"Hey!?"
Naruto finally reacted after hearing Minato's guess.
"Is that really the case?"
"No wonder I always felt something was off. This place doesn't exactly feel like Rōran… but it also does feel like Rōran. And even you, Hikaru—so familiar somehow."
"So I've time-traveled…"
Then, Naruto turned to Uchiha Hikaru, who now looked completely calm.
"Wait… Hikaru, you already knew about this?"
Hikaru just smiled silently and nodded.
"Of course I knew."
"From my perspective, Naruto… you're only nine years old."
"The first time I saw you, I could tell you were the grown-up version."
Naruto finally understood—after all this time, he was the only one who hadn't realized it! (⊙_☉;)
Meanwhile, Shikaku and Choza stood silent. As long as they didn't speak, no one would realize they hadn't figured it out either, and they wouldn't be embarrassed (;¬д¬).
"Hikaru, you're so awful!" Naruto pouted.
"You actually teamed up with this blond guy to mess with me!"
Then he looked more closely at Minato's face. There was something familiar about it…
"Wait a sec… this guy…"
"You look just like the Fourth Hokage from the Hokage Rock!"
Behind Minato, Choza furrowed his brow and opened his mouth.
"Hey, brat, the current Hokage is still the Third. What Fourth—"
Shikaku patted Choza's shoulder lightly and whispered:
"Choza, this kid is from the future. That means he becomes the Fourth..."
"Stop. The less we know about the future, the better," he added quickly.
"Even if it's contradictory, it's best not to tamper with what's ahead."
Minato, meanwhile, turned toward Uchiha Hikaru. The worry and confusion in his eyes were evident.
"My future assistant... could you please tell me everything I'm worried about once this mission is over?"
He stood and bowed deeply, a 90-degree bend of respect.
Hikaru glanced at Naruto beside him.
Sure enough… the moment Minato realized Naruto was the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, he'd also realized—Naruto was his son.
The name Naruto... he'd gotten it from Jiraiya's novel, The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Ninja.
And Naruto's hair color was the same. His personality… so similar to Kushina.
There was no way Minato wouldn't recognize it.
Hikaru stood up, dusted himself off, and gently helped Minato to his feet.
"No problem. You'll know everything when the time comes."
A meaningful smile played at the corner of his mouth.
Naruto looked between Hikaru and the man who was clearly the Fourth Hokage, feeling lost and confused.
Still, something in his gut told him what they were about to discuss… was deeply related to him.
"Anosa, anosa!" he called.
"Can I come too? I want to know!"
Hikaru flicked Naruto's forehead.
"Out of the way, kid. Shoo~" (≖︿≖✿)
"This is top-secret business between the Hokage and his assistant."
"A Genin like you has no clearance."
Naruto was about to retort that he wasn't a child, but the moment Hikaru mentioned Genin, he deflated like a wilted daikon.
"Damn it... If only I hadn't been training with Jiraiya-sensei, I would've made it to the Chūnin Exams!"
"Tch. Dammit..."
Hikaru waved at Minato, who nodded and left with Shikaku and Choza.
Just as Naruto tried to follow, Hikaru stopped him.
"Why are you stopping me, Hikaru?" Naruto asked, frowning.
"He's the Fourth Hokage! Since you know me from the future, you know the Nine-Tails inside me is... him—"
"I have to ask him!"
His voice cracked with emotion—anger, confusion, longing.
Hikaru gently placed a hand on Naruto's head and ruffled his hair.
"I know you have questions."
"But right now, both of you have different missions, don't you think?"
"Compared to answers... I think finding your teammates comes first."
Naruto's expression turned solemn.
"You're right, Hikaru."
"In that case, I'll go ahead."
"I'll search in this direction. I'll leave the other side to you!"
Without another word, he dashed off out of Rōran's ruins, taking the left path. Hikaru watched him go.
Not long after, a flash of golden light lit up the ruins. Minato reappeared beside Hikaru.
Without a word, Hikaru pulled out a sealing scroll from his waist pouch, unrolled it, and popped out two reclining chairs.
"Sit."
Then he plopped down like it was just another day at the hot springs.
Minato blinked at him. For a second, he didn't know how to respond, but eventually sighed and sat down as well.
So, in the ruins near ancient Rōran, two handsome Konoha shinobi lay side by side in the shade.
No one knew that here… a tale that would shake history was quietly beginning. (¬‿¬ )
"Sir Hikaru, I'm still on a mission, you know…" Minato muttered.
"This really isn't—"
But the recliner had some sort of jutsu, binding his body with the soft pull of laziness. He tried to resist... but gave in.
Shikaku… Choza… forgive me… This is all for Kushina… and the village…
(´Д｀) But man, this recliner really is comfortable…
Hikaru folded his hands across his chest and looked relaxed as ever.
Minato glanced at him, then asked quietly:
"Assistant-sama… please. Tell me about Kushina."
"If Naruto became a Jinchūriki… then that means Kushina has…"
Hikaru nodded solemnly.
"Yes. You were right."
"And not just that. In the future… both you and Kushina are killed by the Nine-Tails."
Minato shot up like a spring.
"What the hell happened?!"
Hikaru slowly opened his eyes and pointed at the recliner.
"Easy, easy."
"Youth burns fast, but the future hasn't happened yet. There's still time to change it."
"Sit down."
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