"Naruto, I'm sorry. I never imagined you'd suffer so much… you were supposed to be a hero..."
Minato's eyes were filled with inescapable guilt. Naruto wiped at his tears. Truthfully, he had really wanted to punch Minato, but seeing his father like this, that impulse faded away.
Father and son fell into silence.
Kaito stood nearby with his arms crossed, then suddenly spoke.
"Minato, the chakra you left behind won't last much longer, right? If you have anything to say, say it quickly!"
Minato nodded slowly. He reached out and ruffled Naruto's spiky yellow hair—the same as his own—and said,
"Naruto… I truly wasn't a qualified father. I..."
"Alright, alright. Give you the chance and all you do is spout useless nonsense!"
Kaito cut Minato off irritably. He stepped up to him and slammed a fist into Minato's stomach. The blow wasn't light. Minato clutched his stomach, stumbling back several steps.
Even though Minato existed only in chakra form, he could still feel pain. He gave Kaito a bitter look, thinking,
Weren't you the one who told me to hurry up and say what I needed to?!
Still, he knew he deserved that punch. Taking it somehow made him feel a bit lighter inside.
Naruto saw the pained look on Minato's face and suddenly asked,
"Kaito-senpai, how long can my dad stay like this?"
It was the first time Naruto had called Minato "Dad." The word stirred a powerful, indescribable feeling inside Minato, but it also made him ache all the more.
Kaito glanced at Minato's increasingly blurred body.
"Probably less than five minutes."
"Five minutes..."
Naruto lowered his head. He had finally met his father, only to be told they had just five minutes together. It was unbearably cruel.
Minato let out a heavy sigh and looked to Kaito, his eyes filled with pleading.
"Kaito… after I'm gone, could I ask you to take care of Naruto? As a father, I've already failed him far too much!"
At Minato's earnest request, Kaito rolled his eyes.
"No."
"Thank you so mu—huh?!?"
Minato froze, staring at Kaito in disbelief. With the relationship between them, Minato had been certain Kaito would agree to help. So what was this?
Kaito shot him a sideways look and snorted.
"Don't look at me like that. He's your son—you take care of him."
"But I'm about to disappear!"
"Then just come back later."
"Are you joking?? I'm dead! Dead!"
"I know you're dead. No need to repeat it."
"Kaito, I'm begging you! I can only feel at ease leaving Naruto with you!"
"What's the matter? You don't trust your village anymore? Is it because the Third died?"
"... "
At the mention of Konoha, Minato's whole body trembled with rage. He had seen with his own eyes how Naruto grew up—often hungry, cold, and when there was food, it was expired!
He had been the Fourth Hokage! Where was his legacy? Why hadn't the Third and the others passed his inheritance to Naruto?
And the villagers—always beating him, cursing him, forbidding other children to be friends with him… the thought made Minato's blood boil.
He could understand, barely, that hiding Naruto's identity as the Hokage's son was meant to protect him from enemies.
But then why not also hide the fact that he was the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki?! Instead they let him be scorned as the "demon fox's child." Would it have killed them to educate the villagers about what a jinchūriki actually was?!
The more Minato thought, the more furious he became. His chakra flared violently, accelerating its consumption. He was about to vanish entirely.
Naruto's chest tightened painfully. He muttered softly,
"Dad..."
That one word shattered Minato's composure completely. Tears welled in his eyes. He couldn't bear to look at Naruto anymore, so he closed his eyes tight.
Kaito shook his head helplessly. He reached out and flicked Minato on the forehead. Minato winced, opening his eyes in confusion.
Black ripples appeared in Kaito's pupils—the Rinnegan had opened.
Minato's eyes widened in shock. He blinked rapidly, confirming he wasn't mistaken.
"That… that's the Rinnegan?!"
Seeing that Minato recognized the eyes, Kaito didn't explain further. He closed them, then turned and placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder.
Without looking back at Minato, he said flatly,
"I told you. Take care of your own child. For now, reflect inside the Shinigami's belly."
With that, Kaito took Naruto and disappeared before Minato's eyes.
Minato stood in silence, gazing at the spot where they vanished. He whispered softly,
"Thank you… Kaito..."
...
Back in the real world, Naruto's eyes cleared. The first thing he did was turn urgently to Kaito.
"Kaito-senpai, my dad, he..."
"He's gone."
Though Naruto had expected it, hearing it still left him hollow inside. After a long silence, he asked again,
"Will I ever get to see him again?"
Kaito looked at the hopeful expression on Naruto's face and let out a sigh.
"You will. You'll definitely see him again."
Hearing this, Naruto's heart surged with overwhelming joy. He dropped to his knees and bowed deeply to Kaito.
"Thank you! Thank you, Kaito-senpai!"
Kaito waved his hand casually. An unseen force lifted Naruto back to his feet.
"Enough. You and your father really are something else… Save your thanks for when you meet him again."
Off to the side, Yamato and Sakura were completely lost. From what Kaito had said, Naruto's father was the Fourth Hokage. But hadn't the Fourth Hokage died? How could Naruto possibly see him again?
Sakura nudged Naruto in the arm and whispered,
"Naruto, did you just meet the Fourth Hokage-sama?"
"Yeah."
"There's no way… then he really was your father?"
"Yes."
Naruto's mind was filled with thoughts of his father Minato. He had no patience for Sakura's usual chatter. Sakura felt slighted. She raised her fist, ready to smack Naruto.
But before she could, her wrist was caught in a crushing grip.
Kaito had appeared before her without her noticing, his Mangekyō Sharingan glaring coldly.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Under the weight of his gaze, Sakura felt a terror that pierced her soul. She swallowed hard, her eyes darting toward Naruto in desperate plea...
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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