It was an ordinary day. Kushina had not returned from her mission, and Minato was too busy to come home for lunch.
Naruto had lunch at Sasuke's house and, after the meal, shouted, "Sasuke, I want you to help me practice!"
Since Kushina and Mikoto had a close relationship and even referred to each other's children as godmothers, the two families knew each other well. So, it was nothing unusual for Naruto to come over for a meal.
The two nearly four-year-old children happily practised shuriken together, engaging in a "friendly" practice duel. The result... Sasuke was quite upset about losing.
When it came to shuriken and physical strength, Naruto was superior. However, Sasuke's agility and physical endurance were greater than Naruto's, and the exceptional reflexes inherited from Minato ensured that Naruto could barely hold his own against Sasuke.
' hmm, maybe I should practice more' Naruto thought while thinking about his strength.
Sasuke's pouting expression was undeniably cute, and Naruto couldn't help but feel ' disgusting '
fortunately, Sasuke's mood quickly shifted when Itachi arrived and waved to Sasuke.
According to Sasuke's complaint, ever since Oni-chan graduated and became a Genin, he hadn't had much time to spend with him.
Usually, Itachi would either go on missions with his team or be "borrowed" by Big Brother Shisui. Well, it was more like "borrowed." Every time they would say, "Lend us your brother for a while," but Sasuke never agreed!
Sasuke was so frustrated that his eyes were practically shooting fire. Now he cherished the time he spent with Itachi. Whenever Itachi appeared, he completely ignored Naruto, Naruto? Who's that?
Naruto couldn't be bothered to get to know him either, so he simply greeted Itachi and left.
Lost in thought, Naruto eventually returned to his residence.
"I'm back~~ huh?"
When he saw the young man sitting in the living room, Naruto felt like his brain wasn't working properly. The man had grey hair, green pupils, and a red dot on each eyebrow... What was going on?
The boy stood up as Naruto entered and calmly looked at him.
"Naruto's back?" Kushina had just returned and hadn't even had time to change out of her ninja uniform. She took the boy's hand and introduced, "This child's name is Kimimaro, and from now on, he'll be your brother."
"Brother?" Naruto was still in shock. Wasn't Kimimaro kidnapped by Orochimaru and turned into his top henchman, responsible for helping Orochimaru kill the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa? Why was he here in Konoha now?
"Yes, that's right, Kimimaro this is Naruto, so please get along with him."
"Yes, please take care of me." Kimimaro's tone and expression remained remarkably steady.
"Uh, hi," Naruto replied hesitantly, his guard up. He wondered if Kimimaro had been sent by Orochimaru to carry out some mission. But then again, Kimimaro appeared to be only seven or eight years old and likely didn't possess that kind of strength.
Naruto couldn't figure it out. Perhaps he should discuss it with his parents when he has the chance. After all, he had conversed quite a bit with Kyuubi.
…
That evening, Naruto sneaked into his parents' room, closed the door, and wore a serious expression. "I have something very important to discuss, and it involves many secrets. Can mom set up a barrier to prevent eavesdropping?"
Kushina and Minato exchanged glances and nodded.
Soon, a barrier enveloped the entire room.
"I have memories from a different world here..."
Naruto provided a summary of Minato and Kushina's original fate, emphasizing Kimimaro's life.
As for figures like Pain and Obito, he would discuss them later. For now, he wanted to learn more about Kimimaro's situation.
Kushina asked in astonishment, "You're saying that Minato and I were supposed to die on the day you were born? And Kimimaro was supposed to be kidnapped by Orochimaru?"
"Yeah," Naruto nodded.
Minato added, "At that time, I was indeed prepared to use the Reaper Death Seal. If it weren't for Naruto's sudden intervention with the Four Symbols Seal..."
In other words, what Naruto had witnessed was likely "an alternate potential future."
"That..." Naruto hesitated for a moment. This question, reminiscent of the previous life butterfly dream, had been troubling him for a while. He expressed his inner turmoil, "I have so many memories from another life here. Am I still me or someone else? Am I truly your son, Naruto?"
Naruto looked up at his parents with a mix of anxiety and confusion in his eyes.
In response, a fist landed on his head.
"Bang!" Naruto was knocked into a crouching position, clutching his head, tears welling up. He looked at Kushina with a pitiful expression.
Kushina's hair seemed to move of its own accord, dividing into nine strands that floated behind her head. Her tone was unusually stern, "Listen, Naruto! You are my son, and that will never change! If you ever think otherwise, I'll give you a beating. Even if I have to rise from the dead, I'll come back and give you a good beating!"
"Calm down, Kushina," Minato calmed down the almost berserk Kushina, then gently patted Naruto's head.
"It hurts, it hurts," Naruto whined, tears still streaming down his face. Minato gently touched the swelling bump on Naruto's head.
"Ah, sorry, sorry. So, that's been weighing on your mind?"
Naruto sniffled and nodded.
"Dad feels the same way as Mom just explained," Minato continued, his hand still on Naruto's head. "You are our son. We watched you being born, and we've seen you grow up with our own eyes. We hope you'll become an excellent ninja. On the day you were born, I swore that I, Minato Namikaze, would do everything in my power to protect my family. Not as Hokage, but as a father and a husband. So don't think about it"
…
Naruto lay in his small bed, pondering everything that had happened that night.
With his most pressing concern resolved, Minato had also explained to him the backstory of Kimimaro.
Konoha's intelligence operatives had detected Orochimaru's presence near the Land of Water. Given Orochimaru's status as an S-rank traitor, they couldn't ignore it. Minato, as Hokage, couldn't personally rush to the Land of Water, as it would be inappropriate.
So Minato decided to send Kushina along with the contemporary Ino-Shika-Cho trio. They were accompanied by undercover ANBU for added security.
Upon reaching the border of the Land of Water, Yamanaka Inoichi detected Orochimaru's trail, Shikaku set up various traps, and Kushina established a barrier.
Unfortunately, despite a fierce battle, all they found at the end was a "snakeskin," and Orochimaru himself had vanished.
As they were preparing to return, a rebellion erupted in the Land of Water. The Kaguya clan, with their bloodline limit, the clan was mostly killed off when attacking Kirigakure in a failed attempt to show off their ferocity, but they were wiped out, leaving Kimimaro as the sole survivor. By chance, he encountered Konoha's team and was brought back.
After a thorough review by various parties in Konoha, it was determined that Kimimaro was not a spy and had no hidden agenda.
Kushina proposed to adopt him, knowing that Naruto had always wanted a brother. Minato readily agreed, and the matter was settled.
With the assurance that his family was safe, Naruto felt relieved and accepted his new "big brother" with open arms. After all, having him in their own home was much better than dealing with Orochimaru.
Naruto closed his eyes, his mind filled with images of Kushina's fiery red hair and Minato's gentle smile. He murmured to himself, "This is great."
***
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