Chapter 717 Naruto

“From today onwards, I’m going to be a father!”

Even a Ninja like Minato Namikaze, who had witnessed countless grand scenes, still shed tears of excitement after personally holding his child.

Looking at the infant in his arms, crying and exuding its vitality, Minato Namikaze felt heartfelt joy.

This was his child, the crystallization of his and Kushina’s love and life.

At this moment, Minato Namikaze could better understand why Senju Hashirama founded Konoha, and why so many Ninja families chose to join Konoha.

If there were no Konoha, if it were still the Sengoku period, children as young as six or seven would need to fight on the battlefield.

At the same time, Minato Namikaze also felt the heavy burden on his shoulders; war had not disappeared from the Ninja World, and the Ninja Village era was only slightly better than the Sengoku period.

For their children to grow up safely, they, as parents, still had much to do.

“Minato,” Kushina called softly.

Minato Namikaze looked at the weak Kushina on the delivery bed and quickly brought Naruto to her, allowing Kushina to observe Naruto closely.

When Kushina first cast her tired yet loving gaze upon the healthy little life in the swaddling clothes, time seemed to freeze at that moment.

Her heartbeat gradually synchronized with the breathing of this new arrival, each gentle rise and fall like the most moving melody in the universe, striking the deepest part of her soul.

“Naruto, I’ve finally met you,” Kushina said, looking at Naruto with a heartfelt smile.

Kushina had endured much hardship during her ten months of pregnancy.

For the health of the fetus, she avoided strong-flavored and stimulating foods, eating only the pregnant women’s diet recommended by Konoha Hospital.

Furthermore, due to her special status as a Jinchuriki, her range of activity was restricted; to avoid any accidents, she spent most of her time at home.

Moreover, pregnancy itself was not easy, and during childbirth, Kushina felt as if she was going to die.

However, upon seeing Naruto, she instantly felt that all the hardship was worth it.

Kushina instinctively tried to reach out and touch Naruto’s little face, but found she couldn’t move her arms.

Click!

Minato Namikaze immediately unlocked the restraints on Kushina.

There was a possibility of a Tailed Beast going berserk when a Jinchuriki gave birth, so Kushina’s arms were restrained during delivery to prevent her from going berserk and harming the medical Ninja assisting with the birth.

Kushina finally got to touch Naruto’s little face as she wished.

Her fingers gently brushed Naruto’s tender cheek, the sensation like touching the softest, most precious treasure in the world. Each faint blink of the child’s eyes, each unconscious wave of his tiny hand, made Kushina feel an unprecedented sense of happiness and fulfillment.

At this moment, all fatigue, worry, and unease completely vanished, leaving only boundless love and hope.

At this time, Muzuki happened to walk in with his disciples and saw this heartwarming scene.

“Everything is moving towards a good future,” Kakashi sighed in relief, a smile appearing on his face.

Whether as Minato Namikaze’s disciple or as Naruto’s Kakashi-sensei, he did not want any accidents to happen.

“So small, Naruto-nii-san,” Obito couldn’t help but widen his eyes, looking at the tiny body in the swaddling clothes.

Although he had just been born, Obito recognized Naruto at a glance; the few small whiskers on his face were too unique.

“The Nine-Tailed must have been very restless during the birth, right?” Muzuki stepped forward and glanced at Naruto’s whiskers.

His eyes could see some Nine-Tailed Chakra remaining within Naruto’s body.

“Yes, if it weren’t for me being here, it almost came out,” Minato Namikaze nodded.

During Kushina’s delivery, the Nine-Tailed struggled intensely against the seal. The seal on Kushina’s body had actually been broken, but Minato immediately reapplied it.

This caused a portion of the Nine-Tailed’s Chakra to transfer into Naruto’s body, thereby affecting Naruto.

“Actually, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. If controlled properly, this Nine-Tailed Chakra will become his aid,” Muzuki said.

The level of Nine-Tailed Chakra in Naruto’s body currently is roughly equivalent to Kumogakure’s Ginkaku and Kinkaku; with some training, he should be able to achieve partial Tailed Beast transformation.

Although it wouldn’t be considered very strong in the later stages, having it is better than not having it.

Muzuki couldn’t possibly say that Naruto was more suitable to be the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki than Kushina and ask Kushina to give the Nine-Tailed to Naruto.

This kind of thing cannot be simply given away; a Jinchuriki without a Tailed Beast will die.

Currently, there is no technique in the Ninja World that can extract a Tailed Beast from a Jinchuriki’s body without harm.

Unless that Tailed Beast is the Eight-Tails; the Eight-Tails can actively sever its limbs, allowing the Jinchuriki to survive, but this is a unique ability of the Eight-Tails.

【Name: Namikaze Naruto】

【Potential: SS (Six Paths Bloodline + Nine-Tailed Chakra + Basic Talent)】

Presumably, because it’s only Nine-Tailed Chakra and not the Nine-Tailed itself, the Naruto in Muzuki’s world has a slightly lower potential than the future Naruto who came through the Dragon Vein, only SS, not SS+.

However, in Muzuki’s opinion, it’s enough. Even for geniuses like Kakashi and Hiruzen Sarutobi, their initial potential is only an S; double S is already high enough.

“Muzuki, you should hold him too, let Naruto get to know you,” Kushina said, smiling at Muzuki.

Over the years, Muzuki and they had always helped each other. Although they were just neighbors, their relationship had long surpassed that of ordinary relatives.

Muzuki nodded, reaching out to pick up Naruto.

Looking at the crying infant in his arms, Muzuki was also slightly dazed, a momentary trance washing over him.

Unknowingly, he had been in the Hokage world for over six years. The force he personally created had influenced the entire Ninja World, his disciples had become famous young powerhouses in the Ninja World, and his good friends had married and had children…

Considering a person’s entire lifespan, six years is not long; if well-maintained, an ordinary person’s life can have twenty six-year periods.

But before Muzuki’s transmigration, he was just a university graduate who had just passed his civil service exam. For him, six years had already exceeded a quarter of his previous life’s journey.

Moreover, due to the dangers of being a Ninja, these six years cannot be equated to six years of life in his previous world.

“Muzuki, what’s wrong?” Kushina noticed that Muzuki seemed a bit off and asked.

“Nothing, I just feel very emotional, about good friends becoming parents and all,” Muzuki said, shaking his head with a faint smile as he snapped out of it.

“Naruto will definitely become an excellent person in the future,” Muzuki said seriously.

“Indeed, Naruto will be an excellent Ninja,” Minato Namikaze said, recalling the Naruto he met in the Land of Rōran.

The two exchanged glances, sharing a knowing smile.

Kushina felt a bit bewildered; her husband and best friend were praising her son, and she didn’t understand what they were saying. What the hell was going on?

“Are you two hiding something from me?” Kushina eyed them suspiciously.

“Let me hold him too!” Obito said eagerly, wanting to hold the newborn Naruto-nii-san.

When Naruto grew up, he could tell him, “I used to hold you.”

“Then you need to be careful, Rin, help me keep an eye on him.”

Kushina wasn’t too confident about the clumsy Obito, so she asked Rin Nohara to help keep an eye on him.

“Hehe,” Obito didn’t mind, happily holding Naruto.

“So small, Naruto-nii-san!” Obito sighed inwardly, looking at Naruto in the swaddling clothes.

He even wanted to take a picture to remember it, but fearing the flash might hurt Naruto’s eyes, Obito decided not to take out his camera and planned to take pictures later.

“Naruto, you must remember, I am your Obito-nii-san,” Obito chuckled.

Future Naruto was indeed a great big brother, but this Naruto was just a newborn, so of course, he could only be his little brother.

Kakashi looked at Obito with a dark expression; the child had just been born, couldn’t remember anything, and couldn’t speak, so no matter how much was said, Naruto wouldn’t call Obito “big brother.”

“Alright, that’s enough.”

Sarutobi Biwako called a halt to the “playing with Naruto” session and took Naruto aside for newborn processing.

“Thank you all for your trouble this time,” Minato Namikaze said, smiling at Muzuki and the others.

Muzuki, as the Fourth Hokage, didn’t need to personally set up barriers and act as a guard even for a Jinchuriki’s birth. Obito and the others weren’t part of the planned defense force either.

Most high-ranking officials believed that Minato Namikaze, plus a squad of Anbu, would be sufficient to handle any emergencies.

In fact, Minato Namikaze had a similar idea, but since Muzuki had the intention to strengthen the protection, he naturally couldn’t refuse, especially since having Muzuki protect the birth truly maximized the sense of security.

“It would be more troublesome for me if you couldn’t handle official duties with peace of mind,” Muzuki joked.

“It’s fine, I just stood for a while,” Obito felt like he had just played a minor role.

He had been prepared to fight the berserk Nine-Tailed and the mastermind behind its rampage, but in the end, he only stood in the cold wind all night.

Muzuki’s expression was slightly subtle. In a sense, Obito made a huge contribution to tonight’s guard duty.

Why? Because he didn’t attack Konoha, so there was no Nine-Tailed rampage, and he single-handedly eliminated the Nine-Tailed Night incident.

Amidst jokes, Muzuki led his disciples in escorting Kushina back to Konoha Hospital.

At this point, Muzuki and his team had done everything they could. Muzuki dismissed the team, and they all went home to rest, leaving Minato Namikaze and some Anbu to continue guarding Kushina.

The disciples outwardly went home, but soon gathered again.

“Why didn’t the mastermind behind the Nine-Tailed rampage appear? Is it because they were afraid of Muzuki-sensei?” Obito asked, puzzled.

According to their current understanding of Jinchuriki, Tailed Beasts do not go berserk without reason; it’s usually due to a problem with the Sealing Technique.

However, Konoha’s Sealing Technique was unrivaled in the Ninja World, and both Kushina and Minato Namikaze were masters of Sealing Technique. Ordinary Sealing Technique issues wouldn’t worsen the situation to that extent, meaning it was deliberate sabotage of the seal.

So they concluded that there was a hidden mastermind behind the Nine-Tailed Night, but due to a lack of information, they couldn’t determine the mastermind’s identity or affiliated organization.

Initially, they had suspected the Akatsuki Organization because their goal was Tailed Beasts, providing a motive. However, now there was only the Shinobi Sect and no Akatsuki Organization, so this conjecture was clearly invalid.

“It should be,” Shisui nodded.

Konoha now has many strong Ninja. Besides Muzuki, older powerhouses like Hiruzen Sarutobi are still in good condition, and young powerhouses like Obito and Kakashi have also grown stronger.

“Regarding the future Naruto and Yamato, I have a new thought: are they really from the future of our world?” Kakashi pondered and said.

“If not the future, then what?” Obito looked at Kakashi in confusion.

“The ‘future Yamato’ having a different experience from our world’s Yamato can be explained by Muzuki-sensei getting to know Yamato, thus changing his life.

‘Future Yamato’ and ‘Future Naruto’ don’t know Muzuki-sensei, they only know Minato-sensei. This can be explained by Muzuki-sensei sacrificing himself early.”

“But did our efforts during Muzuki-sensei’s fierce battle with Uchiha Madara truly suffice to change the ultimate outcome?” Kakashi asked in a deep voice.

Initially, Kakashi also believed that the Naruto and Yamato who appeared from the Dragon Vein were travelers from the future.

After all, the Ninja World described by adult Yamato, when extrapolated with the information they had at the time, truly matched the future state of their Ninja World.

After Muzuki killed Uchiha Madara, Kakashi started to feel something was off.

Although they tried hard enough in the battle, and all the disciples had a burst of power and performed exceptionally, they didn’t play a significant role in the battle at all; they only delayed for some time.

The one who truly exerted power was Muzuki himself.

It was Muzuki who used a Ninjutsu that feigned death, ultimately catching Uchiha Madara off guard, reversing the battle, and securing the final victory.

Other things could be explained by the changes their actions brought about, but Kakashi truly felt there was a problem with Muzuki’s situation.

Even if they hadn’t been there, the ultimate victor would still have been Muzuki.

Obito recalled for a moment, then was speechless.

At that time, he was too happy; Muzuki had survived, and his strength had also skyrocketed due to the activation of his Mangekyo Sharingan, so he didn’t think too deeply.

Now that he thought about it carefully, their actions didn’t seem to have affected the overall battle situation.

“There are indeed some issues,” Shisui nodded.

He had also noticed some clues, but Shisui was not a direct participant in the Dragon Vein mission; he had only heard the information from Obito, so his feelings weren’t as strong as Kakashi’s.

“Then haven’t we been worrying for nothing all this time?” Obito scratched his head, feeling a sense of frustration, like having worked hard only to find he had gone in the wrong direction.

“Forget it, as long as the result is good, it’s fine. As long as Muzuki-sensei is alive, it’s a good thing.”

Obito quickly reconciled with himself; no matter what, as long as the outcome was good, it was acceptable.

Kakashi nodded. Regardless of whether adult Yamato’s world was their future, their world was developing in the best possible direction.

Kakashi lightly jumped up, picked two leaves, and showed them to everyone, explaining:

“I think it might be a situation like this: our world and adult Yamato’s world are like these two leaves—similar, but not exactly the same.”

Obito looked closely, and indeed, as Kakashi said, if one looked carefully, there were subtle differences in size, thickness, and shape.

“Adult Yamato’s world has Minato-sensei, but that doesn’t mean it has Muzuki-sensei; having me doesn’t mean having Obito and Rin; having Konoha doesn’t mean having the Shinobi Sect,” Kakashi stated his view.

Shisui nodded, showing agreement. Kakashi’s explanation was well-reasoned, well-founded, and convincing.

“I knew it; how could I possibly die in a war?” Obito also accepted Kakashi’s conjecture.

He didn’t exist at all in adult Yamato’s world, which is why they didn’t know him.

“So, perhaps there’s no mastermind behind the Nine-Tailed’s rampage in our world, or maybe the mastermind doesn’t dare to attack because of Muzuki-sensei?” Rin Nohara said, following Kakashi’s speculation.

“Exactly,” Kakashi replied.

It was mainly because there was too little information about the Nine-Tailed’s night; otherwise, he could further determine whether the opponent didn’t come or simply didn’t exist.

“He’s lucky; if he came, he wouldn’t even need Muzuki-sensei to act. I’d make sure he knew the power of the Uchiha Mangekyo Sharingan,” Obito said with a displeased expression.

He caused his older brother Naruto to become an orphan; it was truly too despicable.

“And I’ll make him taste my fist!” Might Guy shouted, his face full of passion, swinging his fist.

“Since mastering the Seventh Gate, I haven’t fought with full power yet.”

The disciples felt a little embarrassed; the power of that punch, with Eight Gates’ Seventh Gate stacked with Rock Breathing Chakra Mode, would be immense.

“Since there are no enemies, Kakashi, let’s have a youthful battle!” Might Guy issued a battle invitation to Kakashi.

Recently, he had achieved some results in his Armament Haki Secret Technique training and felt he was not far from truly mastering it, so he wanted to use battle to stimulate himself.

“The recent escort consumed too much of my mental energy; I’m too tired to fight,” Kakashi directly refused.

He didn’t want to fight Might Guy with full power; it was truly not an easy task, and he wanted to go back and get a good night’s sleep.

“The training squad seems to have some matters; I’ll be leaving first.” Shisui used Body Flicker Technique to depart.

In the few years since the great war ended, besides significant progress in various abilities, his Chakra reserves had also greatly increased. If he truly fought desperately, he might not lose to Might Guy, but the battle process would be very tiring.

Because Might Guy’s fighting style was too simple and crude: powerful strength, speed, and defense.

“I’m going back to check if my Charizard is covered with a blanket, lest it catch a cold.” Obito disappeared on the spot with a Flying Thunder God.

Theoretically speaking, fighting Might Guy was the easiest for Obito.

By continuously stalling with Kamui and Flying Thunder God, Might Guy couldn’t outlast him.

But Obito felt that battles between friends shouldn’t be like that, so he also didn’t really want to fight Might Guy.

Rin Nohara looked at Might Guy with wide, helpless eyes; she truly felt willing but unable.

Even though she had made considerable progress recently, it was still far from that of a taijutsu expert like Might Guy.

Fortunately, Might Guy also understood Rin Nohara; he scratched his head while pondering the possibility of Charizard catching a cold without a blanket, and then left.

…

After the Enlightenment skill cooled down, Muzuki went to Mount Myōboku again to learn Sage Art.

Even after Sage Mode reached the Master level, Muzuki still didn’t give up on learning Sage Art, because the newly mastered Sage Mode couldn’t yet support him in developing the Breathing Stream Sage Art he desired.

After the second day of study, Fukasaku looked at Muzuki with a complex expression and said:

“I have taught you everything I can teach you. Now, little Muzuki, your Sage Art level is no worse than mine.”

It had originally thought that it would take Muzuki at least three or four years to learn all of its Sage Art knowledge, but unexpectedly, Muzuki had emptied its Sage Art knowledge in less than two years.

Fukasaku clearly remembered that twenty months ago, Muzuki had just come to Mount Myōboku to learn Sage Art.

The result was that in just these twenty months, its eight hundred years of accumulation had all been learned by Muzuki.

“Perhaps I should call you Muzuki Sage now,” Fukasaku sighed.

With Muzuki’s demonstrated Sage Art talent and eagerness to learn, it had no doubt that Muzuki would far surpass it in Sage Art.

“It’s not that serious; as for the title, it’s up to your preference,” Muzuki said with a smile, shaking his head and glancing at his panel.

【Name: Hayate Mugetsu】

【Chakra: 4,630,000】

【Skills: Sage Mode (Master Level: 10900/15000)… 】

Actually, Fukasaku’s Sage Mode skill proficiency was still a bit higher than his, and Fukasaku had also made some progress during the time he taught him.

However, that small difference was probably negligible in Fukasaku’s eyes.

“Now, little Muzuki, if you want to make further progress in your Sage Mode, you can only slowly research it yourself, or I can help you ask the Great Toad Sage to see if he has any intention of teaching you,” Fukasaku thought for a moment and replied.

The Great Toad Sage’s Sage Art level at Mount Myōboku was overwhelmingly strong; even Fukasaku didn’t know what level the Great Toad Sage’s Sage Art cultivation had reached, only feeling that the gap was enormous.

If it were an ordinary person, Fukasaku would certainly not bother the Great Toad Sage specifically.

Muzuki was different; Muzuki not only possessed Sage Art talent that Fukasaku had not seen in eight hundred years but also had a miraculous cooking skill.

Whenever it and Shima Sage brought Muzuki’s dishes over, the Great Toad Sage’s senility would instantly clear up, and it would wake up on time every time and start eating cleanly.

With the blessing of superb Sage Art talent and cooking, Fukasaku felt that the Great Toad Sage might be willing to teach Muzuki Sage Art.

Of course, it was only a possibility; Fukasaku had lived for so long and had never seen the Great Toad Sage teach anyone Sage Art, so Fukasaku only said he would help ask, without guaranteeing it would work.

“Then I’ll trouble you. I’ll come again after a while,” Muzuki thanked him.

He had made full preparations before daring to come to Mount Myōboku to learn Sage Art. After more than a year, he had become stronger, so naturally, he wasn’t afraid to meet the Great Toad Sage.

In fact, he quite wanted to meet the Great Toad Sage; he wanted to use Appraisal Technique on the Great Toad Sage to see how much Chakra the Great Toad Sage had and what skills he had mastered.

After bidding farewell to Fukasaku, Muzuki returned to Konoha, researched Breathing Technique and Sage Art for a few hours, and then lay down on his bed.

Before sleeping, Muzuki opened his panel and glanced at his disciples’ life missions.

【Name: Uchiha Obito】

【Main Goal: Become the Hokage of Konoha Ninja Village】

【Mission Progress: 73.5%】

Obito was quite diligent, making self-improvements; his progress was slow but continuous.

【Name: Might Guy】

【Life Mission: Walk the Path to the Strongest Taijutsu】

【Mission Progress: 59.9%】

Might Guy was just a little short of reaching 60% progress for the reward, which would be an S+ random draw scroll.

【Name: Uchiha Shisui】

【Life Mission: Uchiha and Konoha】

【Mission Progress: 79.6%】

Shisui currently had the highest life mission progress among the disciples and would soon reach the 80% settlement point.

Although Might Guy would settle faster, Muzuki was still more looking forward to Shisui’s settlement.

A random S+ skill wouldn’t significantly change his strength, and being random, it might not even be teachable to a disciple, but the 80% progress reward was another matter.

PS:

I’ll be going to the parallel world soon, but the story needs a beginning and an end; I need to conclude the main world’s plot before moving on.

Also, regarding Kakashi and the others discovering the parallel world late, Xiao Ju really didn’t deliberately lower their intelligence; one can’t view it with an omniscient perspective.

If you put yourself in their shoes, you’ll realize it’s genuinely hard to figure out.

Firstly, Kakashi and the others don’t even have the concept of a parallel world in their minds. Secondly, there isn’t enough information. And then, they are constantly changing history.

When encountering something different, they would definitely first think if it was an effect of their changing history, rather than considering a parallel world.