[Developer of the Rasengan.]
[Proficient in various sealing techniques: the Four Symbols Seal, the Eight Trigrams Seal, the Contract Seal, and the deadly Reaper Death Seal.]
[Singlehandedly reversed the tide of the Third Great Ninja War, guiding the victory toward Konoha.]
[During the Third Great Ninja War, any encounter with the "Yellow Flash" permitted immediate mission abandonment and retreat without penalty.]
[A hero of Konoha who sacrificed himself to stop the Nine-Tails' rampage.]
[Possesses a calm and intelligent mind, extraordinary analytical skills, unwavering psychological resilience, and a firm life philosophy.]
[Though these Hokage didn't showcase their strength fully by the end of Naruto: Shippuden, it's clear that their power surpasses that of Kurotsuchi and Chōjūrō.]
[Reward: Tremor-Tremor Fruit – fully awakened. Grants the user the ability to cause tremors in the sky, earth, atmosphere, and sea at will. Possesses immense physical destructive power!]
Group Chat
[Kushina Uzumaki]: Wahahaha! Honey, look how highly the scroll evaluates you!
[Naruto Uzumaki]: Dad! You're so cool!
[Fourth Hokage – Minato Namikaze]: I only did what I was supposed to do. There's nothing worth bragging about.
[First Hokage – Hashirama Senju] @ [Fourth Hokage – Minato Namikaze]: That's true dedication to the village. Some people could really learn a thing or two from you.
[Second Hokage – Tobirama Senju] @ [Third Hokage – Hiruzen Sarutobi] @ [Danzo]: My brother's talking about you two. Cat got your tongues? Playing dead, are you?
[Third Hokage – Hiruzen Sarutobi]: First Lord, Second Lord… I really know I was wrong. I swear, from now on, I'll make it up to Naruto. Please stop flogging the corpse…
Hiruzen stepped forward to offer some defense for himself.
Danzo, meanwhile, continued to feign silence.
[Kushina Uzumaki]: Honey! That reward looks crazy strong! Hahaha!
[Minato Namikaze]: Too bad it's not a Resurrection Coin or something that could bring me back. Then I could be with you and Naruto again in the real world.
[Kushina Uzumaki]: This is fine too. At least I can stay by your side now.
[Hinata Hyuga] @ [Kushina Uzumaki]: You're amazing!
[Kushina Uzumaki] @ [Hinata Hyuga]: Daughter-in-law! Why do you say I'm amazing?
[Hinata Hyuga]: You predicted that the next person on the list would be the Fourth Hokage—and you were right!
[Kushina Uzumaki]: Hahaha! That's my girl—actually listening to what I say! I like you more and more!
[Kurotsuchi]: Why am I being compared to the Fourth Hokage? There's no way I can match up!
[Chōjūrō]: I don't get it either… This is just weird!
[Madara Uchiha] @ [Shikamaru Nara]: Analyze this for me. What's going on here?
[Shikamaru Nara]: Lord Madara, it looks like the rankings compare individuals to other Kage. That probably means Kurotsuchi and Chōjūrō will become Kage in the future.
[Madara Uchiha]: Makes sense. Hahaha! Not bad at all. Your brain is impressive—I like you more and more. Stick with me from now on!
[Shikamaru Nara]: Lord Madara, that's not gonna happen. I'm from Konoha. If you plan to start the Fourth Great Ninja War again, then we're enemies.
[Hashirama Senju]: Well said! That's the Konoha spirit! @ [Madara Uchiha]: Madara! Give up on the Fourth Great Ninja War. It's for the good of everyone! And haven't you noticed how adorable all the new generation Konoha ninjas are?
[Izuna Uchiha]: Nii-san! Don't give in to them!
[Tobirama Senju]: Tch! If you don't, it's your loss.
Hidden Stone Village
Onoki: "Kurotsuchi! So you really do become Tsuchikage in the future… You didn't let me down!"
Kurotsuchi: "Grandpa, now that you've regained your youth, of course you should remain Tsuchikage. You're the one truly capable."
Onoki: "Hahaha! That's true. You might be better than most in the village, but you're still no match for me!"
Hidden Mist Village – Mizukage's Office
Chōjūrō: "Lady Mizukage! You should remain the Mizukage! I'll just support you!"
Mei Terumī: "Now that I have the Dog Charm, I can retain my youth and live forever. Until you've truly matured, I'll remain Mizukage."
Suddenly, the scroll in the sky trembled, then burst forth in a dazzling golden light.
A translucent screen appeared before the scroll.
The footage on the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, began to play.
[The scene opens with Minato sealing the Nine-Tails—an epic, narration-style portrayal of that fateful moment.]
[Because of this, many viewers thought the Nine-Tails would never appear again and that the Fourth Hokage was a legendary hero who'd never return.]
[In the era when manga was scarce and anime was mainly watched via DVDs, even the fact that Minato was Naruto's father was something fans speculated on.]
[Later, during Orochimaru's battle with the Third Hokage, when he used Edo Tensei to summon the First and Second Hokage…]
[The Third was especially cautious and shouted that the third coffin must be stopped!]
[Fans believed the sealed "fourth" coffin must contain the legendary strongest Hokage—Minato Namikaze.]
[It wasn't until the later arcs of Naruto, when power levels skyrocketed, that it became clear: compared to Obito and Madara, the Nine-Tails wasn't that terrifying, and Minato wasn't as strong as the First Hokage.]
[Still, he remained one of the strongest shinobi beneath the legendary figures.]
[Minato Namikaze had no kekkei genkai, no clan secret techniques, no tailed beast. A true "ordinary" shinobi.]
[In fact, he was the only character in the series with the surname Namikaze.]
[And yet, this ordinary man became the Hokage of Konoha—the strongest shinobi village.]
Group Chat
[Fourth Raikage – A]: Hahaha! Yet another "strongest Hokage ever"?
[Third Tsuchikage – Onoki]: Let's be fair—Minato never claimed to be the strongest. That idea probably came from "the viewers."
[Not Tsunade's Baby Ninja]: Lord Onoki! "Viewers" doesn't mean a person's name—it refers to the audience!
[Kurotsuchi]: Grandpa… the Fifth Mizukage is right…
[Minato Namikaze] @ [Hashirama Senju] @ [Tobirama Senju]: First Lord, Second Lord—I have no idea what's going on!
[Hashirama Senju] @ [Minato Namikaze]: It's okay. I know this isn't your fault.
[Tobirama Senju] @ [Minato Namikaze]: My brother's right. You clearly didn't know either. Don't worry about it.
Konoha – Chūnin Exam Arena
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression was extremely sour.
They were all supposedly the "strongest Hokage," so why was the treatment so drastically different?
Of course, he didn't dare argue in the chat group.
First, because of his guilt toward Naruto regarding Minato.
And second—
Because he'd watched Minato grow up… and watched him die.
During all that time…
Minato had never once claimed to be the strongest Hokage.
So Hiruzen understood—
This really had nothing to do with Minato.
Group Chat
[Naruto Uzumaki] @ [Minato Namikaze]: Dad! You're amazing!
[Kushina Uzumaki] @ [Naruto Uzumaki]: If Minato wasn't amazing, how could he be your father?! And don't forget—your mom's awesome too!
[Naruto Uzumaki]: Yep! Both Mom and Dad are incredible! I'm so lucky to be your son!
The footage continued.
[Minato's mentor was Jiraiya of the Legendary Sannin—a teacher of saviors.]
[His wife was Kushina Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki.]
[And his son is none other than the protagonist himself—Naruto Uzumaki, whose Japanese name means "whirlpool."]
Group Chat
[Hashirama Senju] @ [Madara Uchiha]: Madara! I'm getting more and more confused! What does all this mean?!
[Madara Uchiha]: Hashirama! I'm a bit confused too… But I didn't expect the Uzumaki Clan to be descendants of the Sage of Six Paths!
[Sasuke Uchiha]: Naruto?! You're the protagonist?! I don't accept that!
[Naruto Uzumaki]: Sas'ke! Even though you become the Seventh Hokage in the future, I'm the main character! Hahaha! That means I didn't lose to you, and I will become Hokage!
[Sasuke Uchiha]: Hmph! We'll see about that. As long as I'm around, you've got no chance!
At that moment, Sasuke had made up his mind—
He had to consume the Transformation Pill!
He didn't want to lose to Naruto.
Once he took the pill, his lifespan would be extended tenfold.
That way, after he became the Seventh Hokage, Naruto would never have another chance at the title.
Just thinking about that future filled Sasuke with anticipation.
The footage continued.
[Minato wasn't like Jiraiya, who had fateful encounters with the Toads of Mount Myōboku… nor like Orochimaru, who delved into twisted scientific research.]
[He was simply strong from the very beginning, and from a young age, dreamed of becoming Hokage.]
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789