Hatake Tatsuya in Naruto

At first, the idea that Orochimaru proposed seemed rather bad. However, after careful consideration, Tatsuya realized that Obito, despite his old, devious appearance, still maintained a strong, dog-like loyalty. If he had survived and hadn't found Rin and Tatsuya in such a compromising situation, the odds would have been that he would have returned to Konoha and befriended Kakashi. There would have been little chance for him to turn dark.

The real issue lay with Uchiha Madara—his cunning was far slipperier than even Orochimaru's. Tatsuya was caught off guard. It felt... entirely possible that Obito might be swayed after all.

After all, even though Obito had made questionable decisions in the past, his heart was fragile. During the Fourth Ninja War in the original timeline, when his mask was shattered and his true face was revealed, it was clear that he often made mistakes in battle. The mask had seemed to hide his identity as "Uchiha Madara," but in truth, it was concealing the emptiness of his heart.

In the end, Tatsuya chose not to follow Orochimaru's suggestion. While he was somewhat numbed by the situation, he knew that today was a special day for Rin and Kurenai. It was too sacred to allow any other factors to interfere.

...

...

In the end, Tatsuya's wedding wasn't as extravagant as the one with Tsunade and Terumi Mei two years ago. It was a simple affair—just the two women and him going to the registry office to get their certificates. That was it.

"Hehehe~"

On the way home, Kurenai raised the small paper above her head with both hands, letting out a joyful laugh. Though Rin wasn't as dramatic, she held the marriage certificate close to her chest like a treasured possession, a genuine smile lighting up her face.

Tatsuya shrugged and smiled, walking behind them as they headed home.

"Should we tell Obito?" A few miles away, atop the roof of the Konoha Civil Affairs Bureau, a bundle of pitcher plants appeared. White Zetsu, with a slight shift of his eyes, asked his other half, Black Zetsu.

Black Zetsu paused for a moment before responding, "Forget it. Don't provoke him. For now, we'll quietly prepare for the tailed beast capture plan."

White Zetsu curled his lips and murmured, "What a shame. I really wanted to see the look on his face when he heard about it..."

However, after considering the unpredictable nature of that madman, he decided it was better to leave it. They couldn't afford to let anything interfere with their larger plans.

...

...

In the heart of Konoha, sixty years ago, Uzumaki Kushina's voice thundered through their small home, filled with the fury only a mother could summon. Her son, Naruto, cowered behind his father, Namikaze Minato, who stood like a protective wall between them.

"Brat, come back!" Kushina roared, her eyes flashing with frustration. She was holding Naruto's report card in one hand, her grip tightening with each passing second. "How many times have I told you, my son? Why don't you listen?! Are you doing this on purpose? Huh?!"

Naruto, his face a mixture of fear and a touch of embarrassment, shrank further behind Minato, his shoulders slumping in defeat. His gaze darted to the floor, his voice barely a whisper. "It's not my fault! It's Iruka-sensei's Clone Technique! That's the one I'm worst at!"

Minato, ever the calm and rational figure, sighed softly before turning to Kushina, his tone soothing yet firm. "Kushina, calm down. Naruto's still young. He's just starting out. He'll get the hang of it."

But Kushina wasn't having it. Her face turned a shade redder, and her frustration overflowed. "Still young? At his age, I was already fighting on the battlefield, Minato!" Her voice was full of pride, but there was also a sharp edge to it. "How is he supposed to become a Hokage if he can't even get his Clone Technique right?"

Minato gave her a soft, bittersweet smile, his fingers gently tapping Naruto's shoulder. "He'll find his own way, Kushina. Just be patient."

Kushina wasn't convinced. In one swift motion, she grabbed a feather duster from the nearby shelf. Her eyes locked onto Naruto with an intensity that only a mother's glare could convey. "Today, I'm going to give this stubborn boy a good lesson! He's not getting away with this!"

Naruto's eyes widened in panic. The feather duster seemed like the least of his worries at that moment. His heart raced, and without a second thought, he darted toward the window, moving faster than his mother could react.

"Come back here, you brat!!!" Kushina's voice rang out, the sound echoing in every corner of their home.

But Naruto was already halfway out the window, his feet hitting the ground as he bolted down the street, a grin of determination spreading across his face. He had perfected this move through years of practice—dashing out of windows to escape whatever trouble he had gotten himself into.

"You can't catch me, Mom!" he called over his shoulder, his voice a mix of playful defiance and the desperation of a boy trying to outrun his mother's wrath.

Minato chuckled softly, watching his son flee with a faint shake of his head. "He's got the speed of his dad, that's for sure."

Kushina stood there, fuming but ultimately unable to stop a small smile from tugging at the corner of her lips. "That brat... always running off. But I'll get him eventually." She turned to Minato, a knowing glint in her eyes. "You're not going to stop me, right?"

Minato simply smiled, his hand resting gently on her shoulder. "I wouldn't dream of it."

Breathing a sigh of relief as he hit the streets, Naruto muttered to himself, "All this trouble over one bad test... Shikamaru was right. Moms are the scariest thing in the world."

Just as he tried to calm his nerves, a sharp voice broke through his thoughts. "Super idiot, next week's the graduation exam. You really want to repeat the grade?"

Naruto's head snapped around in fury, his face instantly flushed with irritation. There was only one person who would say something like that.

Sure enough, standing a few feet away, arms crossed with his usual smug expression, was Sasuke Uchiha. "It's that annoying guy," Naruto grumbled under his breath, his fists clenching.

"Want to fight, you jerk?!" Naruto yelled, rolling up his sleeves as he stepped toward Sasuke, ready for another one of their endless rivalries.

Sasuke just scoffed, barely acknowledging the challenge. His smirk never wavered. "Hmph. You're such a nuisance, Naruto. Always shouting, always causing trouble. If you're not careful, you'll end up being the biggest embarrassment in the class."

Naruto's anger flared even more. "You wanna talk, Sasuke? You think you're so much better than me, huh? Well, I'm not just gonna sit back and take your crap!"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, clearly unbothered by Naruto's outburst. "You should sit back and listen for once, idiot. Maybe then you'd actually be good at something besides pissing everyone off."

Naruto's face twisted in anger, and he took another step forward, fists shaking. "I don't need to listen to you! I'm gonna be Hokage, and nothing's gonna stop me! Not you, not anyone!"

Sasuke's smirk deepened, and he crossed his arms. "Hokage? You? Don't make me laugh. You can't even pass a simple test. If you want to catch up to me, you're going to have to work a hell of a lot harder than that."

"Shut up, Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, his face turning red. "I'll show you! I'm gonna be the strongest ninja ever! And I'll beat you, too!"

Within moments, the two 12-year-olds were fighting in the streets like little girls. This kind of scene was all too familiar to the people of Konoha.

Under the training of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina, Naruto had come a long way. He was no longer the "dead last" he once was. However, due to the interference of the Nine-Tails' chakra, Naruto often mixed ordinary chakra with the Nine-Tails' chakra when trying to condense it. As a result, he struggled to perform ninjutsu properly, and his results remained in the middle-to-lower tier.

Passing the graduation exam was still uncertain for him. As for Sasuke, he was just like in the original timeline—always scoring at the top.

But there was one student who often took the number one spot from him...

Hyūga Hinata.

A week later, Naruto barely passed the test with a low score, but he managed to earn his forehead protector and officially became a Genin. Now, all he had to do was wait to be assigned to a class.

"Tatsuy is there anyone you're interested in among this year's graduates? I would actually like you to train a high-attack team…" Minato, the Fifth Hokage, said, a bit flattered.

Tatsuya had suddenly approached him and expressed interest in watching how the new graduates were divided into their classes. Minato had been surprised by this; after all, this wasn't something the master usually paid attention to.

"Just treat it like it's no big deal," Tatsuya replied with a slight smile.

Minato, not familiar with Sarutobi Hiruzen's crystal ball technique, was unaware of Tatsuya's own methods. However, every classroom was equipped with surveillance cameras, which would serve as a perfect substitute.

"Why are you guys here?"

Through the monitoring screen, Tatsuya and Minato saw Sasuke entering the classroom. He smirked as he greeted Naruto.

"Huh! Didn't you notice what's on my head?" Naruto raised his thumb and pointed proudly at his new forehead protector.

"Oh, I heard that to balance the strength in each division, the highest and lowest-ranked graduates are often placed in the same class. I really don't want to be in the same class as you." Sasuke tilted his head, squinting.

"What are you talking about? You're saying your grades are good, but mine are poor?!" Naruto snapped, grabbing Sasuke by the collar.

"I'm just telling the truth!" Sasuke grunted, twisting Naruto's collar in retaliation.

"Ahhh~" Minato laughed heartily.

"Should I be the one to teach this class in the future?" Kakashi, who was in the office, looked on with a bitter expression.

"Ahhh~ Sasuke-kun~!"

At that moment, Haruno Sakura burst into the classroom. Seeing Sasuke's back, she rushed toward him with a lovesick expression. But, as fate would have it, she tripped on the stairs and bumped her head into Sasuke's back.

Sasuke stumbled forward, and then... 

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