Naruto: Born Gifted in Konoha

Half a month had passed since the Nine-Tails' rampage, and everything seemed to have settled back into calm.

Saitama and Zetsu had both returned to Amegakure Village. Neither Pain nor the others asked where they had gone or what they had done.

The civilians of Konoha had lived through that night firsthand, but it didn't bother them much—they hadn't suffered serious harm, and the Hokage leadership later compensated for their losses.

Everything just faded away.

To them, it wasn't a night worth remembering—it was simply an incident, minor and forgettable.

...

Hokage Building, Conference Room.

There weren't many people gathered here—current Hokage Minato Namikaze, former Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, Hokage Advisors Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, Jonin Commander and Hokage Assistant Shikaku Nara, and Jinchuriki Kushina Uzumaki.

Minato sat at the head of the table, followed by Hiruzen, then the advisors, with Shikaku and Kushina seated last.

Oh right—Naruto was still in Kushina's arms. As a new mother, she hadn't wanted to let Naruto out of her sight even for a second ever since leaving the hospital.

Even during such a serious meeting, Kushina had brought Naruto along.

As the Hokage's wife and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, no one dared to question her—this was just a small privilege she was allowed.

"Ahem! Kushina!" Minato coughed slightly, giving her a pointed look from across the room—as if reminding her to stay focused; he was about to begin the official part of the meeting.

But Kushina only glanced up at Minato without responding. She continued gently playing with Naruto's tiny hand, a warm, radiant maternal smile on her face.

"The overall situation is this," Minato began calmly but firmly. "First, someone used an explosion to draw away Hiruzen. Then another person stole the Scroll of Seals—a forbidden scroll containing ancient sealing techniques—to lure me out. Finally, someone attempted to unseal the Nine-Tails!"

He spoke while carefully observing the expressions around him, finally letting his gaze settle on Kushina.

"The explosion itself was caused by explosive tags combined with flammable materials."

"There were six explosion sites, meaning there must've been about six enemies responsible for creating diversions. When I arrived at the scene, I found nothing unusual and encountered no enemies."

Hiruzen continued after Minato, his aged face darkened with gloom—his wife had been injured during these events and was still hospitalized recovering.

"The enemy inside the Hokage Building wore black robes and a pale yellow mask with a smooth surface. He stood at around 175 centimeters tall."

"Additionally…" Minato hesitated briefly, as if weighing whether to continue.

Shikaku frowned slightly, staring intently at Minato.

"That enemy who fought me specialized in [Lightning Release]... and also possessed a [Sharingan]!" Minato glanced around at everyone's faces before finally continuing.

"What?!" Everyone showed surprise, clearly shaken by the revelation that the enemy wielded a Sharingan.

"Minato, are you certain?" Koharu lifted her head first, exchanging glances with Homura Mitokado for a moment before turning toward Minato.

"Yes," Minato nodded. This wasn't the time for half-truths—every deduction needed precise intelligence. Guesswork wouldn't cut it.

A startled gasp echoed through the room.

Shikaku noticed things were taking an unusual turn and sucked in a sharp breath.

The Third exchanged glances with the two advisors. No words were spoken, but their expressions visibly darkened.

"Is this matter related to the Uchiha?" Homura Mitokado slowly pushed up his glasses as he voiced his question.

"We can't be certain yet, but the enemy indeed possesses the Sharingan."

Minato didn't outright confirm the Uchiha's involvement.

"What Minato says reminds me of something Jiraiya told me before."

After some thought, the Third broke the tense silence hanging over the meeting.

"Previously, Jiraiya encountered an enemy who also seemed to possess the Sharingan. Moreover, this foe was skilled in Lightning Release and had mastered the Rasengan!"

As he spoke, the Third carefully watched Minato.

"Yes, this enemy we're facing now also used the Rasengan—in fact, an advanced form of it! I haven't completely figured out how this upgraded technique works yet!"

Prompted by the Third, Minato suddenly recalled something.

"We can't rule out the possibility these two enemies are actually one and the same, but there's simply too little information to support that theory!"

The Third glanced at Shikaku, who remained deep in thought.

"Waaah!" A baby's cry shattered the heavy atmosphere of the meeting room.

"Oh, Naruto, don't cry, Mommy's right here! Good boy, good boy!"

Kushina reacted slightly flustered at first, yet quickly comforted Naruto. After wriggling briefly in her arms, Naruto shifted position and started dozing off.

After all, being a newborn, he needed plenty of sleep.

Suddenly, the atmosphere became awkward, but Kushina was a tough one. Her face betrayed no emotion whatsoever as she innocently scanned the room, then lowered her eyes to gaze at the peacefully sleeping Naruto.

"Erm… Kushina," Minato's face reddened slightly, though he quickly regained composure, "Could you describe what happened earlier?"

"Oh alright!" Kushina gently patted Naruto's body with her hand and cleared her throat.

"The enemy had a yin-yang split face—half white, half black—wrapped in Zetsu. As for the ninja techniques he used, I couldn't be sure, but he could pass through walls freely!"

"And more importantly, he seemed highly skilled in sealing arts. He practically tore apart the previous Nine-Tails' seal in an instant!"

Kushina wore a helpless expression, as if recalling something.

Even as a proud heir of the Uzumaki clan, she hesitated to judge the enemy's skill in sealing arts.

The Third furrowed his brow slightly. None of the figures from his past experiences matched Kushina's description.

Sensing her words hadn't provided much help, Kushina similarly turned her gaze toward Minato Namikaze, only to find him frowning too.

"There wasn't really anything particularly strange about it!" Lowering her head, Kushina gripped Naruto's tiny hand and gave it a gentle squeeze while muttering softly.

"Oh, right!" Kushina suddenly blurted out, capturing everyone's attention—including Shikaku, who had been lost in thought.

"What else did you remember?" Minato looked directly at Kushina.

"That person seemed to be wearing very distinctive clothing."

Trying hard to recollect, Kushina brought her fingers close to her mouth.

"Black with red clouds! Yes, definitely a black cloak bearing red clouds!"

Kushina nodded with full confidence as she spoke.

"Akatsuki's black robes with red clouds?" The Third tried hard to recall but still couldn't remember anything related.

"That's all!" Kushina spread her hands, indicating there was nothing else for her to say.

The scene temporarily fell into a stalemate again, with no one able to break the deadlock.

"In that case, we'll end it here today. Our next step should be launching investigations based on the current intelligence."

"Anyone who dares to threaten Konoha will not get away with it!"

Minato was furious too—those were the kind of words he ended up saying.

After all, the ones in danger were his wife and child, and the enemy's target was clearly Kushina, a jinchuriki.

The Third gave a quiet nod and exchanged meaningful looks with his two advisors.

"If there's nothing else, then we'll disperse!" Koharu Utatane stood up, nodded toward Minato Namikaze, and left first.

After her came Homura Mitokado and the Third, walking out in succession.

Minato Namikaze offered Kushina an apologetic smile before leaving as well, followed by Shikaku.

"Hmm..." Naruto twisted slightly in Kushina's arms, seemingly trying to open his eyes.

...

"Hiruzen, what do you think?" On the corridor, Koharu asked the Third while walking beside him.

"We can't rule out the Uchiha. What do you think we should do?" The Third looked forward without elaborating.

"Why don't we invite Danzo to discuss it later? After all, this matter concerns the jinchuriki!" Homura, walking at the back, stepped closer and added.

"Danzo hasn't been feeling his best lately. Let's leave him out this time." For some reason, the Third stopped the idea.

"All right," the other two paused momentarily before agreeing.

...

"Shikaku, what's your take?" Minato walked side by side with Shikaku, looking somewhat gloomy.

"We still lack information; we need to investigate carefully. However, I have some thoughts now."

Shikaku walked half a step behind Minato, his eyes shining with contemplation.

"Mm…Tell me about them later." Minato looked ahead where they had already reached the Hokage Office, opened the door, and gestured for Shikaku to follow inside.

"There's someone fighting against you—I have some guesses about their identity..."

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