Minato Namikaze crouched down, meeting the flustered and bewildered gaze of Naruto Uzumaki at eye level.
In just a moment, he understood exactly why his student—his future Kakashi—had pushed this child toward him.
He had already suspected Naruto's connection to him long before this moment.
And now, combined with Kakashi's words…
Minato confirmed two things—
First, Naruto had no idea about their relationship.
And likely, for some special reason, he wasn't allowed to know. Meaning Minato himself shouldn't tell him now either.
Second, his future self hadn't been able to watch Naruto grow up.
He had missed every birthday, missed taking him to enroll in the Academy, missed being his after-school ninjutsu tutor, missed every daily greeting and every reminder.
"Naruto, don't be picky with your food. Eat well so you can grow up strong! Take a bath every day to keep your body warm. Don't stay up too late—you have to get enough sleep. Hmm…"
Minato paused, his voice overflowing with tenderness.
Whether it was his tone, his words, or the simple act of crouching down to look Naruto in the eye—it left Sasuke, Sakura, and even young Kakashi staring wide-eyed!
"Oh, and make friends."
He glanced at Sakura and Sasuke beside Naruto. The moment Kakashi pushed Naruto forward, Minato's suspicion had been confirmed.
"You don't need many friends. Just a few who are sincere and trust each other—that's enough."
He ruffled Naruto's golden hair, identical to his own, then looked into his bright blue eyes.
"And study hard, respect your teachers."
Thinking of Kushina's grades, he added with a slightly embarrassed smile, "It's okay if you're not good at everything. Everyone has things they struggle with."
Like how I'm absolutely terrible at arguing with Kushina!
"You can also focus on what you're good at—refine your strengths even further."
Like how I'm really good at naming jutsu!
"Oh, and the three ninja prohibitions. Keep your mission pay safe—never gamble with it. Don't drink until you're twenty; it hurts your body and leads to trouble. As for romance… I've only ever loved Kushina. I really don't have (or dare have) any other experience, hahaha."
"Anyway, if your dream is the same as mine and Obito's—to become Hokage and protect the village we love so deeply…"
Minato paused.
"Then hold onto that dream. Hold onto your ninja way. And I believe that one day, you'll make it come true."
"!!!!"
Sakura was utterly stunned.
No way. No freaking way.
THE Fourth Hokage?! The village's great hero?!
Putting that kind of trust… in idiot Naruto?!
Even Sasuke looked shaken, his widened eyes bouncing between Naruto and the Fourth Hokage.
Young Kakashi's usual aloofness shattered completely. He stared at Naruto, then at his future self, desperately wanting to know how this kid—who looked just as hopeless as Obito—could be so significant!
Naruto himself was completely dumbstruck.
He turned to Kakashi-sensei, his chest aching with a strange, bitter tightness as he heard those words.
Just as he sucked in a breath, unsure what to say, Sasuke's gaze once again caught the fan crest on Obito's back. A sudden realization exploded in his mind—he lunged forward and grabbed Minato Namikaze's sleeve!
"Hey! I'm asking you—are you really the Fourth Hokage who came here from the past?!!"
Young Kakashi froze for a moment, then immediately seized Sasuke's wrist with an angry glare. "What are you doing?! Let go!"
But Sasuke didn't spare him a glance. He ignored him completely, eyes filled with hatred—and beneath it, a buried, wounded despair—as he stared straight at the Fourth Hokage.
"I have something to ask you! Something extremely important!!"
Before Minato could respond, Sasuke blurted out rapidly:
"I am Fugaku Uchiha's son—Sasuke Uchiha! I beg you… when you return to your time, tell my father—tell him to…"
He swallowed down that tiny flicker of pain, eyes consumed with pure, burning vengeance.
"Kill Itachi Uchiha!"
Young Kakashi blinked in confusion. He remembered Obito mentioning several times that Fugaku Uchiha was the clan head of the Uchiha.
Thinking Minato might not know, he shot Sasuke a glare. "Fugaku Uchiha is Obito Uchiha's clan head. You want the clan head to kill a fellow Uchiha?!"
"He deserves it!" Sasuke snarled. "He has to die! The sooner the better! He's a demon!! A madman!!"
Naruto and Sakura didn't know exactly what had happened, but Sasuke's breakdown frightened them.
Sasuke was always the cool, arrogant one—the guy who made Naruto so mad he'd chew his own shirt.
But grabbing the Fourth Hokage and losing control like this? They had never seen Sasuke like this.
They both remembered Kakashi-sensei's first day introduction, when Sasuke had said his ambition was to revive the Uchiha clan—and kill a certain man…
"Sasuke!" Naruto stepped forward. "You've gotta at least tell the Fourth Hokage what happened!"