On the screen, Naruto in the dream, looking at the "father" in front of him who has the same hair and eye color as himself, is also surprised and familiar.
Eh? Who is this uncle? It feels like... I seem to have seen him somewhere? He looks so familiar...
After all, Naruto is the last one in the class and he doesn't read textbooks. As for Hokage Rock... asking him to remember the appearance of the statue and then correspond it to the real person is simply difficult for him.
He usually remembers the appearance of even his classmates by nicknames. Looking at the living Minato at this moment, he only feels extremely kind and familiar, but he doesn't connect him with the legendary hero at all.
He just stared blankly at Minato as he walked over, washed his hands, and then sat down between him and "Mom" with a smile.
"Okay, let's eat."
Kushina picked up her chopsticks and enthusiastically helped Naruto with a large, glistening piece of tonkatsu. "Naruto, eat more! You're so skinny. Today's your big day becoming a Genin, so make sure you eat your fill."
Minato smiled and helped Naruto with a golden fried chicken leg, saying gently, "Yes, being a ninja is hard work, and you need to get enough nutrition."
"Hmm! Hmm!" Naruto looked at the mountain of food in his bowl, then at the gentle smiles of "Dad" and "Mom" beside him. He felt as if he were in heaven. He nodded vigorously, picked up his chopsticks, and began to devour the food.
Although he knew he might be dreaming, the food Mom and Dad picked up was delicious! This feeling of being cared for, loved, and eating together as a family... was real.
Naruto ate with immense joy and satisfaction. He felt that this was the most delicious meal he had ever had. Even... it was a hundred times better than Uncle Ichiraku's ramen.
A goofy smile etched itself on his face the entire time, his face melting with happiness.
[Ding! Uzumaki Naruto's emotional fluctuations captured! Emotional value +2000!!]
[Ding! Uzumaki Naruto's deep obsession/dream, "Dinner with My Parents," detected, fulfilled in the dream dungeon!]
[Congratulations to the host, you've triggered a special reward and received a one-time bonus of 10,000 emotional points!]
"Holy crap! Ten thousand points?!"
Hidden in the darkness, Shigure nearly bit his tongue in excitement as he saw the numbers skyrocket on the system panel. "I've made a fortune! I've really struck it rich this time!"
"It seems... this way of tapping into a character's deepest obsessions is the best way to gain a large amount of emotional value. I'll have to study the psychological needs of my 'clients' more from now on. My training in psychological counseling has finally paid off."
Shigure watched his total emotional value skyrocket to nearly 20,000, feeling a significant step closer to his goal of exchanging for advanced bloodlines and Ninjutsu.
In the audience, Kakashi's eyes were filled with a complex emotion as he watched the heartwarming scene of a family of three happily enjoying a meal on the screen.
If Minato-sensei and Kushina-senpai hadn't sacrificed themselves that night twelve years ago, this would have been Naruto's daily life... He would have been like a normal child, raised under the loving care of his parents, capable of acting spoiled, complaining, enjoying everything that was rightfully his...
An indescribable wave of bitterness and regret washed over him once again.
[Ding! Emotional fluctuations from Hatake Kakashi captured! Emotional value +500!]
In his dream, the warm dinner hour quickly ended.
Naruto rubbed his chubby belly, grinning foolishly on the stool, feeling almost faint with happiness.
Minato stood up and expertly cleared the table. He smiled and said to Naruto, "Naruto, you can't just sit there after eating. Come on, you're a man now, let's go wash the dishes."
"Huh? Wash the dishes?" Naruto was momentarily stunned.
Minato winked and gave a mischievous smile. "Of course! We can't let Mom do all the hard work alone, right? We have to help her with the chores."
"Oh, okay, okay!" Naruto finally realized what was happening and immediately jumped off the stool, excitedly saying, "I'll help Mom with the dishes!"
So, the father and son went to the kitchen sink together. Minato was responsible for scrubbing the pots and pans, while Naruto was responsible for washing the greasy dishes. After all, Naruto had grown up eating either instant noodles or Ichiraku Ramen.
He had hardly ever cooked for himself, let alone washed dishes. His movements were a bit clumsy, either knocking over dishes or getting himself covered in suds. But he didn't find it annoying at all; instead, he enjoyed it.
Sharing chores with "Dad" felt... so good.
Just as Naruto was humming a little tune and struggling clumsily with the greasy dishes, Minato, who was washing the pot next to him, suddenly spoke mysteriously:
"By the way, Naruto."
"Huh? What's the matter, Dad?"
Minato stopped what he was doing, turned his head, and looked at Naruto with a smile: "To celebrate your official becoming a Genin today, Dad decided... to teach you a super powerful Ninjutsu!"
"Huh? Super powerful Ninjutsu?" Naruto's eyes lit up, but then he was a little confused.
Can... you learn Ninjutsu in a dream?
Minato smiled mysteriously and kept it a secret: "Wait until you finish washing the dishes, let's go to the backyard." He also added proudly: "This Ninjutsu, but it took me three years to create it myself. It's very powerful and the name is very cool."
Naruto became even more curious after hearing this, but he still felt something was a little strange.
In a dream... learning the powerful Ninjutsu created by his father? Why does it feel a little unreliable?
In the audience,
"Self-created Ninjutsu?" Sakura also became interested after hearing this and asked curiously, "Has the Fourth Hokage... created any powerful Ninjutsu?"
She looked at Sasuke and Kakashi beside her.
Sasuke shook his head, indicating that he didn't know. In the history textbooks of the ninja school, the records about the Fourth Hokage mostly focused on his "Yellow Flash" speed and his heroic deeds of sealing the Nine-Tails. There was not much description of his specific expertise and the Ninjutsu he created.
Sakura curled her lips and muttered, "After all, this must be just that idiot Naruto's own fantasy. How could he be the Fourth's son? If he were, how could he have had such a miserable childhood? The Fourth Hokage was a hero who sacrificed his life to save the village. Naruto... must just be dreaming, dreaming of being a hero's son."
Kakashi listened to Sakura's well-reasoned analysis and sighed helplessly again.
Naruto's life story, and the Third Hokage's arrangements for him, involved too many complex and helpless circumstances. Kakashi himself wasn't entirely clear.
But at this moment, he was increasingly less convinced that all this was just Naruto's "dream"!
Minato-sensei...created his own...powerful Ninjutsu...
Kakashi's heart tightened. As Minato-sensei's former most favored student, how could he not know his master's ultimate technique?! Not only did he know exactly what it was! He even...knew how to use it himself! Although...his execution wasn't perfect. So, he used this Jutsu as a reference and invented a Jutsu more suitable for himself.
Could it be... that Jutsu?!
Kakashi's frown instantly deepened. He stared intently at the screen.
On the screen, the dream scene had switched to the backyard of that cozy little home.
Could learning Ninjutsu in a dream really be successful?
However, since he was with "Dad," anything was possible. He looked at his "father" with a gentle smile and decided to actively cooperate.
Minato extended his right hand with a mysterious expression, palm facing up.
The next second—
Hum.
Without any warning, a ball of chakra energy, like a rapidly rotating pale blue light, suddenly appeared in his palm!
The blue ball spun rapidly, emitting a slight but unique humming sound, and the surrounding air seemed to be distorted by it, causing visible distortion.
In the audience, the moment the blue ball appeared, Kakashi froze as if under a spell! His pupils contracted to the extreme!
"Sure enough...!"
He could no longer maintain his composure and abruptly jumped up from his seat again.
"Rasengan!"
[Ding! Hatake Kakashi's emotional fluctuations captured! Emotional value +1000!]
Yes, it was the Rasengan. It was his teacher, Minato Namikaze, who had spent three full years observing the principles of the Tailed Beast Ball before finally developing it.
This ultimate Ninjutsu, combining extreme nature-transformation with high-density chakra, required no hand seals—the A-rank Secret Technique, the Rasengan!
This was definitely not a coincidence.
What made Kakashi's scalp tingle even more was that Minato's gesture in demonstrating the Rasengan, the way he concentrated his chakra, even the gentle smile on his face, ready to teach his disciple the ultimate technique... It was exactly the same as when he had called him to the training ground one evening, shortly after he was promoted to Jonin, to demonstrate and teach him the Rasengan for the first time!
This was definitely, definitely not something that could be simulated in a simple dream.
The Rasengan is a unique Ninjutsu created by Minato-sensei. Its principles and training methods are extremely complex. His teacher died young, never having the chance to popularize the technique. In the entire ninja world, besides his teacher himself, only he and Jiraiya-sama truly master this technique.
Naruto, how could he have witnessed such precise, so realistic... Rasengan instruction in a dream?!
This isn't an illusion, nor is it just a dream.
This... being behind all this... who is it?
Kakashi felt a chill run from his feet to his head.
He had thought of observing for a while, gathering more clues, and then reporting to the Third Hokage.
But now... no!
No more waiting!
The strangeness of this matter has far exceeded his understanding. He must do it now! Immediately! Report everything that has happened here to the Third Hokage in detail!
Perhaps... only the Third Hokage, known as the "Ninjutsu Professor" and master of all Ninjutsu, can find the answers and solve this mystery!
Kakashi took a deep breath and suppressed the turmoil in his heart. It was obvious that he had made up his mind.
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Early chapter @ patreon.com/Reborn_noob