Naruto: I, who fooled the ninja world, was hailed as a savior.

Chapter 328 Naruto: He is not a qualified father, much less a competent Hokage.
"..."

The sealed space was deathly silent, with Kurama staring down at Naruto.

Upon hearing the distant and unfamiliar words "father" and "mother," Naruto Uzumaki remained silent for a long time.

When he first met Hiruzen Sarutobi, he actually asked about his parents.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi's answer to him was clearly half true and half false, saying that his parents, like many others, died in the Nine-Tails' attack.

Naruto pressed him for details about who his parents were and what kind of people they were.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's response was, "What good would it do to know? The dead won't come back to life."

After that, Naruto never asked again.

However, he had already guessed the real answer.

"my father……"

Finally, Naruto spoke, asking the question that had been swirling in his mind for a long time: "It's the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, right?"

"Yes." Yun Shi nodded slowly.

Naruto took a deep breath and continued to press, his voice trembling slightly: "Then my mother was the previous Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, right?"

Yun nodded again in confirmation.

Having received a definite answer, Naruto closed his eyes, took a deep breath as if to suppress the surging emotions in his chest, and after a long while, slowly exhaled.

"Is that true?"

When he opened his eyes again, his expression was complex. He said in a low voice, "Although I had suspected it for a while, I still feel a little angry now that it's really confirmed."

"why?"

"As the previous Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and the Fourth Hokage, he knew better than anyone the pain, loneliness, and hatred that comes with becoming a Jinchuriki..."

"Why do they want me, their child, to become a Jinchūriki as well?"

"If I hadn't met Brother Yunchuan, if I hadn't met you, Teacher, I might still be all alone, enduring everyone's cold stares and rejection..."

"Kid," Nine-Tails' deep voice rang out, "You want to know why?"

Naruto raised his head and looked at those huge, scarlet vertical pupils. Kurama grinned, revealing its sharp, white teeth.

"The Fourth Hokage could have survived if he had wanted to."

Kurama said, "At that time, I had already broken free from that Uchiha bastard's control."

"As for Kushina, although she was about to die from exhaustion of her life force, she still had her last bit of chakra, enough to completely seal me away and take me down with her."

"The fourth generation could have survived and raised you."

“But,” Kurama’s voice carried a hint of annoyance, “that guy didn’t do that.”

"He chose to seal the last bit of Kushina's chakra into your body when you were just born."

"Then, he used the Reaper Death Seal to seal half of my chakra into his own body."

"...Why?" Naruto asked softly, "Just to leave some of my mother's chakra so she can see me one last time?"

"Mother, does she agree to do this too?"

"No," Kurama said coldly. "Kushina, your mother, does not agree. She wants the Fourth Hokage to live on, protect you, and watch you grow up safely."

"However, the Fourth Hokage said that if Kushina and I were to perish together, Konoha would lose its tailed beast before I was resurrected."

"The balance of tailed beasts that has been maintained among the five great nations for decades will be broken, and war may break out again. Konoha, having lost its tailed beasts, will become the target of everyone's attacks."

"Moreover, he thinks you will become some kind of bullshit 'child of prophecy,' a savior, who will usher in the future and stop that masked man."

"So, he sealed half of my chakra into your body, making you the new Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, in order to maintain that ridiculous 'balance'."

"He left Kushina's chakra to you, partly so that she could see you one last time, and partly so that she could help you when you tried to control me."

Naruto, expressionless, turned his gaze to Kumoshiki. Seeing that his teacher did not correct Kurama's account, he knew that the great fox was telling the truth.

"call……"

He slowly exhaled a long, heavy breath, as if he were expelling years of pent-up frustration.

"So that's it."

Naruto's voice was low, yet unusually calm: "For the balance of the Tailed Beasts, for the country, for the village, I'm willing to become a sacrifice." "So, from birth, I was destined to be a sacrifice...?"

Upon hearing this, the Nine-Tails lowered its massive head, approached Naruto, and grinned, revealing a mouth full of sharp teeth. "Don't you think the Fourth Hokage is despicable?"

"Do not."

Naruto raised his head and looked directly into Kurama's crimson vertical pupils, his face expressionless: "He only cares about the Land of Fire and Konoha more than he cares about me, who was just born."

"Just like how I don't care about him right now, even though I've never met him."

"For what he cherished, he first sacrificed himself, and then sacrificed me, who was unable to make a choice at the time. That's all."

"If it were me, I would make a similar choice for the people and things I cherish, choosing to sacrifice my 'father' whom I have never met."

"You..." Nine-Tails was speechless at this completely unexpected reaction. "You brat, don't you feel even a little bit sad or angry?"

“Sadness? Anger?” Naruto repeated the two words. “Even you, who killed countless people and caused the deaths of my parents, I choose to understand and accept.”

"Because I know you are being controlled by the Sharingan, because I know you just don't want to be sealed away."

"Moreover, it's about a biological father I've never met?"

After saying that, he looked at Yunshi sitting on the head of the Nine-Tailed Fox and smiled, "If it were Teacher who chose to sacrifice me, I might be sad."

"As for the Fourth Hokage... a stranger who never brought me any warmth, but instead brought me suffering and burdens, why should I be sad because of his choice?"

This kid...

The nine-tailed fox's vertical pupils clearly reflected an emotion that was almost "astonished".

"I just think the Fourth Hokage was stupid," Naruto continued.

"Stupid?!" Nine-Tails was completely stunned.

Even though it loathed Minato Namikaze to the extreme, it had to admit the man's extraordinary talent. It never expected that Naruto would give such a word as his evaluation.

“That’s right, stupid.” Naruto said, emphasizing each word. “He said he was worried about the balance of the tailed beasts being broken, so he didn’t let his mother die with him.”

"Does he really expect to maintain the balance of the tailed beasts among the five great nations by having an infant become a Jinchūriki?"

Upon hearing this, Kurama paused for a moment, then suddenly realized that the Fourth Hokage's reason was completely untenable.

Look at what Minato Namikaze's death brought us.
Konoha lost the powerful Fourth Hokage, but in return gained a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki who would take more than a decade to grow up.

What if Minato Namikaze hadn't died, and Kushina had perished alongside Kurama?

Konoha will gain a powerful new fighting force. The Nine-Tails will be resurrected in a few years and captured again, giving Konoha an additional Nine-Tails Jinchuriki who can immediately join the battle.

It can be said that Minato Namikaze's death was almost meaningless.

"Didn't you say you would make a similar choice to him?" Nine-Tails couldn't help but ask.

"If I were in their shoes, and I could be 100% certain that someone possesses the power and wisdom to change the world, I would certainly choose to sacrifice myself to give them the chance to live."

“This is a rational choice,” Naruto’s voice suddenly became more serious, “but…”

"I would never sacrifice my life as Hokage just because of a few words from others that I believe a newborn baby will become some kind of prophetic child."

"They say this child is the child of prophecy, that he will become the savior, that he will usher in the future, that he will stop that masked man..." Naruto couldn't help but laugh.

"I will not impose these vague 'hopes' and 'responsibilities' on a newborn baby whose future is unknown!"

"To place the weight of the entire world on the shoulders of a newborn baby, instead of relying on oneself and the living to work together to solve problems..."

Naruto said in a deep voice, "This is something only an extremely foolish gambler would do, and it's an escapist act that only an irresponsible person would make."

"The Fourth Hokage made this willful choice entirely out of his own emotions and impulses."

"He may be a loving husband, but he is not a good father, let alone a competent Hokage."

Kurama's mouth was agape, its vertical pupils reflecting Naruto's calm yet sharp face. It found itself speechless before this Jinchuriki it had regarded as a "brat".

Yun Shi sat atop the Nine-Tailed Fox's head, the aurora illuminating his face. His eyes were lowered, and no one could see the smile in his eyes at that moment.

"This kid says he doesn't care, but he's actually got some feelings about it," he thought to himself with a smile.

Naruto's words were clearly tinged with resentment and bias.

(There's a bonus video chapter at the end, showing Minato and Kushina sealing the Nine-Tails and their dialogue.)
(The monthly pass giveaway is almost over. If you haven't participated yet, you can try it out! You can see the prizes and details in the previous chapter I posted QAQ)

(End of this chapter)