Chapter 322: The Orphanage
Konoha Year 54, February 22nd, early morning.
On a dirt slope a kilometer outside Konoha Village stood three adults and one child, gazing far into the distance.
The four were an excited-faced Naruto, a sunny-faced Minato, a bewildered-faced Masahiko, and a pouting-faced Kushina.
"I say, are you three messing with your Great Ancestor?"
Kushina nodded, her face pouting even more. "Yes, Great-Grandpa. Thank you for flying us here; now please fly us back."
Masahiko: "???"
"Mother, we agreed on this!" Naruto puffed out his cheeks like steamed buns.
"What did you agree on? Can you stop speaking in riddles with me?" Masahiko felt helpless.
Minato shook his head. "Great Elder, let's talk after we return to the village."
Masahiko, full of bewilderment, followed the family of three, still not understanding what was going on.
...
More than half a month ago, at Kushina's house.
Naruto had unleashed his ultimate threat—the Sexy Jutsu: Masahiko Version. It almost angered Masahiko to death.
But when had Great Ancestor ever let himself be bullied by others? Masahiko raised his hand and stripped Naruto of his clothes...
And then he undid half of the Nine-Tails seal on Naruto's body.
Speaking of that half of the Nine-Tails inside Naruto, it had truly been living in deep waters and scorching fire these past few years.
Masahiko had sealed it with his full power, locking it in a small dark room. For all these years, it couldn't sense a single shred of information from the outside world. If it were a human, being locked up like this for so long would have driven them crazy long ago.
The Nine-Tails was quite capable of enduring loneliness. After Masahiko undid half the seal, it was able to calmly compromise under Masahiko's threat...
In the end, the person and the beast reached an agreement. Masahiko would no longer completely seal it, and in return, it had to release chakra to interfere whenever Naruto used the Transformation Jutsu.
In other words, to deal with the 'annoying' Sexy Jutsu, Naruto's three basic jutsus were reduced to two from then on. This would continue until he grew up and became sensible, or until he could successfully communicate with the Nine-Tails.
Having done this, Masahiko also calmed down and stopped Kushina from continuing to beat Naruto. He felt that just beating him wasn't effective anymore. This child was very tough, and he couldn't hit him too hard... To make him sensible, he had to think of other methods.
So he took Naruto to Ichiraku Ramen and found Sara.
While Masahiko was in seclusion and Kushina and Minato were on the battlefield, Naruto would frequently sneak away from the 'old-fashioned' Gosha to complain to Sara and mooch a bowl of ramen. His relationship with Sara was unexpectedly good.
Faced with Sara's smiling face, Naruto surprisingly felt guilty and admitted his mistake, which also eased Masahiko's heart—this child could still be saved.
This disturbance finally came to an end. Naruto seemed to accept his fate and stopped clamoring to go to Konoha.
And Masahiko, as if accepting his fate as well, personally contacted the Ninja Academy, arranging the class Naruto would enter, his homeroom teacher, and the candidates for various instructors.
Meanwhile, he made other plans inwardly.
"It seems I have to go abduct some kids from Konoha. Call them exchange students. Who should I abduct? Hinata must be included. Then there's his rival, Sasuke. And then... Sakura, plus that Senju kid with the same name as me. That makes four." Last night, this was his calculation.
As a result, early this morning, a half-asleep Masahiko was woken up by Kushina's family, saying they wanted to go to Konoha. Masahiko groggily flew them over, and it wasn't until they were close to Konoha that he realized...
Then he asked the three of them, and they started speaking in riddles with their Great Ancestor right here. Masahiko felt like he was still dreaming.
At the entrance to Konoha Village, the two gatekeeping ninjas had been replaced. But compared to the original two, Masahiko was actually more familiar with these two guys—Izumo and Kotetsu.
Seeing Masahiko's group, the two looked surprised and hurriedly came to meet them.
"Lord Fourth, you've returned?"
Minato smiled gently. "Returned for some business. Please register us."
"Register what?" Masahiko smiled. "We have to register to enter Konoha now?"
"You are... Elder Masahiko?" Kotetsu asked hesitantly.
Masahiko nodded in response. "Being a Konoha gatekeeper is an honorable position. I hope you can endure the loneliness."
"Yes!" The two replied simultaneously.
"Mm, I wish you a lifetime of service in this honorable position."
Izumo: "..."
Kotetsu: "..."
As they walked into Konoha, Minato smiled bitterly. "Great Elder, did those two offend you somehow?"
"No." Masahiko shook his head. But in his impression, right up until Shippuden, the Konoha gatekeepers were these two guys. They would probably guard the gate for their entire lives, right?
"We're inside Konoha now. Where are we going? The Senju clan compound?" Masahiko continued to ask.
"Let's go find that guy Masahiko."
"Let's go find Mikoto."
Naruto and Kushina spoke at the same time. Kushina was startled and looked down, glaring at Naruto.
"It's the same either way, let's go," Masahiko smiled.
Minato, however, shook his head. "Before that, let's take a walk around Konoha Village first."
Masahiko was stunned, then smiled. "What, do you want to tell the villagers you're back and preparing to be the Fourth Hokage again?"
Minato revealed a sunny smile. "From the moment I resigned, I never thought about becoming Hokage again. Let's go, Great Elder."
Masahiko was slightly bewildered. Seeing the three walking away, he hurriedly caught up.
Walking counterclockwise around the outskirts of Konoha Village, Masahiko was surprised inwardly.
Contrary to what he imagined, the villagers weren't as enthusiastic as expected upon seeing Minato's return. They could be roughly divided into three types based on their age group.
The first type, the elderly villagers, mostly greeted Minato from a distance upon seeing him, some with complex expressions.
The second type, the villagers close to Minato's age, had mixed reactions. Some avoided him, while others were excited.
The third type, the youths or children, had different reactions. Some revealed bright smiles, while others showed... hatred?
Kushina's expression was complex, and she held little Naruto tightly. "Minato, it's exactly as you said."
Masahiko, however, wore a thoughtful expression. "Is it because of the war?"
Minato's smile was still bright, but a hint of helplessness was hidden within. "Although Konoha entering the flames of war wasn't entirely because Kushina and I left, it wasn't unrelated either. In war, there are always sacrifices—those who lose their children, those who lose their parents, those who lose their siblings."
"The elderly can understand, but there's still a knot in their hearts. But the children who lost their parents cannot understand, nor can they hide the hatred in their hearts."
Masahiko took a deep breath and shook his head helplessly. "Then you plan to..."
"We're here," Minato interrupted.
Masahiko was startled and looked at the building in front of him: Konoha Orphanage.
"Orphanage?"
Knock knock knock... Minato knocked on the orphanage gate.
A few seconds later, footsteps could be heard from behind the door, followed by a creak as the gate was opened.
Behind the door was a young boy with silvery-white hair. Seeing Minato, he looked surprised.
"Lord Fourth? Please... come in."
Minato nodded, and the family of three walked in. Masahiko, however, stopped at the doorway, observing the boy in front of him.
"Great-Grandpa, what's wrong?" Kushina turned back and asked.
"It's nothing."
This was an acquaintance, Kabuto Yakushi!
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