Naruto's body began to tremble from fear.
Just as Hiruzen was about to start questioning him—
"Brat, if you don't want to die, act like you didn't sense anything!"
The Kyūbi's roar snapped Naruto back to awareness.
"Brat, say exactly what I tell you…"
Then, line by line, the Kyūbi began instructing Naruto what to say.
"Jii-chan, what was that explosion earlier? It was so scary..."
Thanks to the Kyūbi's help, Naruto's reaction didn't arouse Hiruzen's suspicion.
Hiruzen sighed. "The Uchiha… the same clan as your classmate Sasuke… they revolted."
"They threw the village into chaos. And that Uchiha Kaede used massive-scale ninjutsu to destroy all of Konoha!"
"What?!" Naruto's eyes widened in genuine shock.
This wasn't an act—he truly hadn't expected it. That kind big brother who was so gentle to him… did something so terrifying?
Hiruzen sighed again, placing a comforting hand on Naruto's head.
"But don't worry, little Naruto. They've already been driven off by Jii-chan."
"Mm..." Naruto lowered his head, but inside, his heart was in turmoil.
Then the Kyūbi jumped in again.
"Stupid brat. Now's not the time to be confused."
"The truth behind all this? You'll have plenty of time to uncover it later. For now, focus on getting past this old man."
"Otherwise, tsk tsk..."
The Kyūbi's words brought Naruto back to reality.
Yeah!
Right now, what matters most is understanding why Jii-chan gave him such a dark feeling…
Meanwhile, Hiruzen was also lost in thought, wondering how to tell Naruto the truth about his identity.
After all, Kaede's words had already spread across the village!
Sooner or later, Naruto would find out the truth—and then…
After a moment of silence, Hiruzen looked at Naruto with guilt.
"Naruto, there's something I've been hiding from you."
"It's about your parents..."
"Mom and Dad?" Naruto immediately looked up at Hiruzen.
Hiruzen said, "Actually, your parents were heroes who saved Konoha."
"Your mother was Uzumaki Kushina, princess of the Uzumaki clan."
"And your father was… the Fourth Hokage, Minato."
Naruto opened his mouth—he wanted to tell Hiruzen that he already knew.
He wanted to ask why Hiruzen had kept this secret from him for so long.
But the Kyūbi immediately roared:
"Brat! Don't let him fool you! Act shocked!"
"Unless you want to die!!!"
Naruto swallowed hard. He had almost forgotten that chilling feeling Hiruzen gave him.
If he said the wrong thing, he really could die!
So instantly, he tapped into the acting skills he'd honed over eight years of pranking and being ignored.
"My dad was the Fourth Hokage? Jii-chan, are you serious?"
He grabbed Hiruzen's arm, trembling all over.
Though honestly, most of the trembling still came from fear.
Hiruzen sighed again. "Of course I wouldn't lie to you."
"Little Naruto, your father truly was the Fourth Hokage. You're the son of a hero!"
But upon hearing that, Naruto burst into tears.
He choked out, "Why? Why are you only telling me now?"
"And if my dad was the Fourth Hokage, why did the villagers treat me like that?"
"Why wouldn't they sell me anything? Why did they call me a demon? Why wouldn't they let their kids play with me?"
"Why?!"
Naruto shook off Hiruzen's arm and buried his face into the bed, sobbing.
There was no acting here—this was eight years of pain finally erupting.
Watching Naruto break down like that, Hiruzen felt a twinge of genuine guilt.
But for the sake of Konoha, he still had to keep stringing Naruto along.
He sat beside the bed, gently patting Naruto's back.
"Naruto, this is all my fault."
"Your father, Minato, earned great fame during the Third Shinobi World War."
"But at the same time… he killed many powerful ninja who sought to invade Konoha."
Hiruzen sighed again.
"Their families and comrades—many of them wanted revenge, but none could defeat your father."
"Then, eight years ago, on the day you were born, a masked man attacked the village and killed your mother. He unleashed the Kyūbi from within her."
"To save the village, your father gave his life… and sealed the Kyūbi inside you."
As Hiruzen revealed the hidden past, Naruto's sobs slowly subsided.
Seeing this, Hiruzen continued:
"You were just a baby. If people had known you were Minato's son, they would've done anything to kill you."
"So I hid your identity. But this led the villagers to see you only as the vessel of the Kyūbi… and they hated you for it."
Hiruzen was clever—he conveniently ignored the fact that it was him who allowed Naruto's jinchūriki status to be known.
But the Kyūbi within Naruto wasn't fooled.
It snorted coldly, mocking, "Hypocritical humans..."
At that moment, Naruto's mind began to clear, and his intelligence kicked in.
He asked, "Then why… why did you tell me all this today?"
Hiruzen's face twitched.
He didn't want to!
But that damn Kaede had already exposed the truth to the entire village—there was no hiding it anymore.
So he replied honestly, "It was that Uchiha Kaede again."
"He revealed your identity to get revenge on Konoha, hoping it would provoke the other villages into trying to assassinate you."
"I can't protect your secret anymore, so I had to tell you—so you'll be on guard."
He even managed to make himself sound pitiful, like he'd suffered deeply for hiding Naruto's identity.
Naruto gave a vague nod, then buried his head in the covers again.
He still had many questions to ask, but the Kyūbi stopped him and promised to explain everything later.
Seeing Naruto calm down again, Hiruzen hesitated.
Naruto's reaction seemed normal… Should he use extreme measures just in case?
But looking at the boy's pitiful figure, he couldn't bring himself to do it.
He sighed and said, "I know this is a lot to take in."
"Rest well for now. If you have more questions tomorrow, I'll answer them all."
Then he stood up.
He needed to meet with the clan leaders.
He'd seen all of their actions during the battle just now.
In Konoha's time of crisis, he had to put them in their place.
Even if he'd fallen from grace… his Kage-level strength was still enough to make them bow.
Several minutes after Hiruzen left, Naruto slowly rolled over.
He stared blankly at the ceiling.
"Kurama… are you still there?"
In the mindscape, the Kyūbi lay on the ground, baring its teeth as it muttered coldly:
"Brat, while I'm still in a good mood, hurry up and ask what you want."
"Tch! I can't stand annoying kids like you..."
The proud Kyūbi would never admit that he was starting to feel protective of this annoying little brat who'd lived with him for eight years.
...
(End of Chapter)
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