Naruto froze upon hearing Sakura's words.
"Huh?! Really?!"
"Yes."
The voice belonged to none other than Sasuke Uchiha—the second young master of the Uchiha clan, who rarely indulged in gossip, appeared cold as ice, and carried the weight of a three-ton idol persona?!!
"Even that idiot Sasuke says so?!" Naruto whimpered in disbelief.
Sakura: "See, I told you so!"
Naruto squinted his eyes, deep in thought, before arriving at an astonishing conclusion.
"The Fourth Hokage knew Sasuke's parents, right?"
Sasuke, impatient: "So what?"
Naruto: "You're the same age as me. Could it be that the Fourth Hokage was actually—"
Sakura & Sasuke: "Actually is?"
"Could he be my parents' good friend too?!!"
For some reason, Sasuke and Sakura almost instinctively stumbled backward.
Sasuke's voice sounded slightly exasperated, or perhaps frustrated with Naruto's lack of understanding. "Do you even know who your parents are?"
Sakura: "Sasuke-kun is right! If you knew who your parents were, you could go ask him!"
"..."
Naruto, usually so loud and boisterous, suddenly fell silent, leaving Sakura and Sasuke feeling a bit uneasy.
"What's wrong, you big idiot?"
"Maybe we shouldn't ask after all..."
"Huh?" Sasuke and Sakura were confused.
"I was just joking! Let's drop this topic, okay?" Naruto stood up and moved to the other side to rest.
Not too far away, Rin stole a glance, feeling a bit worried about Kushina's child.
'Boom!'
Minato Namikaze used the Shadow Clone Technique to create a shadow clone, which then transformed into a child with a gray-green head and a vertical scar stitched across the left side of his face.
The child held a strange black double-grooved staff, one end of which bore a green flower.
Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura followed the gaze.
Obito asked curiously, "Minato-sensei, didn't you say you'd teach me how to impersonate the Fourth Mizukage?"
The child's voice sounded innocently childlike: "That's right. I am the Fourth Mizukage—Yagura Karatachi!"
"What?!!"
Obito gasped in shock. "A kid our age?! The Fourth Mizukage?!!"
The shadow clone Yagura immediately jumped up: "Who said I'm a kid?! I'm the Fourth Mizukage! I'm an adult!! My son is about your age!"
"Huh?!!"
Minato chuckled: "Yagura is actually a bit older than me, so he really is an adult."
The young Kakashi remarked sarcastically: "He's so nitpicky and doesn't seem too bright either. Congrats, Obito. You can play yourself now."
"What?!" Obito stomped angrily. "When did I ever look like this?! Explain yourself!"
"Right now."
Watching the two start bickering again, Rin smiled helplessly, her expression tinged with affection for them both.
Sakura sighed. These two argued more often than Naruto and Sasuke ever did.
"I still can't believe Kakashi-sensei is the same person as his childhood self—the difference is just too stark."
Naruto: "Maybe it's just that our Kakashi-sensei doesn't roast us anymore. Yesterday, when he and his childhood self were exchanging jabs, he was pretty sharp-tongued, dattebayo."
Sasuke: "Hmm."
"Hey, hey, is it really okay for you guys to badmouth your teacher here?" Kakashi frowned, making a move to confront Naruto.
Naruto didn't care at all, deliberately making a silly voice: "Our current teacher is the Fourth Hokage, bro~ hehehe!"
"Hahaha~" Minato Namikaze shielded Naruto behind him, clearly protecting him. Even his other two students looked on, sensing something was off.
Obito: "Minato-sensei actually plays favorites?"
"Maybe he feels bad that you're both so slow," young Kakashi shrugged. "He hardly ever scolds you when you're late, right?"
Rin: "Kakashi, stop picking on Obito all the time."
"Sorry, can't help myself~"
"Damn it! Stupid Kakashi, you—"
A black double-groove staff blocked Obito. The "Yagura Karatachi", a shadow clone of Minato, interjected, "Enough. Let Obito complete his mission first."
During lunch break, Minato Namikaze had already mentioned the extra mission added to Obito's scroll.
He also had Naruto check his own scroll.
But Naruto's scroll still only contained the single mission: 'Rescue the Masked Man'.
Thus, while training in various Fire Release ninjutsu and mastering the coordination of his Sharingan with taijutsu, Obito added another task: practicing Transformation Technique to impersonate the Fourth Mizukage.
Meanwhile, the real Fourth Mizukage...
Or rather, the Fourth Mizukage impersonated by the 'Masked Man'! Had already arrived at the Kirigakure village of the Land of Water!
Inside the Mizukage Tower, a group of the village's ANBU gathered.
Despite the numerous glass windows surrounding the chamber, an eerie, chilling gloom permeated the space, as if sunlight itself refused to penetrate.
A heavy stench of blood hung thick throughout the Mizukage Tower.
Who knew how many renegade Kirigakure Missing-nin the Fourth Mizukage had personally disciplined here for daring to defect?
It must have been methods of unimaginable cruelty, something no one would ever wish to experience.
Merely standing in this chilling place for a moment felt like being surrounded by countless restless spirits—souls who had endured unbearable torture and death, gathering here year after year, cursing the man above.
As if waiting to witness his miserable downfall, these spirits lingered, refusing to ascend to the Pure Land!