Not being acknowledged by others.
Feared and shunned.
This was precisely the treatment Kushina Uzumaki endured after succeeding Mito Uzumaki as Konoha's second Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.
The only possibility Minato could conceive that would subject Naruto to such treatment…
As the last descendant of the Uzumaki Clan, Naruto was Konoha's third Nine-Tails Jinchūriki!!
That night...
Minato sat atop the rooftop.
As the night sea breeze blew, he found himself questioning his own choices in this era—a rare occurrence.
The adult Kakashi approached, asking if Minato wished to learn more about Naruto's growth experiences.
After much hesitation, Minato declined.
He couldn't deny his own fear.
If you struggle to understand Minato's mindset, try this: imagine being the future Fourth Hokage, husband to Kushina Uzumaki, and father to Naruto Uzumaki. That feeling would be no less overwhelming than finding a long-lost pet reappearing before you years later. When you see it covered in wounds, someone asks if you want to hear how it survived all these years—dredging through trash bins, enduring abuse from bullies—just to find its way back to you, its owner.
"Kakashi!"
Sasuke leapt over, spotting the Fourth Hokage present and quickly greeting him. Ever since witnessing the Fourth's power and killing intent, even Sasuke had been deeply impressed.
Kakashi resumed his usual carefree demeanor.
"Hey, Sasuke. Staying up this late isn't what good kids do—watch out, you might not grow tall~"
Sasuke blushed and snapped back, "Don't worry, I'll definitely be taller than you someday!"
Minato Namikaze smiled and asked, "Is there something you needed from Kakashi and me?"
"Yeah," Sasuke replied. "A new mission scroll appeared on Naruto's scroll. I came to ask him how to complete this mission." He pointed at Kakashi.
A new mission?!
Minato Namikaze and the young Kakashi followed Sasuke back inside.
"What's the mission rating...?" Kakashi inquired.
Sasuke: "B-rank."
"A B-rank mission," Minato said, "should be easier than that A-rank one Obito's handling, right?"
Sasuke shook his head. "I don't think so."
By the time they spoke, they'd already reached the second-floor room where Naruto, Sasuke, Obito, and Young Kakashi rested.
The moment they entered, they saw Naruto deep in thought over a scroll, with Obito and Young Kakashi beside him. Rin and Sakura, who shared the adjacent room, were also present.
Minato and Adult Kakashi entered, greeted them, and sat down on the tatami mats in front of the mission scroll.
Spread out on the ground lay Naruto Uzumaki's mission scroll.
After the previous SSS-rank and D-rank missions, a B-rank mission appeared prominently—
"Mission Rank: B-rank"
"Mission Details: Assist Zabuza and Haku in feigning death to evade Kirigakure's pursuit."
The format was nearly identical to the previous missions.
However, below this was a row of smaller text serving as a horizontal annotation.
Particularly the opening words—
"Mission Completion Conditions"
Having already read through these conditions, Naruto and the others sat there deep in thought.
Minato and Kakashi also read through the text line by line.
"Mission Completion Conditions."
"1. Complete the mission without informing the mission targets."
"2. Only Kakashi Hatake, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno may undertake this mission."
"3. Guide Zabuza to eliminate Katō and his mercenary ninjas."
"4. Trigger the iconic scene—The Bridge of the Land of Waves · Pure White Snow."
"End."
After reading it, Kakashi felt inexplicably baffled.
It was as if someone had seen straight through his future.
Minato turned to Obito Uchiha and asked, "Obito, is there anything new on your mission scroll?"
"I've checked it. Still the same three missions as before," Obito replied.
Minato nodded, glancing at Naruto, who sat with his eyes closed, deep in thought—looking almost like he was constipated. Strangely, Minato found it somewhat endearing.
"Any thoughts, Naruto?"
Naruto muttered, "This feels like we're acting in a movie. Could this be a prank our future selves are playing on us?"
Sakura couldn't help but roll her eyes. "I told you not to add 'us'! Only you would pull such a lame prank, Naruto."
Naruto quickly begged for mercy, afraid Sakura would expose his graffiti on the Hokage Rock of the Fourth Hokage.
"Then let's analyze the information we have," Minato said. "We've completed D-rank and A-rank missions before. The mission rewards were one million ryō, and returning to our time to save our comrades at Kannabi Bridge."
Young Kakashi pondered, "Naruto's scroll primarily targets himself, future me, Sasuke, and Sakura. Essentially, people from their era. Regardless of who completes the mission, the bounty seems to be deposited into Naruto's wallet."
"Yeah, yeah, I know!" Obito puffed out his neck stubbornly. Though reluctant, he wasn't about to covet Kakashi's mission reward. "That one million ryō reward belongs to you! I'll give it back to you in a minute, hmph!"
"Shut up, I don't want it!" The skin exposed above Young Kakashi's mask betrayed his embarrassment at recalling that mission.