Mei Terumī: "Tenten, your family should have kept photos of the Fourth Hokage back then, right?"
Tenten: "Uh… I don't remember."
Tenten: "Custom ninja tools were pretty rare."
Tenten: "It never sold, and later I just forgot about it."
Ōnoki: "If there really is a photo of the Fourth Hokage… Black-Frame Naruto is no ordinary kid. He'd definitely be able to piece together a lot of information from it!"
Orochimaru: "That's right. Black-Frame Naruto-kun would absolutely suspect the other party's relationship to himself at first glance."
Orochimaru: "Not only that—he'd also infer why the Hyūga and Uchiha have been so reluctant to reveal the truth about the Nine-Tails Incident."
Orochimaru: "He might even—haha, I'd better just keep watching quietly."
After finishing his remarks, Orochimaru glanced at Sarutobi Hiruzen, who looked absent-minded.
Hiruzen had been in that state for quite some time.
Orochimaru gave a mocking smile.
If this was how it would end, why act the way he had back then?
Perhaps Hiruzen was regretting things—but not whether he had been wrong.
Rather, he regretted not erasing unstable factors earlier.
Publicly and privately—grasping power with both hands.
Senju Tobirama: I'm already looking forward to Black-Frame Naruto's inner monologue.
["You… want a photo of the Fourth Hokage?"]
[Tenten frowned slightly.]
[This matter could be big—or small.]
Fourth Raikage: "Yo~!"
Fourth Raikage: "Didn't he die as a hero?"
Fourth Raikage: "What, are they even banning photos of the guy who 'always brought his girl'?"
Kurotsuchi: "Then Konoha really is rotten to the bone."
Mabui: "It's obvious. If photos weren't banned—or even memories sealed—Uzumaki Naruto's identity would've been exposed long ago."
Mabui: "I imagine someone did speak up for Naruto, even recognized him as the Fourth Hokage's child… but once they said it out loud, they didn't live much longer."
Danzō Shimura: "Correct. Hiruzen loves doing things like that!"
Danzō Shimura: "Right? Koharu? Homura?"
Utane Koharu: "That's true."
Mito Homura: "Perhaps."
["What? You don't have one?" Disappointment flashed through young Naruto's eyes.]
["We do!" Tenten replied immediately.]
["It's just… not something that's easy to take out."]
[Just as Tenten was hesitating—]
[A customer suddenly arrived at the door.]
["Coming~!"]
[She called out, then opened the box.]
["You can look—but only if you place a custom order!"]
[After saying that, Tenten immediately trotted to the front counter.]
[The kids frowned slightly.]
[Just to look at a photo…]
[Still, it really was strange.]
["I've seen photos of the First Hokage."]
["I've seen photos of the Second Hokage."]
["But our families really don't have photos of the Fourth Hokage. Why?"]
["Could it be because of the Nine… what happened back then?"]
[The kids exchanged a few words.]
[Young Naruto stepped forward to examine the triple-pronged kunai.]
[What differed from the Second Hokage's kunai wasn't just the shape.]
[There was also that permanent chakra formula.]
[One used patterns; the other used written characters.]
[This triple-pronged kunai perfectly matched Naruto's aesthetic sense. If he could choose, he preferred this one.]
[Of course—that wasn't the main point.]
[Young Naruto narrowed his eyes and leaned closer.]
[Thump—]
[That feeling again!]
[The big fox sealed inside him reacted strongly to this triple-pronged kunai left behind by the Fourth Hokage.]
[Why?]
[Could it be because of some kind of jutsu formula engraved on it?]
['But earlier, the Second Hokage's kunai didn't provoke any reaction at all…']
['Could it be because this is the Fourth Hokage's exclusive ninja tool?']
['That must be it!']
['That big sister mentioned… five years ago… the hero who saved the village?']
['Could it be that the Fourth Hokage's death is inseparably linked to the big fox?']
Senju Tobirama: Look! Look!! Exactly what I said!!!
Beep—
Muted due to excessive excitement.
Uchiha Izuna: What a god. "Just like you said"? Even if you hadn't said anything, Black-Frame Naruto would've figured it out.
Senju Hashirama: Hahaha~
Senju Hashirama: Honestly, everyone already guessed it.
Ino Yamanaka: "Yeah, it's not exactly a secret at this point. After watching this far, who wouldn't think he'd figure it out?"
['Yellow Flash… golden? flash? What does that mean?']
['Could it be related to this triple-pronged kunai?']
['What's the relationship between the Fourth and the Second Hokage?']
['Their jutsu formulas feel similar. The Fourth's looks more refined, and it's written rather than patterned… but that's normal.']
['When the Second Hokage died, the Fourth probably hadn't even been born yet.']
['Over so many years, techniques would naturally be refined.']
['And earlier intel from the Uchiha mentioned that the Second Hokage specialized in high-mobility combat…']
['So maybe the "Flash" also refers to high mobility—no, more literally, extreme speed.']
['Then what does "golden" mean?']
['It can't just be literal…']
['It feels like I'm missing a key piece of information.']
Namikaze Minato: Very smart. At this point, he's basically figured it out.
Namikaze Minato: Ahem—as expected of Kushina's child. Just as outstanding as she was~
In the Pure Land, Kushina opened her mouth, then ultimately said nothing.
Seeing Uchiha Mikoto quietly laughing beside her, Kushina flushed and snapped:
"I—I just didn't want to get muted again over someone insignificant!"
[Click—]
[While Naruto was deep in thought—]
[Ino suddenly opened the small box.]
[She blinked at him.]
["You don't often like things this much."]
["Take it. One hundred thousand ryō—we'll pool our money and buy it for you~"]
["Mm-hm~!" Ino finished, and the others nodded as well.]
[Young Naruto froze.]
["No. It's too expensive."]
[One hundred thousand ryō could buy a lot of things.]
[Spending it all on a kunai he merely liked felt extravagant.]
[But Ino directly took it out of the box—]
[And placed it into Naruto's hand.]
[Naruto froze again.]
[If that bun-haired big sister saw this, he'd definitely get scolded.]
["Shh~"]
["Afraid of wasting our money?"]
["Think it's not worth the price?"]
["Then let's run!"]
[The moment Ino said it, everyone froze.]
[She'd meant it as a joke—but once spoken, it felt different.]
[Her eyes lit up.]
['Right! She definitely wouldn't sell this treasure… but if we grab it and I secretly come back later to pay, Naruto gets it—and it's not stealing!']
['He likes it so much!']
[But when Ino looked up, everyone's expressions were off.]
["Run? Where exactly are you running to?"]
[Tenten's voice sounded from behind her, small hands resting on Ino's shoulders.]
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