What Hagoromo had just done came from simple disgust—bordering on personal revulsion.
Naruto was just Naruto.
Reincarnation, possession—none of those explanations could persuade Hagoromo.
The dead should look like the dead.
Especially those who had died a thousand years ago. When even the bones had long since turned to dust, what was there left to cling to?
Brotherly conflict?
Born of the same root, why rush to kill each other—did that really need explaining?
A clash of ideals?
Did those ideals even have any reason to continue clashing in the present era?
Naruto, of course, had no idea what had happened to him.
But as far as he was concerned, this was easily the most inexplicable day of his life.
Dangerous. Terrifying. Utterly absurd.
And he'd nearly been cut down.
By the time Hagoromo left, Naruto's mind was nothing but chaos.
What were those two "thieves" here for?
What had they done to him?
Forget five years old—even at fifteen, Naruto's straightforward brain wouldn't have been able to figure it out.
He couldn't understand it.
But—
A girl named Uzumaki Mirai, who shared his surname, had appeared.
That fact alone stuck in his mind.
After leaving Naruto behind, Hagoromo didn't immediately go to see the Third Hokage.
It was almost as if he had forgotten that the one who summoned him back to Konoha was the Hokage himself.
As for the mission?
There was no rush. The Uchiha weren't going to rebel today, after all.
Hagoromo brought Mirai to the outskirts of Konoha.
...
Mirai bent down and gently placed a bouquet of flowers on the ground.
After standing there in silence for a while, she looked up at Hagoromo.
"Hagoromo… was I born here?"
"No," Hagoromo replied. "But this is where I first found you. Back then, you were about this big."
He gestured with his hands, showing something very small.
Twins, and premature on top of that—both she and Naruto had been tiny.
"The cherry blossom grove… it's really beautiful in spring."
Compared to Minato and Kushina's grave, Hagoromo was more accustomed to paying his respects at the place where Kushina had spent her final moments.
The cherry blossom forest that had once been destroyed had been replanted two years ago.
But they were still saplings.
To restore it to what it once was—petals filling the air—would take many more years.
No matter what, this wasn't a place where Hagoromo could ever truly feel happy.
So Mirai remained especially quiet.
Hagoromo held her small hand.
One tall, one small—they stood there together.
After some time, Mirai tugged lightly at the corner of his sleeve.
Someone else had arrived.
A short old man wearing a hat and smoking a pipe approached from a distance.
"Paying respects to Kushina and Minato?"
After stepping closer, the Third Hokage first patted Mirai's head before speaking.
Mirai didn't dodge.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was, after all, a gentle man.
He genuinely cared about the younger generation of Konoha—especially Mirai.
Naruto was an exception.
Even so, in private interactions, the Hokage had never treated Naruto poorly.
But in the end, public duty and private feelings were different things.
A jinchūriki was still a jinchūriki.
Hagoromo didn't answer the obvious question. Instead, he asked calmly,
"The Third Hokage leaving Konoha alone like this—is that really appropriate?"
"Heh."
Hiruzen removed the pipe from his mouth. Exposing a child to secondhand smoke wasn't exactly good behavior.
"This is still within Konoha's borders. And besides—aren't you here as well?"
Fair enough. Hagoromo was a powerful escort.
But had the Hokage never considered the possibility that Hagoromo might turn on him?
Hiruzen hadn't.
Fortunately, Hagoromo hadn't either.
"Mirai," Hagoromo said casually, "this slow old man is Konoha's village chief—the Third Hokage. He's the biggest authority in the Land of Fire."
Mirai remained polite and introduced herself properly.
"Hello, Hokage-sama. I'm Minato and Kushina's daughter. My name is Uzumaki Mirai."
In Konoha, Mirai was indeed recognized as the Fourth Hokage's daughter.
But she herself didn't consider Minato's position particularly important.
It was enough for her to know she was Minato and Kushina's child.
That was why she introduced herself that way.
"Mirai… welcome back to Konoha," Hiruzen said softly.
The habitual Hokage instinct to deliver an ideological speech surfaced—but after glancing around, he decided this wasn't the right place.
Besides, any "Will of Fire" speech would be utterly useless on Mirai.
No matter how powerful the Hokage's rhetoric was, it couldn't compete with Hagoromo's worldview.
"Why completely suppress the tailed beast?" Hiruzen asked bluntly.
"Wouldn't that render the jinchūriki meaningless?"
After a few exchanges with Mirai, he had decided there was no need to avoid the topic around her.
Hiruzen had a long-standing habit of watching things.
After Hagoromo returned to Konoha, there was no way his movements had gone unnoticed.
"Then why didn't the Hokage stop me?" Hagoromo countered.
Hiruzen didn't answer.
Because he had no reason to.
In truth, Konoha's policy toward the Nine-Tails—and more specifically, Hiruzen's stance—had always leaned more toward containment than utilization.
Even back when Kushina was alive, it was clear that the Hokage never expected Kurama to serve as an active weapon.
Compared to drawing power from a jinchūriki, having the tailed beast quietly stay sealed was far more desirable.
In that sense, Hagoromo's actions aligned perfectly with Hiruzen's thinking.
He wouldn't oppose them—but given the attitudes of the other elders, he also couldn't openly endorse them.
And besides—
In extreme situations, seals could still be undone.
After some thought, Hagoromo decided to explain his position.
"Naruto's own potential—and the value he can realize—will surpass the label of 'jinchūriki.'
The blood of Minato and Kushina already gives him more than enough foundation. There's no reason he won't become an outstanding shinobi."
"Perhaps Minato believed Naruto needed the Nine-Tails' massive chakra, which is why he made him a jinchūriki," Hagoromo continued.
"But I don't agree. Kurama is unnecessary for Naruto."
"With that foundation, effort alone will determine how far he can go. The same is true for Mirai."
Of course, talking about effort in Konoha was a bit ironic.
Did Hagoromo not work hard?
He did—but his learning speed made it difficult for others to feel that effort.
After all, he could master many techniques instantly.
At his core, Hagoromo wasn't a "pay-to-win" player in any currency—
He was the kind who pulled god-tier results from the gacha.
So hearing him talk about effort carried a certain irony.
"Moreover," Hagoromo added,
"compared to the risks of others discovering Naruto is a jinchūriki, never using the Nine-Tails' power at all might be the safer choice."
If possible, Kurama itself would have been on Hagoromo's elimination list.
Unfortunately, Naruto's life was bound to it.
Everyone had their own way of thinking.
The difference was that the Fourth Hokage was dead—and Hagoromo was alive.
So the future would unfold according to his decisions.
Hagoromo had never believed Minato's final choice was necessarily the right one.
Binding Naruto's life to another existence was simply too dangerous.
After stating his position, Hagoromo lost interest in continuing the topic and shifted gears.
"What does the Third Hokage plan to do about the Kumogakure ninja incident last night?"
Hagoromo didn't know that Mirai's unconscious shout had already saved Hyūga Hizashi.
Which was a good thing.
If no one had to die, then no one should.
Hagoromo had known Hizashi back in his "younger" days.
What choice did the Hokage really have?
Hagoromo could already guess.
With the war nearing its end, this was one of those situations where—no matter who sat in the Hokage's seat—the same decision would be made.
And the blame would still have to be carried.
For the sake of "peace," the Kumogakure ninja would have to return unharmed.
The Hokage could do little more than issue a stern reprimand and deliver some verbal condemnation.
That was all.
As for the Hyūga clan?
They could only shut their doors, band together, and sing a song called Too Aggrieved.
After all—it was only a false alarm.
No real loss had occurred.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Chakraflow789