Walking through the streets of Konoha like a lost soul, sixteen-year-old Naruto Uzumaki found his mind drifting back to moments when the Pervy Sage had taught him…
[Now I'm going to have you use the Summoning Jutsu.]
[Ah—! Now's the time! Boar–Dog–Monkey–Ram, Summoning Jutsu!!]
[Huh?! Weren't we supposed to be training? Why do I have to go wandering around with the Pervy Sage instead?!]
[I've always wondered… why did the Pervy Sage choose me?]
[Why? Probably because you remind me of my other disciple, the Fourth Hokage.]
As Naruto walked on, no matter where he went, memories of the Pervy Sage surfaced on their own, one after another.
Minato Namikaze, who was just as shaken by the news, followed quietly from the shadows. He could feel Naruto's pain, perhaps even deeper than his own. It was as if even Naruto's chakra carried the taste of grief.
Naruto wandered aimlessly through Konoha.
As the sky grew darker, fiery clouds reflected across every corner of the village, dusk coating Konoha in shades of orange and red. He hadn't eaten all day, yet he had no desire to return to that house where he would be alone.
He had only just begun to feel what it was like to have a family…
Why did it have to be the Pervy Sage?
[Listen carefully, Naruto. The time you have to train and grow stronger is only three years.]
Snap.
In his mind, Naruto heard the sound of a twin popsicle being broken in half.
[You're still a long way from beating me. But those clothes of yours are in tatters. You should really change them.]
[Ah! This one's super cool!]
[Haha, that's what they mean by "clothes make the man."]
"So then…"
"That was the first time anyone ever took me to buy new clothes."
From the shadows, Minato watched Naruto grip the zipper of his tracksuit. He had already walked this same stretch of road three times, yet he was now passing through it for the fourth. The boy's eyes were filled with sorrow, dry yet heavy, and the sight made Minato's chest ache.
He wanted to step out and meet Naruto at this point in time.
But he felt that now was not the right moment.
On one hand, there was nothing he could truly fix right now. On the other, the future he had learned of from the Sage of the Six Paths was not entirely bleak. He knew this was a trial Naruto had to face, and that someone would help him get through it.
"Yo! Naruto! I heard your Wind Release: Rasenshuriken really made a name for itself on a mission not too long ago!"
The one walking toward him was Iruka Umino, the Konoha chūnin instructor who had helped Naruto so much.
Wind Release? Rasenshuriken?
Minato froze.
Just yesterday, he had told the twelve-year-old Naruto from another world that the Rasengan was an incomplete technique. Once perfected, it would be an attack-type jutsu that reached at least S-rank. He had even wondered whether he would ever get to see that day.
Wind Release: Rasenshuriken…
The naming style wasn't quite like his own, but it sounded like an incredibly powerful jutsu.
A quiet sense of pride rose in Minato's heart. He became even more certain that Naruto would overcome this hardship and grow into someone even greater.
"People in the village talk about you all the time now. How about it? It's been a while. Want to chat? I'll treat you to some ramen."
Minato remembered this chūnin clearly, and his impression of him had always been nothing but positive.
A teacher at the Konoha Ninja Academy, Iruka Umino.
Single, shy, earnest with every student, and unlike many others, he had never given up on Naruto Uzumaki, the so-called problem child who carried a tailed beast.
Beyond being just a teacher, Iruka had cared for Naruto like an older brother, even like a father.
So much so that after Naruto moved in with him, aside from the members of Team Kakashi, the name Minato heard Naruto mention most often was Iruka Umino.
It was even said that ramen tasted better when "Iruka-sensei" was the one paying.
Just as Minato was filled with affirmation and hope—
"I'll pass…"
Naruto, clearly weighed down by grief, refused Iruka's invitation outright and walked past him in silence.
From Minato's vantage point, he could see the worry in the chūnin instructor's eyes.
Minato was deeply saddened by Jiraiya's death as well and had planned to take this information back to another parallel world. He had intended to leave as soon as possible, yet seeing Naruto in such a pitiful, dejected state made him change his plans once again.
...
Night fell.
Crickets chirped softly from the bushes.
Dim lights in Konoha Park flickered, drawing moths that fluttered and tapped against the bulbs.
Naruto sat alone on a bench, holding a twin popsicle he had no one to share with. At last, tears streamed down his face.
This was the first time Minato had ever seen his grown son cry.
Those blue eyes stared blankly ahead, no sound escaping him. Tears slid down his lashes in steady lines, dripping to the ground together with the melting ice pops.
"..."
A shadow suddenly fell across the light.
Naruto slowly lifted his head, following the shadow upward, and saw a blond man dressed in Konoha jōnin attire, his face hidden behind a mask.
Naruto wiped the tears from his face hard, but said nothing.
"What's wrong?"
Naruto heard the masked ninja's voice. It was gentle and calm, sounding like a fairly young guy, maybe even younger than Kakashi-sensei.
"Don't worry about me."
He said that, yet the young ninja still went ahead and sat down beside him.
Left with no choice, Naruto added,
"Stay away from me."
The other guy not only ignored that, Naruto also heard him say,
"You might find this surprising, but just like you, I'm also one of Jiraiya-sensei's students."
"Huh?!"
That opening completely caught Naruto off guard.
Naruto said, "You—?!"
"But unlike the Fourth Hokage, I never officially became Jiraiya-sensei's disciple." The blond young man paused. "I heard about Sensei."
Naruto stayed silent.
The blond man continued, almost talking to himself, "I was feeling really upset. When I saw you, I couldn't help wanting to talk to you. I hope I didn't disturb you."
Naruto thought to himself: Hope or not, you already disturbed me. Hmph.
"Sensei… even though he did a lot of weird things sometimes, he taught me so much. He truly acknowledged me and my dreams."
Those words struck a chord in Naruto.
"Hey, what's your dream?" Naruto asked.
"Hokage. That's my dream."
Seeing Naruto's eyes widen, the blond ninja paused for a moment.
"Because of the special circumstances of the era I live in, conflicts between ninja villages still happen all the time. Wars, big and small, break out at the slightest spark. So I hope that one day, I can become Hokage, put an end to the chaos, and protect the village and my comrades."
"Wait… are you—"
Minato thought he had been figured out and instinctively reached up to remove his mask.
"You're a border ninja, aren't you?!"
The hand that had been about to lift the mask fell back down.
"Yes, that's right. I only managed to get back to Konoha these past few days," Minato said. "You might not like hearing this, but the missions we've gone through are far more brutal than yours. Almost every mission means walking side by side with death. You have to face the loss of family, friends, and even your own students."
Naruto lowered his head. Those were things he had never experienced.
"Can you tell me about your dream?" Minato asked.
Naruto looked dejected. "I want to be Hokage too."
He had never realized just how many rivals he had. For some reason, the guy sitting next to him felt incredibly strong. He didn't show it openly, but his strength was clearly far beyond Naruto's.
"Then we're not just both Jiraiya-sensei's students," Minato said gently. "We're also competitors for the position of Hokage."
Hearing that warm, calm voice, Naruto suddenly found himself opening up without realizing it.
"I used to think… I wanted him to see the day I became Hokage. I wanted to show him proudly. Not just the Fourth Hokage… I wanted to become Hokage too. Someone even stronger than the Fourth Hokage, someone respected by everyone. A truly amazing Hokage."
After saying that, Naruto fell silent. When the blond guy didn't respond right away, Naruto curled his lips.
"Go ahead and laugh. It's not like you'd be the only one making fun of me."
Minato's voice carried a hint of a smile, but it wasn't mocking. It was a warmth that made his tone even gentler.
"Why would I laugh? I believe you'll definitely do it."
"Huh?"
Naruto froze, sitting at the other end of the bench.
Aside from Kakashi-sensei and the Pervy Sage, no one else had ever believed that one day he could surpass that great hero, the Fourth Hokage.
"Why do you trust me so much? Everyone else would laugh at me for saying something so unrealistic."
"No one's ever said that to you? Then they probably just never had the chance. Your father and mother believed in you from the very beginning. From the day you were born, they were already certain you would grow into a hero who surpassed even the Fourth Hokage."
"Huh?!"
His eyes, still damp from crying, widened into perfect circles as he stared at the blond guy beside him wearing a fox mask.
Compared to whether he could surpass the Fourth Hokage, even fewer people had ever talked to him about his parents.
"Hey! You know my Mom and Dad, right?! Otherwise, how would you know they believed I'd become a hero greater than the Fourth Hokage from the day I was born?!"
"…Yeah. There's some connection."
He admitted it.
Naruto practically lunged toward him.
"They really believed in me?! Hey! Tell me what kind of people they were! Were they great heroes who sacrificed themselves for Konoha, or… or were they bad people?!"
"Bad people?!"
Minato froze for a moment, genuinely puzzled.
"Why would you think your parents were bad people?"
"Not think! Guessing! Just guessing, dattebayo!!" Naruto hurried to defend himself. "When I was little, every time I asked about my parents, Grandpa Hokage—I mean the Third Hokage—his face would get really scary, and he'd order me never to ask about them again…"
"Even though I hoped they were heroes, if they really were heroes, then Grandpa Hokage shouldn't have reacted like that whenever I asked, right?"
"Whether your parents were heroes or villains depends on the perspective you're looking from. From Konoha's point of view… or from another village's."
Naruto had never thought about it like that.
"Different perspectives?"
He saw the blond guy nod.
"During wartime, your father may have killed dozens, hundreds, even thousands of enemy ninja in order to protect his comrades and the village behind him." Hiding his true identity, Minato continued calmly. "From Konoha's perspective, your parents were heroes who protected the village."
Naruto blurted out instinctively, "Then if it were the opposite…"
"If it were the opposite," Minato said, "your father would be someone who killed countless people and destroyed countless families. A great villain."
"No way! My dad wasn't a villain!!" Naruto shot back immediately. "You said it yourself—he lived in a time of war! Protecting the village wasn't wrong! He definitely didn't want to kill anyone! He only fought for Konoha and his comrades!! Even if I never met him, I believe in him! That has to be true!"
Minato was momentarily stunned.
He hadn't expected sixteen-year-old Naruto to still argue so fiercely, so earnestly, about this. Even more, he hadn't expected such unwavering trust and understanding.
But Naruto wasn't finished.
"The Pervy Sage said I'm the Child of the Prophecy! The one who'll lead the ninja world toward peace and prosperity! My dad could only protect his village because of the circumstances, but I'll surpass him and protect peace for the whole world!"
"…"
After his bold declaration, Naruto noticed the masked blond guy staring straight at him.
Through the eyeholes of the mask, he could see the same blue eyes as his own, framed by the same blond hair.
"At least say something. You're making this really awkward," Naruto muttered, a bit sulky.
"Sorry," Minato said softly. "I really was surprised."
"Hmph! Maybe I'm stupid, but saying what I mean and doing what I say is my ninja way! Just you wait!"
"No, that's not what surprised me," Minato replied. "Because I believe you'll definitely do it."
Naruto froze.
Then he heard the blond guy continue.
"Just like you believe in your father, your father believed that his beloved son was the Child of the Prophecy."
Minato from the Kannabi Bridge Timeline recalled the final moments of the Nine-Tails incident, the Fourth Hokage's last wish.
"He believed you were the Child of the Prophecy Jiraiya-sensei spoke of. That's why he gave you the name 'Naruto Uzumaki.'"
Naruto was completely stunned.
"Hey! You really do know my Mom and Dad?! You even know about how they named me? But then why am I called Naruto Uzumaki and not Menma Uzumaki, or Tamago Uzumaki, Yakiniku Uzumaki, Ramen Uzumaki, or even Miso or Shoyu?!"
Behind the mask, Minato's lips curved slightly.
"When you get the chance, read Jiraiya-sensei's books properly and you'll understand." He paused, then quickly added, "I mean his first work, The Tale of the Gutsy Ninja. As for books like Icha Icha Paradise, just leave those to Kakashi."