Kaede had no idea that in the brief span of that conversation, Namikaze Minato had already pieced together most of the truth, even Naruto's identity.
If he had not, it would have been unbelievable. They had only just met.
Compared to Naruto, though, Kaede looked far more suspicious.
"Stop talking about the future," Minato said quickly, cutting him off. "Knowing too much won't be good for any of us."
He was afraid Kaede would reveal too much and alter the course of events.
If that happened, his son might disappear entirely because of some butterfly effect.
Even if the future held a dead end for himself, he could not accept his child being erased.
That was the resolve of a parent.
"You don't need to worry about that," Kaede replied immediately. "From what I know, Fourth Hokage, you'll seal everyone's memories before we return. So no matter how much you learn now, it won't affect the future."
Minato paused.
That did sound like something he would do.
If that were true, then perhaps he did not need to fear changing fate.
And deep down, he desperately wanted to know how his son's life would unfold.
Even if the memories would soon be sealed, knowing something was better than knowing nothing.
"How do you know that?" Minato asked quietly. "And why did you come to this era?"
"And don't call me Fourth Hokage. I'm not that yet."
He glanced at Kaede's battered appearance.
"Understood, Namikaze Jonin," Kaede said smoothly. "I was ordered by the Third Hokage to check whether the seal you left in the ancient kingdom of Roran was intact. On the way, I encountered a powerful ninja named Kakuzu. During our fight, he broke your seal. The Dragon Vein's power went berserk, and I was dragged back here."
Minato's heart sank.
The more he heard, the more it confirmed his earlier deduction.
If Kaede and Naruto both came from a future where he was the Fourth Hokage, and yet in Year Sixty-Three the Third Hokage was still in power, that meant there was no Fifth Hokage.
Which meant one thing.
He was dead.
If he were alive, Kaede would have been acting under his orders, not the Third's.
The confirmation tightened something in Minato's chest.
"Wait… Kakuzu?" Naruto blinked.
"You know him?" Kaede looked surprised. "You fought him?"
"Yeah. He killed Asuma. We barely managed to take him down. He's got multiple lives. Kakashi-sensei said it's some secret technique. Each heart equals one life, and he uses different elemental jutsu."
Naruto nodded.
Even thinking about that battle made him uneasy.
If he and Yamato had not arrived in time, things would have gone very differently.
"Oh, right. He's also a member of an organization called Akatsuki. They're full of S-rank Missing-nin. Pervy Sage died fighting them."
Naruto's voice wavered slightly at the last part.
That single sentence delivered a flood of information.
Minato processed it silently.
Naruto's team leader in the future was Kakashi?
He understood that Naruto trained under Jiraiya, but that was a mentor relationship, not a standard Jonin squad leader dynamic.
With Jiraiya's status as one of the Legendary Sannin, it would be unlikely for him to take on a Genin team.
"Kakashi… that kid?" Choza and Shibi exchanged stunned looks.
The quiet boy who once followed behind them would have his own students one day?
But when they heard of Jiraiya's death, the shock deepened.
Jiraiya was one of the Legendary Sannin. The Toad Sage.
How could he fall in battle?
Minato quickly forced himself to accept it.
If Jiraiya could die, what of him?
The First Hokage died in battle.
The Second Hokage died in battle.
If he, as Fourth Hokage, died as well, that was simply the fate of ninja.
"I know about Kakuzu," Kaede said lightly. "By the way, Naruto, these two are familiar to you. This Akimichi Jonin is your classmate Akimichi Choji's father. And this Aburame Jonin is your classmate Aburame Shino's father."
Since Minato would seal their memories anyway, Kaede held nothing back.
It felt amazing.
Do you know how exhausting it is to carry so many secrets about the ninja world and never be allowed to speak?
He had developed the habit of writing a diary just to vent.
"W-What?"
Naruto stared at the two silent Jonin behind Minato.
"You're Choji's and Shino's dads?"
Looking closer, the resemblance was obvious.
Choza appeared often as part of the famous Ino-Shika-Cho formation. Naruto and Choji had been on good terms for years.
"Uh…" Choza rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.
It was a strange thing to suddenly learn you had a child in the future.
And to learn his name.
Shibi felt much the same.
Still, knowing Naruto was their sons' classmate made him seem instantly more familiar.
"Naruto, this Namikaze Jonin is your father."
Kaede blurted it out before Minato could stop him.
The rush of exposing a long-held secret was indescribable.
Minato froze.
Then he smiled helplessly.
He could tell Kaede had done it on purpose.
Of course he wanted to acknowledge his son.
But was this the right time?
Knowing he would die in the future, he did not want to risk altering Naruto's birth in any way.
Even if it meant sacrificing himself.
If Kaede knew Minato's inner turmoil, he would probably laugh.
If Naruto were an ordinary child, perhaps such worries were valid.
Change one detail, and Naruto might never exist.
But Naruto was the reincarnation of Otsutsuki Asura's Chakra.
His birth was, in a sense, inevitable.
Even if time or place shifted, he would likely still be born.
"Huh?"
Naruto stood frozen.
Choza and Shibi were just as stunned.
That reckless loudmouth was Minato's son?
No wonder he and Choji would become classmates.
But they were not fools.
What son fails to recognize his father unless something terrible happened?
Combined with what Kaede had said earlier about the Third Hokage still ruling despite a Fourth having existed, the answer was obvious.
Minato must have died young.
Maybe he had already realized it himself.
After all, he was the sharpest among them.
Kaede watched their expressions carefully.
Yes, that was it.
If they could not piece together the implications themselves, then what was the point of spoiling anything?
He almost felt wicked.
Then he justified it instantly.
He was helping.
Letting father and son meet while both were alive.
That was merit.
Merit plus one.
Merit plus one.
Merit plus one.
"Is it true?" Naruto's voice shook.
He had always been told he had no parents.
That he was an orphan.
And now, suddenly, he had a father?
And not just any father.
The legendary Fourth Hokage?
"Yes… it's true, Naruto," Minato said gently, unsure how to face the son who had appeared out of nowhere.
Before he could say anything more, Naruto's fist slammed into his stomach.
Tears burst from Naruto's eyes.
Years of pent-up grievance poured out all at once.
"Why did you seal the Nine-Tails inside me?" he shouted. "Because of you, I went through so much! The adults treated me like I was nothing. I could barely make friends. I kept training, pushing myself, trying to get everyone to acknowledge me. I finally met Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, Pervy Sage. I worked so hard to get where I am. Why did it have to be me? Why seal the Nine-Tails in your own son?"
He had so much to say.
Why was he the one who had to bear the Nine-Tails?
Why did he have to become a Jinchuriki?
He had never asked why before.
He was an orphan.
What choice did he have?
Later he learned that the Fourth Hokage had sealed the Nine-Tails into him.
That he was the Fourth's legacy.
He thought he had no say in it.
But now…
Now he knew the Fourth Hokage was his father.
All those years of loneliness and pain surged out like a broken dam.