Chapter 6: I'm Going to Surpass the Hokage
"Big brother with the red eyes… he actually kicked me a bunch of times back then. He kicked my back, stomped on my head, and even stepped on my hands and arms…"
Naruto reached out with his small hand and grabbed Uchiha Itachi's sleeve.
Right now he was only watching everything as an observer. Itachi had not pulled him into the scenes themselves.
"Does it still hurt?"
Itachi looked down at the boy who was half a year younger than Sasuke. A flicker of reluctance appeared in his eyes at having to restore the child's memories this way.
But he had no other choice. If he couldn't make Naruto remember on his own, the next people sent to "help" would be far more brutal.
Itachi gently ruffled the boy's soft golden hair and nudged him forward a little. The more he wanted to spare this child pain, the more he had to keep going.
"It hurts… but I can't hit them back. If I fought them, they probably wouldn't even let me leave the house anymore…"
A hint of grievance flashed in Naruto's clear blue eyes, but it quickly changed back into stubborn determination.
"If you can't win, just avoid them for now. When you grow up and become a ninja — as strong as the Hokage — no one will dare bully you again."
Itachi could only do so much. He felt pity, but he would never cause trouble for his own clan just to help someone else.
The fact that his mother's adoption request had been rejected — and that they had been strictly forbidden from approaching Naruto — already said everything. This boy was not allowed to have friends.
"Mhm! I will become… no, I will become a ninja who surpasses the Hokage!"
Naruto deliberately changed the usual slogan. After shouting it, he looked up at the person beside him.
Seeing the gentle smile on Uchiha Itachi's face, Naruto suddenly understood why Sasuke had completely broken down after this man's death.
Because this older brother was too kind.
But this guy was also too naïve. He had never truly understood what was inside Sasuke's heart…
That idiot Sasuke…
Why did he always act so stupid!
Naruto's daily brain-fart moments, always thinking he was the strongest, yet getting beaten every single time…
"Surpassing the Hokage… That's quite an ambitious goal…"
Itachi didn't know how to respond. The idea itself wasn't bad, but this kid's heart was way too big!
Still, lecturing a small child wasn't something he planned to do unless he had lost his mind. It was easier to just gently encourage him.
"Wasn't I really cool just now?!"
Naruto knew exactly what Itachi's look meant, but that was going to be his new slogan from now on!
Surpass the Hokage!
As for whether it would make people suspicious… A child aiming to become the Hokage? What could possibly be wrong with that?
Of course there wasn't. After all, right now he was still just a little kid under constant surveillance.
"Whatever you say. Though your pose earlier was a bit… silly."
Even though he didn't want to crush the boy's confidence, Itachi felt he should at least be honest.
This kid was way too full of himself!
Raising a thumbs-up and flashing a big grin like that…
He wondered if Might Gai would end up taking this boy as a student in the future. They already had a lot in common before even meeting.
"No way…"
Naruto looked completely unconvinced. His gaze swept across the surrounding illusion scenes.
After that, he stopped putting on any more acts. From now on, whenever the right moment appeared, he would "suddenly remember" the memories on his own.
The seventy-two hours inside Tsukuyomi finally came to an end. Naruto's eyes were so exhausted he could barely keep them open.
But his "memories" had been fully restored.
Itachi waited until the time was up, then brought them both out of the Tsukuyomi space together.
And in the exact instant Naruto's consciousness left, one particular crow inside the Tsukuyomi world vanished along with him.
That crow's eye carried the distinct pattern of a Mangekyō Sharingan.
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