Fifth Hokage, Do You Dare Use It?

Lin Zi's pupils constricted, and his fingers, tucked inside his pockets, tightened involuntarily.

He looked at Minato's face, which was nearly identical to his own, and at the deep-seated pain and obsession lingering in those azure eyes, suddenly realizing that this question had been stifled in Minato's heart for far too long.

"I take it you want to talk about Uchiha Obito, right?"

Lin Zi licked his lips, his voice tinged with a probing tone.

"Yes."

Minato took half a step forward, his golden bangs swaying gently in the breeze.

The expression on his face was one Lin Zi had never seen before—a mixture of agony, disbelief, and a sliver of hatred that could no longer be contained.

He spoke in a near-pleading tone, his voice dropping to a whisper.

"I have to know the truth. Please... Naruto."

The chirping of insects and the sound of the wind vanished, and the world truly became a night of absolute silence.

Lin Zi froze for two seconds before suddenly bursting into laughter.

"That's Uchiha Obito for you, just a high school girl with a crush on her senior, hahahahaha."

He patted Minato on the shoulder, the force neither too heavy nor too light; though his words sounded nonsensical, Minato could hear a clumsy attempt at comfort beneath them.

"Well, if you want the straight answer, it's the Uchiha Obito you're thinking of—your student, Uchiha Obito. I don't think there's anyone else in Konoha with that name, right?"

Minato went completely rigid, as if someone had doused him with a bucket of ice water.

"How... how is that possible?"

He retreated half a step, his back pressing against a pillar of the corridor.

The agony of Kannabi Bridge, the despair of Kushina having the beast ripped from her womb on the night of the Nine-Tails, and the absurdity of learning the truth now—it all churned together, turning his mind into a chaotic mess.

"So, why?"

Minato's voice was strained, as if squeezed through his teeth.

"Why would Obito do such a thing? Why didn't he return to Konoha back then?"

Lin Zi tilted his head, arms crossed, leaning against the nearby railing.

"Wow, Minato, you're too soft. If it were me, I would've stormed his little rat hole the first chance I got and beaten him half to death before asking anything."

Minato gave a bitter smile and shook his head.

Then he looked up at the lonely moon in the sky, his voice light and trailing with a sense of loneliness.

"That wouldn't solve anything, Naruto. Pain and hatred only continue to be passed on, growing more and more, heavier and heavier... until they eventually crush everyone."

Lin Zi watched his profile, stunned for a moment, then shrugged.

"Is that so? But if you're asking why he didn't return to Konoha, I'm not entirely sure. I only know that the guy seems to have been operating with the goal of collecting the tailed beasts."

"So... you?" Minato whipped his head around, staring at Lin Zi with wide eyes.

"Yep."

Lin Zi pushed himself off the railing, shoved his hands back into his pockets, and spoke in a flat tone.

"I offered myself as payment in exchange for their assistance. Your fine student is the one pulling the strings behind an organization of Kage-level powerhouses called the Akatsuki."

He paused, looking toward the distant Hokage Rock, a complex smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Back then, Obito told me the truth about my heritage."

"He told me I was the son of the Fourth Hokage. He told me the Nine-Tails incident wasn't a natural disaster, but a man-made one. He told me that the people in the village... those who watched me grow up while treating me like a monster, all knew who I was, and all knew who my parents were."

He laughed as he said this, his shoulders shaking, but there was no joy in the sound.

"I was absolutely furious back then, Minato. Furious enough to want to flip all of Konoha upside down, furious enough to want to burn that Hokage Rock to the ground, furious enough to... want to personally destroy the village that tossed me aside like trash."

Lin Zi pulled his hands from his pockets and gestured in the air, as if recreating a scene.

"And then came the classic moment. Obito and I stood on the Hokage Rock, shouting at the entire village that we would completely annihilate the Konoha that devoured my parents. Unfortunately, we were stopped in the end."

He finished, turned around to face Minato again, and wore that lazy smile once more.

"Well? After hearing all that, do you regret treating me to dinner?"

Minato didn't answer immediately.

He stared at Lin Zi for a long time before finally reaching out, placing his palm on top of Lin Zi's head, and ruffling his hair gently, his voice raspy.

"I see... you've had it hard, too."

Lin Zi tilted his head away from the touch, still putting up a front.

"Of course. I've had it hard for a long time, so, is there anything else?"

Lin Zi leaned back against the railing, tilting his head to press the issue.

"I can tell you have more than just this one thing you want to ask me."

Minato was taken aback, then let out a self-deprecating laugh and raised a hand to rub the back of his neck.

"You can't hide anything from your eyes, Naruto. You child... you're just too sharp."

His emotions had slowly calmed down with the passage of time, like boiling water finally cooling to room temperature. Facing the fact that Naruto could see right through him, he felt a bit embarrassed, yet also somewhat comforted.

Lin Zi didn't respond. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wrinkled orange, likely swiped from the kitchen during dinner.

He peeled it nonchalantly, the fresh scent of orange zest spreading into the night breeze, and handed half to the other man. "Here, let's talk while we eat."

Minato was stunned for a moment, but he took the half-orange, lowered his head, popped a segment into his mouth, and spoke vaguely.

"That Orochimaru you asked about before... is he doing alright?"

"Oh? You mean Snake Uncle?"

Lin Zi waved his hand dismissively, tossed a segment into his own mouth, and puffed out his cheeks.

"He's doing fine, I suppose, just still recovering from his injuries. But isn't that just how Orochimaru is? Mysterious, tough as nails, and incredibly hard to kill. The one I asked for... he's arguably the best-tempered among all those Snake Uncles."

"Is that so?"

Minato chewed the orange, the sweet and sour juice bursting on his tongue. A look of guilt first appeared on his face, followed by a trace of loneliness.

"Then that really must have... been difficult for you."

Lin Zi glanced at him, swallowed the orange in a few bites, and brushed the juice off his hands.

"Looks like you have more to say? Don't hold it in; I'll just treat it as entertainment."

Minato was silent for two seconds, the orange peel deforming between his fingers. He looked up, his azure eyes filled with a cautious glimmer of hope.

"Naruto, I want you to ask your Snake Uncle... if he could come back and help us, that would be wonderful."

"How come?" Lin Zi raised an eyebrow. "It shouldn't be time for the Ninja War yet, right? Did the Cloud Village's sneak attack happen early?"

"Oh? You even know about that?" Minato felt a bit surprised, popping the last segment into his mouth.

"I shouldn't have known, technically."

Lin Zi shrugged, looking perfectly calm.

"That's what they were shouting when we raided the Cloud Village, something about Konoha breaking the rules and launching a sneak attack; I couldn't really argue with that. I just went and looked up the records later."

"It seems that no matter which world it is, war is pretty much the same."

Minato sighed, his gaze landing on the streets being rebuilt in the distance.

"But Snake Uncle won't be able to make it anytime soon."

Lin Zi waved his hand, his tone casual.

"He was indeed hurt quite badly last time; his soul took a bite, so he probably won't recover for at least a year or two."

A flash of regret crossed Minato's eyes, but he quickly suppressed the emotion and forced a smile.

"Don't take it to heart, Naruto. We should be fine on our own."

Unexpectedly, Lin Zi stared at him, the corners of his mouth slowly curling into a cunning smile.

"I have another candidate in mind, it just depends on whether you're brave enough to use them."

Minato was taken aback and instinctively pressed for an answer.

"Hm? Who is it?"

Lin Zi tossed the orange peel into the trash can, clapped his hands, and said, word for word.

"The Fifth Hokage."

The night breeze suddenly died down. The half-orange peel Minato had been holding fell to the ground, rolled twice, and came to a stop in the moonlight.