Konoha Hospital, Patient Room
Naruto woke up from his unconscious state and found himself lying in a hospital bed, letting out a sigh of relief.
Before waking up, he had even prepared himself to confront Danzo Shimura, but that turned out to be unnecessary. As long as the Third Hokage was still alive, Danzo couldn't interfere with the development of the jinchuriki and could only lurk in the shadows.
Naruto guessed it might also have something to do with his own conduct. Though he had lost control and rampaged, he hadn't harmed any villagers.
This clearly worked in his favor in the Third Hokage's eyes—after all, finding a new jinchuriki was no easy task.
He found a comfortable position and sat up, stretching his injured arm. Thanks to his Uzumaki heritage, the wounds were already healing themselves, leaving only a faint scar—not unsightly.
This incident served as a reminder: even living in Konoha, he couldn't afford to be careless.
No one could predict if another madman like Ameyuri would appear again.
Bored, Naruto placed his hand on the blanket and looked out the window, attempting to communicate with the Nine-Tails.
But the Nine-Tails seemed to be sulking and refused to respond.
Naruto felt a bit annoyed, wondering when he had upset the Nine-Tails.
Just then, the door opened, and a nurse led several figures into the room.
Besides the inevitable visit from the Third Hokage, Hinata, Shikamaru, and Choji came bearing fruit. Trailing behind them was a white-haired young man whose face was partly obscured.
Naruto quickly guessed who it was.
"Isn't that the Konoha's famous jonin Kakashi, the one who's always half-late and loves his books?"
"Naruto, I came to visit you with your friends," said the Third Hokage, greeting him simply.
Then, he turned to the others: "You all should step outside for now. I need to speak with Naruto alone."
Hinata, Shikamaru, and the others seemed to understand and left the room.
After they left, the Third Hokage looked at Naruto. "Naruto, do you remember who attacked you?"
Naruto covered his head and pretended to think hard. "Let me see... I was taking a bath when a middle-aged man suddenly burst in and attacked me without explanation. After that, my memory gets fuzzy..."
"Oh, Hokage-sama, you have to punish that man severely and put him in jail," Naruto added firmly.
The Third Hokage patted Naruto's shoulder in comfort. "That criminal has already been punished as he deserved. But think carefully about what happened afterward... what did you do?"
"What did I do?" Naruto tried to recall, his expression turning pained as he gasped for air.
"I remember dreaming... I turned into a demon fox and killed that man. Then I ran outside, and after that, everything is a blur."
Looking up at the Third Hokage with a confused look, Naruto said, "Hokage-sama, so I really am the demon fox? Were those villagers right? Did I really hurt them? But that can't be my power—I don't remember being the demon fox!"
The Third Hokage sighed deeply. "You did transform into the demon fox, but you are not truly the demon fox. The real demon fox is sealed inside you, and it was controlling your mind."
Naruto grasped at this like a drowning man grabbing a straw. "Hokage-sama, you must have a way to help me. I don't want to be seen as the demon fox. Can you make it leave?"
The Third Hokage shook his head. "I'm afraid not. All I can do is try to cover up your identity so that everyone treats you as a normal person."
"Maybe, with time, people will come to accept you."
After saying this, the Third Hokage placed several scrolls of ninjutsu on a nearby cabinet and left the room.
Naruto might not be ready to accept his jinchuriki identity yet, but he would get used to it someday. If it wasn't to check the seal and his mental state, the Hokage wouldn't have come at this hour.
He still had so much to do.
After the Third Hokage left, the others re-entered the room. Shikamaru and Choji expressed their concern briefly before rushing off.
Kakashi lingered by the door, glancing at Naruto intently before following the Hokage.
After the bustle, only Naruto and Hinata remained.
They exchanged a glance but quickly looked away awkwardly, neither daring to break the silence.
At that moment, the Nine-Tails' voice rang out unexpectedly, full of meaning:
"Not bad, Naruto. Your acting just now was impressive—such a confused and pained expression. I almost believed you really thought you were the demon fox."
Was that a compliment…?
Naruto grumbled to himself, then appeared inside the seal's space, staring at the Nine-Tails trapped in its cage.
"By the way, Big Fox, the Third Hokage came by just now. Why didn't you tell me?"
The Nine-Tails glanced at Naruto and replied with a scowl:
"After lending you chakra, the Hokage reinforced your seal. My senses of the outside world have been shrinking... Besides, why should I warn you?"
The Third Hokage secretly meddled with me again...
Naruto clenched his fist. While reinforcing the seal might be good for most jinchuriki, it wasn't for him.
At that moment, in the real world, Hinata carefully approached Naruto, holding peeled fruit.
"Naruto-kun must be hungry. Here, have some fruit."
Hospital Corridor
The Third Hokage and Kakashi stood together, watching people come and go.
Lighting a cigarette, the Third Hokage said, "Kakashi, if you have any questions, ask away. No need to keep anything bottled up since there's no one else around."
Kakashi took a deep breath. "Third Hokage, the jinchuriki of Konoha's Nine-Tails must be Minato's posthumous child, right?"
The Third Hokage exhaled smoke and nodded. "Correct. Naruto is Minato's son. Minato sealed the Nine-Tails into Naruto before he died, making him the new jinchuriki along with Kushina's child."
With the answer in hand, Kakashi fell silent.
Over the years, he had been carrying out ANBU missions and had heard the rumors about the demon fox. Yet he had never connected them to Minato's child, believing the boy was well cared for by the village.
Reality was different.
"Third Hokage, if that's the case, why didn't you openly acknowledge Naruto's identity?"
The Third Hokage glanced at Kakashi. "Minato made many enemies, and they would surely target Naruto if they knew. As for the demon fox rumors, I admit I've been negligent."
After a moment of thought, he continued:
"Also, if we told Naruto the truth now, I fear he wouldn't be able to handle the psychological shock. It's better to keep it hidden for now and reveal it when the time is right."
"Yes, Third Hokage," Kakashi replied without protest.
He felt this approach wasn't ideal but recognized there was no better solution at present.
After all, this truth would be far too cruel for Naruto to bear right now.
(End of chapter)
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