Although Naruto himself hadn't watched the storyline about his future, Kakashi and the others didn't plan to tell him.
The main reason was that Naruto's mindset wasn't mature enough, and he often acted on impulse.
Kakashi and Jiraiya weren't worried that Naruto would abandon his dream of becoming Hokage, but they were afraid he might slack off on his training and growth.
---
After a day off, Naruto rubbed his sore eyes with a pained expression.
Last night, he had stayed up late gaming. Although his rank was still at the Kage rank, being able to spar with players he once thought were untouchable gave Naruto a great sense of satisfaction.
This led to him getting completely absorbed, fighting in the game until he passed out from exhaustion.
When Naruto reluctantly got out of bed and glanced at the clock on the wall, his drowsiness vanished instantly.
"Oh no, oh no! How is it already 9 a.m.? Kakashi-sensei said to meet at 8 a.m.... I have to hurry!"
Naruto panicked, skipping breakfast and quickly washing up before taking a familiar shortcut to the mission hall.
A flustered Naruto saw Sasuke and Sakura sitting in the waiting area, playing a match, and immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
"Phew... thank goodness, I'm only an hour late. Kakashi-sensei is usually two hours late, so I guess I got lucky…"
Not seeing Kakashi, Naruto relaxed and walked over slowly, calling out as he went.
As for why he 'called out,' according to a certain unnamed Uchiha in Shippuden, who once described Naruto's characteristics to the Art Duo, Sasori and Deidara…
"The one who shouts the loudest when you meet him... is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."
When Sasuke saw Naruto arrive, he immediately exited the game and said coldly, "You're late."
Sakura, looking dejected, had hoped to bond with Sasuke over the game.
But Sasuke's response was...
"Your skills aren't as good as Naruto's."
Now, seeing Naruto, Sasuke had even quit the match he was playing with her.
Seeing Naruto's carefree grin, Sakura couldn't help but feel annoyed.
"You... why are you late again? Kakashi-sensei has been waiting for you for a long time."
Compared to yesterday, when she was too intimidated to speak to Naruto, the future hero of the Ninja World...
Sakura had spent some time at home rationalizing things to herself.
After all, the great hero of the Ninja World was the future Naruto, not the current one.
And even though she seemed useless on the battlefield during the war, if she worked hard now, who knows what the future might hold?
The more Sakura thought about it, the more she felt she could catch up to Naruto and Sasuke.
So she shook off her gloom and slept soundly through the night.
Hearing Sakura's scolding, Naruto just grinned and said, "Heh... don't scare me like that. Kakashi-sensei isn't even here."
However, as soon as he said this, Naruto felt the light behind him dim slightly... as if something was blocking it.
And in front of him, Sasuke and Sakura were both pointing behind him with innocent expressions.
At this point, Naruto had a very bad feeling. He turned his head stiffly and saw Kakashi standing right behind him!
Naruto jumped in fright, quickly opening his mouth to come up with some excuse.
But Kakashi simply covered Naruto's mouth, while Sasuke and Sakura, prepared for this, put on their headphones, clearly wary of Naruto's 'Talk No Jutsu.'
Kakashi gave Naruto a resigned look and said calmly, "It's fine that you're late. I had to step away for a bit earlier anyway."
Kakashi picked up the mission scroll and said distractedly, "Our mission this time is to head 20 kilometers into the forest west of the village. According to the patrol team's report, a fairly strong squad of White Zetsu has appeared there."
Kakashi's mind wasn't on the mission, though. He was thinking about what had just happened.
Earlier, Elephant had informed him that the Third Hokage wanted to see him.
Kakashi didn't delay and immediately went to the secret chamber that Hiruzen had set up after moving out of the Hokage's Office.
The Third Hokage was as amiable as ever, but he got straight to the point...
The gist of what Hiruzen said was... Naruto's future was immeasurable, so he should be handed over to the village for careful nurturing to prevent the Nine-Tails' power from corrupting his mind or him being harmed by some shady individuals...
Handing him over to the village would also honor the spirits of Minato and Kushina.
Kakashi remained silent throughout. As for handing Naruto over to the village... Kakashi suspected it might actually mean handing him over to Root.
And what kind of place was Root? Kakashi knew the answer all too well.
What he hadn't expected was that the usually kind-hearted Hiruzen would agree to Danzo's unreasonable demands.
He remembered that in the past... whenever Danzo came asking for someone, the Third Hokage had always refused.
As for honoring the spirits of Minato and Kushina?
Kakashi couldn't speak for everything, but one thing he was certain of...
If his teacher's wife knew that Hiruzen dared to treat Naruto this way, she would probably fight him to the death without hesitation.
Hiruzen wasn't surprised by Kakashi's silence. His tone remained gentle, "Kakashi, I hope you'll consider this carefully... It's all for the future of the village."
Kakashi didn't respond directly. Instead, he said, "Sandaime-sama... If there's nothing else urgent, I'll take my leave now."
Hiruzen nodded slightly, and Kakashi left the secret chamber with a gloomy face.
While he couldn't be sure that the Third Hokage was siding with Danzo, in Kakashi's eyes…
Naruto was currently under the protection of Tsunade and Jiraiya, which was why the Third Hokage's faction and Danzo's faction were willing to sit down and talk.
But if Naruto were truly handed over to them... Kakashi couldn't even imagine what would become of the innocent Naruto.
So, on his way back to the mission hall, Kakashi could only place his hopes on that familiar 'friend.'
After all, if that person was willing to help, Naruto's situation wouldn't become dangerous.
---
After announcing the mission objectives, Kakashi led Team 7 toward the mission location.
This time, even though Naruto had woken up late and was even tardy, his fighting spirit was the highest among everyone!
Because Naruto really wanted to prove himself and test his current strength.
So, restless as ever, he charged ahead of everyone.
Kakashi's face darkened. The mission scroll was in his hands, so he couldn't help but say, "Idiot, do you even know the way?"