With the system's voice and the options on screen, everyone fell silent again. After Kushina's revival reward, no one doubted the system's power anymore. But Orochimaru's tragic penalty served as a warning— they had to think carefully!
Hiruzen Sarutobi: "No need to overthink—A, obviously! Minato was personally trained by me. I'm basically his second teacher!"
Namikaze Minato: "Lord Third did have a profound influence on me becoming Hokage!"
Senju Hashirama: "Haha, even after all these years, the Will of Fire still spreads to every corner of Konoha."
Uchiha Madara: "Boring nonsense. Only empty-headed fools fall for childish ideals like that."
Senju Hashirama: "Madara, how can you tarnish the Will of Fire? Back then, you were the one who proposed Konoha's founding ideals!"
Uchiha Madara: "Hmph—that's the second biggest regret of my life!"
Senju Hashirama: "Then what's the first?"
Uchiha Madara: "Being stupid as a kid and challenging you to stone-skipping!"
Senju Hashirama: "..."
Senju Hashirama: "Madara, after all these years, you're still hung up on losing that stone-skipping game?"
Uchiha Madara: "Hashirama, are you really that clueless or just pretending? My biggest regret is ever meeting you in this lifetime!"
Senju Hashirama: "But I'm really happy we became friends, Madara! ?(?????)?"
Uchiha Madara: "Hmph—get lost!"
Senju Hashirama: "??? ??? ..."
Unlike Hashirama and Madara's banter, Kushina was more worried about the other-world Naruto's heart. That Naruto seemed to be steadily walking down a path of darkness and hatred—with no return. What was going on? She'd accept either Naruto as her son, but as a mother, she didn't want her child to go astray. Her gaze returned to option C:
[What bullshit self-righteous Hokage—you sealed the Nine-Tails in me without even asking? All I can say is—good riddance!]
Kushina fell silent. She wasn't angry— instead, she began reflecting. After a long pause, she murmured in the Pure Land:
"Was the decision Minato and I made back then… wrong?"
"Come to think of it… we really didn't consider little Naruto's feelings."
"We just selfishly wanted him to become Konoha's hero…"
"Maybe what he wanted most was a normal childhood…" "Sorry, Naruto!"
Haruno Sakura: "@Naruto"
Uzumaki Naruto: "What's up, Sakura? Finally come to your senses—ready to date me?"
Haruno Sakura: "Sure—once you bring Sasuke back, I'll date you!"
Uzumaki Naruto: "Really?!"
Haruno Sakura: "Of course it's fake! Once Sasuke's back, who'd date you?"
Uzumaki Naruto: "Somehow… I feel a tiny bit disappointed."
Naruto looked at the cursed-seal Sasuke in front of him. What exactly did Sakura see in this guy? Damn it! Maybe… just don't bring him back to Konoha? Naruto shook his head, banishing the scary thought.
"No—I promised Sakura. Even if it kills me, I'll bring Sasuke back!" "That's a man's promise!"
Haruno Sakura: "Naruto, what did you feel the first time you saw the Fourth Hokage's introduction?"
Uzumaki Naruto: "Hmm, let me think!"
Naruto tried hard to recall the memory of flipping through the Ninja Encyclopedia and seeing the Fourth Hokage. Only to realize— that book had been his pillow since starting school! It was thick enough to sleep comfortably on…
"How do I handle this? I can't admit in front of everyone I used it as a pillow!"
But speaking of impressions of the Fourth Hokage— Iruka-sensei had lectured about him once, though the whole talk was mostly praising the Third Hokage. Iruka was basically the Third's number-one fan!
"..."
Uzumaki Naruto: "Back then, I probably thought: 'The Fourth Hokage is a hero—he saved Konoha Ninja Village!'"
Tenten: "Then isn't that answer A?"
Rock Lee: "Wow, Tenten and Sakura—you're both so smart! Can I pick A too? I'm so excited—maybe I'll gain talent for ninjutsu from this!"
Haruno Sakura: "Wait, Lee—that world's Naruto isn't as dumb as this world's!"
Rock Lee: "Sakura—are you worried about me? I'm super happy! Decided—for celebrating your concern, I'll do 1000 push-ups!"
Haruno Sakura: "Lee…"
Lee vanished from the chat. Fresh from his fight with Kimimaro, he was already covered in injuries— but now he felt full of energy. In front of a bewildered Gaara, he dropped to the ground and started push-ups on the spot!
Terumi Mei: "Looks like this world's Naruto still believes in the Will of Fire. But that other Naruto… seems to have lost faith in it."
Fourth Raikage: "But considering how abnormally smart that Naruto is, he might deduce his own identity just from a photo!"
Senju Hashirama: "By the way—besides Naruto and the Fourth Hokage, is there anyone else in Konoha with blond hair?"
Nara Shikamaru: "From what I've observed—no."
Yamanaka Ino: "There really isn't!"
Hyūga Neji: "Then why are we only noticing this now?"
Inuzuka Kiba: "You say that and suddenly my back feels cold—goosebumps!"
Uzumaki Naruto: "Kiba—you wear that thick fur-lined jacket and still feel cold? If it's bad, have Akamaru share some fur? His looks warm!"
Inuzuka Kiba: "I meant goosebumps figuratively—not literally cold!"
Akamaru: "Woof woof woof!"
The casual chat among the genin suddenly exploded into a topic! Right—logically speaking, the Fourth Hokage's signature blond hair, plus the fact almost everyone in the village knew Kushina was pregnant (Mikoto even gave her pregnancy tips), should have raised questions: Fourth Hokage dies— where did his and Kushina's child go? Add Naruto's iconic blond hair— it was practically screaming "Son of Namikaze Minato!" And the kid's surname was Uzumaki! The only Uzumaki in Konoha— a clan once on par with the Senju! The last Uzumaki in Konoha was Kushina herself! Yet despite these glaring facts, every villager firmly believed Uzumaki Naruto was the demon fox incarnate! They never even considered anything else? If you told this to anyone, no one would believe it! Hard not to suspect— someone with ulterior motives was behind this.
In Root HQ, Danzō—fresh from venting— suddenly felt his right eyelid twitch uncontrollably. He had another bad premonition.