Naruto relied on his chakra perception to locate Minato Namikaze.
Naruto sat quietly on a bench in Konoha's park, as if waiting for someone.
When Minato arrived, Naruto turned to look at him.
"The first time we met… to be honest, I wasn't mentally prepared."
Minato froze for a moment.
"You know who I am…?"
"Of course." Naruto smiled faintly. "You can sense my chakra, and I can sense yours."
Standing in front of him, Naruto's chakra felt astonishingly powerful. Minato could immediately tell that Naruto's strength was not far behind his own.
It seemed that Naruto had already gained complete control over the chakra of the Nine-Tails.
"Finally meeting you, Naruto…"
Naruto nodded calmly.
"Sit down."
The reunion between father and son was completely different from what Minato had imagined.
He had thought that Naruto—still so young—might cry or rush into his arms.
But Naruto's composure shocked him.
There was none of the childishness expected from a twelve-year-old. Instead, Naruto carried himself like a mature and reliable ninja.
Was this because he had grown up as a jinchūriki?
Minato sat down.
"Shigure resurrected me. He must have had some purpose."
"What exactly did he do to you?"
Minato explained that Shigure had taken away the chakra of the Nine-Tails that had been sealed within him.
Yet Naruto barely reacted.
His calmness left Minato confused.
"Naruto, aren't you surprised? He took half of the Nine-Tails' chakra. Now he possesses the power of a tailed beast. Who knows what kind of disaster he could cause?"
Naruto lowered his head and thought for a moment.
"Based on what I know about Shigure… his goal is simple."
"He wants the Nine-Tails' chakra to develop stronger ninjutsu."
"…What?"
Minato stared at him in disbelief.
Stealing a tailed beast's chakra just to develop new techniques?
Who would believe such a thing?
"Naruto," Minato said carefully, "I know you're friends with the Mizukage of the Hidden Mist. But being friends doesn't mean you truly understand him."
Minato was about to give examples.
But Naruto calmly interrupted him.
"I know Shigure very well."
"We lived together for six years."
Minato froze.
"…What?"
"You lived together for six years?"
"Were you sent to the Hidden Mist Village when you were a child?"
Naruto laughed softly.
"No. Shigure is originally from Konoha."
"We attended the Ninja Academy together and lived there for six years."
Minato felt as if his mind had stopped working.
"Wait… you're saying Shigure was once a Konoha ninja—and now he's the Mizukage of Kirigakure?"
Naruto nodded.
Minato was stunned.
"That's impossible."
How could a ninja from Konoha become the Mizukage of the Hidden Mist?
It made no sense.
Yet Naruto spoke calmly, as if stating an obvious fact.
"The village abandoned Shigure."
"They voluntarily returned him to Kirigakure."
Minato couldn't believe it.
Shigure possessed such tremendous talent and strength—and he was the same age as Naruto.
How could Konoha simply give up someone like that?
Minato wanted to ask more questions.
But Naruto suddenly stood up.
"Anyway, Dad… I'm glad you're alive again."
Naruto paused.
"Although… I wish the one revived had been **Jiraiya-sensei."
Naruto smiled faintly.
"Let's go eat."
Minato swallowed the questions in his mind.
There would be time to understand everything later.
Right now, he needed to understand his son.
Minato spent the entire afternoon with Naruto.
When evening came, Naruto led him back to his home.
The moment Minato saw it, he was stunned.
Naruto lived in a cramped, shabby apartment.
This… was Naruto's home?
Minato felt a tight pain in his chest.
Why wasn't Naruto living in his own house?
The house Minato and Kushina Uzumaki once lived in should have belonged to Naruto.
Had Konoha… never given it to him?
At the same time, outside the gates of Kirigakure.
Fugaku Uchiha spoke seriously to Sasuke Uchiha.
"Be careful."
"The ninja world is extremely tense right now."
"If you're not careful, accidents can happen at any moment."
Around them stood several elite members of the Uchiha clan.
Sasuke nodded.
"Don't worry. I'll protect them."
Hearing this, Fugaku Uchiha fell silent.
That wasn't what he meant at all.
He meant that the others should protect Sasuke Uchiha.
How did it end up the other way around?
But Fugaku shook his head inwardly. It didn't really matter. If Sasuke believed in his own strength, that confidence wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
Soon, Sasuke departed from the village together with three elite members of the Uchiha clan.
As he watched them leave, Fugaku felt an inexplicable unease.
At that moment, inside a hidden base, several figures had already gathered.
Madara Uchiha and the others were present.
Then another figure arrived.
Orochimaru.
Orochimaru slowly stepped forward, a cold smile appearing on his face.
"The Uchiha clan members… have left the village."
"There are only three of them escorting him."
"But among them is Uchiha Sasuke."
He licked his lips slightly.
"The bloodline of the Uchiha patriarch… If we obtain Sasuke, the power of the Uchiha bloodline might be enough to awaken the Rinnegan."
A figure immediately stood up.
Obito Uchiha.
"Good," Obito said coldly. "I'll go."
Beside him, Madara slowly rose as well.
"Then let us begin."
A cruel smile spread across his face.
"We will hunt these Uchiha brats."
Meanwhile, Fugaku was walking home alone.
Night had fallen.
He raised his head and looked at the moon hanging high in the sky.
For a moment, he felt as if he saw a flash of light on its surface.
Fugaku frowned slightly.
"…Was that just my imagination?"
Far away—
Inside the palace of the Ōtsutsuki Clan on the moon.
A strange and eerie conversation was taking place.
Standing there was Black Zetsu.
Before him stood a member of the Ōtsutsuki clan.
Ever since obtaining the body of an Ōtsutsuki, the man's power had increased dramatically.
He looked at Black Zetsu and spoke thoughtfully.
"So… if we resurrect the Ancestor Mother, we will gain even greater power?"
Black Zetsu smiled.
"Of course."
"Your ancestor sealed her only because he obeyed his brother's orders."
"If you resurrect her…"
"…you will obtain unimaginable power."
"And at the same time, you will reconnect with the true Ōtsutsuki Clan beyond this world."
Hearing this, the Ōtsutsuki's expression became excited.
"Excellent."
"I've grown tired of this miserable ninja world."
"This time, I've even summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path."
He looked down toward the Earth with contempt.
"There's no meaning in endlessly observing and guarding such a primitive world."
When speaking about the ninja of the shinobi world, his face was filled with arrogance.
"Hmph."
"Those low-level beings… it doesn't matter if they all die."
Hearing this, the smile on Black Zetsu's face grew wider.
Yes…
That's right.
Soon—
Mother would return.
However, Black Zetsu had also discovered something unexpected.
After transplanting the Byakugan taken from a member of the Hyūga Clan into this Ōtsutsuki, the eye had mutated.
Its power had become completely different.
The Ōtsutsuki on the moon possessed immense chakra and pure power…
But they lacked something.
A missing piece.
And that flaw could be filled by the Byakugan of the Hyūga from the shinobi world.
Once completed, these Ōtsutsuki would possess terrifying dōjutsu power along with overwhelming chakra.
If an army like that were formed…
They could descend upon the shinobi world itself.
Black Zetsu looked down toward the Earth, his gaze filled with cold anticipation.
His eyes slowly turned toward the direction of Kirigakure.
"The Sixth Mizukage…"
"…Shigure."
"And the shinobi world."
Black Zetsu's voice became low and sinister.
"I will return soon."
(End of Chapter)
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