"Kazuki-sama, I'll leave Naruto in your care…"
Seeing Kushina take the lead, Minato—who had initially intended to defend Konoha—now decisively stated his position as well: "Please do whatever you feel is right. As Naruto's parents, we're honored that you're willing to guide him."
The suspected forbidden jutsu resembling Tobirama's chakra manipulation… The total absence of old friends coming to see Naruto…
All of it made Minato realize that the village Naruto now lived in was no longer the same Konoha he once tried to protect.
As a fading soul on the verge of vanishing, he couldn't do much anymore. And in this bitter, tangled situation, there was no room left in his heart for lofty ideals like the so-called Will of Fire…
Securing an opportunity for Naruto's future—that was the only thing that mattered now.
Kazuki's power was far beyond anything Minato could comprehend—on a level even the legendary 'God of Shinobi' couldn't compare to.
If someone like that were to become Naruto's sensei… then at the very least, Naruto's future would never again be filled with the kind of painful, gray memories that defined his childhood.
"Naruto, what about you? What do you think?"
Kazuki nodded without confirming or denying, shifting his gaze from Minato and Kushina to look directly at Naruto.
"Of course I'm willing, Kazuki-nii!"
Naruto nodded furiously, though there was a hint of poutiness in his voice.
His mom and dad had changed their attitudes way too fast!
At first, they'd looked so guarded—like they were suspicious of Kazuki and wanted to interrogate every detail of their 'friendship'.
But after just a few words, and a single experience with that glowing sphere, their stance had taken a complete 180.
Now it felt like they had to make Kazuki his sensei—like there was no choice at all.
But we agreed we were friends from the start!
"Naruto, go talk with your mom and dad for a bit longer… say your goodbyes properly."
Kazuki turned away, and as he moved, the Nine-Tails' chakra swirled gently around him. He leapt lightly back onto the giant fox's head and casually sat cross-legged, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Naruto, forget all the unhappiness from before. Don't ever feel like you owe anything to anyone. You're a truly, truly good child!"
Kushina held both of Naruto's hands tightly, her eyes brimming with tears.
"Mom doesn't ask for anything else—just that you live a life of happiness, health, and freedom…"
Naruto wrapped his arms tightly around Kushina, whispering through his tears: "I will, Mom."
Namikaze Minato gently stroked Naruto's hair and let out a weary sigh.
"My own experiences... they can't help you anymore. Maybe I never really understood this village, even though I was once the Hokage…"
"Learn well from Kazuki-sama, my son. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. Go on—become the person you want to be!"
The family of three exchanged a few final words.
Then, slowly, the figures of Namikaze Minato and Kushina began to fade, dissolving into the spiritual space around them.
Naruto stood motionless, a deep emptiness settling over him.
"Kazuki-nii… will I ever see Mom and Dad again?"
"Kazuki-nii… what kind of person should I become? How should I see the village… and all the things that have happened to me?"
His eyes were filled with overwhelming confusion—he desperately needed Kazuki to give him an answer.
"Your parents… once you've mastered your training, if by then you still wish to see them again—bringing them back won't be such a difficult thing…"
Kazuki gently stroked Naruto's head and said softly, "In this world, the boundary between life and death is not absolute. With your talent, Naruto, as long as you devote yourself and train diligently, the day will come when you can grasp the power to overturn life and death itself."
Kazuki wasn't just offering empty comfort.
Even if things followed the original path, the Naruto who later inherited the power of the Six Paths of Yang had already shown signs of such ability—to govern life and death.
"As for the confusion in your heart—that's perfectly normal, Naruto…"
"You are the son of the Fourth Hokage. Your parents were heroes who died fighting for this village. They sealed the Nine-Tails inside you, believing the village would always remember your family's sacrifice, that you would be embraced with love from childhood, guided to master the Tailed Beast…"
"In that case, although a dangerous Tailed Beast would reside within you, logically speaking, you should've received the village's praise, its resources tilted in your favor, and the care of adults and your parents' old comrades…"
"But things… changed."
Naruto trembled all over. With his young mind, he couldn't yet comprehend the political intricacies of the village.
All he could understand was this—his parents had given so much for the village, and they had considered his future. Their decision back then had been made with both the village and him in mind.
And yet—
Konoha had betrayed the hopes of Namikaze Minato and Kushina.
He remembered back in the Academy, when the teacher asked every student to share their dreams, and he said he wanted to become Hokage—only to be laughed at by nearly everyone.
A demon fox, lucky to even be allowed in the Academy, dares to dream of being Hokage?
What a joke!
Now, Naruto found it all laughable. And heartbreaking.
His barely formed worldview had been shattered—crushed beneath the weight of everything he had just learned.
"I… I originally just wanted the village to acknowledge me… for the adults to stop looking at me with such cold, hateful eyes… for the villagers and my classmates to greet me with smiles…"
"I wanted to become Hokage!"
Naruto swallowed hard, forcing the words out. "But my father was Hokage. Even after giving his life for the village… his own son was discriminated against and bullied from childhood…"
"Do I… really still want to become Hokage?"
A child's values are always simple and direct—become Hokage, and earn respect…
Though he was the son of the Fourth Hokage, Naruto slowly began to realize… that what the title Hokage meant was nothing like he had imagined.
In his understanding, even an ordinary child—if their parents had died in service to the village—should at least be treated kindly by the neighbors. Surely, they wouldn't be mocked, bullied, or coldly ignored from a young age?
If this is what it meant to be Hokage's child… maybe it would've been better if his father hadn't become Hokage at all.
So what was the point of it?
"The village… why does it treat our family like this, Kazuki-nii?" Naruto asked, his voice trembling.
He began counting on his fingers, listing things one by one: "My father was the Fourth Hokage… and I can tell, my mother must have been the kunoichi who sealed the Nine-Tails before…"
"They both died for the village. And I—I'm the vessel who keeps the Nine-Tails sealed inside…"
"What else do we have to do to be accepted by the village? We didn't do anything wrong… So why are they punishing me—and my mom and dad—like we're criminals?"
Naruto's eyes reddened. At his age, he didn't yet understand what killing intent was. What shimmered in his gaze now wasn't that—but a deep and growing resentment.
"Why do you need the village's approval, Naruto?"
Naruto turned toward Kazuki, his eyes searching for an answer.
"Sure," Kazuki said, "Maybe Konoha once gave your parents something worth fighting for. Maybe there was honor in that struggle…"
"But after everything that's happened, whatever debt they owed has already been paid."
"Besides—even if Konoha hadn't failed you or your parents—there's something you must never forget, Naruto."
Kazuki stepped closer, crouched to meet Naruto at eye level, and locked eyes with him—his own gaze steady and clear.
"Living for the approval and expectations of others… is not the right path."
"To become strong, you have to follow your heart. You have to pursue what you truly want."
Naruto stared at him, dazed.
Not caring about what others think? Was that… really possible?
And if living wasn't about earning the recognition of others—then what was it for?
"Naruto, everyone is born into a web of social ties and structure. These things can be your strength—but they can also be your cage."
"Take Shikamaru and Chōji, for example. They have clans and families that look after them. But because of that, their lives are already partly decided."
"As a member of the Akimichi Clan, even if Chōji has other talents, those probably won't be developed. He'll be trained to focus on their secret techniques… and Shikamaru's path will likely follow his father's, step by step, in the same mold."
Kazuki's eyes held a quiet hint of encouragement as he continued in a serious tone, "But you're different, Naruto."
"You lost your parents when you were just a baby. You grew up alone, surrounded by schemes and suspicion. You owe nothing to anyone."
"That's why you don't need to be entangled in the relationships you were born into. Just focus on your own desires. Being an orphan may seem like a disadvantage—but in terms of your state of mind, it's also an unmatched advantage."
"Huh?" Naruto blinked, confused.
He had never considered that not having parents could actually put him ahead of others…
But it was true.
Being an orphan meant severing all blood ties at the root—especially for someone like him, who had never even eaten a meal in another's home.
There was no one to miss. No one to hold him back.
Those without attachments truly do possess something rare.
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