"However, I think one's thoughts shouldn't always follow a single path."
"I can feel that there's a Great Fox sealed inside me. I've even talked to it… and vaguely seen what it looks like."
As Naruto-kun finished speaking,
the few little ones all widened their eyes.
"A Great Fox… a Fox Demon?"
"Is that right?"
Shikamaru took a deep breath, "So, that's why those people keep calling you a Fox Demon behind your back?"
"I think that must be it," Naruto-kun nodded.
He added, "Aside from the possibility of being the Fourth Hokage's son,"
"there's also the point of having a blood relation."
"In any case, one thing is for sure: the Fourth Hokage is an elder related to me by blood."
"Of course, there's another possibility."
Seeing Naruto-kun's solemn expression, the few little ones subconsciously swallowed, all becoming a bit nervous.
Naruto-kun, however, suddenly smiled and said softly, "Don't be so nervous, it's just a possibility."
The few little ones quickly nodded.
Even Tenten put down her milk tea, her palms sweating.
"I'm wondering, is there a possibility that…"
"The Great Fox being sealed inside me cost the Fourth Hokage a great price."
"At that time, was I… just born?"
"Or perhaps, I hadn't appeared yet."
"Instead… the Fourth Hokage sealed the Great Fox inside himself."
"Because the price was too great, he died as a result."
"Or rather, he didn't die, but merely shrunk his body and lost his memories."
Hiss—
Shikamaru gasped.
"Naruto… do you mean that you… are the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze?"
"Indeed, there's such a possibility. The Fourth Hokage, having sealed the Great Fox, paid the price of losing his life. But he was unwilling to die, so he chose to exhaust all his Chakra, use a secret technique, and return to childhood, yet lost his memories in the process."
After Shikamaru's repeated explanations, the few little ones also understood what he meant.
Their gazes towards Naruto-kun had changed.
It was Ino who said, "It's just a possibility. Such a secret technique… it shouldn't exist, right?"
"Naruto-kun… even if Naruto-kun is the Fourth Hokage… it doesn't matter. In any case, no matter what Naruto-kun's identity is, or who he is… our feelings for each other aren't fake!" Hinata said with firm eyes.
Naruto-kun's lips curved slightly, "Thank you, Hinata."
"Us too!" Choji quickly echoed.
"Thank you all," Naruto-kun's gaze softened considerably as he looked at them.
"Ahem, don't forget me!" Tenten coughed twice.
She hadn't expected that trying to integrate into the small group of handsome boys and pretty girls, who were a year younger, would be so difficult.
Thinking this, Tenten quickly ran out, and soon after, came back holding a large cake.
At this age, there was nothing that couldn't be solved with a good meal.
Rock Lee: "I'm so envious!"
Rock Lee: "Tenten, you were actually the first among the three of us to meet Black-Framed Naruto and his friends."
Temari: "Indeed, such a friendship will last forever."
Kankuro: "That's right, Black-Framed Naruto will definitely protect it well."
Orochimaru: "Hehe, you are truly lucky to have formed a friendship with Black-framed Naruto-kun. Don't worry, Black-framed Naruto-kun will definitely not disappoint you."
Senju Tobirama: Let me say something everyone doesn't know.
Senju Hashirama: Hahahaha~
Uchiha Izuna: Watching this scene makes me reminisce… The feeling of being alive is indeed very good.
Senju Hashirama: It's a pity we had to keep fighting back then.
Uchiha Madara: Hmph! The blood feud is as deep as the sea.
Uchiha Madara: This isn't something we can easily change. I think you, Hashirama, are well aware of this.
Senju Hashirama: So we also made many efforts, but unfortunately, things went against our wishes. Even if I integrated the Senju into Konoha, to avoid falling into the conflict between the Senju and Uchiha Clans again… Senju Hashirama hadn't finished explaining when Uchiha Madara interrupted him.
Uchiha Madara: The result was that Sarutobi picked up a huge advantage, hahahaha~
Senju Hashirama: "…"
He couldn't laugh anymore.
"Naruto, what do you plan to do?" Shikamaru asked.
The few little ones also stopped eating cake.
"Don't worry, I know my limits. For now, I'll just focus on developing myself."
"For the future, I have some initial ideas, but I don't think they're mature enough yet, so I won't tell you about them."
Upon hearing this, Shikamaru nodded.
Since Naruto-kun had already considered so much, he didn't say anything more.
Some things are better left unsaid; they just need to trust Naruto-kun.
Afterward, at Naruto-kun's suggestion,
Tenten finally managed to enter the small group.
Naruto-kun looked at Tenten, who was thoroughly enjoying being the 'little big sister,' and a slight smile played on his lips.
'What else is missing?'
'It seems like nothing is missing anymore… No, time is still missing, but that can't be rushed.'
After that, Tenten took control of the conversation's pace.
She told the few little ones what they would learn in first grade.
It was almost entirely Ninja basics.
Chakra Refining Technique, meditation, throwing shuriken and kunai, and learning every hand seal.
As an upperclassman, Tenten was quite confident.
However, in the afternoon, when Tenten went to the back mountain with the few little ones to train, her confidence vanished.
"Poor Tenten," Ino looked at Tenten with a half-smile.
Tenten's face turned bright red.
"I'm not specialized in that area; I prefer using Ninja tools."
"Yes, yes, yes," Sakura nodded with a smile, not refuting her.
So, after falling a few times, Tenten's little mouth turned downwards.
Her big eyes filled with tears.
Especially when she saw her junior classmates already able to walk on trees.
Even Shikamaru, with his clever mind, quickly learned after Naruto-kun's explanation and was now practicing water walking with them.
Tenten felt a bit ridiculous.
However, she turned her head to look at Sasuke, who was still falling repeatedly not far away, and a smile returned to her face.
"If I remember correctly, he's the main topic of discussion for those silly girls today, the Uchiha Clan kid."
"I didn't expect his mentality to be so unstable."
Uchiha Sasuke: "…"
Enough!
Just skip it already!
"Tenten," Naruto-kun suddenly waved at Tenten.
Seeing this, Tenten walked over, a bit nervous.
Where was her 'little big sister' demeanor now?
She looked very well-behaved.
"Pay attention to controlling your Chakra."
"You can try first by attaching Chakra to the soles of your feet, then placing one foot on the tree trunk, constantly adjusting the speed and amount of Chakra flow."
"The main thing is to find the feeling, that feeling of your foot sticking to the tree trunk… And then continuously maintain it, keep trying to find what's most stable and consumes the least Chakra."
"Keep it up," Naruto-kun had a gentle smile on his face.
Tenten was stunned.
"And Sasuke, you also need to work hard. You've been practicing for so long; you should have finished your training by now, but you're just too impatient. You need to overcome your impatience."
Naruto-kun suddenly looked at Sasuke, who was 'eavesdropping.'
"Hmph! I know!" Sasuke was still arrogant, trying to save face.
Just as Naruto-kun said, Sasuke should have mastered it long ago, but the kid was too impatient.
Even if he succeeded, he would often fail due to his unfamiliarity with Chakra manipulation.
Whoosh~
Tenten took a deep breath.
Looking at Naruto-kun's back, she was a little lost in thought.
So gentle, so handsome, so strong, so warm…
Ugh~!
You're in trouble, you're about to fall in love~!