What Hagoromo had just done stemmed from a mixture of "finding it an eyesore" and deep personal "disgust." Naruto was just Naruto; the concept of reincarnation or possession simply didn't sit right with Him.
Dead people ought to act like dead people. This was especially true for someone who had died a millennium ago—your bones have already turned to dust, so what are you still obsessing over?
A conflict between brothers? Do people really need to be taught that siblings shouldn't be too eager to destroy each other? A conflict of ideals? Do those ideals truly still need to be violently debated in this day and age?
Little Naruto had absolutely no idea what had just happened to his body. To him, this was undoubtedly the most baffling day of his entire life—unbelievably thrilling, terrifying, and he had almost been sliced open... By the time Hagoromo left, his mind was an absolute tangled mess.
What exactly were those two "thieves" here for? What did they do to him? Even if he were fifteen instead of five, his straightforward brain wouldn't have been able to figure it out.
Naruto couldn't comprehend any of it, but... Uzumaki Mirai. A girl sharing his exact surname had appeared.
As for Hagoromo and Mirai, after leaving Naruto's place, he didn't immediately head off to meet the Third Hokage.
His behavior made it seem as if he had completely forgotten that it was the Hokage himself who had summoned him back to Konoha. As for that specific mission, there was no rush. It wasn't like the Uchiha were going to launch their rebellion today, right?
Hagoromo led Mirai to a specific location on the outskirts of Konoha.
Mirai bent down and gently laid a bouquet of flowers on the ground. After a moment of silence, she looked up and asked Hagoromo:
"Hagoromo, is this the place where I was born?"
"No. It's just the place where I first found you. You were only this big back then."
Saying that, Hagoromo used his hands to gesture a tiny size. Being twins and born somewhat prematurely, she and Naruto truly had been incredibly small at the time.
"A cherry blossom grove. It must be very beautiful in the spring..."
Rather than Minato and Kushina's official gravesite, Hagoromo preferred coming to the place where Kushina had spent her final moments to mourn her.
The originally destroyed cherry blossom grove had been replanted by him two years ago. However, they were ultimately just saplings. To see them restored to their former glory, with cherry blossoms dancing through the air, would take many more years.
Regardless, it was impossible for Hagoromo to feel happy in this place.
Consequently, Mirai was also exceptionally quiet.
Hagoromo held Mirai's little hand, the tall figure and the small one standing together in silence. After an unknown amount of time, Mirai gently tugged at the corner of Hagoromo's clothes.
Someone was approaching... A short old man wearing a bamboo hat and puffing on a pipe walked toward them from a distance.
"Mourning Kushina and Minato?"
As the Third Hokage walked over, he first reached out and patted Mirai's head before speaking.
Surprisingly, Mirai didn't dodge.
The Third Hokage was indeed a very kind man, and he truly cared deeply for Konoha's younger generation, especially someone like Mirai.
Naruto was a somewhat unique case, but even with Naruto, during their private interactions, one couldn't say the Hokage treated him poorly... But ultimately, public and private matters were different. A Jinchuriki was always a Jinchuriki.
Hagoromo didn't answer the obvious question, instead asking, "Is it really a good idea for the Third Hokage to leave Konoha all alone?"
"Heh." The Third Hokage removed the pipe from his mouth—creating secondhand smoke around a little girl wasn't good behavior. "This is still within Konoha's borders. Besides, aren't you here?"
Well, Hagoromo was indeed a powerful bodyguard, but hadn't Lord Hokage ever considered the possibility that Hagoromo might just assassinate him?
The Third Hokage truly hadn't considered it, and fortunately, Hagoromo hadn't either.
"Mirai, this sluggish old man is the village chief of Konoha, the Third Hokage. He's the biggest boss in the Land of Fire."
Mirai was very polite. She followed up with a greeting and self-introduction, "Hello, Hokage. I am the daughter of Minato and Kushina. My name is Uzumaki Mirai."
To Mirai, she was indeed known in Konoha as the Fourth Hokage's daughter, but personally, she didn't think Minato being Hokage was a very important detail. Knowing she was Minato and Kushina's daughter was enough for her.
Hence, she introduced herself exactly like that.
"Mirai, huh... Regardless, welcome back to Konoha."
Out of habit, the Hokage seemed prepared to launch into a wave of ideological propaganda, but reconsidering the setting, he realized it probably wasn't appropriate.
In truth, his propaganda wouldn't work on Mirai anyway. No matter how grand the Hokage's philosophies were, could they beat Hagoromo's philosophies?
"Why completely seal the Tailed Beast? Doesn't that render the Jinchuriki meaningless?" After exchanging a few pleasantries with Mirai, the Hokage turned to Hagoromo and asked directly.
His prior actions proved that he knew this matter didn't need to be kept a secret from a child like Mirai.
The Third Hokage was a habitual voyeur; it was impossible for Hagoromo's movements after returning to Konoha to escape his surveillance.
"Then why didn't the Hokage stop me?" Hagoromo countered.
The Hokage didn't answer... because he had no reason to stop Hagoromo.
In reality, Konoha's policy toward the Nine-Tails—or more strictly speaking, the Third Hokage's attitude toward it—had always prioritized "containment" over "utilization." Looking at Kushina's precedent, it was clear the Hokage never expected the Nine-Tails to play a practical role in combat. Compared to unleashing a Jinchuriki's combat power, having the Tailed Beast sit quietly sealed away was far more to the Hokage's liking.
Therefore, Hagoromo's actions perfectly aligned with the Hokage's hidden desires. He wouldn't stop him, but considering the attitudes of the other higher-ups, he couldn't openly support it either, let alone take the initiative to do something similar himself.
Besides... in an extreme emergency, it wasn't like the seal couldn't be undone.
Hagoromo thought for a moment and decided to share his perspective with the Hokage. "Naruto's own potential and the value he can create will far surpass the title of 'Jinchuriki'. The bloodlines of Minato and Kushina have already given him a more than sufficient foundation. There is no reason he won't become an outstanding ninja on his own."
"Perhaps Minato judged that Naruto would need the Nine-Tails' massive chakra, which is why he made him a Jinchuriki. But I disagree... the Nine-Tails is entirely unnecessary for Naruto."
"With that kind of foundation, personal effort alone will determine the heights Naruto can reach and the achievements he can make. The same goes for Mirai."
Honestly, Hagoromo preaching about "effort" in Konoha was probably highly inappropriate.
Was it that Hagoromo didn't work hard? No, he worked plenty hard. But considering his learning capacity and speed, his sheer growth rate made it very hard for others to genuinely feel like he achieved it through pure "effort."
After all, he could instantly master many jutsu...
Fundamentally, was Hagoromo a pay-to-win player using Zimbabwe dollars? Vietnamese Dong? Japanese Yen? Chinese RMB? US Dollars?
None of the above. He was a player operating on the western edge of the Eurasian continent—a "European" player with god-tier gacha luck. So Hagoromo lecturing about effort was somewhat ironic.
"Furthermore, compared to the risks caused by people realizing he's a Jinchuriki, never touching the Nine-Tails' power is perhaps the better choice."
If possible, the Nine-Tails was also on Hagoromo's obliteration list. Unfortunately, Naruto's life was tied to the Nine-Tails... Everyone has their own ideas. The difference was that the Fourth Hokage was dead and Hagoromo was alive, so the direction of things would be decided by him.
Hagoromo had never believed that Minato's final decision was the right one.
Tying Naruto's life to something else was simply too risky.
Having made his stance clear, Hagoromo had no desire to dwell on the topic. He shifted gears, asking, "Regarding the Kumogakure ninja from last night, how does the Third intend to handle it?"
Hagoromo didn't know that Mirai's scream had inadvertently saved Neji's father, Comrade Hizashi... This was a good thing. Fewer people dying was always better. In his "younger" days, Hagoromo had interacted with Hizashi a fair bit.
What decision could the Hokage make? Hagoromo could actually guess. The Hokage was caught between a rock and a hard place. With the war finally on the verge of ending, even if someone else were sitting in the Hokage's seat, they would likely make the exact same decision as the Third.
He would have to shoulder the blame regardless.
For the sake of "peace," the Kumogakure ninja would have to be returned completely unharmed. All the Hokage could do was issue a stern reprimand and fire off some empty rhetoric.
In short, the Hyuga clan would just have to sit at home and quietly swallow their grievances. Anyway, it was just a false alarm, and they hadn't suffered any actual losses.