"Naruto, I won."
Sasuke Uchiha looked down at the fallen Naruto Uzumaki, his words piercing Naruto's heart once more.
With a flicker of the Body Flicker Technique, Sasuke vanished.
Mizuki hurried to Naruto's side.
"Naruto, are you okay?"
Mizuki feigned concern as he approached.
The Fire Release technique hadn't been strong enough to seriously injure Naruto. Though he felt discomfort, standing wasn't an issue.
But the crushing sense of defeat left Naruto's mind blank.
[Sasuke Uchiha is really something.]
[Is this the strength of the Uchiha clan?]
[The gap between noble clans and grassroots… But I won't give up.]
[If I fail this time, I'll try again. If I fail again, I'll keep going!]
Chu Ran's words echoed in Naruto's subconscious, gradually lifting his despondent mood and restoring his confidence.
A single failure didn't define him.
Yet the chasm between noble clans and grassroots ninjas hit Naruto hard.
Sasuke had the support of his clan—whether ninjutsu or shuriken techniques, he was guided by skilled mentors.
Naruto, on the other hand, was a grassroots ninja, the most ordinary kind.
He had no parents to nurture or guide him, no one to teach him ninjutsu.
His only mentor was Mizuki, who occasionally coached him.
[I can't lose heart. The Fourth Hokage was a grassroots ninja too.]
[He became Hokage through sheer effort. I can do it too!]
Naruto clenched his fists, swallowing his grievances.
He recalled the biographies he'd read that morning. Grassroots ninjas like him weren't rare.
Many had earned a place in those chronicles.
A defiant spark flickered in Naruto's eyes.
"Naruto, don't take it to heart. Your opponent is an Uchiha."
"Your starting point is different. Keep working hard, and surpassing him isn't impossible."
Mizuki watched Naruto recover from the blow, his resilience stirring unease.
It reminded him of Iruka Umino.
As a child, Iruka had been similarly unyielding, refusing to admit defeat despite constant losses to Mizuki.
Despite his average talent, Iruka had support from others, which grated on Mizuki's nerves growing up.
"Mizuki-sensei, don't worry. I won't give up."
"The Fourth Hokage was a grassroots ninja too. Like me, he had no one to guide him."
"I'll surpass him and become Hokage!"
Naruto's clenched fists and defiant expression mirrored the young Iruka, stirring disgust in Mizuki.
He wanted to tell Naruto how naive he was.
Yes, the Fourth Hokage was a grassroots ninja, but he was a genius of the Hidden Leaf.
Mentored by Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin, and backed by the Third Hokage's faction, his rise to Hokage was no grassroots underdog story.
Mizuki longed to tell Naruto that true grassroots ninjas, like himself and Iruka, faded into obscurity in the Hidden Leaf—unknown, uncelebrated.
Rising above required talent and opportunity, both elusive.
"You know, the Fourth Hokage does resemble you a bit."
"Both with golden spiky hair and bright blue eyes."
Mizuki nodded, changing the subject to avoid Naruto's motivational spiel.
It was a casual remark, meant to shift the conversation.
But those words struck Naruto like a bolt.
A name flashed in his mind: Kushina Uzumaki.
[The Fourth Hokage looks like me?]
[His wife was named Kushina Uzumaki. Could…]
[Could we be related?]
In his subconscious, Chu Ran, ever watchful of Naruto's thoughts, seized the moment.
Mizuki's offhand comment had created the opportunity Chu Ran had been waiting for.
Naruto's expression grew dazed, a sudden realization dawning.
The same blue eyes, the same golden hair.
And the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, was married to someone with the Uzumaki surname.
"Mizuki-sensei, do you know anything about my parents?"
Naruto looked up at his teacher, asking the question that had haunted him his entire life.
"Naruto's parents? I really don't know."
Mizuki wasn't lying. Few in the Hidden Leaf knew that Naruto's father was Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage.
If more had known, Naruto's life might not be what it was.
"Sorry, Mizuki-sensei, I've got something to do."
A figure appeared in Naruto's mind. He stood and sprinted toward the Hokage's office.
Mizuki, watching the still-injured Naruto run so swiftly, was surprised but didn't dwell on it.
Their relationship was purely utilitarian, so he turned and left.
Naruto soon reached the Hokage's office.
Unnoticed by him, his burns had nearly healed.
But he was too focused on something far more important to notice his recovery.
At the door of Hiruzen Sarutobi's office, Naruto took a deep breath and pushed it open.
"Naruto? What's wrong? Is something up?"
"Did you run out of this month's living expenses already?"
Hiruzen, working at his desk, looked surprised to see Naruto.
Assuming Naruto's visit was about money, he gave a wry smile.
But Naruto didn't answer immediately. He walked to a photo of the Fourth Hokage.
The same golden hair, blue eyes. Though their faces weren't identical, Naruto pointed at Minato Namikaze's picture.
"Third Grandpa, is my father the Fourth Hokage?"
Naruto voiced the question burning in his heart.
The question caught Hiruzen off guard, his expression growing complex.
(End of the Chapter)
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