Konoha Year 54, February 22 — early morning.
On a dirt slope about a kilometer outside the Hidden Leaf, four figures stood together, gazing toward the village.
There were four of them: Naruto, practically vibrating with excitement; Minato, wearing his usual warm, sunny smile; Akio, looking completely lost; and Kushina, her face scrunched up in a mix of embarrassment and annoyance.
"Hey—don't tell me you three dragged your poor ancestor out here just to mess with me?"
Kushina nodded, her expression growing even more pitiful. "Pretty much, Grandpa. Please fly us back home… and then fly us back again, okay?"
Akio: "…"
"Mom, we agreed on this!" Naruto puffed his cheeks like a stubborn little kid trying not to cry.
Akio sighed. "Agreed on what? Can you stop talking in riddles?"
Minato shook his head gently. "Elder, we'll explain once we're in the village."
Still confused, Akio trailed after the family of three, no closer to understanding what was going on.
Half a month earlier — the Uzumaki household
Naruto had pulled out his ultimate weapon: the Sexy Jutsu custom-made to resemble Akio.
Akio was so furious he nearly keeled over.
But he was not someone who ever let a brat steamroll him. He snapped his fingers and stripped Naruto's transformation right off—
—then partially released the Nine-Tails' seal.
The half of Kurama sealed inside Naruto had been living in complete sensory isolation for years, shut away like someone locked in solitary confinement with no sound, no light, and no idea what was happening outside. A normal human would've gone insane.
Kurama, stubborn as ever, had endured it.
And once Akio loosened half the seal, the fox remained surprisingly calm—calm enough to be threatened into negotiations.
In the end, man and beast reached an agreement: Akio wouldn't completely shut it away again, and Kurama would interfere with Naruto's transformation techniques whenever he tried to use "that ridiculous jutsu."
Which meant one thing:
Naruto's Three Basic Transformations dropped to two
—no Clone Transformation for him until he grew up enough to reason with Kurama or learned proper restraint.
After dealing with that mess, Akio cooled down and stopped Kushina from giving Naruto another beating. Hitting him wasn't working; the kid was built like a tank and too stubborn to scare straight. He'd need another approach.
So Akio dragged Naruto to Ichiraku Ramen to find Ayame.
Whenever Akio was in seclusion and Minato and Kushina were at war, Naruto would regularly escape from the strict elders' housing block and run to Ayame to vent — and get a free bowl of ramen. Their bond had grown unexpectedly strong.
Standing in front of Ayame's bright smile, Naruto finally muttered an apology, and Akio felt the first spark of hope for the boy.
The whole incident settled down. Naruto stopped begging to sneak into Konoha.
Akio resigned himself to the next step and personally contacted the Academy to arrange Naruto's class, homeroom teacher, and instructors.
And he began planning ahead:
"Looks like I'll have to borrow a few Leaf kids as 'exchange students.' Hinata for sure, then Sasuke — Naruto needs a rival — plus Sakura, and that Senju kid who shares my name. Four should do."
That was last night's conclusion.
Then at dawn, half-asleep, he was dragged out of bed by Kushina's family and told they were heading to Konoha.
He flew them over on instinct, only realizing something was off once they neared the village.
But whenever he asked, the three of them just talked in circles. Akio honestly wondered if he was dreaming.
At the village gates
The gate guards had changed since last time, but ironically, Akio knew these two better: Izumo and Kotetsu.
Seeing the group approach, the two guards hurried over in surprise.
"Lord Fourth—you've returned!"
Minato smiled kindly. "Just here to take care of something. Please record our entry."
"Record what?" Akio chuckled. "We need to sign in just to come home?"
"You're Elder Akio… right?" Kotetsu asked hesitantly.
Akio nodded. "Gatekeeping is an honorable post. I hope the two of you can endure the boredom."
"Yes, sir!" both said at once.
"Good. May you hold this honorable post for the rest of your lives."
Izumo: "…"
Kotetsu: "…"
They headed into the village. Minato gave a helpless laugh. "Elder… did they do something to offend you?"
"No," Akio said with a shake of the head. But in his memory — even during the Shippuden era — those two were always at the gate. They probably would guard it for life.
"We're inside. Where to now—the Senju compound?" Akio asked.
"Let's go find Akio," Naruto suggested at the same time Kushina said, "Let's visit Mikoto."
Kushina blinked and shot Naruto a glare.
Akio waved it off. "Same difference. Let's go."
But Minato shook his head. "Before that, let's walk around the village a bit."
Akio raised a brow. "What, trying to tell people you're back? Planning to take up the Hokage cloak again?"
Minato smiled brightly. "Once I stepped down, I never intended to return to that seat. Come on, Elder."
Akio blinked, watching the three walk ahead, then hurried to catch up.
A walk around the Leaf
Circling the village counterclockwise, Akio was surprised.
He had assumed Minato's return would spark cheers — but the villagers' reactions fell neatly into three groups:
1. The older villagers
They greeted Minato politely from a distance. Some wore complicated expressions.
2. Villagers around Minato's age
Some avoided eye contact. Some looked ready to cry.
3. Children and teens
Some smiled brightly, recognizing a hero.
Others stared with open hatred.
Kushina tightened her grip on Naruto. "Minato… it's exactly like you said."
Akio's brows furrowed. "Because of the war?"
Minato's smile remained gentle, but the weariness beneath it was obvious.
"Konoha didn't fall into war entirely because we left… but it wasn't unrelated. In war, someone always pays the price. Some lost children, some parents, some siblings."
"The older generation understands, even if they feel resentment. But the orphans… they can't understand. Their grief doesn't leave room for forgiveness."
Akio exhaled slowly. "So what now?"
"We're here," Minato said suddenly, cutting him off.
Akio looked up.
Before them stood the Konoha Orphanage.
"The orphanage…"
Minato knocked — a steady thump, thump, thump.
Footsteps.
A door creaked open.
A silver-haired boy stood there. When he saw Minato, his eyes widened.
"Lord Fourth. Please… come in."
Minato nodded and walked in with Kushina and Naruto.
Akio lingered a moment, studying the boy carefully.
"Grandpa, what's wrong?" Kushina asked, glancing back.
"Nothing."
He knew that face well.
Yakushi Kabuto.
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