Minato's Strange Dream
Minato had a strange dream.
An isolated island, a peculiar religion, and an ordinary young man chosen without reason or notice...
The villagers tormented him, despised him, stripped him of his name and humanity, and blamed him for all the world's sins.
The young man had his limbs severed, his bones broken, leaving him with only one good eye.
From the mountain, the young man watched everything silently with his remaining eye. Until he turned to stone...
He continued to watch the world filled with goodness except for himself with his withered eye.
One year, five years, ten years, fifty years, a hundred years, a thousand years, two thousand years...
The curses and blame of humanity never ceased, not even now. The young man never refuted or had the chance to refute.
He simply accepted the identity and responsibility forced upon him, becoming the embodiment of worldly evil.
No matter how the ages changed, no matter how time passed, nothing would change.
In every era, humanity's sins would be imposed on him, unable to escape or resist, his soul and spirit never at rest. This was his fate.
Gradually, not just sins, but even natural disasters were blamed on him.
People often said, "Everything is the young man's fault! All the suffering is because of him!"
Until...
Who knows how long passed, but the stone that trapped him eroded and crumbled with the passage of time. The young man, with an intact body, emerged from the stone.
Crossing the seas, he came to the continent where the humans who inflicted unending pain on him resided...
The scenes began to flash by rapidly. Meeting a large-breasted woman, countless ninjas falling in pools of blood, towns filled with corpses...
Corpses, corpses, corpses!
All corpses! Everywhere was death!
However, rather than spreading death and slaughter, Minato felt the young man was venting, as the continuous curses and blame never ceased.
After several similar scenes, Minato saw himself, the Land of Wind, and the Ryuumyaku in Roran.
After the young man collected the Ryuumyaku, the scene changed again.
The world was different, not the ninja world.
Minato only saw one scene in this new world, where the young man stood in a sea of blood after destroying that world and killing all humans.
Surrounded by blood, the young man seemed lost in thought, perhaps only realizing the despair that even after fleeing to another world and killing so many people, he couldn't escape his fate.
Then, the young man returned.
Returned to the original world...
Sensing something, Minato suddenly woke up from his dream. The first thing he saw was a young man with a familiar smile, extending his hand towards him – Angra Mainyu!
"Spending too much time with me can cause strange dreams. It's best to forget them, don't you think?"
Seeing the hand approaching his forehead, Minato broke into a cold sweat.
At that moment, the voices of the three kids who had just woken up came from outside the tent.
Little Karin: "I had a weird dream last night, but I can't remember it no matter how hard I try. So strange!"
Haku: "Yeah, me too."
Kimimaro: "Sometimes that happens. It's normal."
"Uh... can I... can I do it myself?"
Looking at the hand about to touch his forehead, Minato forced a smile and started to perform a memory-sealing technique under Shinji's gaze.
I must not forget!
That was Minato's conclusion. This man was the purest, most unsolvable existence in terms of killing, far more dangerous than that masked man!
He... he slaughtered an entire world!
I must not forget this memory! For now, sealing it is the best option, so I might remember it under certain conditions someday!
Just as Minato completed the memory-sealing technique and it began to take effect, Shinji suddenly spoke: "I was just asking for your opinion. If you don't want to forget, that's fine too."
In the final moment before the technique took full effect, Minato's expression was so rich that Shinji almost couldn't help but laugh out loud.
This guy is strong; he did it himself!
...
Two Weeks Later
Early January, in the Land of Rain.
Not far from Amegakure, in a cave, Minato, who had gotten used to being both a ninjutsu teacher and a nanny, was preparing an exceptionally hearty dinner for Shinji and the kids who had gone out for field practice.
Because of the cold weather, Minato had specially prepared a warming seafood hotpot for the kids. By the way, he caught the seafood himself.
Although the Land of Rain appears to be inland on the map, it inexplicably has a sea. It's just that strange.
"Hmm, perfect."
After tasting the dish and finding it perfect, Minato adjusted the heat, estimating Shinji and the kids' usual return time, then removed his apron and sat in his tent.
Unlike Shinji, who liked to find entertainment in random local shops whenever he had time, Minato's interests were just doing housework and reading.
Flipping through the textbooks Shinji gave the kids, Minato found many things he was encountering for the first time, which intrigued him.
He didn't feel left out or resentful about being left to watch the camp.
After reading for about half an hour, Minato put down the history book, feeling troubled: "It feels like I've forgotten something important..."
Minato had previously set a trigger in his mind to remember what he had forgotten, leaving a flaw in the memory-sealing technique.
Once a specific condition was met, the memory would automatically return. But so far, that condition hadn't been met.
"By the way, Naruto should be enrolling in three months, right? Time flies..."
Minato sighed again. Although he wanted to visit, he was bound and lacked freedom. Moreover, something seemed to remind him.
He must not leave Mr. Anli's side for a moment!
He must keep an eye on him!
"Though I'm not sure why, if it's a message from myself, it must be right."
Minato nodded, talking to himself. Then he sighed again: "It seems it's still not time to meet, Naruto."
Gurgle...
Hearing that sound, Minato quickly set aside the textbook and stood up: "Almost forgot, it should be done cooking. Mr. Anli and the kids should be back soon."
...
At the cave entrance, seeing Minato acting like a perfect housewife, giving out slippers and handing hot towels, Shinji grew increasingly uneasy.
After some thought, Shinji decided he couldn't let Minato continue like this. Otherwise, it would lead to major problems.
"Hey, Minato, want to come with me to a shop next time? You seem a bit off lately."
"Huh? Do I?"
Minato was taken aback, then quickly shook his head and refused: "No, no, I don't need that. I'm not used to those places."
"No worries, you'll get used to it. All men think they're not used to it at first. After a couple of visits, it'll be natural. Just like me."
"Really, I don't need it. I... I can just read books."
"Only reading is boring. Practice is key! Don't worry, I won't tell your wife. This will stay between us!"
"No, really!"
Seeing Minato's firm refusal, Shinji reluctantly gave up. Of course, Shinji was a considerate boss, so...
He secretly gave Minato a large collection of "special" books!
...
At Night
Seeing half the tent filled with certain adult books that couldn't be shown to others, Minato tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
No matter which way he turned, opening his eyes, he saw those explicit images!
He couldn't throw them away, and Shinji refused to take them back, saying, "No rush, take your time." It was frustrating!
Also, none of these women compared to his Kushina. They were worlds apart!
"Minato, Karin and the others are asleep. Wanna go out and have some fun?"