"Yes, a Hero like you, Naruto."
After hearing Hikaru's affirmative answer, the initial disappointment on Naruto's face faded slightly, replaced by curiosity.
"Brother Hikaru, hurry up and tell me!" he said eagerly.
Seeing Naruto's expression, a smile appeared on Hikaru's face.
Sure enough, Naruto was always impatient, no matter the situation.
"Once upon a time, there was a loving couple. Their child had just been born... and in that moment, the enemy struck."
"The father, who was the Fourth Hokage, fought alone to drive back the enemy."
"The mother, who had just given birth, gave everything she had to protect her child and the village. She fought against the Nine-Tails that the enemy had unsealed."
"His father defeated the enemy and rushed to mother's side, preparing to seal the Nine-Tails once again."
"But the Nine-Tails, realizing it was about to be sealed and lose its freedom, tried to kill the child. It stretched out its massive claws to strike."
"And then—"
"—the parents stood in front of the child. They used their own bodies to shield him, blocking the Nine-Tails' deadly attack."
"At the end of their lives, they sealed half of the Nine-Tails' chakra into the child, hoping that one day he could use its power to protect the village."
"They sacrificed themselves to ensure that the next generation could live. Their hope was that this child would carry on their will."
"To keep him safe from enemies seeking to exploit or eliminate him, the village leaders hid his identity."
"But as the child grew, the Nine-Tails' chakra influenced his body. Fox-like whisker marks appeared on his cheeks."
"When the villagers, who didn't know the truth, saw those markings, they remembered the terror of that night and grew afraid."
"So they came to hate the child… never realizing he was the son of the Hokage who had died to protect them."
As Hikaru spoke, Naruto's tears flowed freely, falling silently to the ground.
"That child… is you, Naruto."
Hikaru's words struck something deep inside Naruto's heart. Only now did he finally understand why he had no parents… and why the village had always rejected him.
Naruto began to sob uncontrollably. Beside him, Jiraiya's face darkened with guilt as he looked at Hikaru.
He had never found the courage to tell Naruto the truth. He had kept it hidden, waiting for the right time. But Hikaru… Hikaru had told him everything, without hesitation.
Thankfully, Hikaru kept his promise. He had glossed over the Sandaime's failures, ignored Danzo's involvement, and disguised the darker truths with careful wording. He used Naruto's facial markings as the excuse, keeping the root of Danzo's experiments out of the story.
It was handled well.
From Naruto's blind spot, Hikaru subtly raised a hand toward Jiraiya and made an "OK" gesture, signaling that everything was under control.
After crying for a long while, Naruto finally began to calm down.
That was when it hit him—he wasn't a child born without love. He wasn't abandoned. His parents had died to protect him. They had loved him deeply—so much that they gave their lives for him.
He had never truly been alone in the darkness.
That realization lit something inside him.
Naruto wiped his tears away with his sleeve, then looked at the campfire grill and the skewers cooking beside it. He ran over and picked one up.
"I'm hungry! I wanna eat meat! I wanna get strong fast, so I can grow up and be a great ninja like my parents!"
Seeing Naruto cheerful again, Jiraiya and Hikaru smiled in relief.
Jiraiya rolled up his sleeves with a grin.
"Alright! Let me show you how to grill meat! My cooking's so good even the Sage of Six Paths would drool!"
That night, they ended their barbecue feast with laughter and warmth.
It was a spring night. The air still held winter's chill, but after a hearty meal, Naruto curled up in his sleeping bag.
He glanced at Brother Hikaru and Master Pervy Sage still talking by the fire. A warm feeling spread through his heart.
Mom… Dad… Don't worry. Master Jiraiya and Brother Hikaru care about me too. I'm not alone…
With that thought, he drifted peacefully into sleep.
Hikaru and Jiraiya remained seated by the fire, speaking in hushed tones.
"Jiraiya, before I set out, Itachi and I went through the Root's secret archive. We found… disturbing truths."
Jiraiya raised his eyebrows, intrigued. He picked up a skewer from the fire and took a bite.
He'd spent most of the night grilling for Naruto, so now he and Hikaru could finally eat.
"Let's hear it."
Hikaru picked up a skewer too, chewing slowly before continuing.
"The human experiments Orochimaru conducted in Konoha… they weren't entirely his idea. Root requested them. The missing villagers and shinobi? Danzo's people captured them and handed them over. Orochimaru didn't even know where the test subjects came from."
"When Orochimaru lost the Hokage candidacy, Danzo spread news of the experiments and leaked it to Hiruzen—so Orochimaru would take the fall, and the Third's reputation would suffer."
"Orochimaru thought he was serving the village. Instead, he was used, betrayed, and condemned."
"That's when everything became meaningless to him… and he chose to abandon the village in disgust."
"And even after his betrayal, Danzo secretly stayed in contact with him—asked him to pretend to be a rogue ninja so the village could still use his work behind the scenes."
"Root continued funding his experiments."
As he spoke, Hikaru pulled out a scroll from his ninja pouch—the one with the documented transactions between Danzo and Orochimaru—and handed it to Jiraiya.
Jiraiya accepted it with a heavy expression. He opened the scroll and read silently.
"But… it's too late. Orochimaru's already—"
"No. It's not too late," Hikaru said firmly. "I've already sent Itachi to search for him. One of the bases listed in that scroll might still be active."
Jiraiya turned sharply, his eyes wide with hope.
Hikaru looked into the fire and sighed.
"I want the Three Legendary Sannin to return to Konoha. The Senju couldn't make that happen. But we—the Uchiha—we still can."
He stood up, the firelight casting his shadow deep into the cave behind him.
"The pride of the Uchiha clan isn't just about survival or power. I want to see everyone in the village live well. I want the entire shinobi world to know peace."l
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