacred?"
"AAAHHH! Why? The one he said to save must definitely be Sasuke. Why, even in a parallel timeline with the Fourth Hokage alive, would he still only save Sasuke?"
---
[Konoha, Year 60. Tazuna's house]
Sasuke looked at Naruto with a strange expression. This guy—even after becoming Hokage—was still an idiot, wasn't he?
If he was already there, why didn't he have the Fourth Hokage resolve the Uchiha Clan issues entirely?
Naruto felt uneasy under Sasuke's gaze and scratched his head. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Are you stupid?" Sasuke said coldly.
"Huh? How am I stupid?"
"Since you were already there, why not finish the job?"
"How should I know?! It wasn't me! The screen said it's just an alternate timeline."
On the screen, after giving his instructions, Naruto vanished in a flash—disappearing from before Minato and Kushina in an instant.
And after putting some distance between them, his fox mask disappeared, revealing his true appearance.
Meanwhile, inside his mental world, Kurama lay on the floor, a bit confused. "Why didn't you just reveal yourself to them?"
They were clearly his parents. He had so much to say and had been secretly crying his eyes out, so why not just tell them who he was?
Naruto stood with his back to Kurama, forcing a smile. "Even though they are technically my parents... they are also not... and everyone has their own unique path, I can't interfere more than I already have."
He paused, then suddenly gritted his teeth. "Though if I hadn't promised Sasuke to leave the rest to him, I'd really love to give Obito a good beating."
Just then, Kurama, the tsundere, changed the subject.
"Well, you sure were gentle with that fox..."
Naruto was momentarily speechless, then flailed his arms at Kurama. "What's wrong with you?"
The two promptly descended into bickering in the mental world. Kurama's tails swishing back and forth, while Naruto stood in front of it, hands on his hips, expression helpless and sighing.
The scene once again cut back to Minato and Kushina, still standing where they were, the moonlight falling on them.
Minato said with some emotions, "He… truly is a remarkable child."
Kushina held the infant Naruto in her arms, looking down at his wrinkled little face. "Yes… just like our son—both so wonderful."
"Naruto, thank you for being born to us."
Under the moonlight, the figures of the three family members stretched long and far.
*****
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