Kushina's words instantly made Konoha's atmosphere unbearably heavy.
At this moment, the villagers who once poured hatred onto Naruto panicked.
After her declaration, the entire village fell into an eerie silence.
Before, Kushina had only targeted Sarutobi Hiruzen.
They still clung to false hope.
Now—
Namikaze Minato: "Kushina… you—"
He hesitated.
The next second—
Kushina's voice was muted again by the system.
Uzumaki Kushina: "Get lost! Don't tell me what to do! Keep being your damned Hokage and protect those idiots!"
In the arena—
Naruto stood there, confused.
"Why does Mom want me to remember their faces?"
As a referee who hadn't left yet, Shiranui Genma's eye twitched.
But he said nothing.
As one of the Fourth Hokage's guards—
they were unquestionably derelict in duty.
And not just as subordinates.
Looking at Naruto's back—
for a moment, Genma developed Konoha's old ailment: farsightedness.
"Eternal Carry-Sis…"
He murmured.
For an instant, he saw Namikaze Minato's silhouette overlapping with Naruto's.
Neji's lips curled slightly.
Watching the black-frame Naruto—
he smiled.
"How nice."
"I wonder if that scene from back then will appear."
"Heh…"
"If this black-frame Naruto heard my words—how would he treat me?"
Neji found himself anticipating it.
The black-frame footage continued.
["Beat the fox to death!"]
[An old woman pulled an egg from her basket.]
[Whoosh—]
[Though confused, Naruto remained alert.]
[The egg missed his head as he ducked.]
[Smack—]
[The egg shattered on the ground, splattering at his feet.]
[Naruto frowned. Anger surged.]
['Why are you treating me like this?!']
['What did I do wrong?!']
['I don't know what a demon fox is—and it's not me!']
[As anger rose, a sudden coolness washed over his heated mind.]
[A strange emotion appeared, soothing his fury.]
['No matter what they do, I should forgive them?']
['Impossible! Absolutely impossible!']
['How could I even think that?!']
Black-frame Naruto's thoughts echoed.
Everyone was stunned.
What was going on?
What was he saying?
Neji's pupils shrank.
Could it be—
He snapped his gaze toward the Naruto standing there now—
clueless, scratching his head.
Neji realized something terrifying.
So—
this Uzumaki Naruto wasn't just some 'big landlord' after all!
In the Pure Land, Madara frowned.
Whether the Uchiha Stone Tablet or Black Zetsu's guidance—
both clearly pointed to this truth.
Otherwise, there would've been no Battle of the Valley of the End.
Madara knew he was Indra's reincarnation—
and used that fact as the core driving force behind the Eye of the Moon Plan.
'That brat is Ashura's reincarnation in this generation?'
'A fusion of Uzumaki and Senju… that is indeed possible.'
'No wonder the gold-frame brat felt off before. So that's it.'
Madara clearly had no intention of explaining.
The footage continued.
[Smack—]
[Another egg flew, striking Naruto's forehead.]
[Yolk splattered; shards of shell stung his skin.]
[Pain hit. Naruto instinctively clutched his head. His blue eyes reddened, tears welling.]
[But more than pain, he was enraged by the emotions intruding into his mind.]
['Get away from me!']
['Don't interfere with me!!']
["Kill this shameless fox!" the instigator shouted again.]
[Someone finally snapped.]
["Die, demon fox!"]
[They grabbed all the eggs and hurled them at him.]
[Pop pop pop—]
[Eggs burst endlessly.]
[In moments, Naruto was drenched in yolk.]
[His head throbbed so badly he couldn't dodge.]
[He could see the trajectories clearly—but his body wouldn't obey.]
[Fury made his teeth chatter.]
[He slammed his fist into his own head.]
[Then looked up—tear-filled eyes locking onto every attacker.]
[He engraved every single face into his memory.]
[Buzz—]
[But the next instant, that soothing chakra appeared again.]
[It diluted his rage—blurred the faces in his mind.]
['Get out… get out of my head!!!']
"What's going on?"
"Was I like that back then?"
Naruto scratched his head, doubting himself.
"That wasn't you," Neji said, fighting the urge to roll his eyes.
Honestly—
he didn't even need to roll them. He could just activate Byakugan and be done.
"What?" Naruto asked reflexively.
Neji took a deep breath.
Now he understood why black-frame Naruto was so furious.
"That was another you."
"Do you remember that scene on the black-frame screen?"
Naruto nodded. "Watching it again… I remember quite a bit now."
"Then you heard his inner voice too," Neji said.
"Did you feel something like that back then?"
In the chat—
Senju Tobirama asked after some thought:
Tobirama: "Naruto, do you remember? Were you like the black-frame Naruto at the time?"
Uzumaki Naruto: "Um… Second Hokage-uncle, I kinda remember… but I still can't recall it clearly."
As soon as Naruto finished—
Kushina's voice rang out. This time, it wasn't muted.
Uzumaki Kushina: "You must remember!"
Kushina: "Naruto, promise Mom—never forget a single one of their faces!"
Kushina: "Even if you forget, write them down now! Mom will remember them with you!"
Kushina: "Shut up! Minato—I don't want to hear you say—"
Her voice cut off again.
Muted.
Namikaze Minato: "..."
He had been about to speak—
but Kushina predicted him.
Inside the Shinigami's stomach, Minato sat silently, bitterness on his lips.
Life and death were different.
His thoughts were no longer bound by the world's constraints.
Now—
how could he not feel regret?
Otherwise—
How could the "Little Sun," Namikaze Minato,
have earned the Nine-Tails' Yin half's recognition?
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.