With Jiraiya's return, and other parallel-world Minato also staying in the village,the Third Hokage did not go to the Forest of Death. Instead, he personally received the Kazekage who had traveled from afar in the reception hall of the Hokage Tower, together with the two advisors, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado.
"More than ten years have passed since the Third Shinobi World War," Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a smile. "If we hadn't been fortunate enough to form an alliance with the Land of Wind back then, the war between Konoha and the Iwa ninja would likely have dragged on even longer. Whether we could have truly escaped the cycle of war would still be an open question."
The Fourth Kazekage shook his head.
"In the end, it was nothing more than a contest of interests."
Back then, the alliance between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire had been forged because, during that war, the Land of Wind had the weakest financial and material resources among the five great ninja nations. As Kazekage, he had to keep the balance of power between them.
Once Iwa and Konoha decided a clear winner, the balance among the five great nations would inevitably collapse. The unification of the ninja world would only be a matter of time.
When that happened, it was easy to imagine how the Land of Wind, lacking both wealth and resources, would be pushed to the margins.
So it wasn't that Sunagakure wanted to ally with Konoha. It was that he had no choice but to do so.
Koharu Utatane watched the young man who was quietly drinking tea. He looked to be in his early twenties. Gaara's new hairstyle made him appear even younger. He bore some resemblance to the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, but was far more handsome and striking.
For the moment, neither of them realized that two generations of Kazekage had come together on this visit.
"May I ask who this gentleman is…?"
If he were merely a guard, his presence was far too imposing.
Homura Mitokado noticed that the young man had a conical hat symbolizing the Kazekage placed beside him. Then he looked again at the still youthful Fourth Kazekage…
Wasn't this abdication a little too early?
The Third Hokage had personally approved the admission permits for this Chūnin Exams. No matter how he looked at it, the young man Koharu had mentioned seemed strangely familiar, especially the "Love" mark on his forehead.
"It's been many years, Third Hokage," Gaara said as he set down his teacup. "From my perspective, it's been twenty years."
Twenty years?!
Hiruzen Sarutobi thought about it. He was sixty-nine this year. Twenty years ago, he would have been forty-nine. If they had met back then, the other party should have been no more than a child under ten, right?
"If I may be so bold, you—"
Before he could finish, Gaara already knew what he wanted to ask.
"Twenty years ago, I took part in Konoha's Chūnin Exams for the first time," Gaara said, showing a rare, gentle smile. "During that exam, I met the most important person in my life…"
"?!"
"…the Seventh Hokage."
"!!!!!"
The Third Hokage, the two advisors, and even the Konoha ANBU guarding Gate 100 were all stunned.
Th-this had to be a joke?!
The Seventh… Hokage…?!
...
At this moment, they had no idea that back in Konoha during the Chūnin Exams, everyone else wore equally stunned expressions, their lips repeating the same words over and over—
The Seventh Hokage...?!!!
Make no mistake—it wasn't the Seventh Hokage himself who had arrived. Rather, it was the ninja world's number one Naruto fanboy, just like the Fifth Hokage! The Seventh Hokage's disciple—Kawaki!
Because Sasuke summoned Manda, causing Orochimaru's top battle pet—one he couldn't even control—to turn against him, Naruto's C-rank mission was completed without incident. After calming the three summoned beasts, Orochimaru departed.
Just as Naruto noticed another C-rank mission stamped with—
[Mission Status: Completed.]
—a figure suddenly materialized with a "Boom" near them?!
It was a youth roughly the same age as Haku, sporting half-black, half-gold dyed hair styled fashionably. A piercing adorned the tail end of his right eyebrow bone, while a small tattoo graced the corner beneath his left eye. The youth exuded rugged handsomeness and a keen sense of style, clad in a sleeveless trench coat and tailored pants that elongated his legs, his belt slung loosely over his hips.
Just moments ago, he'd thought he'd fallen into a trap set by remnants of the Ōtsutsuki clan, hurled to another location by their Yomotsu Hirasaka Technique. Kawaki scanned his surroundings. This was a gloomy forest, and he didn't recognize anyone nearby. Like any Konoha ninja, Kawaki immediately assumed a defensive and offensive stance.
He sneered, "I don't care if you're remnants of the Uchiha or whatever. A world without the Seventh Hokage-sama is worse than death to me. So if we're all going down, I'll drag you all to hell with me!"
"..."
"...."
"The Seventh Hokage?!!"
As shock spread across their faces, Naruto had already leaped in front of this suddenly appearing young man.
"Hey! Are you stupid?! The current Hokage is only the Fourth!!"
Sakura and Sasuke followed suit. Watching the stranger stare intently at Naruto, Sakura quickly pulled him back.
"Sorry, sorry! He's a bit of a hothead!" She turned to scold Naruto.
"Idiot Naruto!" Don't go picking fights with people who look like they're trouble, you hear me?!"
Sasuke and the suddenly appeared youth didn't quite match in aura. Though they only locked eyes briefly before quickly looking away, it felt like static electricity crackling between them. Watching the black-and-gold-haired youth leap over Sakura and Sasuke, his gaze fixed directly on Naruto.
That look... seemed a bit too peculiar.
Little did they know, Kawaki felt Naruto bore a resemblance to Boruto, yet he sensed something utterly inexplicable emanating from Naruto. That feeling... was as if he were his Seventh Hokage-sama!
Minato sensed the space-time chakra emanating from the youth and stepped slightly to block him in front of Naruto.
"This is Konoha. The current Hokage is the Third. The Fifth and Sixth haven't taken office yet. The Seventh you speak of is likely..."
"You lied to me."
"Why would you say that?" Minato froze, taken aback. He hadn't lied.
The black-and-gold-haired youth pointed at the silver-haired ninja beside Minato, his face mostly concealed by a mask. Others followed his gaze toward the ninja.....
--Kakashi Hatake.
The black-and-gold-haired youth had seen this man's photo in the Seventh Hokage's office!
"Isn't the Sixth Hokage right here?"
"Huh?!" Kakashi's eyes widened dramatically as he pointed at his own nose.
"Me?!"
He looked around frantically, seeing no one beside Minato-sensei.
"No... I... um..."
He couldn't deny it!
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, three young genin, stared wide-eyed:
"Kakashi-sensei?!!"
Naruto grabbed the suddenly appearing boy in surprise and blurted out,
"You mean Kakashi-sensei is gonna be the Sixth Hokage, dattebayo?!!"
"Dattebayo, right...?"
"That's just my catchphrase, don't mind it. Anyway, I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Who are you, buddy?"
" ! ! ! ! ! "
The black-and-gold-haired youth's eyes widened even further. Same name, same catchphrase... Could it be...
No! This must be...
--The past!!!
He stared at the blond-haired boy before him, the face bearing the same fox whiskers.
Without warning, amidst everyone's stunned gazes, he stretched out his arms and embraced the Naruto Uzumaki he'd been talking to.
?!!
Naruto was suddenly grabbed by this inexplicable guy, and his entire being was about to explode!
"Hey! Who the hell are you?!! Let go! Hey!!!"
"I'm Kawaki, from the future. The Seventh Hokage-sama."
"...."
"...."
Everyone else froze where they stood.
Sasuke and Sakura's eyes went wide, round as saucers.
"Sorry, I think I must've misheard."
Naruto had always talked about becoming Hokage and loved being in the spotlight, but he wasn't completely clueless about his own limits.
Not long ago, after traveling back to the era of the Third Shinobi World War and witnessing his father, before becoming Hokage, instantly wipe out more than fifty elite Iwa jonin, Naruto had already realized just how vast the gap was between himself, his dad, and the seat of Hokage.
It was like a chasm, a bottomless abyss he couldn't even see the end of.
Of course, that didn't mean he was discouraged, nor had he given up on his dream of becoming Hokage.
If anything, it made him cling to that dream even harder, giving him clearer direction and stronger motivation.
But…
When someone actually told him, "You are the future Seventh Hokage"…
Sasuke was stunned. Sakura was stunned.
Shikamaru was stunned. Neji was stunned. Gaara was stunned.
Minato Namikaze, Kakashi Hatake, and the surrounding Konoha ninja were all stunned.
But the most shocked of all was Naruto himself!!!
Even the sheer social death of the title "Sixth Hokage" landing on Kakashi couldn't compare to this…
What did that guy who called himself Kawaki just say?!!
Shikamaru: That idiot Naruto…
Sasuke: That dead-last loser…
Sakura: Stupid Naruto…
Hinata: Naruto-kun…
The Seventh Hokage?!!!!
"You've gotta be joking…" a Konoha genin taking part in the exam muttered.
Someone beside him immediately echoed the doubt. "That freak becoming Hokage? No way. Who the hell are you, anyway? Where'd you crawl out from?!!"
The instant the word "freak" left his mouth, several pairs of eyes turned ice-cold.
First was Gaara of the Desert, who had been called a monster ever since he was a child.
Second was Kawaki. He had been labeled a demon from the day he was born, and the Seventh Hokage-sama was his one and only salvation.
Third was Minato Namikaze, the man who had personally turned his own son into the so-called "monster" in that person's mouth.
Beyond them, Kakashi, Sasuke, Shikamaru, and the others also wore dark expressions.
They just wouldn't react as explosively as Gaara or Kawaki.
With a soft pop, the cork on Gaara's sand gourd shot free and fell to the ground.
Blood-scented quicksand began to spread around him, scaring his older siblings, Kankurō and Temari, so badly that they didn't dare make a sound.
If Gaara still had some measure of self-control, then Kawaki, who worshipped the Seventh Hokage-sama as his sole salvation, who could say things like, "A world without the Seventh Hokage is worse than death to me"…
Self-control? Ha.
The very moment that man insulted his Seventh Hokage-sama as a monster, someone who could never become Hokage, Kawaki's right arm morphed into a massive, grotesque claw. His eyes, devoid of emotion, locked onto the offender as he swung that claw straight at him!!!
"Aaaahh----!!"
The genin didn't have time to dodge. He was so frightened that he dropped straight to the ground, letting out a shrill scream as if facing death.
But only a few seconds later, he opened his eyes to find several jōnin and ANBU already blocking the attack in front of him!!!
Kakashi was among them...
Even after saving him, Kakashi still turned back and shot the genin a look full of contempt.
"You don't even have this much ability? You're worse than my subordinates. An enemy attacks and you're so scared you collapse on the ground and wet yourself? Why don't you go back to the Ninja Academy and study for a few more years?"
The words weren't particularly damaging, but the humiliation was brutal.
With so many genin participating in the exam and other Konoha ninja present, Kakashi's words immediately drew everyone's attention to the genin who had been scared into wetting his pants...
It completely destroyed whatever courage he had left to continue the exam.
No one else dared say another unnecessary word, afraid that next time, even the jōnin instructors wouldn't be able to save them from that terrifying guy in time.
Fortunately, Kawaki didn't pursue it further. He reverted the terrifying claw back into a human hand, tucked it casually into his pocket, and stood there with a coolness that nearly rivaled Sasuke.
Anko Mitarashi, having witnessed Kawaki's bizarre method of attack, asked him about his relationship with Orochimaru.
Kawaki said, "Orochimaru? I don't know him."
He truly didn't know Orochimaru. He was a vessel cultivated by Isshiki Ōtsutsuki, and within his world, the only person he cared about was the Seventh Hokage-sama, who had yet to grow into adulthood.
Most of the people present still hadn't recovered from the shock. In just a few dozen minutes, their entire worldview felt like it had been shattered.
First came the enormous snake, the talking toad, and the slug.
Then the jōnin and ANBU mobilized together to arrest a so-called "woman" who was said to no longer be a genin, but one of the legendary Sannin.
And now this man named Kawaki, shrouded in mystery, not only claimed that Kakashi Hatake was the Sixth Hokage, but also said that Naruto Uzumaki was the Seventh Hokage?!
And what was that bizarre attack of his supposed to be?! He was practically a monster himself. His hand transformed into a monstrous claw in an instant!!
Minato arranged for Kakashi and the other ANBU to continue maintaining order at the exam, while he personally stepped in to calm the young man named Kawaki.
"The Chūnin Exams are currently being held here. I apologize for bringing you into this parallel world, but due to the special nature of your abilities, background, and the information you possess, I need to supervise you personally."
Kawaki believed he had been sent to the past by that special Yomotsu Hirasaka. Looking at the Seventh Hokage-sama, who appeared even younger than himself, he instinctively replied to the blond man wearing a mask in front of him.
"No. Being able to see the Seventh Hokage-sama as a child is my good fortune."
He still remembered what that monster fox had once told him...
That the Seventh Hokage-sama's childhood had been even more tragic than his own. That was why he couldn't stand it, why he reached out to help him, and why he treated him with such gentleness.
So if he truly had the chance to come to the past...
A thought suddenly formed in Kawaki's mind, somewhere between repaying a debt and being unable to bear watching the Seventh Hokage suffer as a child!!
The thought itself was arrogant, but if it were possible, he wanted the Seventh Hokage's childhood to be filled with happiness too.
Completely unaware that the young man speaking with him wanted Naruto's happiness even more than he did, Kawaki's mind was now entirely occupied by the idea of seeing the Seventh Hokage as a child.
...
At this point, the two biggest Naruto devotees in the entire ninja world had arrived at the exact same thought.
Upon hearing that Naruto and his counterpart from this era were undergoing the second stage of the Chūnin Exams in the Forest of Death, the Fifth Kazekage, who was sipping tea in the Hokage Tower, curved his lips into a faint smile.
That single smile shocked the Fourth Kazekage beside him!!
Thank goodness...
Thank goodness the Fourth Hokage died early!!!!
Otherwise, how was he supposed to explain this?
My son seems to have some very unusual feelings toward your son?!!