The world of Naruto. Afternoon.
"You damn brat, get out!"
"Why? I just wanted to buy a mask…"
Little Naruto sat on the ground, looking at the mask shop owner with a wronged expression.
The mask shop owner, however, showed no sympathy for Little Naruto being a child.
Instead, he threw the mask Little Naruto had touched earlier out the door with a look of disgust.
"Hmph, it's yours. Now leave quickly."
Looking at the mask thrown in front of him, Little Naruto's eyes couldn't help but well up.
"Why are you treating me like this? What did I do wrong?!"
"Still not leaving, huh?"
Saying this, the mask shop owner grabbed the broom from the corner of the shop and walked menacingly towards Little Naruto.
Seeing the shop owner relentlessly approaching him, Little Naruto couldn't help but cover his head with his hands.
The onlookers around, upon seeing this scene, not only didn't intervene but watched the fallen Little Naruto with mocking expressions.
Just as the broom was about to land on Little Naruto, a gentle voice with a hint of coldness reached Little Naruto's ears.
"He's still a child, there's no need for this, is there…?"
The shop owner looked at the yellow-haired man in front of him who was holding his broom, his eyes slightly cold, and couldn't help but tremble.
"You… who are you? Why are you meddling? This is a monster!"
No sooner had the shop owner finished speaking than an angry female voice came over.
A fiery Red Hair woman was seen helping Little Naruto up while loudly questioning the shop owner:
"Who are you calling a monster, you jerk? I'll punch you so hard you'll fly, believe it or not!"
Just as the Red Hair woman was about to make a move, the yellow-haired man gently flicked, and the shop owner was thrown to the ground nearby.
The yellow-haired man walked over to the Red Hair woman and whispered a reminder:
"Kushina, don't make a big deal out of this. We can't expose ourselves, otherwise…"
The Red Hair woman, who was about to teach the old man a lesson, glared at the shop owner, then supported Little Naruto, her eyes red as she looked at the thin figure in front of her.
"You… are you doing well?"
Although she knew how Naruto was doing, as a mother, Kushina Uzumaki still couldn't help but ask cautiously.
"Um… thank you, Auntie. Do you know me?"
For some reason, Little Naruto felt an urge to cry out loud when he looked at the woman in front of him.
Seeing Little Naruto's cautious demeanor, Kushina Uzumaki finally couldn't help but fiercely hug the small figure in front of her.
"Waaah… I'm sorry, it's all our fault. If it weren't for us…"
Feeling the warmth in the woman's embrace, Little Naruto's red eyes finally couldn't help but shed tears of grievance.
"Auntie… I… Waaah… Ahhhhhh!!!"
"I'm sorry, Naruto… Waaah…"
Minato Namikaze watched the mother and son crying together.
Although his eyes were also red, upon spotting Anbu figures, he still couldn't help but remind her:
"Kushina, Anbu…"
Hearing Minato Namikaze's words, Kushina Uzumaki used her Mind's Eye of the Kagura to sense, and instantly detected the Anbu lurking nearby.
She was even very familiar with their chakra.
"Kakashi, is that you…?"
After discovering the Anbu's identity, Kushina Uzumaki gave Minato Namikaze a look, then looked at Little Naruto in her arms with a gentle expression and asked:
"Little Naruto, Auntie wants to visit your home, is that okay?"
"Little Naruto?"
After asking twice without a response, Kushina Uzumaki couldn't help but turn her head and saw Little Naruto crying himself to sleep, a gentle smile appearing on her lips.
"Hehe, he's asleep. Let's find a place for him to rest first."
Minato Namikaze also noticed Little Naruto was asleep and looked at Kushina Uzumaki with a smile.
"Okay."
With that, the two, ignoring the strange looks from the surrounding people, walked towards the edge of the village, holding Little Naruto.
Just as the two were about to leave Konoha, a squad of Anbu wearing animal masks suddenly appeared before them.
"Put Uzumaki Naruto down, or you will be killed without mercy!"
Kushina Uzumaki looked at the Anbu in front of her, a fierce glint in her eyes.
Naruto had clearly been monitored all this time, so why did they watch him being bullied and do nothing?
"Hmph, is that how Sarutobi Hiruzen treats Naruto?"
"And Kakashi, others might not know who Naruto is, but don't you?!"
"Is that how you treat your teacher's son?!"
Suddenly hearing the word "teacher," Kakashi, who was about to move to reclaim Naruto, instantly froze.
Looking at the Red Hair woman in front of him, Kakashi suddenly felt that she resembled his sensei's wife.
But he immediately dismissed the thought; her appearance was completely different, and besides, his sensei's wife had sacrificed herself during the Nine-Tails' attack.
"Why aren't you speaking, Kakashi?!"
"And you Anbu, don't you know that Naruto is the Fourth Hokage's son?"
The many Anbu who were about to act suddenly heard her astonishing statement and all looked at Naruto in Kushina's arms with disbelief.
"What!!!"
"No way, didn't they say this guy was the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki?"
"If he's Lord Fourth Hokage's orphan, why is he living so miserably?"
"Kakashi, is this true?"
All the Anbu couldn't help but look towards Hatake Kakashi, who was the Fourth's disciple.
"I…"
Thinking of the Third Hokage's specific instruction not to reveal Naruto's identity, Kakashi could only remain silent.
He neither admitted nor denied it.
"No matter whose child Uzumaki Naruto is, you two cannot take him away. Hand him over to us quickly."
If it weren't for their apprehension about the Jinchuriki being in the other party's hands, they would have already attacked and killed the two of them.
Just as the situation was about to spiral out of control, Minato Namikaze, beside Kushina Uzumaki, suddenly spoke.
"Gentlemen, we'll take Naruto for a while and bring him back later."
Whoosh… As Minato Namikaze's words fell, the figures of the three instantly vanished, leaving many Anbu staring at the empty space in shock.
"How is that possible?!"
"They disappeared? This is a huge problem!"
"Go report to Lord Hokage immediately!"
The many Anbu all sprang into action, leaving only Kakashi staring blankly at the empty ground.
Others might not realize it, but he was different; the technique the other party used was clearly his teacher's famous ninjutsu, the Flying Raijin Jutsu!
"Could it really be my teacher and sensei's wife… Impossible…"
And just as Kakashi fell into self-doubt, Minato Namikaze had already brought the Kushina mother and son to a beautiful riverside.
"Kushina, you were too impulsive."
"I'm sorry, Minato, I really couldn't hold back when I saw Naruto…"
"I hope Lord Chen…"
Before he could finish his sentence, a figure wearing a Rainbow Ninja Village Anbu uniform suddenly appeared before the two.
He was holding a metallic disc full of technological flair.
"Minato Namikaze, Lord Chen had already anticipated this outcome, so take a look at this…"