Ito Hirofumi withdrew from the summoning space, leaving the predecessors to process everything he'd just said.
After all, he had a bigger plan in motion—letting Minato Namikaze experience Naruto Uzumaki's life firsthand. And, of course, Hirofumi wasn't about to miss this!
There were two reasons for this. First, he wanted these legendary figures to see how Naruto was treated in the village. Second, he needed to keep an eye on Minato to prevent him from snapping and going on a rampage against the civilians if he got too emotional.
Hirofumi had a gut feeling that once Minato saw Naruto's life up close, there was a real chance he could go full dark mode…
He'd been splitting his focus anyway—part of his mind in the summoning space, the other part sharing a meal with the young ninjas. For a ninja, this kind of multitasking was no big deal.
The meal wasn't as lively as their last one. Even Naruto, usually so loud and carefree, ate in relative silence…
He didn't even belt out his favorite song this time.
Everyone had caught on to what Hirofumi was planning for the future. If they wanted to help their friend, they had no choice but to train like crazy and get stronger—fast!
To make a difference in their clans and in the village, they needed to boost their skills to a whole new level!
Only then could they truly do something for the Hidden Leaf Village…
The pressure was weighing heavily on the young ninjas' hearts.
After cleaning up, the group didn't linger.
Kiba Inuzuka plopped Akamaru on his head.
"Alright, guys! I'm heading home. It's still early, so I'm gonna talk to my dad about how to build better teamwork with Akamaru. Gotta get strong quick!"
"I'm heading back too… gotta brush up on my clan's secret techniques…"
"Same here! Time to figure out how to breed some new bugs!"
"I need to go review my lessons!!!"
"This is youth!!! Tonight, I'm running five hundred laps around the village—upside down! If I can't finish, it's two thousand push-ups! Youth!!!!"
"Big brother… could you train with me when we get home?" Hinata asked cautiously, glancing at Neji.
"No problem! Let's go!"
After tidying up, the group dispersed, each heading their own way. Finally, Ito Hirofumi and Naruto said their goodbyes as well.
But this time, Hirofumi didn't head home. Instead, he quietly trailed Naruto. Once he saw Naruto reach his place, Hirofumi slipped into a secluded corner.
Inside the summoning space, chakra began to gather again.
"Fourth Hokage! In a moment, I'm going to summon you into the Hidden Leaf Village! When you get here, immediately use the Transformation Technique to disguise yourself as Naruto. And keep your emotions in check!"
"I understand, Hirofumi. Thanks for this. No need to call me Fourth Hokage—you're Naruto's friend. Just call me Uncle Minato!"
"Got it, Uncle Minato! Get ready!!!"
With that, Hirofumi's chakra dispersed.
Minato felt a wave of nerves. This would be his first time stepping into the real world since his death!
Ever since his revival, he'd been stuck in the summoning space.
The others in the space were curious too, eager to see what it would be like to summon someone into the real world…
Hirofumi found an empty alley and began forming the hand signs for the Summoning Technique. Truth be told, he was curious himself. He'd never tried summoning someone from the summoning space into the real world before. The first time he'd used the technique was to summon Uchiha Madara in the afterlife, and every summoning after that had been within the summoning space.
This would be his first real-world summoning…
As he completed the hand signs and slammed his hand on the ground, Hirofumi felt an almost mystical sensation. The summoning array connected him instantly to his summoning space!
Since this was a standard summoning and not one of his system-granted summons, the "summons" were the legendary figures he'd already brought back.
He could clearly sense their chakra and realized he could easily choose to summon one—or even several—of them into the real world at once!
And the best part? It didn't cost him any chakra!!!
Normally, the stronger the summoned creature, the more chakra it drained. But Hirofumi only used a tiny bit of chakra to form the summoning array.
This meant he could summon Uchiha Madara, Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, and the others into the real world without spending a drop of chakra!
That was downright terrifying!!!
With this realization, Hirofumi locked onto Minato's chakra in the summoning space.
Bang!
In an instant, Minato Namikaze appeared in front of him!!!
Without hesitating, Minato used the Transformation Technique to disguise himself as Naruto.
Back in the summoning space, Minato's form vanished in a puff of smoke. Through Hirofumi's connection to the summoning space, Tobirama and the others could see Minato standing in the Hidden Leaf Village.
"What a terrifying ability!!!" Tobirama exclaimed. "A simple summoning, and a soul is brought back to life—returned to the real world!"
Madara, who'd been watching closely, nodded.
"Did you notice? That kid's summoning of Minato didn't cost him any chakra! The only chakra he used was to form the summoning array!"
Fugaku Uchiha nodded in agreement.
"Exactly, Ancestor! Doesn't that mean… Hirofumi can summon all of us into the real world whenever he wants? Without any limitations?!"
"It seems that way… What a frightening power!"
The group in the summoning space buzzed with discussion, then focused intently on observing the real world through their connection.
"Hirofumi! This is our first time meeting in the real world!!!" Minato said, now disguised as Naruto. "It feels almost unreal…"
"Uncle Minato, I'll be following you from a distance. For now, just wander around the village as you like…"
"Got it!"