Chapter 57: Mid-Autumn Festival Special
"Very good."
"Now, try to make it spin. It doesn't have to be fast, just keep it steady."
"Got it, Dad."
At the training ground, Minato Namikaze was doing his best to teach Naruto the Rasengan.
Meanwhile, at the entrance of the Hokage building, Kakashi stood at the bottom of the steps, pondering the morning's events.
During training earlier, he had noticed something wrong, and he was preparing to report it to his sensei, Minato.
He had watched Naruto grow up. He knew that loud kid who always yelled "I'm gonna be Hokage!" so well that he could predict his next move with his eyes closed.
But the Naruto from today... everything about him felt like a stranger.
When they met this morning, the look in Naruto's eyes held a trace of wariness and an unfamiliar distance.
When they talked about past missions during training, Naruto looked completely blank, saying he didn't remember.
Kakashi had even deliberately mentioned Obito's name. The look of utter unfamiliarity in Naruto's eyes when he heard "Obito"... it didn't look fake.
Obito had grown up alongside Naruto with him. Plus, now that Minato had appointed Obito as the Captain of the Hokage Guard Platoon, he stopped by Naruto's house almost every day to mooch food, sometimes even stealing Naruto's dango. The whole village saw how they bickered.
With a relationship like that, how could he have forgotten everything overnight?
Kakashi didn't dare think further. He headed straight for the Hokage's office.
No matter how bizarre the truth might be, he had to tell Minato.
Minato wasn't just his teacher and the Hokage; he was Naruto's father. He knew Naruto better than anyone.
Perhaps Minato could find more details in Naruto's daily life that Kakashi had missed, and figure out a solution.
Inside the Hokage's office, only Obito was present, as Minato was out teaching Naruto.
When Kakashi pushed open the door, Obito was sitting in Minato's chair, holding a file in one hand and a half-eaten stick of tri-color dango in his mouth.
"Eh? Kakashi? What are you doing here? Where's Minato-sensei?"
Obito asked playfully when he saw Kakashi enter.
But seeing Kakashi's grave expression, he instinctively sat up straighter, forgetting to chew his dango.
"What happened? With that look on your face... did Naruto blow up the training ground?"
"Obito." Kakashi walked straight to the desk, placing both hands on it. "Something is wrong with Naruto."
"Hah? What's that kid done now?" Obito raised an eyebrow, stuffing the rest of the dango into his mouth. "Did he get into a fight with Sasuke during training again? Or did he eat too much lunch and get a stomachache? When is that kid ever right?"
"Not that kind of wrong." Kakashi shook his head. "When I saw him at the training ground this morning, the way he looked at me felt strange. I tested him by bringing up the time we took him to Tanzaku Town for ramen. He ran around the street crying from the spice, and we laughed at him for days. Remember?"
"Of course I remember! Rin had to pour water down his throat to calm him down. That kid had snot and tears all over his face." Obito grinned at the memory, but then realized something. "Wait... Naruto didn't?"
"He didn't remember at all," Kakashi cut him off. "He looked completely blank and said he had no memory of it. That expression wasn't fake. Then, I mentioned your name."
The smile vanished from Obito's face. As Minato's student, Captain of the Guard, and Naruto's "Big Brother Obito," stealing snacks and pranking him were daily occurrences. They were incredibly close. How could Naruto not remember him?
"What was his reaction?"
"Even deeper confusion and unfamiliarity. He even asked, 'Who is Obito?'. Obito, this isn't something that can be explained by a training injury or a prank. He has a cognitive void regarding us, his past life fragments, and even some common sense."
"It's like... a stranger wearing Naruto's skin."
The office fell into a dead silence.
Then Obito spoke. "Have you told Minato-sensei and Kushina-san?"
"I was just about to report it. I didn't expect Sensei not to be here, but you instead," Kakashi replied.
He continued, "I think this is serious. We can't delay. Obito, this is too abnormal. I don't think it's simple amnesia. That sense of unfamiliarity is wrong. It's as if something has overwritten or interfered with his memories and cognition."
"Overwritten or interfered? Could it be a genjutsu?" Obito slammed his hand on the desk. "And an extremely high-level one, capable of altering memories! Who has that kind of ability? What's the objective? Targeting Naruto, or targeting Minato-sensei?"
Kakashi shook his head. "I don't know. But I can be certain this isn't a problem with Naruto himself. His behavior at the training ground today... apart from that cognitive gap, everything else—his chakra, taijutsu reactions, even his tone of voice—is still him. But the core memories and emotional connections seem to have been dug out or replaced."
"We have to confirm this immediately!" Obito made a snap decision. "Let's go. Find Minato-sensei and Naruto! If it really is a genjutsu..."
" whoever did this... whoever dared to target Naruto... I'll make them regret being born!"
"Notify the ANBU to be on alert?" Kakashi asked.
"Don't alert the enemy yet." Obito quickly organized the files on the desk. "For someone to tamper with Naruto right under our noses without being detected... their strength and methods are no small matter. Let's find Sensei first and figure out the situation. You're coming with me!"
The two quickly reached a consensus and vanished from the Hokage's office simultaneously.
Training Ground
Minato Namikaze stared at his son in astonishment.
He hadn't expected Naruto to successfully form a tiny Rasengan in such a short time.
Although it was small, with this foundation, he was only one step away from final success.
Minato patted Naruto firmly on the back. "Naruto, it's time to go back."
"Mhm, okay."
When Obito and Kakashi landed in the clearing of the training ground, they arrived just in time to see Minato leading Naruto away by the hand.
However, on Naruto's back, there was a mark they knew all too well—the Flying Thunder God formula.
"It seems Sensei already knows."
"Then there's no need for us to worry."
After returning home, Minato made an exception and didn't return to the Hokage's office. Instead, the family of three spent a happy afternoon together.
After dinner, Naruto lay in bed with a smile on his face.
Just as he closed his eyes, he heard Jiraiya's call.
"Naruto? Naruto!"
"Time to get up."
"Vacation's over. Time to train."