Minato-sensei had clearly noticed the contradiction in Naruto's words, too.
He furrowed his brow slightly, his expression growing serious.
After asking a number of careful questions, Minato-sensei finally pieced together what Naruto had described.
He pondered for a moment, then slowly spoke, his tone tinged with gravity:
"Naruto, based on your description of Konoha, I have a... guess that might sound a little far-fetched."
Naruto scratched his head and looked at Minato-sensei in confusion:
"What guess?"
Minato-sensei took a deep breath and looked Naruto straight in the eye.
"You may not be from our era. You... are a Konoha Ninja from the future."
"The future?!"
Naruto's eyes widened, disbelief written all over his face.
He could only stare blankly and repeat:
"I... came from the future?"
Minato-sensei nodded.
"Though it sounds incredible, based on what you've told us, it's the most reasonable explanation. The 'Ruined Remains' you mentioned, 'Captain Yamato,' and your description of Konoha all differ from how things are now. The only possibility is that you came from some point in the future."
Naruto stood there in a daze, clearly unable to process the news just yet.
He looked down at his hands, then up at the surroundings, and muttered to himself:
"I... came from the future? How is that possible... Then how do I get back?"
Minato-sensei shook his head, a hint of helplessness in his voice.
"We don't have an answer to that yet. But since you've come here, perhaps it was fate. We can work together to find a way to send you back to the future."
Kakashi sounded unusually interested:
"If he really is a ninja from the future, doesn't that mean we could learn all sorts of things in advance? Like how the Shinobi World develops, or how fate unfolds..."
Minato-sensei immediately raised