Master of Dolls! The Hidden Identities of Minato Namikaze and Naruto Uzumaki (Third Update)

"That was only your father's public identity. In truth, just like you, your father was like a nesting doll, with layer upon layer of hidden identities!"

Daren Yi's expression turned grave as he revealed a secret history buried beneath the dust of time.

"Why was it that, in the decades since Konohagakure was founded, no one had been able to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique, yet Minato Namikaze mastered it so easily at such a young age?

"Because he was actually a direct descendant of the Senju Clan, with the bloodline of Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage and creator of the Flying Thunder God, flowing through his veins.

"His identity as a civilian was merely a cover, meant to conceal the identities of his real parents! That was a forbidden love...

"Let's start with his mother. Minato Namikaze's most striking feature was his golden hair. He was tolerant and gentle by nature, serious and focused in battle, but somewhat shy around those close to him, with a bit of an airheaded side.

"These traits were inherited respectively from his equally blond mother, Tsunade of the Three Sannin, and Tsunade's grandfather, Hashirama Senju.

"If you know anything about the First Hokage Hashirama Senju's personality, you'll realize that a large part of your personality, Naruto, is exactly the same as Hashirama Senju's!

"And your own Chakra reserves, Naruto, are just like Hashirama Senju's—so vast they could drive other shinobi to despair. Chakra reserves that abundant were exceedingly rare throughout all of Ninja World History.

"Naruto, you can have the Nine-Tails carefully sense certain aspects of your Chakra. Aren't they very, very similar to Hashirama Senju's?

"Then there was Minato Namikaze's father. As everyone knew, Jiraiya had taken Minato Namikaze as his disciple early on, and their relationship was as close as father and son.

"Jiraiya's most famous traits were his white hair and Sage Mode. His white hair came from the legacy of his father, Tobirama Senju, while his talent for sage techniques came from the Senju Clan.

"His son, Minato Namikaze, inherited his grandfather Tobirama Senju's talent for the Flying Thunder God Technique and ninjutsu development. Not only did he effortlessly master the Flying Thunder God that no one else could learn no matter how hard they tried,

"he further developed the Flying Thunder God and created the A-rank ninjutsu without hand seals, the Rasengan.

"Minato Namikaze also inherited the Second Hokage's calm and wise nature. His talent for scheming was extraordinary.

"Even Fugaku Uchiha, the wisest clan head in Uchiha Clan history, who had laid out a world-shaking scheme, once sighed,

'With Fugaku already born, why must there also be Minato?'

"Such talent for scheming was also passed down to the current Ninja World's Strongest Schemer, the Crimson Cunning Fox, Naruto Uzumaki!

"Naruto, you may also have inherited part of Tobirama Senju's talent for ninjutsu development. In the future, you can try developing more advanced, more powerful ninjutsu based on the Rasengan. You might be pleasantly surprised by your own research talent!

"Many people knew that Jiraiya and Tsunade of the Three Sannin had grown up together as fellow disciples and teammates, and more than once, feelings had blossomed between them.

"By all rights, they should have gotten together long ago.

"Then why? What stood in the way of their relationship?

"There was only one reason!

"Because they were actually close relatives! Their tightly intertwined bloodline was the greatest obstacle between them!

"Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage, established the Ninja Academy system to promote the rise of Civilian Ninja. He worked hard to make members of ninja clans forget their families and fully integrate into the village. Under his leadership, the Senju Clan gradually faded away from the Shinobi World.

"No one could know what he had been feeling when he allowed his own child, Jiraiya, to appear in Konohagakure as an orphan!

"When Hiruzen Sarutobi first became Hokage, he was responsible for caring for Jiraiya, who was publicly an orphan but secretly the Second Hokage's son—carefree in personality, yet with hidden talent.

"And when Hiruzen Sarutobi reached the end of his time as Hokage, he was likewise responsible for caring for Naruto Uzumaki, who was publicly an orphan but secretly the Fourth Hokage's son—carefree in personality, yet blessed with exceptional talent!

"Was that a coincidence? Or perhaps it was fate!

"And Minato Namikaze, as a child unexpectedly born from such close blood relatives, absolutely could not reveal his true identity. Perhaps even he himself did not know who he truly was.

"As his father, no matter how much Jiraiya loved his son Minato Namikaze, he could not appear before him as his father.

"No matter how much it hurt, he could only laugh and joke around, addressing his own child as master and disciple...

"Mito Uzumaki, the first Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and Hashirama Senju's wife, should have known Minato Namikaze's true identity.

"The old lady likely pitied that poor child deeply. It was also with the full support of Konohagakure's old ancestor, Mito Uzumaki,

"that no one in Konohagakure dared to oppose or obstruct the romance between Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki, the designated next Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

"They even openly and secretly kept helping their relationship grow warmer, creating opportunities for them time and time again.

"When Mito Uzumaki saw Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki together,

"she was likely reminded fondly of her own days with Hashirama Senju, wasn't she?"

Everyone was stunned senseless by the sudden "truth." The Konoha 11 nearly all remained frozen in the same posture, mouths hanging open and eyes practically popping out of their sockets.

The world they could see really had only been the tip of the iceberg!

Every person who seemed to have risen from nothing might actually possess hidden identities they knew nothing about?

Uchiha, Senju Clan! So this was the tangled web hidden beneath the surface by a Millennial Noble House.

The real world truly was countless times more exciting and complicated than they had imagined!

Many people could not help glancing at Sasuke. Could this Uchiha boy also have layer upon layer of hidden identities, like Naruto?

"So... so Jiraiya of the Three Sannin was actually my grandfather!"

Naruto's head hurt from the complicated hidden identities surrounding his father.

Even now, he had not fully recovered from the shock. He could only blankly sort out his grandfather's true identity.

More than that—Jiraiya was also your father's teacher, and he might become your teacher in the future. When that happened, what would you call him?

And how would Jiraiya react?

Daren Yi greatly anticipated that future scene. With a solemn expression, he told Naruto:

"Your father's true identity was something Jiraiya had always desperately tried to avoid. He would never personally admit to that forbidden love, nor the result it had produced.

"He would only endure the pain, swallow his tears deep in his heart, and then tell you with a smile that he and his disciple Minato Namikaze were as close as father and son!

"Minato Namikaze was his proudest disciple. Compared to Minato, no one else seemed good enough!

"Minato was a genius seen only once in several decades. A genius like that would probably be difficult to find again...

"If he were my child, I would surely be very proud of him...

"These were all Jiraiya's own words, spoken to others before!"

"Is that so? Then Father was actually as happy as I am."

The image of his father, Minato Namikaze, bidding farewell to him as an infant before his death surfaced in Naruto's mind once more.

Naruto smiled warmly and peacefully. Perhaps this love passed down through the generations was the strength that allowed him to always face everything with a smile.

In his heart, he silently promised his father Minato Namikaze in the Pure Land and his absent grandfather Jiraiya: Father, Grandfather, I understand this inheritance of love!