Naruto: Reborn in His Younger Self

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"Naruto! Do you hate your father?"

Kushina and Naruto, who had been laughing moments ago, suddenly fell silent, turning to look at Minato in unison.

Minato let out a small, self-deprecating laugh. "Because I sealed the Nine-Tails inside you, you were burdened with the fate of a Jinchūriki. You lost your parents… and you also lost the chance to have a normal childhood."

Hearing Minato's words, Kushina gently took Naruto's arm, her fingers tracing along his skin, as if trying to feel the years of hardship he had endured.

The son she had carried for ten months, the tiny life she had once protected, had grown into a man before her very eyes.

Had he eaten well over the years? Had he been mischievous in school? Had he been bullied by his classmates? How had he taken care of himself when he was sick?

There were so many questions she wanted to ask, but now, sitting before him as a mother who had missed everything, she didn't even know where to start.

In the end, all that remained was a deep, overwhelming sense of guilt.

Wanting to comfort both Naruto and Minato, she softly said, "Naruto, your father never meant to hurt you. Back then, the situation was—"

"I understand," Naruto interrupted.

Minato looked at him in surprise.

Naruto met his parents' gazes and said, "I understand the love you both had for me.

Under those circumstances, you sealed the Nine-Tails inside me…

On one hand, you wanted me to become the hero of Konoha.

On the other hand, you wanted to prevent that masked man from throwing the entire shinobi world into chaos in the future."

Minato felt both relief and guilt at Naruto's words.

He was relieved because his son understood his decision. But at the same time, he felt guilty—Naruto was so understanding, too understanding. It would've been easier to bear if Naruto had just yelled at him, resented him, even blamed him.

Instead, Naruto had accepted everything.

Naruto continued, "Not only that, but you also thought everything through carefully for me, Dad. You left the key to the Nine-Tails' seal. You even infused your own chakra into the Eight Trigrams Seal so that if I ever lost control, you could guide me back.

And you, Mom… You poured your chakra into the seal as well, so that when the time came, you could help me master the Nine-Tails' power.

I see everything you did for me."

Looking at his parents, Naruto took a deep breath, his eyes welling with tears.

"I don't regret being this vessel. Because before I ever became a Jinchūriki… I was already filled with your love."

Having been Hokage, Naruto understood his father's decisions better now than he ever had in his past life.

Kushina could no longer hold back her emotions. She lunged forward, pulling Naruto into a tight embrace.

"My child, I'm so sorry! Mom and Dad are so sorry!" she sobbed uncontrollably, clutching him as though she never wanted to let go.

Her son was too kind, too forgiving. Instead of resentment, he had only understanding and acceptance. The realization made her heart ache even more—she wanted nothing more than to make up for everything he had suffered.

Naruto shut his eyes, his own tears slipping down his cheeks as he cried in his mother's arms.

Minato wiped his own tears before stepping forward, wrapping his arms around both of them.

For the first time in this lifetime, the Namikaze family was able to share a true embrace.

After a long moment, the three of them slowly pulled apart.

Kushina wiped her tears, then took Naruto's hands in hers. "Naruto… How have you been all these years?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "I got by… Not too bad."

Minato motioned for them to sit. "Come, let's sit down and talk."

The family of three sat together on the ground.

Minato looked at Naruto, hesitant but curious. "Naruto, can you tell me about your childhood?"

Deep down, he wanted to believe that the village had treated his son as a hero.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you want to hear about it, Dad?"

Kushina, as a mother, instantly picked up on the shift in Naruto's emotions.

"Yes, Naruto, tell me," she said firmly. "I want to hear everything."

Naruto sighed. "Well… it wasn't great. To be honest, my childhood was pretty miserable."

Kushina's eyes widened in shock. "Miserable?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. I remember when I was around three or four, I was living alone. Most of the time, I didn't have enough to eat. I was hungry a lot."

Kushina's expression froze.

"Not enough to eat? Hungry?!" she repeated, her voice rising in distress.

Minato immediately turned to Naruto. "Didn't the Third Hokage take care of you?"

Naruto shrugged. "Jiji always looked out for me. He made sure I had an allowance, but I was a kid, and I didn't really know how to manage money.

Besides, after you died, Dad, the Third Hokage had to take back the position. He was really busy, so he didn't have much time to check on me.

And…"

Naruto hesitated.

Kushina, already angry, snapped, "And what?! Tell me!"

Startled by his mother's sudden burst of temper, Naruto instinctively blurted, "And the villagers weren't exactly kind to me. They called me a demon fox, treated me like a monster.

No one wanted to play with me, even when I bought them candy to try and make friends.

By the end of the month, I'd usually run out of money… and I'd go hungry."

Kushina felt as if her heart had been ripped apart.

She knew exactly what Naruto was talking about.

As a Jinchūriki herself, she had faced discrimination too. But unlike Naruto, she had been lucky—Uzumaki Mito had been there to comfort her, to guide her. As the wife of the First Hokage and sister-in-law of the Second, Mito had ensured that Kushina was at least somewhat protected.

But Naruto… Naruto had been completely alone.

Her baby boy had spent his childhood trying to bribe other children with candy just for the chance to play with them.

How unbearably lonely must that have been?

Minato's face darkened. "What about the Third Hokage? Didn't he tell the village the truth? Didn't he tell them you were my son?"

Minato had believed that at the very least, the village would respect Naruto as the son of the Fourth Hokage.

Kushina clenched her fists. "How could he?! If the world knew Naruto was your son, how many enemies would've come after him?!

Besides… to Konoha's higher-ups, Naruto was never a hero. He was just a weapon!"

As she spoke, tears streamed down her face.

She had always feared that Konoha would treat Naruto as nothing more than a tool, but hearing it confirmed with her own ears shattered her.

The reality was far crueler than she had imagined.

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