"Then what is your view on Konoha?"
Upon learning that Naruto's dream was to become Hokage, Minato immediately felt relieved.
"Konoha..."
Naruto lowered his eyes, pondered for a moment, then raised his head, continuing in a calm tone, "I know that the Third Hokage had his own hidden difficulties in concealing my identity."
"Although I suffered a lot because of it when I was young, given Konoha's situation at the time and the sensitivity of being a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, whoever had been in that position would have acted more or less the same."
This was true. Although he had seen various conspiracy theories about Hiruzen in his past life, one thing could be confirmed: if Hiruzen had really announced Naruto's identity to the world at that time, the consequence would have been that the news would have been sent out in the morning, and the gates would have been kicked open by noon.
Not to mention Ōnoki, who hated Minato to the extreme, just A alone, having witnessed the power of the Flying Thunder God Technique, would definitely not have allowed a second Yellow Flash to appear.
Rather than having such things happen and enduring endless assassinations by various ninja villages, it was better to simply conceal Naruto's identity.
However, knowing is one thing, but the accounts that should be settled still need to be settled.
Naruto noticed Minato flinch slightly when he heard this, so he continued, "And the villagers of Konoha are simply afraid of the power of Nine-Tails. I can understand that fear."
"That is why I will use the power of Nine-Tails to protect Konoha, so that those who once feared me will feel at ease because of my power, not because I have disappeared."
This was the "Hokage Manifesto" he gave himself. Every word was true, but only he knew the deeper meaning behind them.
The "protection" Hiruzen gave him was to throw him into an orphanage and ignore him, letting an infant survive on expired milk and instant noodles, so naturally, he would also "protect" Hiruzen.
During the Chunin Exams, he would stand quietly on the sidelines, watching him be sent off by Orochimaru.
Then there was Danzo, the two Advisors, and all those who had once laid hands on him. He wouldn't miss a single one.
It wasn't revenge. He just felt that some people should pay the price for their decisions.
Hiruzen's greatest mistake was his indulgence of Root and Danzo, and the wasted dozen years of failing to let the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki become a true combat asset.
Such strategic incompetence...
Even if Naruto didn't act, history would eventually render its own judgment.
Minato didn't know what was in Naruto's heart. He only knew that his son stood before him, looking at him with the exact same eyes he had when he stood on Hokage Rock telling him that he wanted to become the Hokage and protect Konoha.
"Naruto..." Minato's eyes turned red.
He remembered the night he sealed Nine-Tails into Naruto, remembered telling Hiruzen before he died, "Please tell Naruto that his father was a hero who protected Konoha," and remembered how he had been worrying for over a decade.
Would his son, the child abandoned by the entire village, grow up to hate him, to hate Konoha?
And now, his son was telling him: I will use the power of Nine-Tails to put them at ease
.
"Naruto actually... has such selfless thoughts..."
Minato's voice trembled, and tears slid from the corners of his eyes.
'Well acted.' Naruto gave himself a mental thumbs-up.
Kushina's eyes also turned red, but she didn't cry again. A mother's intuition told her that Naruto was far more complex than her husband imagined.
But she didn't intend to press him, because no matter what Naruto was plotting, she believed the words he spoke. Naruto was her child, and she would support whatever he did.
"Good."
Minato wiped the corners of his eyes with his sleeve and regained his sharp demeanor.
"Enough idle talk. For every second of Chakra we consume, there is one less thing we can teach you. Let's begin immediately."
Minato first began teaching his signature Ninjutsu, the Rasengan.
"Naruto."
Minato raised his right hand, palm upward. "The advanced Ninjutsu of the Ninja World are strange and varied, but in the end, they all boil down to two fundamental abilities: Shape Transformation and Nature Transformation."
"Shape Transformation is controlling the shape, density, and movement of Chakra."
"Nature Transformation is imbuing Chakra with attributes like Wind, Fire, Water, Lightning, or Earth."
"The Rasengan is the pinnacle of Shape Transformation. It requires no Nature Transformation. Through mere control of Chakra's shape, it can create the destructive power of an A-rank Ninjutsu in the palm of your hand."
Naruto nodded.
Of course he knew. When he watched the three stages of Rasengan training in his past life, he had practically memorized every single frame.
But he didn't interrupt Minato, letting him finish the complete theory. Learning Ninjutsu isn't just about watching. When you actually do it, any deviation in detail will lead to failure.
"Learning the Rasengan is divided into three steps."
"First step, Rotation."
Minato held up a finger. "Guide the Chakra to your palm and make it rotate. It doesn't need to be fast, but it must be steady. The direction must be clockwise, this is the most natural for a right-handed person, and your Chakra attributes are also most stable when flowing clockwise."
"Second step, Irregular Rotation."
Minato held up a second finger. "On the basis of rotation, constantly increase the density of the Chakra and make it rotate irregularly."
"It is easy to be impatient in this step, but once the rotation speed exceeds your current control limit, the Chakra sphere will explode in your palm. Remember this when practicing with your real body. Injuring your palm is no joke."
"Third step, Maintenance and Compression."
Minato held up a third finger. "Compress the high-density, irregularly rotating Chakra sphere into a stable form."
Naruto listened to the three-step theory and, without a word, raised his right hand.
He didn't ask "Is this right?", "Is the force enough?" or "What range should the rotation speed be controlled at?" because these questions were all nonsense in the face of Absolute Control.
His consciousness was precise enough to see the path of every wisp of Chakra flowing through his body to his palm, precise enough to distinguish exactly how much Chakra pressure his palm could bear to be safe and so on.
Chakra rose, gathering in his palm along the Chakra pathways of his right hand.
Step one: Naruto drove the Chakra to rotate in a spiral form.
Step two: He controlled the Chakra to begin rotating irregularly and accelerating. He could feel a slight vibration beneath his skin, but there was no sign of disorder.
Step three: He began to compress the high-speed rotating Chakra sphere. The edges of his palm gathered inward, pressure mounting.
A full, blue Rasengan was rotating at high speed in Naruto's palm, emitting a continuous humming sound.
The tiny air currents stirred by the rotation of the Chakra at the edge of the sphere blew the golden light on the ground. There was not a hint of turbulence, it was extremely stable.