Minato Namikaze, who had still been hesitating, was dragged out into the open by Jiraiya just like that.
Seeing this, Minato gathered his thoughts and was about to say something. But the moment he looked up and saw Naruto, he froze. Whatever he had thought of, Minato immediately abandoned the official-sounding words he had just prepared.
Though they would soon part again, Minato stepped forward. All his longing, emotion, and guilt ultimately condensed into a single sentence: "Naruto, you've grown up."
"You know me?" Naruto asked in confusion. Looking at the man before him, he suddenly felt an inexplicably familiar sensation welling up inside him.
Only when Minato Namikaze removed his hood and gave Naruto a gentle smile did it become clear. That smile, much like Naruto's own, was like a warm little sun.
"?!"
The instant Naruto saw Minato Namikaze's face, his pupils abruptly widened. After all the twists and turns, the familiar feeling in his heart had finally found the person it belonged to.
Amid his shock, Naruto's expression immediately became difficult to control. There was surprise, joy, and a dreamlike sense of unreality. A wave of sourness surged uncontrollably to the tip of his nose. But something was wrong. Clearly, clearly... Wait—those cracks on his face...
Seeing that Naruto still could not figure it out, the Nine-Tails half-opened its eyes and said flatly from inside the cage, "Stop thinking about it. This is Impure World Reincarnation. You've seen it before, when the Third Hokage died. And yes, he really is your father."
The Nine-Tails had not intended to involve itself in a scene like this, nor did it want to say anything. After all, in a sense, Minato Namikaze had been killed by it. But with Minato's appearance, the Nine-Tails also sensed the fluctuations of its other