Minato: He, Without a Doubt, Is...

Looking at Naruto before him, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, and he glared at Naruto with annoyance:

"Since you know I have ulterior motives, why did you still dare to eat it? Aren't you afraid of being poisoned?"

There's no reason not to accept something that's offered to you!

Ming stuffed the last bite of the popsicle into his mouth, puffed out his cheeks, and said:

"To refuse to take something for free just because it's dangerous is the mindset of a weak person!"

True strength lies in facing all difficulties head-on; that's my way of the prostitute!

He mumbled incoherently as he casually tossed the licked-clean wooden stick behind him, then crunched the ice cube in his mouth to dust.

"Uh... that's very lifelike."

Looking at Naruto, who had clearly gone astray, he sighed wearily.

Although he had prepared himself mentally for the possibility of significant changes in Naruto before he arrived, he never expected the child to grow up to be so distorted.

"Why does this feel even worse than the original skin from the original timeline? Who gave this kid the lesson?!"

"I only took care of Naruto when he was two years old, and for less than a few months. It can't be my fault, can it?"

"Whose fault is this?!"

Just as Koko was searching for the "war criminal" in his mind, Naruto looked at Koko, who had suddenly fallen silent beside him, and a hint of concern flashed in his eyes that he himself did not realize.

"Hey! You weirdo, you just mentioned Kakashi, didn't you?"

You... you don't know him, do you...?

He tilted his head and tentatively continued to ask:

"Speaking of which, you still haven't answered the question I asked you earlier."

Have we met somewhere before? I don't know why, but you always give me a strange feeling of familiarity, even though today is the first time we've met!

Heeding Naruto's question, he instantly emerged from his thoughts.

He looked at Naruto's eyes, which shone brightly under the streetlights, and a faint smile suddenly appeared on the boy's face, which was disguised by the Transformation Technique as ordinary.

"Ah, I do know Kakashi, and I know you too."

Looking into Naruto's suddenly widened eyes, she winked playfully, as if sharing a secret only the two of them could know:

"Let me tell you something secretly. When you were very, very young, I even took care of you for a while."

"Huh?! But you look about the same age as me!!"

Naruto stared in shock at the boy in front of him who looked so much like him, and blurted out instinctively:

"But I have absolutely no recollection of you!"

Because you were very young then.

Kou casually replied, but just as he was about to say something more, he suddenly seemed to realize something and paused in surprise.

He suddenly looked at Naruto and gave Naruto a light tap on the head:

"Good lad, you almost led me astray! I was the one who asked you the question first, but how did it end up with you asking me the question?"

"This is utterly upside down!"

Seeing Naruto clutching his head in pain, I couldn't help but feel a sense of solemnity.

"Even I, who am always serious and focused, was swayed off-track. Is this what it means to be the most unpredictable ninja? It's terrifying."

"Luckily, no one else was there besides Naruto, otherwise things would have been terrible..."

Naruto rubbed his head and complained to Koko:

So what exactly do you want to ask me?

After a moment of silence, Kou held up the popsicle he had only eaten one bite of to his eyes.

It was as if he were examining the glistening frosting that was gradually melting into the warmth of his palm, or as if he were looking through that cool sweetness at a time that was already too far away from him.

That said, why did I even care about Naruto in the first place?

Is it because he's the main character?

No, having lived in this Ninja World for many years, I no longer believe in nonsense like clinging to the protagonist's coattails or lying low.

Only your own strength is truly trustworthy!

There's actually only one reason why I care about Naruto.

Because his parents, Minato and Kushina, who died in the Nine-Tails Incident, were the "comrades" he truly recognized in this Ninja World.

She was simply trying to comfort herself, feeling powerless because she hadn't done anything, by taking care of Naruto...

Thinking of this, Kou stuffed the last bite of the popsicle into his mouth, slowly chewed it, swallowed it, and placed the stick on the armrest of the bench.

(Keep it up: Learn from this, this is what civilization is all about!)

Kou looked at Naruto with those disguised but now unusually gentle eyes, and spoke slowly and easily.

"It's nothing, I just wanted to ask..."

How have you been all these years?

Naruto stared at Koko's gentle smile, a smile that, for some reason, made him feel a little bittersweet, and involuntarily froze on the bench.

For the first time ever, a faint glimmer of moisture appeared in those eyes that never seemed to care about anything...

Meanwhile, in Naruto's inner world...

Minato and Kushina witnessed everything that had just happened through Naruto's eyes.

At this moment, the tense vigilance and anxiety that had been on their faces just moments before were completely gone.

Kushina quickly processed every word she had just heard, then turned her head in disbelief to look at her husband, who was also silent beside her.

Her voice trembled slightly, a tremor she herself could hardly believe:

"Hey, Minato, you... you heard that too, didn't you!"

"He, he couldn't possibly be..."

At this moment, Minato's eyes were filled with a profound shock no less than that of his wife!

He gazed at that childlike face, so different from the one he remembered, and as if through those disguised, clear eyes, he saw the shadow and soul of that person beneath—a shadow he could never mistake...

"Ah, there can't be any mistake!"

Minato suppressed his excitement and spoke with difficulty:

"He possesses the strength to easily enter and leave Konoha, knows the surrounding terrain like the back of his hand, knows Naruto Kakashi, and even took care of Naruto for a period of time..."

"He is, without a doubt, --"

(The next chapter will reveal the true identity. Speaking of which, I'm planning to have the protagonist disguise Naruto Naruto's classmate during Konoha five-year time jump transition, and have him interact with the other Konoha 11s. What do you all think of this plot?)

Since it's not a necessary part of the plot, you can omit it if you feel it's unnecessary.