"I must've also been thinking about Konoha…"
The atmosphere turned strangely stiff after that.
Everyone looked at one another, and Sarutobi Hiruzen could only let out a dry laugh. At this point, all he could do was regret learning the truth. If nothing unexpected happened after they left this illusion world…
Then the Third Hokage would have no authority left at all in front of Namikaze Minato, Uzumaki Kushina, or even his own disciple, Jiraiya.
The screen shifted again.
Namikaze Kirito left Konoha, and once more, everyone was forced to witness Naruto's miserable childhood.
The moment those scenes appeared, Minato and Kushina felt as if something had stabbed straight into their hearts.
What had all of this even been for?
The two of them had given everything for the village. They had fought, sacrificed, and died protecting it.
And in the end, this was the result?
Their eldest son had been forced to leave Konoha.
Their younger son had not even been treated as the child of heroes. Instead, he had been branded a demon fox.
Even the caretaker assigned to look after him had clearly been filled with disgust.
If Kirito had never appeared… then things might have ended even worse.
When the image showed Kirito leaving the village, the sadness and stubborn resolve hidden in his eyes did not escape Minato and Kushina.
Kushina was already crying.
She had never imagined that after their deaths, their children would be forced to carry such pain.
Especially her eldest son.
How much had he been forced to endure?
He had to struggle against the higher-ups of the village, shoulder the burden of his family's separation, and keep moving forward in silence. By this point, in their eyes, Kirito had already remembered everything, and yet he still remained terrifyingly calm.
Only his eyes revealed how much sorrow he had buried inside.
Then came the scenes of Jiraiya bringing Namikaze Kirito to Tsunade so he could train.
Watching the child push himself day after day without rest, Minato and Kushina immediately understood.
Kirito had been preparing for the day his family could be reunited.
When he removed his shirt, the scars covering his body spoke louder than any words ever could.
Those wounds were proof of just how far he had pushed himself.
Again and again, he trained until collapse. Sometimes he even fainted from sheer exhaustion.
At that moment, Kushina's hatred for Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō only grew stronger.
This was their fault.
Feeling the darkness in her emotions, the Nine-Tails inside her let out a low, amused chuckle.
Hatred. Grief. Malice.
It was more sensitive to those emotions than anyone.
Good… it thought coldly. That brat made me suffer, and now you get to taste that same pain too.
After that, Kirito's growth was completed, and he returned to Konoha.
When Minato and Kushina saw their two sons standing together, their eyes filled with relief.
Their eldest son had truly grown up.
He had become someone capable of protecting his younger brother.
Then came the conquest of Orochimaru, followed by the journey to Sunagakure.
The first time Kirito revealed his full strength, everyone's eyes widened.
This was Namikaze Kirito?
At barely ten years old, he was already above Kage level.
That kind of terrifying talent…
If someone like that ever became an enemy, then he had to be eliminated before he could fully mature.
Sarutobi Hiruzen stared at the Kirito on the screen, then slowly turned to look at the Kirito standing here in the present.
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind.
Did his own death… have something to do with Namikaze Kirito?
If he had gone through all of that, then revenge would be natural.
And with Orochimaru at his side…
If Kirito could suppress Rasa, then even Hiruzen himself might not be his match.
The screen flickered once more.
Soon, it showed Kirito and Orochimaru conducting experiments in the underground lab beneath Gensokyo.
The ability they displayed—control over life and death—was enough to chill everyone present.
Could even the dead truly be brought back?
Only then did everyone fully understand Kirito's true purpose.
More than anything else, what he wanted… was to reunite his family.
Five years passed on the screen.
Then everyone watched with their own eyes as Minato and Kushina were resurrected.
But seeing that scene, Namikaze Minato did not feel joy.
Not even a little.
He was far too kind-hearted for that.
How could he accept his own life being restored through the sacrifice of others?
Kushina, however, was different.
It was not that she felt no discomfort about such a thing.
But at that moment, what she felt more strongly than anything else… was relief.
Not because she herself had returned.
But because of Kirito.
What would have happened to her eldest son if he had given everything, sacrificed everything, and still failed to bring his family back?
A mother understood her child better than anyone.
The darkness in Namikaze Kirito's eyes—only Kushina could truly understand it.
If there had truly been no way to revive his parents…
Then her eldest son might have completely collapsed.
After seeing how much he had suffered, Kushina made up her mind.
No matter what he had done…
She would stand by his side.
The screen continued.
Yūhi Kurenai, Tsunade, and even Terumi Mei all became entangled in Kirito's life.
Seeing that, Minato could only force out a helpless smile.
Kushina, on the other hand, looked extremely pleased.
In her view, the more people who truly loved her son, the better.
Soon, the day of Konoha's upheaval arrived.
Watching Uzumaki Naruto grow little by little, Minato and Kushina felt deeply comforted.
Their younger son had also grown up.
He had found his own path as a shinobi.
Then the Konoha Crush officially began.
The crimes of Shimura Danzō and Sarutobi Hiruzen were exposed one after another.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, standing here in the illusion world, stared at everything in utter disbelief.
Was all of this really true?
The things he had done had been carefully hidden.
So how had they been brought to light?
And Uchiha Fugaku…
That damn man had actually betrayed him.
Then even Danzō's miserable end was revealed.
That was when Hiruzen truly lost control.
In front of everyone's disgusted gazes, he shouted that it was impossible.
How could he, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, die in such a humiliating way?
To die was one thing.
But to have every filthy thing he had done dragged out into the open for the world to see…
That wounded him far more than death itself.
Once this became known, even after his death, he would never be able to rest in peace.
His name.
His reputation.
Everything he had built across his life—
gone.
The recognition and reunion of their family left Minato and Kushina filled with gratitude.
If there had been no happy ending after all of Kirito's suffering…
Then how could any of it have been justified?
At the very end, everyone saw the threat posed by Uchiha Obito, as well as the true extent of Kirito's power.
Kushina got so excited she practically looked like a little girl again, pumping her fist into the air as she cheered.
Watching that, Namikaze Kirito smiled faintly.
This…
was the mother from his own world.
The illusion was gradually reaching its end.
With the establishment of the Gensokyo Kingdom, the changes that had taken place in the shinobi world over the past ten years were finally laid bare before everyone.
Namikaze Kirito's power, enough to destroy the world itself, made Sarutobi Hiruzen lose even the will to resist.
Even the alliance of Kumogakure and Iwagakure had failed against him.
So how could he possibly win?
Not only could Hiruzen not do it—
even if all of Konoha's strength was gathered together, it still might not be enough to fight Kirito alone.
And in the final scenes, the so-called Ōtsutsuki Clan appeared.
Only then did Hiruzen fully realize something terrifying.
Traveling through time…
was actually possible.
Originally, he had wanted to deny everything he had seen.
But now, he no longer could.
Minato and Kushina, however, were focused on something else entirely.
"…Boruto, huh?" Kushina said, blinking through the tears in her eyes.
Minato looked just as stunned, but a soft smile slowly formed on his face.
"Our children…" he murmured. "They've already grown up enough to have children of their own…"
Kushina's eyes shone.
"That's wonderful…"
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