Naruto sprang to his feet in one smooth motion.
"What?! What's going on?! What happened?!"
He fired off questions one after another. Seeing Obito and the others still there, the fear didn't fully take hold, but the confusion left him completely lost.
Adult Kakashi spoke first. "This morning, Minato-sensei was going to come get you so you could all have breakfast together…"
…
"Has Naruto still not woken up yet?"
"He ran out last night to keep training."
"Probably under a lot of pressure. So many missions piled up all at once."
"Yeah, but it looks like he's found some inspiration."
In Kakashi's memory, Minato Namikaze had just been casually twirling a Flying Thunder God kunai, saying, "I'll go bring him back for breakfast. You all eat first."
The very next moment, a black spatial cross-section swallowed him whole. Right in front of everyone, he vanished without leaving a trace.
…
"At the time, Minato-sensei looked shocked," Young Kakashi said grimly. "That definitely wasn't him using Flying Thunder God to move on his own. And Flying Thunder God doesn't create that kind of black space-time interface."
"How could this happen?!" Naruto grabbed at his hair in panic.
Obito had already gone through this wave of anxiety earlier. "The most important thing right now is figuring out who ambushed Minato-sensei! That black interface didn't look anything like my other self's space-time dōjutsu. Which means the one behind this is someone else!"
The first person that came to Naruto's mind was Orochimaru.
But Adult Kakashi immediately rejected it. "Orochimaru isn't skilled in space-time ninjutsu. If he were, he would've mastered Flying Thunder God long ago."
"Then who is it, dattebayo?!" Naruto shouted, smashing his fist into a nearby tree.
When the others arrived, they saw the devastated surroundings at a glance. It was obvious Naruto had been training here alone for hours.
Sasuke's eyes lingered on the destroyed tree, a flicker of shock passing through them.
"Rasengan…"
"Hey! Dead Last!" Sasuke snapped. "Did you already learn the Rasengan and finish that C-rank mission?!"
That single sentence made both Kakashi react at once.
"Naruto! Open your mission scroll, now!"
Already on edge, Naruto immediately pulled out the scroll and opened it.
Between the two A-rank missions, the C-rank mission was clearly marked as completed.
[Mission Rank: C-rank]
[Mission Content: Learn the Rasengan.]
[Mission Status: Completed.]
Sasuke's expression darkened. "Don't tell me this summoned some powerful enemy and—"
He stopped halfway through, seeing Naruto's face, and didn't continue.
"Not necessarily," Adult Kakashi said calmly. "There's another possibility. We may have misunderstood what the C-rank mission reward actually means. Or rather, our interpretation was too narrow."
"What are you talking about?!" Young Kakashi snapped. "Say it clearly! Make it so those two idiots can understand!" He jabbed his thumb toward Naruto and Obito.
Adult Kakashi didn't bother holding back. "The other possibility is that Minato-sensei was treated as the mission reward and transported to another parallel world by the mission scroll."
"How is that even possible?!"
Everyone looked stunned, but Kakashi continued his analysis.
"Obito's mission scroll never contained a C-rank mission. The only two C-rank missions we've experienced both came from Naruto's scroll."
One was the C-rank mission to treat Gaara to ramen. The other was the C-rank mission to repel Orochimaru.
Both times, the mission reward appeared during the second stage of the Chūnin Exams. One brought over Gaara, who had been summoned earlier from another world and later became the Fifth Kazekage. The other involved Kawaki, said to come from the era of the Seventh Hokage.
"So we assumed that the reward for a C-rank mission was bringing people from other parallel worlds into our own," Adult Kakashi said. "But drawing that conclusion from just two cases was careless. There's another possibility."
"That the C-rank mission reward means…"
"Sending anyone to any parallel world."
He paused, then added, "The probability is extremely low, but this time, it might be Minato-sensei who was sent to another parallel world."
…
At the same time, Minato Namikaze himself realized this possibility.
At that moment, he was standing inside Konohagakure.
Judging from the cool, damp air, it was early morning, just like the day he had arrived in that other world. It felt colder, though, suggesting late winter, on the verge of early spring.
He looked up.
Five faces were already carved into the Hokage Rock.
The First Hokage, Hashirama Senju.
The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
And finally, the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade.
"Looks like this time I've arrived in the future."
Minato Namikaze concealed his presence and quietly headed toward the Hokage Tower to gather information.
If his guess was correct and he had crossed into this world while time in Naruto's world continued to move forward, then he needed to find a way back as soon as possible.
"So Jiraiya-sensei was right after all. The Fifth Hokage really is Tsunade-sama."
"Hm?"
As he neared the Hokage Tower, Minato was taken aback by what he saw.
"Boss Bunta?"
And the small toad sitting on top of his head… could that be his son?
The thought that his future self would have such an adorable child made Minato feel an unexpected flutter of excitement.
To avoid being discovered, he hid himself at the edge of the Hokage Tower's rooftop.
No sooner had he settled in than he saw Kakashi approaching the building with Naruto, who looked around fifteen or sixteen years old.
"Well, speak of the devil," Minato thought with a faint smile.
Naruto clearly noticed the two large toads as well. Minato heard him say,
"Huh? Boss Toad and Gamakichi? Showing up this early in the morning… did something happen?"
Minato felt something was off too. Under normal circumstances, Boss Bunta only appeared on the battlefield.
When things went against common sense, there was always a reason.
Just as that thought crossed his mind…
"Ah, Naruto. Actually—"
"Gamakichi! Don't say things you shouldn't!"
"Leave that to Boss and Tsunade."
Boss?
Minato paused. Boss Bunta usually called Jiraiya-sensei by name. The one he'd refer to as "Boss" could only be Fukasaku-sennin.
So Fukasaku-sennin was here too?
A strange sense of unease crept into Minato's chest.
Naruto entered the Hokage Tower. Minato formed a shadow clone and used the Transformation Technique to turn it into a small bird, quietly guiding it to the window of the Hokage's office.
Inside, Tsunade sat behind her desk, with Shizune standing beside her.
Across from them were the grown Sakura Haruno and a teenage boy Minato didn't recognize.
"Among the four toads… one of them really is Fukasaku-sennin," Minato thought, his unease deepening.
Kakashi knocked and entered with Naruto.
Inside the office, Naruto mirrored Minato's own confusion as he stared at the solemn Fifth Hokage and the group of grief-stricken toads, clearly unable to grasp what was happening.
"So this is Jiraiya-chan's disciple?"
"Yes. This is Naruto Uzumaki, the Child of Prophecy."
"Jiraiya-chan?!"
"Calling the Pervy Sage a kid?! Just who is this old frog grandpa anyway, dattebayo?!"
Watching Naruto bristle with anger, Minato finally realized something.
If he hadn't gone through all those previous crossings, then according to the original course of events, Naruto's sensei really would have been Jiraiya.
As Tsunade scolded Naruto for his lack of respect, Shizune stepped in to explain.
"This is the one who taught Jiraiya-sama Sage Arts. Jiraiya-sama's teacher, one of the two great sages of Mount Myōboku—Fukasaku-sama."
"Huh?! The Pervy Sage's teacher?!"
"Hahaha. That nickname really does suit Jiraiya-chan," Fukasaku-sennin said with a dry laugh.
"Um… so why is Sage Grandpa looking for me?" Naruto asked, still confused about why his master's master wanted to see him.
Fukasaku-sennin fell silent for a moment.
"Where should I begin…"
…
Outside the window, the small bird listened quietly.
"First, I need to tell you what's happened," Fukasaku-sennin said, his voice heavy with grief.
"Jiraiya-chan… has died in battle."
"!!!!"
Minato's eyes widened in shock.
Jiraiya-sensei…
"Huh?"
Inside the office, Naruto stood frozen, disbelief written all over his face. He asked the same question twice.
"What… what are you talking about?"
"It happened very suddenly," Fukasaku-sennin said. "I don't blame you for not believing it. We received intelligence that the leader of Akatsuki was in Amegakure. Jiraiya-chan went there to confirm whether the information was true."
Hearing this, Minato remembered.
In the world he had been in before, Jiraiya-sensei had also planned to search for Pain after helping Tsunade-sama become Hokage.
That man… the one said to be Jiraiya-sensei's disciple, just like Minato himself and the Naruto of this world.
"Pain, like you and the Fourth Hokage, was once Jiraiya-chan's disciple."
"The leader of Akatsuki… was once Jiraiya-sama's disciple?!" Sakura and the others were completely stunned.
Kakashi frowned. "But how did Pain manage to kill Jiraiya-sama?"
"There may be something more to it, but…"
From Fukasaku-sennin, Minato Namikaze received another crucial piece of information.
"The Rinnegan?! And there are six people who possess the eyes of the progenitor of all ninja?!"
Hearing the shocked voices from inside the Hokage's office, Minato's thoughts immediately went to the Sage of the Six Paths. He remembered how that being had praised Naruto Uzumaki, calling him the one the tailed beasts had been waiting for.
He also remembered how, with only a faint use of power, that same existence had reversed causality itself, reviving Minato and Kushina from another world.
If there were six pairs of such eyes…
No. There had to be something he hadn't considered yet.
Inside the Hokage's office.
"In fact," Fukasaku-sennin said heavily, "Jiraiya-chan had already uncovered the secret behind the six Pains who possessed the Rinnegan. But his throat was destroyed by Pain, so in his final moments, he could only leave this information behind in the form of a code."
Everyone turned to look at Naruto Uzumaki.
Fukasaku-sennin removed his cloak and turned his back toward him.
Three rows of numbers were carved into the old toad's back.
The moment Minato saw those numbers, his pupils shrank.
9, 31, 8, 106, 7, 207, 15]
Those numbers were…
D-rank mission: Have Kakashi Hatake read pages 7, 8, 15, 31, 106, and 207 of [Icha Icha Paradise].
The order was slightly different, but this was clearly a mission that had once appeared on their mission scrolls.
Tsunade spoke gravely. "What message was Jiraiya trying to leave behind? Right now, the only thing we know is that the key to decoding this message must lie with Naruto."
The others also looked toward Naruto.
They all knew that at this moment, the one who most needed to steady himself was Naruto.
But…
Naruto.
The news of Jiraiya's death struck Minato deeply. At the same time, his heart tightened with worry for the Naruto inside the Hokage's office. If Minato had never appeared in this world, then to Naruto, Jiraiya would have been irreplaceable, no different from family.
"Grandma…"
Naruto, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.
"Did you send the Pervy Sage?"
Naruto.
Even Minato could tell that Naruto's emotional state was wrong. The Naruto he knew would never lash out like this.
Which meant that right now, Naruto was already…on the verge of collapse.
"Why did you let him do something so reckless?!" Naruto shouted. "Grandma, you know the Pervy Sage's personality better than anyone! Why would you let him go alone to somewhere that dangerous?!"
As Naruto's voice rose into a roar, even Minato's shadow clone could see the pain on his face, the confusion, sorrow, and disappointment burning in his eyes.
If I were there beside him, Minato thought, I'd probably try to stop him.
But as a shadow clone transformed into a small bird, there was nothing he could do.
Thankfully, Kakashi stepped in.
"That's enough, Naruto," Kakashi said quietly. "You should understand the Fifth Hokage-sama's feelings, shouldn't you?"
Yes.
Minato understood.
The Naruto from another world would understand too.
But understanding didn't mean accepting it.
The death of the teacher they respected so deeply, Jiraiya the Pervy Sage.
"Damn it…"
With nowhere to vent his anger, Naruto turned and walked out.
Just as his hand closed around the doorknob, his voice came again, trembling as if he were forcing the words through grief.
"If the Fifth Hokage were the Pervy Sage… he would never have allowed Grandma Tsunade to take such reckless risks. Never."
Inside the Hokage's office, Tsunade did not stop him. She let Naruto leave, giving him space to calm down.
Outside the window, the small bird tilted its head slightly, watching Naruto Uzumaki walk out of the Hokage Tower and wander alone through the streets of Konoha.
"My apologies, Fukasaku-sama. As for the code, we'll have to wait until another time…"
"I understand," Fukasaku-sennin replied. "Everyone at Mount Myōboku is grieving as well."
Time continued to pass. In the world where Obito and Naruto were, nearly half a day had likely already gone by.
After withdrawing his shadow clone and gathering all the information he needed, Minato watched from the shadows as the dejected boy walked aimlessly down the street.
He should have been in a hurry to return to the previous parallel world.
But seeing Naruto so devastated, so close to breaking, Minato couldn't suppress his worry and quietly followed after him.