"Otōsan, don't disappear… Otōsan, please don't go. I don't need anyone else's protection. I just want you to come back!"
Uzumaki Naruto had regained control of his body.
Minato Namikaze's soul separated from Naruto, and the surrounding natural chakra gathered around it, outlining his form.
A middle-aged man whose eyes and hair resembled Naruto's appeared in midair. He wore the Hokage robe, with the emblem of the Fourth Hokage on his back. A gentle smile rested on his face.
He bowed deeply to everyone present.
"I ask all of you to take care of Naruto from now on. Minato Namikaze thanks you."
Floating in the air, he bowed again—to the Uchiha shinobi and the ANBU. At this moment, he was no longer the Fourth Hokage, only a father.
Seeing this, Uchiha Mikoto broke down in tears and hugged Fugaku. Fugaku's eyes were also red as he nodded heavily.
"Minato, don't worry. Naruto will never be bullied in the Uchiha clan."
"Thank you… Fugaku, Mikoto."
Minato couldn't help but feel regret. If he had agreed to work closely with Fugaku back then, the Nine-Tails incident might not have ended with him fighting alone. Kushina wouldn't have died, and they could have watched Naruto grow up together.
But life had no second chances.
His mistake had been trusting Hiruzen Sarutobi too easily.
At last, Minato looked toward Uchiha Ran.
Ran met his gaze and nodded silently.
Minato smiled. His lips moved, though no sound came out.
Ran could read them clearly.
"Ran, I'm entrusting Naruto to you. Thank you."
With that, Minato's soul could no longer withstand the surrounding natural chakra. His form shattered into countless points of starlight.
The light drifted down gently, landing on everyone's faces.
Many were deeply shaken. No one had expected that Minato Namikaze—a hero of an era—would end like this.
Inevitably, thoughts turned to the Third Hokage. Several Uchiha clan members activated their Sharingan, hatred burning deeper in their eyes.
At that moment, Uchiha Sasuke stepped out from the crowd and walked straight toward Naruto.
Fugaku noticed but did not stop him. Instead, a relieved expression appeared in his eyes.
Watching Sasuke approach, Mikoto was reminded of a memory from long ago—Kushina standing in front of her, fearlessly driving away bullies one after another before reaching out her hand.
Sasuke extended his right hand.
"From now on, I'll protect you."
In Mikoto's vision, the two figures overlapped.
She burst into even heavier sobs.
The next second, blood flowed from her eyes.
"Madam! Madam! What's wrong? Don't scare me!" Fugaku panicked, grabbing her shoulders.
When Mikoto opened her eyes again, what followed shocked both Fugaku and Ran.
Four petal-like patterns bloomed within her pupils.
A terrifying dōjutsu power spread out.
"Mother…?!" Ran stared in disbelief.
Mangekyō Sharingan.
He had never imagined that his own mother had awakened it—here, of all moments.
Ran's gaze shifted to Sasuke.
Sasuke was squatting beside Naruto, one arm wrapped around his shoulder.
"Alright, Naruto. Stop crying. I'll protect you from now on."
Naruto cried even harder, hugging Sasuke tightly.
"Waaah! Thank you, Sasuke! You're so nice!"
"Hey! Let go of me! You're getting snot all over my clothes!" Sasuke complained, trying to push him away.
"No! You promised you'd protect me!"
Sasuke clenched his teeth, then gave up and laughed softly, no longer pushing him away.
He looked toward his second brother.
Ran gave him a thumbs-up.
Sasuke grinned brightly in response.
Ran froze for a moment, then smiled helplessly.
"That brat…"
"It's late," Ran said aloud. "Everyone should go back and rest."
Then his tone turned solemn.
"Everyone, thank you for rushing here tonight. As Hokage and as the head of the Uchiha clan, I am deeply grateful."
"Tomorrow, each of you will receive two hundred thousand ryo as a reward."
Fugaku's eyelid twitched. There were more than two hundred people present—that was over forty million ryo.
Before he could recover, Ran added calmly:
"The same applies to ANBU. The Uchiha clan will cover the cost."
Fugaku glared fiercely at him. He would settle this later. Paying for the Uchiha was one thing—why were they paying ANBU too?!
But this was exactly what Ran intended.
ANBU rewards should have come from Konoha's treasury, yet Ran paid out of pocket to win their loyalty—to make them feel valued, unlike under Hiruzen, where the wounded were sent away and the rest told to go home.
The atmosphere exploded.
"Long live Hokage-sama!"
"Long live the Clan Head!"
Even the ANBU shouted, blood boiling.
"Long live Hokage-sama!"
Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi, who had just returned, stood frozen at the edge of the crowd.
They exchanged glances.
What did Ran do this time?
Everyone seemed euphoric.
Shisui suddenly shouted, "Long live Hokage-sama! Long live the Clan Head!"
Itachi's lips twitched, but he still shouted twice out of courtesy.
Ran laughed.
"Alright, everyone's worked hard tonight. Go home and rest."
Silence fell at once.
The crowd dispersed, returning to their homes, while the ANBU resumed their night watch around Ran.
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