Minato Namikaze was also puzzled by the situation.
But after all, this was fourteen years after his own era.
"Kakashi, can you think of any possibilities regarding this?" Minato asked, turning to Kakashi.
"We've never received any intelligence about this," Kakashi replied. "But I think once we return to the village after this mission, we can ask the Third Hokage about it."
Obito: "Zabuza's injuries should be nearly healed by now, right? Will he keep working for Gatō?"
"Probably not," Minato said. "Gatō put his name up on the black market. I expect that Kirigakure's bounty hunters will be arriving in the Land of Waves soon."
Naruto remained silent, deep in thought.
Sakura asked, "What's wrong, Naruto?"
He said, "That guy we saw near Zabuza... he looks so familiar, dattebayo."
Minato reminded him, "This morning, you fell asleep while training in the woods. The one who woke you up was him."
Minato reminded him, "This morning, you fell asleep while training in the woods. The one who woke you up was him."
"!!!" Naruto exclaimed. "It's him! He really is a guy?!!"
"Pfft—" Obito nearly choked on his drink. "You mean the guy next to Zabuza, Haku?"
"You know him?"
"Um..." How could he explain this? When he first impersonated the Fourth Mizukage, he had mistaken that guy for a girl too. Not only did he blow his cover immediately, but he almost got sliced by Zabuza's greatsword.
Obito didn't want to relive that embarrassing moment and didn't answer Naruto's question.
The two generations of Team 7 entered Uncle Tazuna's house in the Land of Waves.
They discussed joining the construction of the Land of Waves Bridge together, aiming to finish it quickly and return to Konoha.
Tazuna was deeply moved by their offer to stay and help. "Even though I falsified the contract details... why would you still choose to help us?"
Kakashi glanced at Minato. "A warrior who fails to act when duty calls is no warrior at all. A strong commander has no weak soldiers. That was the teaching of the previous Hokage."
"The previous Hokage..."
Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and the others looked at Minato—right there in front of them?!
"Unbelievable! To actually see the legendary Fourth Hokage-sama! What incredible luck is this?!" Sakura exclaimed, starstruck. "If that's the case, we're truly lucky to have taken this mission!"
"Yeah! Yeah!" Naruto chimed in. "I used to stare at Hokage Rock wondering what the Fourth Hokage was really like. Now I finally know, dattebayo!"
Sasuke nodded slightly. By chance, they had traveled back to the time of the Third Shinobi World War with the Fourth. Only then did he realize that this seemingly unassuming man truly lived up to the title of Hokage!
He recalled the Fourth once saying that if he became Hokage, he would work to mend the relationship between Konoha and the Uchiha Clan.
At this moment, Sasuke sincerely wished the Fourth Hokage hadn't perished twelve years ago during the Nine-Tails Incident.
Minato, hearing Naruto often wonder what kind of person the Fourth Hokage was, felt a soft warmth in his heart. He asked gently, "So, what kind of person do you think I am?"
"Hmm..." Naruto thought for a moment. "A really kind person who cares deeply about all the others in the village!"
"All the others?" Minato sensed he should pay close attention to that keyword in Naruto's words.
But Naruto quickly brushed off the question with an evasive answer.
Seeing Naruto unwilling to elaborate, Minato decided not to press further.
And so, at that moment, Minato missed the chance to learn about Naruto's other identity—his being the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki.
The conversation soon shifted back to the construction of the Bridge of the Land of Waves—
Obito: "If we follow Minato-sensei's plan, Zabuza won't bother us again. The bridge mission should wrap up quickly, right?"
Rin remembered that the bridge was nearly complete, but someone's interference had delayed its final stages.
"How much longer until that bridge is fully completed?"
Tazuna: "Even if you say Zabuza might not interfere with the bridge's construction, Gatō definitely won't let it go."
Naruto said flatly, "If that bastard dares to interfere with us, I'll beat them all down!!"
Hearing this, Inari, who had been hiding outside the door, suddenly rushed in and shouted angrily at Naruto: "Why can't you see reality?!! Why are you pushing yourselves so hard in training?!! You'll never defeat Gatō anyway! Do you know how vast his power is? How many people are willing to die for him?!!"
Both Team Minato and Team Kakashi were stunned.
They hadn't expected this child to suddenly burst into tears and yell at them.
Naruto: "So what?"
"So what?!!" The image of his stepfather, Kaiza, being beaten to death right before his eyes flashed through Inari's mind. "Aren't you afraid of dying?!! You'll all die!!! No matter how hard you try, the weak are weak! You can never stand up to power!!!"
"…" Naruto seemed to be in a bad mood, his voice low as he responded, "So what if I'm afraid of death? Should I just hide at home and do nothing?"
"Shut up!!"
Inari screamed, "You don't understand anything!! Do you know what it feels like to watch your father get killed right in front of you?!! You don't understand a thing!! You don't even get what's happening in this country—you're just trying to show off and act cool!! I hate people like you who go around grinning like idiots all day!!"
Don't understand anything?
Grinning like an idiot all day?
Naruto's face was hidden in the shadow of his arm, his expression unreadable.
Originally…
When Inari said those words, Naruto should have gotten angry.
The Inari in front of him looked just like his past self—the Nine-Tails Fox demon, rejected by the whole village.
That was exactly why, when the Fourth Hokage had asked him what kind of person he was, he had answered—A kind-hearted person who was super nice to all the 'others' in the village.
But this 'others'...
They had excluded him, Naruto Uzumaki, the orphan, from the very beginning.