Minato Namikaze wanted to take Kawaki away, but he quickly realized that the boy's wariness was extreme. So extreme that, aside from the "Seventh Hokage" he kept talking about, he didn't trust anyone at all.
With no other choice, before continuing the Chūnin Exams, Naruto had to step in and calm down someone he had never even met before.
"Anyway, I'm still just a genin right now, not the Seventh Hokage you're talking about," Naruto said, scratching his messy blond hair, his tone painfully awkward. "We're in the middle of the Chūnin Exams, and it'll probably take another four or five days. You can follow my— I mean, you can follow the ANBU guy to Kakashi-sensei's place and wait there for now, dattebayo."
Kawaki glanced at the blond ANBU agent whom Naruto clearly trusted.
Minato said, "Before that, I need to take you to see the Hokage-sama to make a formal record."
Kawaki nodded in agreement.
Standing where she was, Sakura couldn't help but sigh. "He's… surprisingly obedient."
Sasuke didn't say anything. He watched the back of the dead-last in their team, finding it hard to imagine that guy really achieving his dream and becoming Hokage someday.
And Kakashi too. How could that guy possibly become the Sixth Hokage?
A man who slacked off all day, disappeared whenever he felt like it, and was constantly late. How could someone like that take on such a troublesome position as Hokage?
Still, the Third Hokage was due to step down sooner or later. If there truly was no one else suitable, handing the title to someone as strong as Kakashi might actually be possible…
But after the Fourth Hokage, who would the Fifth be?
While Sasuke was still unable to figure it out, Kawaki had already followed Minato Namikaze to the Hokage Tower.
At that moment, the Third Kazekage and his advisory group had just finished receiving two Kazekage guests. One of them, a Kazekage from the future, still hadn't revealed the identity of the most important person he kept mentioning, the Seventh Hokage.
The curiosity gnawed at the old men relentlessly. They had no idea that over at the second stage of the Chūnin Exams, there were probably very few people left who didn't already know that Naruto was the Seventh Hokage.
To avoid being recognized by the advisors, Minato entered the meeting room using the Transformation Technique, taking on someone else's appearance. He kept only his blond hair as a marker and altered his voice as well.
When he saw the Fifth Kazekage, he clearly froze for a moment.
The power of space-time ninjutsu, combined with the sight of the familiar Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, standing beside him, immediately confirmed Minato's suspicion that this man was also from the future.
That "love" character on his forehead…
Was that the boy named Gaara?!!
Minato couldn't help but take a few extra looks. Not long ago, he had seen Gaara in the exam arena, his eyes cold and empty. Seeing him like this now filled Minato with genuine relief. As for why Gaara had appeared in this era, that was something he would have to investigate more deeply later.
While Minato was observing Gaara, Gaara was also paying attention to him and to Kawaki at his side.
After the two Kazekage left together, the Third dismissed the two advisors and asked Minato who the person beside him was.
Minato briefly explained how Kawaki had appeared and requested permission for him to stay at the Hatake family residence so he could be closely monitored.
Considering that the old house might soon become too crowded, the Third arranged for a familiar face to help construct a "Konoha Special Guest House" nearby. Naturally, that person was the only Wood Release user in present-day Konoha…
ANBU Tenzō.
"Temporarily revoke his ANBU status. Rename him Yamato and have him assist you with management."
"Yes."
Minato had no objections to the Third Hokage's arrangement.
Kawaki cared even less.
His only request was, "I want to stay with the Seventh Hokage-sama."
"Hm?" The Third Hokage paused, his hand holding the pipe freezing for a moment.
Minato spoke frankly. "According to him, Naruto will become Konoha's Seventh Hokage. And that information has already leaked unintentionally. It's likely spread throughout the exam grounds by now."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's pipe jolted, nearly slipping from his hand.
His mind filled with images of Naruto's childhood pranks and antics...
But when he imagined that noisy figure inheriting the Will of Fire, standing alongside the silhouettes of past Hokage in the future, his aged face broke into a grin like a blooming chrysanthemum.
To be called the 'most important person' by both this boy and the Fifth Kazekage…
It seemed Naruto's future was truly beyond measure.
He wrote up a special authorization document and handed it to Minato, formally introducing Minato's true identity to Tenzō, who would now go by the name "Yamato."
Never expecting to meet a living Minato Namikaze, Yamato was flustered beyond words. He bent at the waist in a full ninety-degree bow, repeatedly assuring him that he would complete the mission to the best of his ability.
Minato said, "Besides me, some of my students, as well as a few Missing-nin currently under our supervision, are staying at Kakashi's old family home. I hope you're mentally prepared and won't be too shocked."
"My… Minato-sama's students? Could it be…?" Yamato was stunned.
"Young Kakashi is there as well. I hear he was your senior back when you were in ANBU. You might be curious to see what he looked like as a child," Minato said with a smile. "Aside from that, Obito and Rin are there too."
"!!!" Yamato was genuinely startled. "No wonder Kakashi-senpai has been going to the Memorial Stone less often lately!"
So Obito-senpai is actually alive!!
"Then Obito-senpai's name on the Memorial Stone…"
"Due to certain special missions, Obito erased it himself."
Yamato fell silent. Kawaki, however, had already lost his patience.
"Hey! Are we going or not?!"
Minato calmly placated him, picked up the special approval document, said his goodbyes to the Third Hokage, and left with the two of them.
...
On the other side, the Fifth Kazekage had just arrived at the guesthouse when he couldn't wait to use the Sand Eye to observe the Chūnin Exams.
By pure coincidence, Gaara at the second exam site had already obtained two scrolls and was also using the Sand Eye to spy on Konoha's Team 7.
Two Sand Eyes met...
Polite response: What a coincidence.
Genin Gaara withdrew his vision, assuming the other Sand Eye belonged to his father, checking whether he might lose control of Shukaku and go on a rampage.
Kazekage Gaara calmly kept his Sand Eye active, but a faint sense of unease rose in his heart.
He remembered that when he was young, after obtaining two scrolls, he had gone straight to the tower. He shouldn't have been interested in watching other teams' progress at all.
Unaware that long before this, a large number of people from parallel timelines had already arrived, Kazekage Gaara frowned slightly, then continued observing Naruto's group.
Perhaps it was because Sasuke had summoned Manda, combined with people fixating on Naruto's future identity as the Seventh Hokage, as well as Kawaki's terrifying strength and his declaration that "a world without the Seventh Hokage-sama is worse than death to me"...
In short, the direct result of the earlier chaos was this:
Other teams holding scrolls didn't just avoid provoking them. They practically went out of their way to detour around the three of them entirely!!
As a result, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura not only slept peacefully through the dangerous first night of the second exam, but spent the entire next day wandering around without encountering a single target.
At times like this, hotheaded types like Naruto and Sasuke were bound to start blaming each other.
And the argument only grew more intense, no matter how hard Sakura tried to stop them...
"Fine! If you're so capable, then let's split up!!"
"That's exactly what I wanted! You dead last!!"
"Let's see who finds the other scroll first, dattebayo!!"
"You think I'd lose to you?!!"
"Hmph!" / "Hmph!!"
The two of them pressed their faces close, glaring at each other without giving an inch. In the end, they actually dared to break up the team in a place filled with danger like this, splitting into three and acting separately?!
High above, the Sand Eye of the Fifth Kazekage watched as the three members of Konoha's Team 7 headed off in three different directions.
From the aerial view, Sakura's path led toward a grassy clearing; Naruto headed for the river; and Sasuke chose a direction that plunged straight into the dense forest...
His vision continued to follow Naruto. Watching him curse under his breath as he walked farther away, then "coincidentally" run into Kabuto Yakushi by the riverbank, the Fifth Kazekage frowned slightly.
That man who always appeared humble and submissive actually harbored an enormous emptiness inside, no different from theirs.
It wasn't until the Fourth Shinobi World War broke out, when the Edo Tensei army pushed the Allied Shinobi Forces to the brink of despair, that people truly came to know the name Kabuto Yakushi and understand just how far gone this man's mind had become.
"Kabuto-senpai?!" Naruto greeted him first when he saw him.
Kabuto seemed to notice Naruto only after a delay. He asked why Naruto wasn't with his teammates, then put on the act of a reliable senior and warned him seriously.
"Your current situation is very special. You need to be extra careful. It would be best for you to return to Sasuke and Sakura right away."
"Special situation?"
Kabuto sighed. "That man who suddenly appeared, Kawaki, claimed that you're the future Seventh Hokage. That puts your safety at great risk. This Chūnin Exam isn't limited to Konoha ninja. There are participants from other villages too. Setting everything else aside, just killing the future Seventh Hokage would be enough for them to brag about for a lifetime."
His words glossed over the key point. Naruto wasn't exactly scared, but he was still left a bit stunned.
"But I'm not the Seventh Hokage right now. I'm not even a Chūnin," Naruto said. He was genuinely conflicted. Being suddenly told, "Your future dream has already come true. You'll become the Seventh Hokage," left him unsure whether he should keep working hard, or even how he should work hard anymore.
Deep down, he knew that only through hard work could he become Hokage, yet the feeling was still oddly hard to put into words.
It was like a small street vendor scraping by on meager earnings, suddenly being told he'd become a billionaire in the future. His mindset shifted, and everything started to feel distant and unreal.
Kabuto Yakushi took the opportunity to continue comforting Naruto, suggesting that he signal his teammates to come find him.
Thinking about how he and Sasuke had gone their separate ways, each determined to outdo the other, Naruto refused to let himself look weak.
"By the way, Kabuto-senpai, have you finished your mission?"
"Just finished not long ago," Kabuto said, pointing toward someone hidden in the grass, already unconscious. "We were a bit luckier than you. We ran into some rookies from another village."
Those words completely lowered Naruto's guard.
So when Kabuto later asked what kind of scroll they had, Naruto didn't even think about it before answering that they were holding the Heaven Scroll.
"So that means you still need to find an Earth Scroll, right?" Kabuto smiled like a friendly big brother. "There's still plenty of time. No need to rush into the tower. Let's help you look for it first."
"Really?!!" Naruto was overjoyed.
Watching Naruto's happy expression after their conversation, Kazekage Gaara immediately knew it. He'd been tricked, or rather, he was about to be used.
Of course, Gaara had no intention of interfering. He simply continued observing the interaction between Naruto and Kabuto.
Before long, Kabuto's companion led a group of Amegakure ninja, who didn't look particularly strong, to the riverbank.
"We can't help you anymore, Naruto-kun," Kabuto Yakushi said. "Based on my experience, if we interfere and help another team directly, it could cost you your qualification. So from here on out, it's up to you."
Naruto cracked his knuckles eagerly. "Kabuto-senpai, you guys just watch from the side!"
Areas with water gave natural terrain advantages to ninja from Kirigakure and Amegakure.
Combining Shadow Clones with taijutsu, and with his shuriken skills greatly improved under Minato's guidance, Naruto fought with ease.
Especially since he had already gone through something similar in a parallel world, Naruto had long been taught by his dad how to use terrain to attack enemies and avoid incoming strikes.
Naruto's combat talent was outstanding. With dozens of Shadow Clones learning and fighting together in this cheat-like setup, dealing with three Amegakure ninja was almost effortless.
But completely focused on the fight, Naruto never realized that his ninja tool pouch had been sliced open by Kabuto Yakushi's chakra blade...
And the most important "mission scroll" had already fallen into someone else's hands!!