[Chapter Size: 3300 Words.]
Rōran, 43.
...
...
Still in the mental landscape inside Naruto Uzumaki...
"Well, let's get out of here. I'm sure the others are worried," Minato Namikaze said, breaking the silence.
Naruto, still in shock, stared with slightly disturbed eyes. Minato raised his hand and snapped his fingers, making the landscape simply change.
Naruto blinked a few times, realizing he was lying on the ground, while Minato himself had his hand over the seal on his stomach.
"Naruto, are you okay?" Yamato appeared at his side, his eyes full of anxiety.
"I..." He tried to find words, as he saw Minato pulling his hand away from his seal. He began to stand up, and Minato helped him. "I'm fine," he said in the end, although he was still quite shaken.
"You scared us. Suddenly there was some reaction from the fox and... the Fourth Hokage did something. I imagine he helped you," Yamato murmured.
"He did... he did more than that..."
Minato laughed at Naruto's comment.
Naruto looked at him, still speechless. That guy seemed so calm, giving that laugh. He didn't even seem like the same monster who had simply left the fox trapped after beating it, without it even being able to move inside the cage.
"I restrained the fox with a type of sealing that I created within your existing seal," Minato explained to Yamato.
Yamato looked shocked. "What do you mean by putting a seal inside Naruto's seal?"
"It's temporary... I used a technique from the Senju clan created by the First Hokage, even more powerful than the sealing jutsu the Fourth Hokage created when he made the eight-point seal on Naruto through the Shinigami. I used the technique of the Divine Gates."
"Wait... the Fourth Hokage used the Shinigami?" Yamato seemed shocked by that.
Even though it was a forbidden technique, everyone knew exactly how the Third Hokage died when he summoned the Shinigami to stop Orochimaru. When he used the technique, Hiruzen of that timeline had already entered a path of no return.
And Naruto's seal was clearly a secret not disclosed in the village, known only to a few witnesses, such as the Third Hokage and the group of ANBU who were witnessing the Fourth sealing the Kyuubi inside Naruto. Obviously, it was never mentioned so as not to reveal secrets or create clues about how Naruto's seal could be broken.
While they were basically speaking a strange language to the others there, since the three young ones certainly wouldn't understand seals at that level, much less the queen and her daughter, who only watched and listened.
For them, Minato had placed Naruto lying on the ground when he began to have contractions in his stomach, with Yamato becoming very nervous about it. They saw Minato placing his hand over his stomach and closing his eyes, remaining there for about ten minutes, which was enough to subdue Kurama.
"Well, anyway, the worst is over. Now we can finally talk," Minato said.
"You're not exactly the Fourth Hokage from our world then... We're in a parallel world, but still very similar to ours..." Naruto murmured, seeming to wrestle with an internal crisis.
"You could say that. Our world has certain differences compared to yours," Minato said in a calm tone.
"Hey! Why are we talking about this? Didn't they try to kill my mother not long ago? Why are we wasting time on this?!" Sara, who could no longer hold back, interrupted their conversation.
"Stop, Sara!" the queen demanded of her daughter, who looked at her mother in shock.
"Hey... could it be that the queen fell in love with the teacher to the point of even forgetting the problems of her own country and her own assassination?" Rin Nohara couldn't help but murmur softly at the side.
Obito Uchiha seemed thoughtful for a moment before replying: "Yeah... very likely."
Minato ignored Sara and his students and turned his attention back to Yamato and Naruto.
"And what would those differences be, Lord Fourth?" Yamato asked.
"Well, my strength is far greater than that of your Fourth Hokage, even though I haven't taken on that position yet. It's only a matter of time. In our timeline, the Third Hokage no longer holds power in the village, and here we dealt with some of his crimes that were openly revealed to all of Konoha, along with the elder Danzō, who was executed. After that, his crimes were also exposed."
Minato observed Naruto's surprise and Yamato's tense expression upon hearing that.
"The Third Hokage is no longer the Hokage of the village?" Naruto exclaimed.
"Yes. Due to the exposure of the crimes the elders were committing, favoring their own interests and trying to eliminate anyone they couldn't control and who could have influence, the village became outraged with them. The elders were removed from power, and the Third is still alive, acting as a reserve ninja. Since he has a lot of power, he can act to protect the village in case of emergency, but he no longer has any political power. He's in ostracism, if you want a direct summary."
"Danzō was executed by me, while the other two elders, Homura and Koharu, lost their political power and are being kept under surveillance within their clans. None of them have any power over the village anymore. And any suspicious action from them, being monitored at all times, could lead to exile or even public execution."
"Currently, the one who controls the village as leader is Sakumo Hatake, Kakashi's father. He is acting as a temporary leader until the next Hokage takes the position, which in this case, the village expects will be me becoming the Fourth Hokage." Minato finished, as Yamato and Naruto's expressions changed as he spoke. It was a lot to take in.
Yamato knew about Danzō's crimes. Yamato himself had been targeted by Root, having been kidnapped and forced to work for Danzō for several years, until he was saved by Kakashi.
Not even Hiruzen Sarutobi knew about the existence of a Mokuton user kept hidden as a weapon. The Hokage didn't think twice before removing Yamato from Root when he found out.
Yamato was even more shocked to learn that Hiruzen had been removed from the position of Hokage; he knew how much Hiruzen valued the village, despite everything. He hadn't known that 'here,' he would have a malicious role.
"So you, Minato Namikaze, will be the next Fourth Hokage...?!", Naruto murmured, not because he found it strange, but because that man was about to become what had always been his greatest dream in life: someone recognized by everyone was standing right in front of him.
He was meeting Minato Namikaze before he even wore the hat; for Naruto, it was something really cool, to meet someone who would achieve his dream!
"What is it? Do you think I wouldn't be a good Hokage?", Minato asked, looking at him with a teasing tone.
"No, that's not it, dattebayo!", Naruto tried to correct the misunderstanding for looking at the future Fourth Hokage like that. "Being Hokage is my dream, you know? So I'm really happy to see someone who will take on my dream! You will become the greatest Hokage of Konoha, dattebayo! You were amazing beating up the Kyūbi inside the seal! I've never seen anything like it! All my senseis, Tsunade-baa-chan, and even my enemies are terrified of it, but you simply did something that looked so easy!"
As he spoke, Naruto even drew a look from Yamato, since Minato had talked about sealing Kurama, not beating it up. What kind of situation was that?
Even the queen, who understood the weight of the Kage position of each village, couldn't help but look at Minato with a stunned expression and a glimmer of admiration. Then she remembered something, her eyes widening!
"Wait... wait a second...", she finally realized something. "You're Minato? That Minato Namikaze!?", she exclaimed, while even Sara widened her eyes as she realized it too.
"Oh... she didn't even know. So the teacher won her over without even revealing his identity?!", Obito whispered.
"What did you expect? The teacher is a womanizer...", Rin murmured.
"You know he's a student of Jiraiya-sama... He writes those rather peculiar books. Not that I like them or anything...", Kakashi commented.
"What does that have to do with the teacher's sensei writing books?", Rin raised an eyebrow.
"Well... they're somewhat peculiar books. I imagine that, being a student of Jiraiya-sama, one of the Legendary Three Sannin, he must have learned a lot..."
"Are you talking about those books full of pornography...?", Naruto, who had heard the three whispering in a corner, couldn't help but ask before looking at Minato. "So you're famous?"
"I suppose so, since I'm about to become a Hokage," Minato replied, seeing Naruto now more at ease, seeming to accept the situation well.
"Of course he is, Naruto! You're talking to the legendary Fourth Hokage! The hero of the Third Great Ninja War! In the future, he defeated a thousand Stone ninjas, shocking the ninja world! Wait, I shouldn't be saying this—what if I change the future?!", Yamato said proudly, but then remembered he was talking to the still young Fourth Hokage and might alter things by mentioning future events!
However, Naruto didn't seem surprised or worried.
"A thousand ninjas?!", Naruto looked extremely excited. "That's amazing!"
"A thousand ninjas...", the queen murmured. "But the reports say something quite different...?" The queen frowned.
Yamato looked confused. "Different how?"
"A thousand ninjas was what he killed in the Second Great Ninja War," the queen replied, now looking at Minato Namikaze with an even brighter gleam in her eyes and a slight blush on her face. "He became the war hero who changed the outcome against the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth. There are reports that he even faced the Raikage in the north and defeated him!" She said, pausing.
"When the war ended, he was declared a hero at only 16 years old!"
"What?!", Naruto was shocked. He was practically the same age as that, and the Fourth Hokage was already considered a hero—nothing less than the one responsible for changing the course of an entire war. What had he done so far? How could he become Hokage with such a disparity, not when he said he would be the greatest Hokage!
"Well... he said things are different here, didn't he?", Yamato commented, seemingly trying to calm himself. "And you yourself said that this version of the Fourth Hokage is more powerful than ours..."
"If he's already like this, imagine when he hears about the Kages the teacher killed...", Obito couldn't help but murmur to Kakashi and Rin, while Yamato raised an eyebrow.
"Killed Kages...?", he stammered, managing to hear the children's quiet voices. "What do you mean, killed Kages?!" He looked frightened now.
"When four nations attacked the Uzumaki clan about two years ago, we defended and faced four Kages."
"Wait... Uzushiogakure had been destroyed long before that in our timeline..." Yamato said.
"Then there are changes, in any case." Minato pretended not to know that. "I killed the Kazekage on the same day I gathered most of the great clans of the village and we brought down Hiruzen's power in the village."
"..." Naruto.
"..." Yamato.
"And when the village didn't want to help Uzushiogakure, I became a deserter, tearing my kunai and fleeing the village with my fiancées," Minato said, pointing to his kunai on his forehead and smiling.
"..." Naruto.
"..." Yamato.
"When the battle came, we had to face several Bijū, around twenty thousand enemy ninjas, and four Kages. There were only me, my four fiancées, and the Uzumaki clan, which had about five thousand combatants..."
"..." Naruto.
"..." Yamato.
"I killed the Mizukage by throwing a Bijū Dama, which I stole, at him. He was disintegrated, and then I beat the Fourth Raikage with my own fists before cutting off his head with my sword."
"..." Naruto.
"..." Yamato.
"There were some changes, of course. In this world, Konoha doesn't rely only on what it should have in your timeline. Since we managed to save the Uzumaki clan, we returned with the village welcoming us with open arms."
"..." Naruto.
"..." Yamato.
"Today, Konoha counts not only on my family, but also on the entire Uzumaki clan. It has become, at this moment, the most powerful version of Konoha in history, because there are at least 10 individuals who have power at least at Kage level within the village. Among these 10 people, there are me and 4 of my wives, with one being the perfect jinchūriki of Kurama, who can control its power. Aside from my family, which makes up 5 of these people, there is Sakumo Hatake, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Tsunade Senju, Jiraiya, and Duy Might."
"..." Naruto.
"..." Yamato.
"We are not at war yet, but we will enter one soon, with all 4 nations uniting with Madara Uchiha to try to destroy Konoha. We are preparing for the greatest war the ninja world has ever seen."
"..." Naruto.
"..." Yamato.
Minato spoke, explaining some of the main differences between the timelines.
However, the impact was clear on the visitors. Yamato stood with his mouth open and empty eyes, his mind seeming to stop working at some point, while Naruto frowned, trying to process everything, his head unable to fully comprehend it all.
Meanwhile, Minato's three students, the queen, and the princess were already familiar with this information.
Even so, the way Minato told it made it seem truly shocking, even to them who already knew all of it.
The queen, seeing that they were completely frozen without saying anything, thought they didn't believe it. "Minato Namikaze is the most powerful ninja in the world, and everyone recognizes him as such. The man who killed three Kages and has the highest bounty in the bingo book. The orders from the countries are clear: never face, much less offend Minato Namikaze or anyone related to him, should they appear in your country... He is a great power that, to confront, would require gathering the full strength of entire villages, because he is considered a man worth an entire great village by himself!", Sēramu declared proudly, revealing everything she knew about Minato.
Everyone feared him. Even rulers—whether Kages, daimyō, kings and queens, or leaders of any system—shared a single thought: they should not face that man without being at least minimally prepared, for he was worthy of being called a legend. The new god of shinobi, as they were already beginning to spread.
"Killed... three Kages...", Yamato repeated, his hands trembling.
"The strongest ninja in the world...", Naruto looked at Minato Namikaze. "That's amazing, dattebayo..." he murmured almost inaudibly.
Naruto could recognize Minato Namikaze as the strongest Hokage, since he had grown up hearing that, but there was still a certain resentment inside him because of Kurama—even knowing that it saved the village, Naruto still had to go through a difficult childhood because that man from his world placed that beast inside him.
But this Minato in front of him... this Minato had not yet faced Kurama's attack on the village. And, from what he was seeing, maybe he never would have to.
He could deal with the fox easily. So... why would he place that inside a child?
Naruto, in turn, looked at him with a gleam of admiration.
Maybe he could have a better life in this world, maybe he could meet his parents and be raised by them... 'If he is that incredible... would I be able to become like that? To be recognized by the village and by everyone...?' Naruto couldn't help but murmur inwardly.
"Hey, what's with that expression?", Naruto looked at him as he noticed the melancholy in Naruto, while Minato Namikaze opened a gentle smile at him. Naruto certainly didn't understand it, but no one else in that room had that man's attention, who had shown from the beginning to be extremely friendly with him.
"Your dream is to become Hokage, like you said, right? And from what I can see, you must be wondering if you'll have achievements like mine, right?" Minato began with a warm voice and a slight sense of encouragement. But then he did something before Naruto could respond.
Minato placed his hand on Naruto's head, pressing it gently without hurting him, but giving a kind of encouragement that no one else could give Naruto, even with many people who cared about him. No one came close to that feeling that welled up in his heart.
"I can't guarantee that you'll have the same achievements as mine, but you will certainly be incredible too, in your own way. And the world will recognize that," Minato said.
"Why...? Why do you say that?" Naruto lifted his eyes to look at Minato, with the arm still extended pressing his head... He didn't understand. His voice came out almost faltering with the sudden emotion. Something warm came from it, a heat quickly spread through his body, like he had never felt before.
'What was this feeling, a sense of belonging and happiness...'
"Because I see it in you. You are my son, after all." Minato said it so naturally that it felt unsettling.
Naruto froze. He remembered that Minato had already said that before, suddenly coming to his mind—he had told the fox not to hurt his son as a warning.
'He gave a warning because he wanted to protect me, so he went to attack the fox without thinking twice when it was enraged and hurting me?!' Naruto let those words echo in his mind.
Seeing Naruto speechless, Minato continued, opening his characteristic smile. "I mean... you have the same coloring as me, but I can see a lot of Kushina's traits in you. There's no doubt that you will be our son, who will be born in the coming years."
The entire room fell into silence. No one even dared to breathe. Only Yamato and Minato himself knew that information beforehand. Meanwhile, Minato's three pupils, the queen, and the princess of Rōran looked shocked, observing Naruto with extreme expressions, staring in disbelief, then shifting to recognition as they turned their eyes directly to Minato.
"Come on... it's not that hard, Naruto. From the moment I heard you and, from Yamato's age, I already knew who you were. You are my son, and I am seeing a great young man. I'm sure that any Minato would be very proud to have you as his son," Minato said. He felt something while looking at Naruto the same way he felt when looking at his two newborn children already in Konoha.
Naruto simply rushed forward without warning and hugged Minato Namikaze, starting to cry.
Minato just smiled at the boy, slightly shorter than him, and gently patted his back, accepting that first reaction.
"So... so that means I'm the son of the Fourth Hokage...? I never imagined my father would be so incredible...", Naruto said with a choked voice, crying.
Minato accepted that. And thought for a moment. 'Maybe I should bring Kushina. She certainly won't forgive me when I tell her this. Even if we have to erase the boy's memory afterward, we can give him some sense of belonging, even if it becomes vague in his memories, it should still mark a happy memory in his life. That might even help him on his journey.'
He watched the boy who had spent his entire life alone, now crying in his arms.
'This loneliness that Naruto has gone through his entire life... is something my son will never have to go through in my timeline.'
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