Namikaze Kirito's words did little to reassure Minato.
Even after hearing that, Minato still couldn't shake the unease in his heart. The future was never something to take lightly, and the more casually Kirito treated it, the harder it was for Minato to feel at ease.
Still, since those words had come from his own son, he chose not to argue.
He simply remained silent, though the worry in his eyes never faded.
At that moment, under Kirito's pressure, the younger Orochimaru slowly stepped forward.
His golden snake-like eyes stayed fixed on Kirito, filled with cold curiosity.
"So in the future… I address you as leader?"
His voice was calm, but there was a sharpness beneath it.
"Then perhaps you can tell me something. What exactly happens next?"
"Orochimaru, enough."
Jiraiya's expression changed immediately.
"Don't ask things like that so casually. You could end up changing history."
But Orochimaru paid him no mind.
His gaze never left Kirito.
Kirito merely gave a faint, amused smile before glancing to the side at the future Orochimaru.
"Well? He wants to know. What do you think?"
"Heh…"
The future Orochimaru let out a quiet laugh as he looked at his younger self, amusement flickering in his eyes along with something far more dangerous.
"How nostalgic. Though I suppose I should say… that really is just like me."
As he watched his younger self, a strange thought crossed his mind.
What would happen if this younger version of himself were taken back to his own world?
Would that still count as him?
To begin with, the future Orochimaru had never cared much about whether history could be changed. Kirito had already spoken, and in his eyes, that was enough.
Besides, compared to abstract concerns like causality or temporal collapse, his interest had always leaned toward something much more practical.
Experimentation.
If this world's Orochimaru were brought into another world, would he be erased by the world's laws?
Would it trigger some kind of collapse?
Or perhaps…
It would simply create a perfect opportunity to study himself.
After all, opportunities to experiment on one's own body were not something that came along every day.
Kirito's eyes shifted again, this time settling on Sarutobi Hiruzen.
When the younger Orochimaru had asked his question, Jiraiya had tried to stop him.
Minato had also clearly understood the danger.
But Hiruzen had remained silent.
That alone told Kirito enough.
Earlier, Hiruzen had already heard that he would die in the future. There was no way those words had not stayed in his mind. Even if he had kept quiet on the surface, a part of him obviously wanted to know the truth.
Since that was the case, Kirito decided there was no reason to drag it out.
"Yo… looks like the Third Hokage is pretty concerned about hearing news of his own death too."
"It's not about my—"
Hiruzen had barely opened his mouth before Kirito cut him off.
"If you and Orochimaru want to know so badly, then fine. I'll show you."
Kirito's voice remained casual, but the atmosphere shifted in an instant.
"But just talking about it would be boring."
A faint smile tugged at his lips.
"Let's see the future with our own eyes."
The next moment, his illusion technique activated.
A ripple spread through the room, subtle yet absolute, swallowing everyone's senses whole.
In an instant, the entire room was pulled into Kirito's illusion.
The younger Orochimaru narrowed his eyes.
He quickly noticed that he and everyone else had taken on a strange, spirit-like form, as though they were no longer truly part of the world around them.
And before them—
Konoha.
The village stood quietly in the distance.
"So this is the future…"
The younger Orochimaru's lips curled ever so slightly.
"What an interesting experience."
Then his thoughts shifted again.
If the future version of himself existed here, then perhaps killing him and taking his place beside Kirito would be the more efficient path.
As though sensing that killing intent, the future Orochimaru slowly turned his head.
The younger Orochimaru froze for a moment.
Because those eyes—
Those eyes were no longer ordinary snake-like eyes.
They had become Sharingan.
Not just that.
Mangekyō Sharingan.
The highest class of the Uchiha clan's dōjutsu.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, Jiraiya, and Minato all noticed it as well, and each of them felt their hearts tighten slightly.
Even with everything they had already seen, Kirito's abilities still felt absurdly mysterious.
Before anyone could dwell on it further, a deafening roar suddenly erupted from the village ahead.
The entire scene shook.
Then they saw it.
A massive fox, towering above Konoha, its tails swaying behind it like a nightmare given form.
The Nine-Tails.
The sight of it made everyone's expression change.
"How could this…"
Jiraiya's face darkened.
"The Nine-Tails is attacking Konoha…?"
As expected, chaos followed immediately.
Roars shook the sky.
Buildings crumbled.
Screams echoed through the village.
Konoha had fallen into complete panic.
Then, amid the destruction, a figure appeared.
A man wearing the Hokage's robes.
Blond hair.
A familiar back.
Everyone recognized him at once.
Namikaze Minato.
Hiruzen let out a long, quiet breath.
"So you really did become the Fourth Hokage…"
But Kushina wasn't paying attention to that.
Her eyes were already locked onto the Nine-Tails.
And in that instant, she understood.
If the Nine-Tails had been released, then that meant the seal had broken.
And if the seal had broken…
Then the jinchūriki would not survive.
Her face paled.
Her thoughts immediately jumped not to herself, but to Minato—
And to their children.
If she died, what would happen to them?
Would Minato be left alone?
Would their child grow up without either of them?
That fear gripped her heart far more than the thought of her own death ever could.
The scenes continued to move forward.
Soon, it reached the final moment.
The moment between life and death.
As Kushina watched her future self standing there, her child in front of her and Minato beside her, she raised a trembling hand to cover her mouth.
Her eyes were filled with panic and pain.
Then the scene played out to the end.
Their child survived.
Minato died.
She died.
And for the first time since the vision began, Kushina let out a shaking breath.
At least the child had lived.
That alone was enough to keep her from breaking completely.
Hiruzen watched in silence, his gaze heavy.
He also noticed himself in the distance.
So at that point… he was still alive.
If Minato had died so suddenly, then he must have taken the position of Hokage again after that.
Jiraiya clenched his fists so tightly his nails nearly dug into his palms.
Regret surged through him like poison.
Where was he at that time?
Where had he gone?
Research?
Intel gathering?
Some meaningless wandering?
What could have possibly mattered more than being there for his own student in a moment like that?
The answer sickened him.
Then the image changed again.
Kirito was shown taking away the bodies of Minato and Kushina.
That strange ability of his made everyone focus even harder, unwilling to miss even a single detail.
After that, the scene shifted to a hospital room.
Kirito was clearly awake.
And yet—
He kept his eyes closed, not daring to open them.
As the truth behind that scene became clear, the atmosphere in the illusion changed sharply.
It was because of Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō.
Because of their schemes.
Because of their devious planning.
Jiraiya's expression darkened at once, his anger barely contained as he turned toward Hiruzen.
Even someone with his usual patience found it hard to stay calm after seeing that.
Kushina's breathing grew unsteady.
As a mother, that scene hurt her even more than seeing her own death.
Her son had clearly been conscious.
And yet he could only lie there pretending, too afraid to even open his eyes.
How old had he been then?
How much had that child already been forced to endure?
If she still had a physical body, she would have marched straight at Hiruzen and punched him without hesitation.
Minato also fell silent.
He looked at the Third Hokage, the man he had always respected, and something inside him sank.
If Kirito had been treated that way…
Then what about Naruto?
Naruto, who had become the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki—
Would that child truly have been safe?
Would he really have been allowed to live a normal life?
The scene continued.
Then Jiraiya appeared.
That sight gave both Minato and Kushina a moment of relief.
At least Kirito had not been completely alone.
At least there had still been someone willing to stand by him.
Surely that meant things would get better.
Surely that meant Hiruzen and Danzō's plans would not go unchecked.
Then the conversation between Hiruzen, Danzō, and Jiraiya unfolded inside the illusion.
And little by little, the so-called plan regarding the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki was laid bare before everyone.
The moment Kushina understood it, her expression turned cold.
"What kind of stupid plan is that…?"
Her voice trembled with fury.
"They already lost their parents… and now you want to separate the brothers too?"
Her fists clenched so tightly they shook.
"Uzumaki Naruto…?"
Just hearing that name spoken in that context made her chest tighten.
Yes, Naruto carried her surname.
But that meant nothing right now.
Not when the child was being turned into part of a political arrangement.
Not when her eldest son was being forced to stand apart from his own younger brother.
Kushina's eyes blazed with anger.
No matter how anyone tried to dress it up, she would never accept it.
Not as a mother.
Not as Kushina.
And definitely not as someone who had already given everything for her children.
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