A New Identity

"Ah... I remember now, you're Brother Takuya... I thought you had disappeared, I didn't expect to meet you here, this is so great..." Lin's eyes lit up, she suddenly remembered something, and said with surprise.

"What? Rin, you know...?" Minato asked doubtfully. This can't be real, can it?

"..." Issui's brains went blank. This was absurd! They were dizzy. Could it be that they actually guessed right and actually came up with an identity? No way, this can't be real! My made-up identity actually worked! God, am I incredibly lucky today? Even guessing worked??

"Of course I know him! Brother Takuya and his family used to live near my house. When I was very young, Brother Takuya often played with me. But during the Second Shinobi World War, Brother Takuya's parents both died on the battlefield. After that, I never saw Brother Takuya again. But I clearly remember that Brother Takuya had a pair of silver eyes. I don't remember anything else very clearly, but I think he must be Brother Takuya. The age is right too. Brother Takuya is two or three years older than me..." Lin said excitedly.

"Uh..." Issui couldn't help but scratch his head awkwardly. Damn it, the more he said it, the more accurate it became. Bullshit...

"Is that so? If that's the case, then things are much easier. We don't need to fight..." Minato relaxed. Although he still didn't quite believe it, based on the facts, it was highly likely that Issui's identity was true. He really was the son of Ono-kun, the Konoha Ninja who had already sacrificed himself. Let's leave it at that for now. We'll check the family records of the fallen ninja Ono Nakamura when we get back to Konoha. If Issui's identity is true, then Konoha's strength will increase significantly...

"Haha, I told you long ago, we're not enemies, and I have no hostility towards you. Let's formally introduce ourselves. I am Takuya Nakamura, fifteen years old, male, and my strength is probably at the Jonin. I am proficient in the four elemental Ninjutsu: water, fire, lightning, and earth. I also have some knowledge of Genjutsu, and my Taijutsu is average..." Issui said with a smile, relaxing his guard. It was best not to make a move.

"What?!" Minato Namikaze, Kakashi, Obito, and Rin all widened their eyes. No way! Proficient in all four elemental Ninjutsu, and also knows Genjutsu and Taijutsu? A genius?! No way...

"You heard me right, I do know all five elemental Ninjutsu. To be honest, my body was originally only born with water and lightning elemental Ninjutsu. I learned fire and earth elemental ninjutsu after I became Jonin..." Issui explained.

"Oh..." Minato nodded. That makes sense now. Before becoming Jonin, most people train using the elemental properties they are born with. After becoming Jonin, they might master one or two more elemental Ninjutsu. That explains it...

"Brother Takuya is really amazing! He already has the strength of Jonin..." Rin said admiringly.

"So what? We're both Chunin now, aren't we?" Obito said, a little jealous. Why was Rin treating this kid like that? If only it were me...

"Hmph, didn't you see that Brother Takuya and Minato-sensei fought to a standstill just now? I bet when you reach Brother Takuya's age, you'll still be a Chunin..." Rin pouted and said.

"???" Black lines appeared on Obito's forehead. "Don't be so blunt, okay? Even though I don't have the confidence to surpass him, you can't be so demoralizing! We're teammates, can you please stop siding with someone else?"

Kakashi stared intently at Issui, wondering if he could ever reach Ikki's level of skill. Maybe he could, maybe he couldn't...

"Don't say that, Lin. Maybe you'll all be stronger than me in the future. You won't become powerful without the will to grow stronger. If you have something to protect, you'll become even more powerful..." Issui smile.

"Guardian??" Lin asked, puzzled.

Kakashi and Obito were also drawn in by Issui's words. Although they weren't particularly fond of Issui, people always tend to pay more attention to those stronger than themselves, and hearing the reasons behind Issui's rise to power would be of great help to them.

"Having wandered the world for so many years, I've witnessed countless ninja ways. Each person's Ninja Way is different. I believe ninjas in this world can be divided into three types: those who live by the rules, those who live by breaking the rules, and those who live to protect what is important to them. I have no comment on the first type; they make up the vast majority of ninjas. The second type are unwilling to be bound by the rules, ignoring them and shirking responsibility to survive; they make up a small portion of ninjas. The third type live by breaking the rules to protect what is most important; they are the smallest group, but also the strongest."

"Being a ninja is a cruel profession, accompanied by killing and bloodshed every day. Slowly, no matter how strong a ninja's heart is, one day they will lose their way on the ninja's path. But when we have something important to protect, we possess incredible power. You will find that you can have power beyond anything to protect what you cherish," Issui said slowly.

"Protect? Hmm, it seems you have found the source of the greatest power..." Minato nodded. He thought Issui was absolutely right. Only when a ninja has something to protect can they truly become powerful. For example, what he wanted to protect was everyone in the entire Konoha, and his goal was to become Hokage and protect everyone.

"..." Kakashi was slightly confused. Aren't ninjas supposed to complete missions? How could breaking the rules...? Wasn't his father ostracized and ultimately committed suicide because he broke the ninja rules? Was his father's action right?

"Protect?" Lin was a little confused. What she wanted to protect was nothing more than her family and Konoha. If she wanted to protect them, she might really become stronger.

"..." Obito lowered his head. He completely agreed with what Issui said—cherishing his comrades and protecting them—but he himself had always lacked confidence...

Minato looked at his disciples and shook his head slightly. This kind of thing was still somewhat unreal to them. Perhaps one day they would understand, and then they would become truly powerful.

"Oh, right, what are you guys doing? Out on a mission?" Seeing everyone fall silent, Issui had no choice but to change the subject and try to perk everyone up.

"Here's the thing," Minato said. "The Sunagakure of the Land of Wind has deployed a large number of troops around Kikyo Castle, the gateway to Konoha, under the pretext of the Third Kazekage's disappearance. This could potentially trigger a large-scale battle, but right now it's just a small-scale skirmish. The village is shifting its forces towards Kikyo Castle Minato, and we've also received a mission to reinforce it and are heading towards Kikyo Castle. Why don't you come with us too..."

"Alright, no matter what, I'm Konoha person too. Since the village is in danger, I should do my part..." Issui said happily. He didn't expect that the Third Shinobi World War had just begun. He was really lucky to have arrived at such an important historical event as the Third Shinobi World War.

"That's great! Brother Takuya, you can come to the battlefield with us now! I know Medical Ninjutsu, so I can heal you if you're injured..." Rin cheered, raising her hands in delight.

"Really? Then I'll have to rely on you if I get injured in the future, Lin..." Issui smile. Beautiful women are so charming! It's a pity she still can't escape death someday. If she were to change history and let her live, she wondered if it would disrupt the order of time and space. What if they couldn't go back? That would be tragic. If time and space were disrupted, that would be a huge problem. Some minor historical events could be slightly altered, but the major historical events couldn't be affected in the slightest. Otherwise, why wouldn't she use her real name and instead fabricate a strange name for her origin story? It was precisely to avoid conflict and confusion with the future. If she couldn't go back to the future, she would truly be devastated...

"Welcome to the team. It's almost noon, so let's grab some food before we go..." Minato said.

"Okay, I'm hungry too..." Issui said, patting her stomach.

"Obito, Kakashi, go and hunt some game. You need to treat Takuya to a good meal..." Rin said to Obito and Kakashi.

"What the heck... why is he allowed to sit here and rest while we're stuck fighting..." Obito complained. Rin is so biased...

Kakashi nodded and left without saying a word of complaint...

"Hey, wait for me! Teamwork, don't you understand?" Obito saw Kakashi walk out and angrily chased after him. Honestly, he didn't even wait for me. How could he be so disloyal? We're teammates, after all.

After lunch, Issui followed Minato towards Kikyo Castle. They finally arrived at their destination as dusk approached. As soon as they arrived at Kikyo Castle, Minato was led away by a ninja, leaving Issui, Rin, and the other two to wait for him to return in a room.

He made up Issui and went into a private room to rest. Today's events had left his mind in a bit of a mess, and he needed to sort things out. He needed to plan how to get back, whether to go back now or stay here for a while before returning to the future world. He also needed to prepare for what he could and couldn't do.

First, Issui thought about when to go back. From the movie version of the previous life, we know that after Mukade stayed in the past for several years, Naruto and Yamato entered the past. However, when they came out, time in the future had not changed at all. This means that no matter how many years he stays in this world, when he goes back, perhaps only less than a second has passed in the future. In other words, Issui can stay in this world for a few more years to his heart's content before going back.

Then there's the question of what he can and cannot do in this past world. Similarly, we can learn about some future events from theatrical films and anime. As long as the outcome remains unchanged, it won't alter the future. You can participate in some major events in this world, but you can't change its ultimate trajectory; otherwise, things become unpredictable...