For a moment, Uzumaki Naruto forgot what he wanted to say, as he stared blankly at Namikaze Minato.
It was strange. Uzumaki Naruto felt something strange. Although it was their first meeting, he felt an unprecedented sense of closeness from this man who resembled Mokgetsu so much.
"Are you the Fourth Hokage?" Uzumaki Naruto instinctively asked.
"No, I'm Namikaze Minato. Also, the village is only up to the Third Hokage now," Minato answered with a smile.
Yamato looked at Uzumaki Naruto with a bit of speechlessness; it wasn't the first day of their time travel, after all.
Uzumaki Naruto chuckled awkwardly and scratched his head.
"Why is Fourth Hokage-sama here?" Yamato wondered and then looked towards Kakashi and the others.
He thought it might be Kakashi and the others who contacted Namikaze Minato, as Minato was also one of the people they needed to save.
If Namikaze Minato knew about the future and took measures to save himself, the success rate of their actions would increase significantly.
"Minato-sensei, why are you here in Loulan too? Did you take on a mission?" Obito dusted himself off and asked curiously.
Yamato's guess, although reasonable, was unfortunately incorrect. Obito and the others also didn't know why Namikaze Minato suddenly appeared in Loulan.
"No, it's somewhat of a personal matter," Minato thought for a moment and said.
Mokgetsu had called him to come, but unlike Jiraiya, Minato came in person, not as a Shadow Clone.
Mokgetsu and the others had been in Loulan for some time, and Minato had just completed a mission, so he came in person.
At first glance at Uzumaki Naruto, Minato knew Mokgetsu's guess was correct: Uzumaki Naruto was his child.
The Uzumaki clan's surname, the somewhat similar face, the feeling of familial blood ties, and the fact that Uzumaki Naruto even had his Chakra in his body—who else's child could he be?
"Your battle just now was impressive. I can see you've been training diligently during this time, and you've improved greatly," Minato generously praised Obito and the others.
"Obito, not only has your Fire Release become more powerful, but you use it more flexibly than before. Kakashi, you're very fast, but you also coordinate well with your teammates. As for Rin..." Namikaze Minato carefully praised each of his three disciples one by one.
Obito, Kakashi, and Nohara Rin exchanged glances, each showing a unique smile. Obito smiled straightforwardly, Kakashi, due to his mask, only showed a hint of a smile through his eyes, while Nohara Rin smiled most gently.
Their determination to change history became even more resolute. They couldn't let such a good teacher as Minato die in the Nine-tails' rampage.
"And what about me?" Uzumaki Naruto asked curiously.
"In terms of Chakra amount, combat experience, and the ability to seize opportunities, you are excellent. You are already an outstanding ninja," Minato replied with a warm smile, looking into Uzumaki Naruto's eyes.
"Hehe." For some reason, Uzumaki Naruto felt particularly happy being praised by Namikaze Minato.
"Big brother Minato, do you think I can become Hokage?" Uzumaki Naruto asked Namikaze Minato.
Uzumaki Naruto looked curiously at Namikaze Minato, wanting to know how he would answer his question.
Although many things had happened, Uzumaki Naruto's goal had never changed. He still wanted to become Hokage.
However, compared to before, he had indeed matured a bit. He no longer thought that becoming Hokage would earn everyone's recognition. Instead, he learned that it was those who were recognized by everyone who could become Hokage.
"The choice of Hokage is decided by the entire village; my opinion alone doesn't count for much." Namikaze Minato thought for a moment and said, but he then continued,
"But if you ask me, to become Hokage, you must be prepared to persist no matter what setbacks and difficulties you encounter. If you work hard until the end, you'll have hope to become Hokage."
Namikaze Minato was certain that Uzumaki Naruto was his child, but he wouldn't disregard reality and say that Uzumaki Naruto would definitely become Hokage.
He had only watched one of Uzumaki Naruto's battles and knew about his ninja abilities but didn't know what kind of person or ninja Uzumaki Naruto was.
"I will definitely work hard until the end. Keeping one's word is my ninja path," Uzumaki Naruto said with a bright smile.
With that, Uzumaki Naruto returned to his training.
The time was still early, as they usually trained until 5:30 PM before stopping.
Kakashi and the others quickly entered their training state, knowing that strong strength was essential to change the future.
"Not going to say it?" Mokgetsu asked.
He felt that Minato must have recognized Naruto.
"Since he doesn't know me, there's no need to say. It would only bring him more worries," Namikaze Minato said, silently watching Uzumaki Naruto and shaking his head slightly.
Uzumaki Naruto was indeed his child, but he was his child from the future.
Since Uzumaki Naruto didn't recognize him, there was only one possible reason: Minato had died before Naruto could remember, and it wasn't an ordinary death; there were deep entanglements, and even Kushina might have passed away with him.
If it was just an ordinary death, even if he died, Uzumaki Naruto would have known about him from photos or others' accounts as his father.
As for Uzumaki Naruto's behavior, he recognized Minato, knew about his existence, but didn't know the relationship between them.