"So, Senior Orochimaru, can you be trusted?" Minato Namikaze fixed him with a hard stare.
Orochimaru merely offered a calm smile.
Minato could roughly tell that Orochimaru had his own hidden motives. He knew Orochimaru was never one to act out of pure generosity.
Without pressing further on Orochimaru's stance, he changed the subject and asked about what mattered most to him.
"Where is Naruto? Can I go see him?"
"He should have already headed toward the Land of Wind with Jiraiya. They plan to unite with other ninja villages," Hiruzen Sarutobi replied.
"The Land of Wind? Sunagakure?" Minato muttered, then asked, "Then may I leave now?"
After thinking for a moment, Orochimaru nodded in agreement. "Yes."
As soon as those words were spoken, a yellow flash zipped past, and Minato vanished before their eyes.
Without even activating the Flying Thunder God Technique, he remained among the fastest in the entire Ninja World.
After leaving Orochimaru's hideout, he quickly disguised himself. As much as he longed to see his son again, he couldn't afford to forget that he was supposed to be dead. He wanted to avoid drawing unwanted attention—or being spotted by the enemies Orochimaru and Hiruzen had warned about.
The moment Minato left, Hiruzen facepalmed and looked at Orochimaru. "Orochimaru, I just remembered—Rin Nohara, Minato's student, was the previous Three-Tails jinchuriki."
"A Konoha ninja?" Orochimaru looked puzzled.
"Yes. Seeing Minato today just brought back an old memory. It happened after the Kannabi Bridge incident—Minato's student, Rin Nohara, was captured by Mist ninjas trying to seal the Three-Tails inside her. To prevent herself from causing destruction to Konoha, she willingly let herself die by Kakashi's hand. That left Kakashi deeply affected for a long time."
"I see," Orochimaru murmured. "Such an event where Konoha ninjas killed their own comrade went unpublicized among the other villages. Could it be that someone deliberately covered it up?"
Hiruzen stayed silent.
In the desert, golden sands swirling through the air, Minato wore a large hooded cloak that concealed his entire body. He walked steadily across the wastelands toward Sunagakure, mentally rehearsing how things might go when he saw Naruto again.
He decided to wait on the outskirts—away from prying eyes but close enough to meet Naruto when the time came.
Meanwhile, White Zetsu clones were engaged in battle near Grel Mine, located within the Underground Ruins close to the Land of Wind.
[Four Corners Sealing Barrier]
Suddenly, four pale purple pillars of light erupted from the east, west, south, and north. Soon afterward, a transparent purple-flamed rectangular barrier formed around the ruins.
Several knights standing in the center were startled.
"What's going on!"
Grasping their weapons tightly, Haido and his men advanced toward the four cardinal directions of the barrier.
Six Byakugan-wielding boys appeared before them, wearing wicked grins on their faces.
These White Zetsus had absorbed Hiroki Hyuga's chakra.
And naturally, the ones maintaining the Four Corners Sealing Barrier were White Zetsus infused with Tsunade's chakra.
"Who are you people?" Haido cautiously demanded.
"Ah, I can't be bothered wasting time on weaklings like you. You're not even worth the effort."
With that, White Zetsu moved in unison.
"Teacher Jiraiya, Nine-Tails says he sensed the other half's power," Naruto suddenly said, stopping in his tracks and turning to Jiraiya.
"The other half..." Jiraiya froze.
Closer, even closer...
Watching the two approaching figures, Minato Namikaze grew increasingly excited.
His heart tightened with unease and uncertainty.
Should he reveal his identity to Naruto?
But he was just a dead man after all—he would eventually return to the Pure Land. Would it be so cruel—to give Naruto a father only to take him away again?
Would Naruto blame him, his own father?
"It's him."
At this moment, Naruto's voice reached Minato's ears.
Jiraiya stared at the person before him.
Though completely hidden under the cloak, this figure felt incredibly familiar to Jiraiya.
"Jiraiya-sensei."
The clear voice startled Jiraiya for a moment, then his expression turned complex—mixed with both shock and joy.
"Minato, is that really you? Is this another one of Orochimaru's tricks?"
"Who is he?" Naruto thought Jiraiya's reaction seemed odd, so he muttered to himself.
"He's your father."
Nine-Tails' voice, laced with disdain, echoed in his mind, leaving Naruto stunned.
Who?
My father?
The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze?
"It's me, Teacher Jiraiya." Minato pulled back his hood, revealing a bright smile.
Naruto stared at the man's face, silently matching it against the carving on the Hokage Rock back in Konoha. It matched the Fourth Hokage exactly.
Naruto stood rooted to the spot, uncertain how to react—completely at a loss.
Father—a word he'd only ever imagined. Now that one was standing right in front of him, what was he supposed to say?
"Naruto, go ahead now, he's your father!" With a sigh, Jiraiya pushed him forward.
Naruto and Minato met each other's gaze. Both hesitated, wanting to speak but finding no words.
"Hey? What are Naruto and Jiraiya doing here?"
After eliminating everyone inside the ruins, White Zetsu noticed them while returning.
"That blondie looks familiar... is that Minato Namikaze?"
"What an awkward father-and-son reunion."
One of the watching White Zetsu smacked its lips.
A sudden yellow shimmer caught White Zetsu off guard.
"He shouldn't have detected us from this distance. Does Minato have better sensing abilities than Naruto Uzumaki?"
Before it could react, a blue Rasengan from Minato already struck it.
In the blink of an eye, Minato reappeared in front of Jiraiya and Naruto, hurling the wounded White Zetsu to the ground. "Is this one also an enemy?"
"Yeah." Jiraiya nodded. "We'll hand him over to Orochimaru for experiments."
Frowning slightly, Naruto uncomfortably used the title for the first time. "F-Father… were you also reincarnated through Orochimaru's Impure World Reincarnation?"
Minato gave a slight nod.
Opening his mouth, Naruto seemed to want to say something more.
"Naruto, leave these matters to us."
Minato Namikaze wore a gentle smile as he softly ruffled the boy's hair and murmured, "Good job."
Naruto sniffled, barely holding back tears.
"Jiraiya-sensei, what's our next move?" Minato Namikaze turned his head to ask Jiraiya.
"We plan to unite the other jinchuriki first, and then have them persuade the various ninja villages. This idea was originally Naruto's brainchild," Jiraiya replied with pride and admiration in his voice.
A sudden ache pierced Minato's chest.
What had Naruto gone through to become so mature?
"I'll go in with you," Minato said firmly as he looked toward Sunagakure.
Minato, Jiraiya-sensei, and Naruto exchanged glances, then walked forward in unison toward that direction.
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