The thought that even more Ōtsutsuki might arrive in this era left Naruto feeling deeply uneasy. Even back home, his demeanor towards his wife, Hinata, seemed off, distracted and worried.
Boruto watched his father zoning out again, finding it hard to reconcile this image with the stories the older shinobi told – that his dad was the only one from their generation who could truly rival the legendary Sasuke Uchiha. No matter how he looked at him right now, his father didn't seem that amazing.
"Boruto! Why are you staring at me like that?" Naruto asked, snapping out of his thoughts. It was unusual; normally his son seemed impatient or dismissive when looking his way. Why did he seem so interested today? No... it felt more like curiosity.
"I wasn't!" Boruto quickly looked away, but after a few seconds, he couldn't help but ask, "Dad, were you really the only shinobi who could truly rival Lord Sasuke?"
Hearing this, Hinata, who was preparing dinner nearby, paused for a moment. Her son seemed particularly fascinated with Sasuke lately. It was understandable; Sasuke's cool and powerful image certainly appealed to kids. Still, Hinata didn't particularly want Boruto to see Sasuke's path as the only one worth following.
Naruto smiled faintly and beckoned Boruto to come sit closer, gently putting an arm around his son.
"I guess you could say that!" Naruto admitted. "But strictly speaking, I never actually won against Sasuke, not even once!"
"Not even once?" Boruto blinked. Then again, Lord Sasuke was incredibly strong, so maybe it made sense that his dad never managed a win.
"Sasuke was called a genius ever since we were kids," Naruto continued, "and honestly, he really is a genius among geniuses! Nobody has more natural talent than Sasuke!" He looked at Boruto nestled beside him. "You seem really interested in Sasuke. Do you want to become strong like him?"
"Of course!" Boruto nodded emphatically, as if it were obvious. "Lord Sasuke is so strong, I wish I had that kind of power!"
"Achieving Sasuke's level of strength isn't easy, you know!" Naruto recalled their missions together. "He's someone who uses even the time spent walking and sleeping for training. It's only natural that he became so incredibly powerful!"
Training while walking and sleeping? Boruto thought, incredulous. Are you kidding me? Doesn't that guy ever rest? He's basically a training maniac! No wonder Sasuke was so strong. It seemed like just training casually for a little while wouldn't ever be enough to catch up.
"But!" Naruto's tone softened slightly. "Sasuke's path... it's a lonely one. Boruto, you can definitely become strong like Sasuke, but remember you have many friends around you! Don't just think about yourself when you decide to act!"
Boruto started to get impatient; Naruto's lecturing was starting again. He gave a perfunctory nod. "I know, I know!" With that, he hopped away.
Just as Naruto was about to say something else, a sharp knock echoed through the house. Usually, a knock at this hour meant ANBU. Most people knew Naruto was busy and wouldn't disturb him during his rare family time. But as Hokage, there were always urgent matters demanding his attention.
Hinata opened the door. Outside stood, as expected, an ANBU operative.
"Lady Hinata, apologies for disturbing you at this hour!" the operative bowed. "But there is an extremely important matter requiring Lord Hokage's personal attention immediately!"
Naruto had already slipped on his jacket and grabbed his Hokage cloak. He patted Hinata's shoulder reassuringly. "You take care of the kids' dinner! I'll be back later!"
"Naruto," Hinata said softly, concern in her eyes, "be careful."
Naruto nodded. "Don't worry! This is still Konoha!"
Arriving at the Hokage office, Naruto found Shikamaru and several advisors already waiting. Even Sasuke was present. Standing slightly apart, the Sage of Six Paths and his brother, Ōtsutsuki Hamura, were also there, observing.
"What happened?" Naruto asked as he entered, sensing the tense atmosphere. It didn't feel like an immediate battle threat, so had something major occurred?
Shikamaru wordlessly handed Naruto four official letters. Naruto glanced at the seals – marked with the characters for Wind, Water, Lightning, and Earth. Letters from the other four Kage. What could be so important that all four Kage would write personally? This was clearly serious.
Naruto opened and read through each letter carefully. When he finished the last one, he looked up, letting out a long, heavy sigh.
"Naruto, what is it?" Shikamaru asked urgently, echoed by the others. They hadn't opened the letters themselves, respecting the protocol.
Naruto managed a wry, weary smile. "Kumogakure, Kirigakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure... they are all formally requesting that Konoha return the Tailed Beasts belonging to their respective villages." He paused. "Konoha has held onto the Tailed Beasts for so many years, and they never made an issue of it... but now, with this chaos, their villages are facing crises! They say they need the power of the Tailed Beasts to overcome them!"
He noted their tone was measured, polite even, appealing gently to reason and shared history rather than making demands. Paradoxically, this approach made it much harder for Naruto to simply refuse.
They have a point, Naruto thought internally. We've kept the Tailed Beasts for decades... Now their homes are in danger, and they need that strength. It's a reasonable request under the circumstances... How can Konoha say no?
"We cannot return the Tailed Beasts!" Shikamaru stated firmly, cutting through Naruto's thoughts. "Their power is immense, yes, but it's precisely because their power is too great that wars constantly broke out in the past! If the four great villages regain control of the Tailed Beasts now, their attitudes might change. The era of peace we worked so hard to achieve could shatter, reverting us to the old warring states period. Wouldn't the peace we've maintained all these years become meaningless then?"
"But if we don't return them, how can the other villages handle their current problems?" someone countered. "They genuinely do need that power to survive this chaos!"
"Besides," another advisor chimed in, misunderstanding, "those Tailed Beasts aren't even from this era! If we give them back, how could we possibly send them back to their own time later?"
The debate quickly heated up.
Observing the humans argue, the Sage of Six Paths frowned, a deep question surfacing in his ancient mind. Was opposing Mother's rule back then, letting humans govern themselves, truly the right choice? Watching them now, it feels like it didn't solve any fundamental problems. Humans make their own choices, but those choices inevitably lead to conflict – differing opinions, different views on peace... Is a world like this, filled with such friction, truly a perfect world?
Sasuke watched Naruto intently, a knowing look in his eyes. If things go as expected, he thought, Naruto's decision should be...
"Then let's return the Tailed Beasts to them," Naruto announced suddenly, his voice cutting through the arguments.
The other shinobi in the office froze, staring at him in disbelief. He'd decided already?
"Lord Hokage, but if we do that..." one advisor started.
"Those Tailed Beasts don't originally belong to the other villages anyway!" another protested, still thinking of the ones displaced by the chaos.
"Yes, return them?" someone else questioned incredulously. "Should we just strengthen potential enemies and let this chaos continue?!"
Naruto looked calmly at the protesting ninja. "I'm not talking about returning the Tailed Beasts that were captured and brought here by the chaos," he clarified firmly. "I mean... the Tailed Beasts that originally belonged to them. The ones currently residing with us."
A slight smirk touched Sasuke's lips. Just as I expected. When faced with a situation where there was no perfect solution to satisfy everyone, Naruto would inevitably choose the path of self-sacrifice – giving up Konoha's strategic advantage. That's Naruto Uzumaki for you.
Sasuke mused internally, Giving back the Tailed Beasts now... it will make the other hidden villages significantly stronger, potentially future rivals or threats. Naruto... your way of thinking is still as idealistic... as ever.
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