In a reception room within the secret research facility of the Dragon Vein between Rōran and the Hidden Leaf Village, Naruto Uzumaki was waiting anxiously.
His companions were not with him. He had been brought here alone and was told that a very important person wanted to see him.
Although the "main character group" didn't want to be separated, they had no choice but to comply under the current circumstances.
However, perhaps due to being alone, the usually restless Naruto Uzumaki found himself unexpectedly calm inside. While keeping up an outwardly anxious appearance, his eyes wandered around the room, observing its setup and looking for a possible way to escape.
After some time observing, Naruto noticed that the room didn't appear to be heavily guarded. There were no obvious signs of confinement barriers. Everything looked high-class, and there was even a professional attendant in charge of pouring tea and water.
In fact, the smiling maid beside him held a teapot, and every time Naruto's cup ran dry, she would refill it.
Because of his anxiety and constant thinking, Naruto drank the water without much thought. One poured, one drank. When he came back to his senses, he realized his stomach was full of water, making him feel bloated and uncomfortable.
"Ugh, this doesn't feel good..."
With a twitch of his face, Naruto burped. The maid smiled and came over once again to refill his cup.
Looking at the freshly filled cup, Naruto fell into deep thought. Even he, who was normally clueless about social cues, began to suspect he was being targeted on purpose.
In truth, Naruto had misunderstood. This maid was actually a puppet clone of Sasori, used for basic domestic tasks. She was given simple commands due to the low-level AI of the puppet.
Sasori, being a straightforward person, believed that if a guest wanted to drink water, they would finish their cup, and the servant should immediately refill it. Based on this logic, he designed the puppet's behavior.
Why not hire real attendants? Well, considering the sensitivity of the Dragon Vein Research Facility, there was no way Orochimaru and Sasori would trust people from Rōran.
Now that the puppet clone technique had been refined and was highly functional, the two used them to manage all daily tasks within the facility. This not only prevented leaks but also allowed for absolute monitoring. Should enemies invade, they would be discovered immediately.
In conclusion, because of the puppet maid's professional and diligent behavior, Naruto began to feel paranoid.
As Naruto continued this line of thought, the reception room's door suddenly opened. A handsome blond youth entered with a gentle smile.
Naruto looked up immediately. His first thought was, "He's blond too?"
Second thought: "He's handsome... even more handsome than Sasuke."
Third thought: "He looks... familiar. Where have I seen him before?"
Confusion. Suspicion. Uncertainty.
All kinds of emotions tangled within Naruto's heart as he carefully observed the newcomer.
The blond youth maintained his warm, sunny smile as he greeted, "Sorry to keep you waiting."
Then, turning to the puppet maid, he said, "You're dismissed. I'll call if I need you."
The puppet nodded and immediately exited.
Naruto, taking it all in, couldn't help but think this man had a double face. He was polite to Naruto, yet blunt to the maid. He resembled the nobles and merchants Naruto had seen during his three years of travel with Jiraiya.
Although Naruto didn't understand the concept of corruption, he had seen enough to feel that this man was like those types—always saying what people wanted to hear. That kind of attitude made Naruto uneasy.
In truth, Minato Namikaze had unintentionally caused a misunderstanding. He used a commanding tone with the puppet maid simply because he knew they were low-intelligence puppets. Politeness might cause them to misinterpret commands.
According to Orochimaru and Sasori, these puppet servants were still in the beginner stage—usable, but not smart. Thus, to avoid errors or crashes due to unclear orders, it was best to speak plainly.
To outsiders, this might seem cold and dehumanizing, but these puppet clones really were just tools. Speaking to them as if they were people was a waste of effort.
Due to past incidents where overly polite commands led to malfunction, Minato had since adopted a direct and emotionless tone.
Because he was so used to this, Minato didn't realize that his demeanor had caused some dissatisfaction in his dear son.
Normally, Minato would have picked up on it. But as a first-time father, even with a warm smile on his face, his heart was in turmoil. He was panicking internally and failed to notice the nuance.
He did notice Naruto's strange gaze but interpreted it differently: "Of course the kid would be shocked seeing his young dad for the first time."
So, with the two having completely different inner thoughts, Minato sat in front of Naruto and smiled gently. "Naruto, hello. This may sound strange, but this is our first meeting. Also, when you return, please send my regards to your parents."
Clearly, Minato assumed Naruto was the child of him and Kushina Uzumaki from a parallel world. Asking Naruto to greet them on his behalf made perfect sense to him.
Although the Nine Tails inside Naruto puzzled Minato, Orochimaru and Sasori's analysis confirmed that Naruto only contained half of the Nine Tails. The other half likely remained sealed within Kushina. Something must have happened in their world to cause the split seal.
Minato wasn't sure about the exact events. Orochimaru and Sasori had interrogated and mind-read Mukade mercilessly, but Mukade had focused mostly on the Land of Wind, minor nations, and the Dragon Vein. He only knew that the Nine-Tails' Attack happened, the Fourth Hokage died, and not much else.
Orochimaru guessed that the Fourth Hokage must be one of the Legendary Sannin—either Tsunade or Jiraiya. Since Naruto's group had shown hostility toward him, he assumed one of them had died. The possibility saddened him, especially at the thought of Tsunade's possible demise.
Naruto's group had only asked some basic questions due to their friendly stance and had not been interrogated thoroughly. As a result, no one in this world (aside from Uchiha Kei, the transmigrator) knew that Minato and Kushina were already dead.
So when Minato casually said those familiar words, Naruto was stunned. His face froze in shock, then twisted into a deep frown as he asked in a trembling voice, "You... what are you talking about? You know my parents? Can you please tell me who they are?"
His tone turned formal by the end.
This time, it was Minato's turn to be stunned. He stared blankly at Naruto. "You... don't know who your parents are?"
The shocked and confused expression was so intense that Naruto couldn't bear to look at him. His gaze dropped as he replied in a low voice, "Yes... I've been an orphan since I was a baby. I never met my parents. Lord Third never told me anything about them. I've always been alone... The villagers shunned me. Some called me a monster..."
"They never said it to my face, but I overheard them... Later, some even said I was the Nine Tails reincarnated, that I was the one who killed the Fourth Hokage..."
"Ahaha, sorry for talking your ear off. Actually, I know I'm not the Nine Tails' reincarnation. I'm its Jinchūriki... uh... that is..."
By the end, Naruto's nervous laugh faded. He stopped talking because he saw Minato's expression.
The Yellow Flash of the Leaf, usually warm and radiant like a small sun, now had tight lips and tense features. His eyes were filled with pain and fury, barely holding something back. The pressure was intense.
This Minato was not the same as the one in the original story, who had survived the Third Great Ninja War, lost many comrades and two beloved disciples, and matured through pain.
This Minato had lived a smooth life thanks to Uchiha Kei. He hadn't tasted much loss and had risen to become Hokage Assistant while watching the Leaf flourish.
He had also spent considerable time training in the Genjutsu World, studying advanced knowledge and moving beyond the traditional Will of Fire mindset.
Thus, his perspectives differed greatly from his original counterpart.
So hearing that his dear son had grown up an orphan, unaware of who his parents were, shunned as a monster, and labeled a murderer of the Fourth Hokage—this broke him.
He was barely mentally prepared to be a father. He had worked hard to compose himself, to meet the child calmly, to leave a good impression, and to learn about the parallel world. But then this bombshell landed. Who could endure that?
Still, Minato was Minato. Even with his mind in shambles, he knew he couldn't lose control in front of his son. After several deep breaths, he forced himself to calm down.
Once he felt composed, he pressed his lips together and managed a smile again. It was bitter, but clearly an effort to return to the warm, gentle persona.
Then, Minato spoke again, "It's okay. Don't worry. I just got emotional after hearing all that."
He paused, then said, "Naruto, I'm sure you have many questions about our situation. Let me explain everything now."
He proceeded to tell Naruto how the "main character group" had traveled through time via the Dragon Vein, and explained the existence of parallel worlds. What happened in one timeline would not affect the other. This was mainly to ease Naruto's worries about time travel.
During the conversation, Minato realized his dear son wasn't the brightest. It took quite some time and effort to explain parallel worlds and time travel before Naruto finally understood.
Eventually, Naruto wore an expression of realization and concluded, "So this is another Shinobi World from over ten years ago, right? Amazing! I can't believe the Dragon Vein can do something like this! That's incredible!"
His words were full of awe.
Unconsciously, Naruto's earlier suspicion and hostility toward Minato had completely disappeared, washed away by the latter's patience and kindness.
Then Naruto asked curiously, "So, mister, you're actually way older than me, huh? Are you a friend of my parents? Uh, could you tell me more about them?"
Hearing this, Minato was first struck by Naruto calling him "mister," his face twitching. Then came silence, unsure how to respond.
The situation had completely veered off course from what he originally expected.
At first, Minato hadn't planned to hide his identity. After all, what kind of child wouldn't recognize their father? Even a young version should spark some familiarity.
But now, Naruto didn't even know who his parents were, and clearly had an unhappy childhood.
A Jinchūriki with no protection, no reconciliation with the Nine Tails, and no figure like Uchiha Kei to mediate—how could life have been easy?
In the Shinobi World, discrimination and fear against Jinchūriki were an unfortunate reality, something even a Kage couldn't change.
Given that, Minato couldn't help but consider the possibility that Naruto's ignorance of his parentage might be due to some deeper, dangerous reason. Revealing the truth might put him at risk.
Minato had to think carefully and choose his words wisely. He needed to investigate the full situation before deciding whether to reveal himself.
After all, Naruto and his companions were destined to return to their original world. If knowing the truth put Naruto in danger afterward, Minato would never forgive himself.
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