Minato Namikaze: I Don't Understand

Central Tower.

As the participating teams gathered one after another, the examination neared its end.

The Third Hokage and the Third Tsuchikage arrived on the scene.

The proctor changed from Anko Mitarashi to Hayate Gekko.

The proctor announced that due to the excessive number of participants, a preliminary round was required to determine who would advance to the final stage, and asked if anyone wished to withdraw.

Kabuto Yakushi raised his hand to withdraw as expected, but it was of no consequence.

"If no one else wishes to withdraw, then the preliminary round begins," Hayate Gekko announced. "The rules are elimination-based; the contestants will be drawn on the screen."

Everyone turned their eyes toward the screen above the arena.

First match: Kurotsuchi vs. Ino Yamanaka.

Hayate Gekko: "Except for the two contestants, everyone else, please leave the arena."

The others all moved to the second-floor balcony to watch, leaving only Kurotsuchi and Ino in the arena.

For reasons many were unaware of, the gazes Ino and Kurotsuchi exchanged carried more than a hint of personal grievance.

"Ahem~" Hayate Gekko gave a dry cough, reminding them: "Competition is secondary, friendship is primary. Now... begin."

Ino immediately raised her hands to form the hand sign for the Yamanaka Clan's secret technique, her slender fingers slightly curled, aimed at Kurotsuchi.

Kurotsuchi had obtained intelligence on the Yamanaka Clan beforehand; she started by immediately releasing Earth Style: Earth Wall in front of her to block Ino's line of sight.

A provocative arc curled the corners of Ino's lips as she parted them slightly: "It's useless. Once you appear..."

Hm?

Why was there a crack under her feet?

Ino immediately sensed something was wrong and prepared to shift her position, but the sound of something breaking through the earth erupted behind her.

She leaped forward, turning back to aim her secret technique at the figure.

But in the next second, Kurotsuchi's figure vanished.

Body Flicker Technique?!

Wasn't that a high-level ninjutsu that only Jonin would consider learning?

Kurotsuchi appeared behind Ino.

She leaned her body forward, her long legs tensed and exerting force, channeling power through her flexible waist and back into her fist, striking directly at Ino's face.

Forced into a corner, Ino had no choice but to bring her arms together to block.

Bang!

Ino instantly felt a wave of soreness in her arms as her body was knocked backward.

The disparity in strength between the two was far too obvious.

Just as Ino moved her arms away, a kunai was already pressed against her face.

Hayate Gekko immediately announced: "Match over. Winner, Kurotsuchi."

On the sidelines, Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke the usual pleasantries to Ōnoki: "As expected of your granddaughter, her taijutsu is formidable. She has already mastered the Body Flicker Technique at such a young age."

Ōnoki responded with a chuckle: "Kurotsuchi just has the advantage of age."

"Second match." Hayate Gekko glanced at the screen: "Karin Uzumaki vs. Rock Lee."

On the second floor, Jingxin reminded Karin: "Don't push yourself."

"Understood, brother Jingxin~" Karin always maintained an obedient image in front of Jingxin.

Eh?!

Uzumaki?

Not far away, Naruto's eyes lit up as he cast his gaze toward the red-haired girl.

As she passed by him, Naruto hurriedly asked: "That... do you also have the surname Uzumaki?"

Karin stopped in her tracks, looked at Naruto, and then shook her head: "No..."

Naruto pointed at the screen with curiosity: "But there."

"I mean you don't." Karin glanced at his head of blonde hair and deduced: "If you were an Uzumaki, there would only be two possibilities."

"First: Your parents gave you that surname at random."

"Second: One of your parents is an Uzumaki."

Parents?!

Naruto grew excited, even stepping directly in front of Karin: "But I... I have never seen them! What else do you know?"

Karin frowned slightly: "I have a match to fight, don't block the way."

The situation here attracted the attention of quite a few people.

Hearing Naruto's question and Karin's analysis, the Konoha jonin felt a jolt in their hearts, and even Hiruzen Sarutobi had a foreboding sense of unease.

Naruto had not yet grown into his own; if his identity were exposed...

"Naruto!" Kakashi said sternly. "Don't cause trouble."

"I'm not causing trouble!" Naruto's emotions were clearly becoming agitated. "Why do you all act like you're hiding something from me?"

"It was the same with Jingxin before! And it's the same now!"

Jingxin?

To Karin, that was a name capable of piquing her interest.

Thus, Karin began to analyze the situation in detail for Naruto: "Hmm~ considering your appearance..."

"First, if you have a massive amount of chakra, then it is certain that you possess a portion of the Uzumaki Clan's bloodline."

"Second, your Uzumaki bloodline is recessive, which is why you don't have red hair."

"From that, we can deduce that one of your parents had red hair, and the other had golden hair."

"Since you have never seen them, it means they are no longer around. It is highly likely they sacrificed themselves during some mission; after all, that is the fate of most ninja."

Karin activated her Mind's Eye of the Kagura to observe Naruto closely, raising a hand to pinch her chin. "Hmm~ let me see. You have a mass of evil chakra inside you; that must be the so-called Nine-Tails."

"Judging by the strength of the sealing jutsu used to contain it, about twelve years have passed."

"From that, we can conclude that you became a Jinchuriki twelve years ago."

As she said this, the Konoha ninja present who knew the inside story felt their hearts tighten.

But Karin's analysis was not yet over.

"Given that there are two other masses of chakra inside you that do not belong to your own body—one of which is similar to the Uzumaki Clan and shares a certain degree of resemblance to you—judging by the unique aura of the chakra based on genetic analysis, it should come from an elder of your Uzumaki lineage."

"The other mass of chakra is extremely gentle yet very powerful, possessing the Wind nature, and also comes from an elder. That would mean this elder had golden hair."

"And it fits that one was from the Uzumaki Clan with red hair."

"The other was Wind-natured, had golden hair, and was gentle yet powerful."

"And they just happened to be a couple who sacrificed themselves twelve years ago..."

Naruto's heart leaped into his throat.

The expressions of the Konoha ninja were extremely grave.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's aura shifted as well.

Karin keenly sensed this change and immediately added, "However~ I don't know much about Konoha's history, so you'll need to judge that for yourself."

With things laid out this clearly, what was left to judge?

Among the Konoha ninja present, only Naruto looked completely bewildered.

He shouldn't have zoned out during Iruka's history lessons.

Ōnoki glanced at the grim-faced Hiruzen. "It seems I also underestimated her analytical ability."

This was indeed not part of the plan and could very well provoke hostility from Konoha.

But Ōnoki was not the least bit panicked.

If Hiruzen Sarutobi dared to flip the table, he would have to die here today.

It wasn't that Ōnoki was confident he could suppress Hiruzen Sarutobi, but rather...

Ōnoki's gaze fell upon Jingxin.

Jingxin watched this scene silently, making no move to intervene; what happened to Konoha no longer concerned him.

If this matter were exposed, Konoha would be in a difficult spot.

Because it would require a massive expenditure of manpower and resources to protect Naruto.

The one who should be getting a headache was Hiruzen Sarutobi.

As for why Naruto needed to be protected?

The reason was simple.

Question: Why is there a scarcity of talent in the four great ninja villages of your generation?

Minato Namikaze: I don't understand.