Golden Flash: "The target... Naruto from a parallel timeline?!"
Golden Flash: "How is this possible?! How can something like this be possible?!"
Golden Flash: "Naruto has the Nine-Tails inside him! How could he possibly be on the verge of death?!"
Minato Namikaze didn't believe it—or rather, he didn't want to believe it.
Even though he knew it was all true, how could he possibly accept that his son from a parallel timeline had been driven to the brink of death, fused souls with a transmigrator, and had his identity as Naruto Uzumaki taken over?!
Child of Nature: "Being on the verge of death doesn't mean death. It only means Naruto fell into that state because of persecution by someone or multiple people. As long as it didn't continue, he could have healed himself with the Nine-Tails' help."
Child of Nature: "It was precisely at that moment that the transmigrator's soul landed in Naruto's mindscape."
Child of Nature: "I'm just not certain what 'soul fusion' means here—whether Naruto agreed to it willingly, or whether it was forced."
Child of Nature: "If it was the former..."
Brandon didn't finish his sentence, but everyone could guess what he meant.
If Naruto had agreed willingly, it meant he no longer wanted to live. He wanted to escape from a reality that showed him no kindness—a reality that was, in fact, cruel.
Ordinary Group Owner: "Then is the current Naruto still Naruto?"
Child of Nature: "You can think of him as a completely new Naruto."
Child of Nature: "Even though this Naruto is a new personality born from the soul fusion of transmigrator Liu Yun and Naruto Uzumaki, he was granted Naruto Uzumaki's identity and Naruto Uzumaki's mantle—not Liu Yun's. Even the world itself acknowledges him. Do we really need to deny it?"
Child of Nature: "What matters most is your opinion, Minato Namikaze."
Child of Nature: "Destroying Konoha, unifying the Shinobi World, and finally resurrecting and handing power over to the parallel timeline's version of you. At least in my eyes, he did a good job of changing Naruto Uzumaki's fate and creating an extremely peaceful environment for the people."
Child of Nature: "He's not good. But he's not evil either."
Child of Nature: "If you're willing to proceed with this mission and grant access to the Naruto world, I won't feel guilty about killing him."
Child of Nature: "If you're not willing, I can understand that too."
Uchiha Dance King: "He accomplished what I never did—unifying the Shinobi World. All the hidden villages, all the shinobi, all the civilians became citizens of one nation. This new Naruto is far more capable than the original."
Uchiha Dance King: "False peace is not peace. It's merely wariness of each other's strength. The moment one side weakens, war breaks out."
Uchiha Dance King: "Only unification is the sole path to creating peace!"
One only needed to watch God of War to understand. Every powerful civilization had only one voice—the voice of that civilization's supreme god.
Angel civilization was like this. Demon civilization was like this. Styx civilization was like this...
If there wasn't even a unified voice within a civilization, how could one speak of so-called peace?
In the original Naruto story, even if Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha defeated Kaguya Ōtsutsuki and everything seemed to turn out beautifully—so what?
How long could such false beauty last?
Once Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha died, just as he and Hashirama had, war would emerge once again.
The Most Ancient Godslayer: "I certainly want to kill him and obtain the mission rewards."
The Most Ancient Godslayer: "But I also respect your decision."
Himouto Umaru: "Though they're not purely father and son, the Minato Namikaze from that other world really let Naruto down."
If not for his own presumptions, Naruto wouldn't have suffered such a fate. He wouldn't have been driven to the brink of death.
Whether or not he actively chose to fuse with the other party—did that really matter all that much?
A Naruto who was hated by everyone, rejected by everyone, bullied by everyone—how could he not have thought about death at least once?
Golden Flash: "I..."
Golden Flash: "Please give me some time."
Golden Flash: "I want to find him and talk to him."
Minato spoke in the group chat.
His feelings right now were complicated. He had only thought about changing his own world's future. He had never considered that the Minato Namikaze of parallel worlds hadn't joined the chat group like him—they would still follow their original fates.
And Naruto would experience the same tragic childhood.
He knew the darkness in Naruto's heart ran deep, yet Naruto still displayed such a kind, such a pure personality. He was proud of such a Naruto, yet also deeply guilty.
If possible, he truly wished Naruto could be a little more selfish.
Make those who bullied him pay the price, rather than seeking their acknowledgment.
Now a Naruto with an amplified dark side had appeared. Yet he didn't feel particularly happy about it, simply because this Naruto wasn't the original Naruto.
But wasn't the true culprit behind Naruto being driven to the brink of death and fusing with a transmigrator... himself?
If he hadn't... no, even if he hadn't, it didn't mean Naruto's childhood would have been much happier. But at least the Third Hokage and Danzo's desire for the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki would have been directed at someone else, not Naruto.
No matter what, Naruto's life should have been better than what was shown in the memory replay.
Richest Man: "I know this sad scene makes my question somewhat inappropriate, but... why is everything in the final rewards the same as Uncle Nine's mission except the points are only fifty thousand?"
Richest Man: "This mission's difficulty is Medium-Low, which is easier than the previous Medium."
Richest Man: "Even the number of participants is five."
Richest Man: "But Uncle Nine's mission gave a million points. Why is Minato's only fifty thousand? That's way too big a difference."
Richest Man: "Is this Dark Naruto really that weak?"
Richest Man: "But it's rated Medium difficulty—how weak could he be? He's someone who unified the Shinobi World, after all."
Richest Man: "He should at least be on the same level as Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, right?"
Even if Kaguya Ōtsutsuki was somewhat weaker than the previous Demon Visage, it still shouldn't be only fifty thousand...
Lin Fengjiao: "That's a good point. It's also possible that the rule-grade item on the target is weaker than what the Demon Visage had."
Boil Dagu Into Soup: "The last mission's target was genuinely strong. I even suspect that if my Tiga hadn't been wielding the Ox Talisman with its hundredfold strength enhancement, I wouldn't have been able to overpower him."
Holy Lord: "Where do you get the confidence that you could overpower him?"
Holy Lord: "Remove the word 'suspect.'"
Holy Lord: "You traded punches with him while holding the Ox Talisman and only made him step back a few paces. I really don't know how weak your original form must be."
Boil Dagu Into Soup: "..."
Boil Dagu Into Soup: "I can't help it if my base stats are weak."
Boil Dagu Into Soup: "I feel like I've gotten much stronger. After transforming, my original power is amplified even further. Even without the Ox Talisman, crushing monsters would be easy."
— End of Chapter —