Naruto turned his head sharply, his face full of shock, his gaze locking straight onto the masked, unfathomable Namikaze Minato.
Minato looked very calm. He did not show the slightest hint of surprise or excitement, as if he did not recognize Naruto at all.
This made Naruto feel puzzled, and the hope that had filled his heart instantly cooled by half.
After hesitating for a moment, Naruto asked again in a slightly trembling voice, "R-really... really?"
As he spoke, his fists clenched tightly, his palms already soaked with sweat.
At the same time, he lifted his head and stared at Minato with an intensely yearning look. In that gaze were both anticipation for the truth and deep fear and unease mixed together.
After all, for so many years, he had been desperately searching for any clues about his parents, yet had always come up empty-handed.
In this cruel ninja world filled with bloodshed and killing, if you could not find any trace of your family for a long time, there was usually only one possible outcome.
They were most likely no longer alive.
Thinking of this, a sharp pain stabbed at Naruto's heart.
His childhood had been full of hardship and bullying. If there were a chance to find his biological father, who would be willing to remain a helpless orphan?
At this moment, countless questions surged up, countless thoughts waiting to be poured out.
Naruto's gaze was like a sharp blade, piercing straight into Minato's heart, making him involuntarily tremble inside.
"How do you prove he's my son?"
Even though Minato was still questioning how this person could be proven to be his son. In reality, deep in his heart, an indescribable feeling had already begun to rise.
'Perhaps, the boy in front of me really is my child.'
But without solid proof, he truly did not dare to believe it easily, much less acknowledge him rashly.
After all, this matter was of great importance. One careless move could lead to unimaginable consequences.
At this moment, Naruto also shifted his gaze toward where Rengoku was standing.
Rengoku's Sharingan turned slightly, and an invisible force suddenly burst out.
In an instant, Naruto seemed to lose all self-awareness, his body trembling uncontrollably.
Immediately after, the extremely violent Nine-Tails chakra inside Naruto surged out of his body like a volcanic eruption.
This overwhelming power instantly broke free from Rengoku's control.
"Well, back then it was you yourself who sealed the Nine-Tails into his body, and you even named him Uzumaki Naruto."
"As for the rest... why you chose such a name, I think you should know that better than anyone," Rengoku said slowly, a smile on his face.
"And look at that head of golden hair identical to yours. Do you really still need to guess?"
Seeing Naruto instantly controlled by Rengoku, Minato could not help but feel secretly shocked at how unfathomable Rengoku's strength was.
However, at the same time, when he saw the Nine-Tails' power on Naruto and that hair color exactly like his own, the last trace of doubt in his heart completely vanished.
Besides, he had originally planned to give this name to his future son anyway.
The boy in front of him truly was his biological son, Naruto.
At this moment, Naruto was looking at Minato with a pitiful, pleading gaze, as if waiting for his father to give him a definite answer.
But Minato was, after all, a man with a strong sense of responsibility. Faced with such a situation, he did not immediately respond to Naruto's hopeful look.
Instead, Minato stared solemnly at Rengoku and spoke seriously, "I don't know what your true identity is, but since you know so much about the future."
"You should also understand that if we rashly try to change history, it will trigger extremely serious and unpredictable catastrophic consequences!"
When it came to knowledge reserves, Rengoku truly far surpassed Minato.
Rengoku waved his hand carelessly and said offhandedly, "Hey, worst case, after everything's over, we just cast some kind of memory erasure technique, right?"
Hearing this, Minato slowly shook his head, a grave look appearing on his face, and replied, "Even so, I still don't really want to know how the future will unfold."
At this moment, Minato was around twenty-two years old, right in the middle of preparing with all his might to run for Fourth Hokage.
The current him was already firmly shackled by the heavy chains of responsibility.
Facing an unknown future, his heart was filled with confusion and unease, with no way of knowing how many storms still awaited him ahead.
However, from his current perspective, at least Naruto's growth seemed to have gone smoothly, growing up safely.
Because of this, he did not dare to casually attempt to change this course of history.
After all, for a ninja who was born with spatial talent and could skillfully use the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Whether it was the vast, boundless space, or the long, flowing river of history, both deserved his deepest reverence.
If history were wantonly altered on a large scale, it could very well lead to unimaginable consequences.
It might even cause many innocent people to lose their lives due to the butterfly effect.
Even faintly guessing that he himself might already be dead, Minato still had no intention of changing the past.
Standing to the side, Naruto, though he looked somewhat naive and clueless, even he finally understood at this moment that this person really was his dad.
However, Naruto had been overjoyed, longing to meet his father, yet this long-awaited family member in front of him showed not the slightest trace of happiness toward him.
From those cold words, all that leaked out was endless indifference and heartlessness.
This sudden blow was like a heavy hammer smashing straight into Naruto's heart.
He stared wide-eyed at his father in disbelief, his eyes quickly reddening, tears welling up inside.
For a long time, Naruto's longing for his parents had burned like a raging fire in his heart, only to be mercilessly extinguished by this icy reality.
Rengoku, standing to the side, really could not bear to watch Naruto so heartbroken.
After all, Naruto had accompanied him for many years, whether in his past life or this one.
Although Rengoku had long guessed that Minato might have unspeakable difficulties, perhaps also issues related to his sense of responsibility, he absolutely would not tolerate Minato treating Naruto like this.
Rengoku's lips curled slightly as he said with a hint of mockery, "Oh? Since that's the case, then I won't tell you the news that you're about to become the Fourth Hokage of Konoha either."
To Minato, this statement did not actually have much impact.
With the remarkable military achievements he had already established, plus the strong support of the Third Hokage, becoming Hokage was practically a done deal.
Just then, Akimichi Choza and Aburame Shibi hurried over.
It turned out that they had heard every single word of the conversation between Rengoku and Minato earlier.
At this moment, upon learning that Minato would become Hokage in the future, they could not help but secretly rejoice. This was basically secured.
But who would have thought that what Rengoku said next would be like a bolt from the blue.
It directly left everyone present stunned, jaws dropping on the spot.
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