Accompanied by the system's voice and the options on the screen, everyone fell silent once more.
With Kushina's resurrection reward still fresh in their minds, they naturally wouldn't doubt the system's power. But with Orochimaru's tragic fate right before them, they were forced to think very carefully!
Sarutobi Hiruzen: "Is there even any need to think? It's obviously A! Namikaze Minato was brought up entirely by my own hands, and I can be considered his second teacher!"
Namikaze Minato: "Teacher Hiruzen certainly had a profound influence on me becoming Hokage!"
Senju Hashirama: "Haha, who would have thought that after all these years, the Will of Fire has still spread to every corner of Hidden Leaf Village."
Uchiha Madara: "Such boring nonsense. Only empty-headed fools would be fooled by children's toys like this."
Senju Hashirama: "Madara, how can you desecrate the Will of Fire like that? Come to think of it, the philosophy of Hidden Leaf Village was something you proposed in the first place!"
Uchiha Madara: "Hmph, that is the second biggest regret of my life!"
Senju Hashirama: "Then what's the first biggest regret?"
Uchiha Madara: "Being foolish when I was a kid and going out to skip stones!"
Senju Hashirama: "..."
Senju Hashirama: "Madara, after all these years, are you still holding a grudge just because you lost to me at skipping stones?"
Uchiha Madara: "Hashirama, are you truly clueless or just pretending not to know? My biggest regret in this lifetime is that I ever met you!"
Senju Hashirama: "But I'm so glad to be friends with you, Madara! ?(?????)?"
Uchiha Madara: Hmph, get lost!
Senju Hashirama: ??????...
Unlike Hashirama and Madara, Uzumaki Kushina was much more worried at this moment about the inner state of Naruto in that other world.
Naruto in that world seemed to be gradually sinking deeper and deeper down a dark path of hatred with no return. What on earth was going on?
Although she was willing to accept both Narutos, as a mother, she naturally did not want her child to stray onto the wrong path. She turned her gaze back to the final option C:
[What a load of self-righteous Hokage nonsense! Did you ever ask me when you sealed Kurama inside my body? All I can say is good riddance!]
Uzumaki Kushina fell silent. Instead of getting angry, she began to reflect.
After a long while, she muttered to herself in the Pure Land world, "Could it be that the decision Minato and I made back then was wrong?"
"Come to think of it, we really didn't consider little Naruto's feelings at all back then."
"We just stubbornly wanted him to become a hero of Hidden Leaf Village..."
"Perhaps what he wanted more was a complete childhood..."
"I'm sorry, Naruto!"
Sakura: "@Naruto."
Uzumaki Naruto: "What is it, Sakura? Could it be that you've finally come to your senses and want to go on a date with me?"
Sakura: "Sure! The moment you bring Sasuke back, I'll go on a date with you!"
Uzumaki Naruto: "Really?"
Sakura: "Of course not! With Sasuke back, who'd want to go on a date with you?"
Uzumaki Naruto: "How come I feel just a tiny, tiny bit disappointed?"
Naruto looked at Sasuke before him in his cursed seal state. What on earth did this guy have that made Sakura like him so much?
Damn it!
Should he just drop the idea of bringing him back to Hidden Leaf Village entirely?
Naruto shook his head, banishing that terrifying thought.
"No way, I promised Sakura, even if it kills me I'm bringing Sasuke back!"
"That's a man's promise!"
Sakura: "Naruto, how did you feel the very first time you saw the Fourth Hokage's profile?"
Uzumaki Naruto: "Hmm, let me think!"
Naruto wracked his brain, trying to remember seeing the Fourth Hokage when he flipped through the ninja encyclopedia, only to realize that ever since he started school, he had been using that book as a pillow!
Because it was so thick, sleeping on it was quite comfortable...
"What should I do now? I can't just admit in public that I sleep every single day, can I?"
Speaking of his impression of the Fourth Hokage, though, Naruto remembered hearing about him from his teacher Iruka. Even though Iruka's long-winded speeches were entirely devoted to praising Lord Third—making him practically the number one fan of the Third Hokage!
"..."
Uzumaki Naruto: "My thought at the time was probably, 'The Fourth Hokage is a hero who saved Hidden Leaf Village'!"
Tenten: "Doesn't that just mean Answer A?"
Rock Lee: "Wow, Tenten, Sakura, you're both so smart! Can I choose A now? I can't wait! Maybe I'll finally gain the talent to learn Ninjutsu!"
Sakura: "Wait a minute, Rock Lee, the Naruto in that world isn't as dumb as the Naruto in this world!"
Rock Lee: "Sakura, are you worrying about me? I'm so incredibly happy! I've decided, to celebrate your feelings for me, I'm going to do a thousand push-ups!"
Sakura: "Rock Lee..."
Lee had already vanished from the group chat. Right after finishing his battle with Kimmimaro, Lee's whole body was covered in injuries, but at this moment he felt full of energy again. Leaving Gaara with a baffled expression, he dropped straight to the ground and started pounding out push-ups right where he stood!
Terumi Mei: "It seems the Naruto of this world still believes in the Will of Fire, but the Naruto of that world doesn't seem to put much faith in it."
Fourth Raikage: "Still, considering that Naruto's exceptional cleverness, he might have been able to deduce his own identity from just a single photograph!"
Senju Hashirama: "Tell me, aside from Uzumaki Naruto and the Fourth Hokage, is there anyone else in Hidden Leaf Village with a head of blonde hair?"
Nara Shikamaru: "Based on my observations, it seems there isn't."
Yamanaka Ino: "There never was to begin with!"
Hyuga Neji: "Then why are we only realizing this now?"
Inuzuka Kiba: "When you put it that way, why do I suddenly feel a chill down my spine and a creepy sensation?"
Uzumaki Naruto: "Kiba, do you still get cold even when you wear that thick fleece-lined jacket all day long? If it's that bad, why don't you have Akamaru share some fur with you? Akamaru's fur looks super warm!"
Inuzuka Kiba: "When I said creepy, I was using a figure of speech! I'm not actually cold!"
Akamaru: "Woof woof woof!"
A casual chat among a few genin suddenly blew open a massive topic!
That's right, logically speaking, with the Fourth Hokage's iconic golden hair, coupled with the fact that almost everyone in the village knew Kushina was pregnant—with Uchiha Mikoto even teaching Kushina pregnancy tips—could it really be that not a single person ever stood up to wonder: the Fourth Hokage is dead, so where did his and Kushina's child go?
Add in Naruto's iconic hair, and it was practically like having the characters "Son of Namikaze Minato" carved right across his forehead!
And on top of that, the boy's last name was Uzumaki!
The sole remaining Uzumaki surname in Hidden Leaf Village—this was a prestigious clan once on par with the Senju clan!
And who was the last Uzumaki to appear in Hidden Leaf Village? Wasn't it Uzumaki Kushina herself?
Yet, despite these glaringly obvious facts right before their eyes, all the villagers still firmly and unquestioningly believed that Uzumaki Naruto was the incarnation of the demon fox!
They never even entertained any other thought?
If word of this got out, nobody would ever believe it!
It was hard not to reasonably suspect whether there were people with ulterior motives hiding behind the scenes of this whole affair.
Danzo, who had just finished venting his frustration in Root, suddenly felt his right eyelid twitch uncontrollably. He had a lingering, ominous premonition once again.