Father and Son Reunited

Amidst the ruins of battle.

Namikaze Minato brought the blond youth to a secluded spot, personally treating the wound on his left leg and securing it with medical bandages before nodding. "That should be fine now."

The blond youth gave Namikaze Minato a grateful look before asking, "By the way, who exactly are you people? Since you're also Konoha ninjas, I don't recall ever seeing you before."

"Sorry, I cannot answer that question," Namikaze Minato replied gently.

"Eh?"

The blond youth looked slightly disappointed at this, so he changed the subject: "Then where is this place?"

"Rōran, kid. This is Rōran."

Uchiha Aoba, arms crossed and leaning against a wall, spoke in an unfriendly tone. "You were chased around the city by a few puppets, and you don't even know where you are?"

"The key is that you're wearing a Konoha headband, yet in my memory, the village doesn't have a ninja like you."

"So, your previous question should actually be one we ask you."

"Who are you?"

"What's your name?"

Although he said this, Uchiha Aoba knew exactly who the blond youth was.

That head of golden hair and those azure eyes were molded exactly after Namikaze Minato.

Coupled with the six signature whisker marks on his cheeks.

Aside from Naruto Uzumaki, there wasn't a second person in the entire ninja world who looked like this.

However, knowing was one thing; Uchiha Aoba certainly couldn't blurt out the name, as Namikaze Minato and Choza Akimichi were present, and he couldn't provide a reasonable explanation.

"What are you looking at me for?"

At this moment, seeing Naruto Uzumaki staring at him in a daze instead of answering his question, the brows beneath Uchiha Aoba's mask furrowed.

"Kid, playing dumb won't get you anywhere, and you don't have a choice but to answer now."

"My Sharingan will make you tell the truth."

"Sharingan..."

Upon hearing this, Naruto Uzumaki's expression became even more vacant; he looked like a complete fool.

"Aoba! Release the genjutsu!"

Seeing this, Namikaze Minato shouted sternly, assuming Uchiha Aoba had actually used the Sharingan to control the youth.

"Ah, this... I haven't even done anything yet."

Uchiha Aoba was caught between laughter and tears, spreading his hands innocently. "Captain, I was just trying to scare him."

Namikaze Minato sensed the area and confirmed that the youth was indeed not under the influence of a genjutsu. Realizing he had misunderstood Uchiha Aoba, he immediately offered an apologetic apology.

Uchiha Aoba waved it off, indicating it wasn't necessary, and walked over to Naruto Uzumaki, crouching down to check his condition.

Just then.

Naruto Uzumaki seemed to have his CPU rebooted, his internal system finishing its restart.

He snapped awake, pointing excitedly at Uchiha Aoba and shouting, "I remember now! I know! You're... you're Aoba-sensei!"

???

!!!

Uchiha Aoba, Namikaze Minato, and Choza Akimichi all shuddered upon hearing this.

After exchanging glances, their pupils were filled with shock and suspicion.

Namikaze Minato was about to ask when the youth continued, "Before I came on this mission, Aoba-sensei told me that I might encounter some incredible things, like traveling through time and space."

"I originally thought Aoba-sensei was just teasing me, but combined with what you told me about this being Rōran, it seems it's actually true. I've returned to the past."

Naruto Uzumaki began to recount what had happened to him.

From receiving the mission in the Hokage's office, to tracking the Sunagakure missing-nin Mukade to the Land of Wind with Yamato, Sakura, and Sasuke, to discovering that Mukade had torn open the seal his old man had placed on the Dragon Vein, and finally being sucked in by a purple energy—only to wake up here.

"Minato, it seems this kid is your son from the future," Choza Akimichi said, his tone laced with amusement and teasing.

"Is that so? Ha... ha..."

Namikaze Minato gave an awkward laugh and reached up to remove his mask.

Naruto Uzumaki's pupils constricted at the sight, his expression becoming even more agitated. "Old man, it really is you! When you saved me earlier, I felt something was off, but I couldn't put my finger on what was wrong."

Namikaze Minato scratched his head.

He hadn't expected to see his future son during this mission, which left him feeling completely at a loss.

For a moment, he didn't know what to say.

However, that didn't stop Naruto Uzumaki from talking incessantly.

After a long while, Namikaze Minato finally found an opportunity to ask, "In the future, is your mother Kushina?"

"Of course, who else could it be?"

Naruto Uzumaki did not know why his father from the past would ask such a question.

"That's good."

Namikaze Minato breathed a sigh of relief, then proceeded to ask about a few other matters.

Had he noticed?

Uchiha Aoba stood to the side without a word, watching the interaction between the father and son while keeping an eye on the Tailed Beast seal on Naruto Uzumaki's abdomen. In his heart, he already had a rough guess about the future.

It was very clear that, perhaps because of his own influence, the future had diverged significantly from the plot in his memories.

First, the primary point.

The Nine-Tails Incident must have still occurred.

However, this time, Namikaze Minato and Kushina Uzumaki had not sacrificed themselves in the battle.

If Uchiha Aoba's plan had not gone awry, his template fusion rate should have reached over fifty percent by that time, and he would have definitely awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan.

Dealing with the Nine-Tails would no longer be a difficult task for him.

Second, the secondary point.

The Uchiha Clan was safe and sound.

This deduction could be made from Naruto Uzumaki's earlier account.

He had said that he was on a mission to track the missing-nin Mukade, and his squad members included Yamato, Sakura, and Sasuke.

Sasuke, not Sai.

If the Uchiha Clan had still been wiped out, then according to the original plot line, Sasuke should have already defected by this time. Yet, since he was still in the squad, it proved that the Uchiha Clan had definitely not been annihilated by that "filial son."

Interesting.

Uchiha Aoba thought to himself.

It seemed he had done quite a few interesting things in the future.

By this time, the conversation between Namikaze Minato and Naruto Uzumaki had come to an end; after all, they still had a mission to carry out, and as a ninja, one could not forget their primary objective.

"Will you be joining us for the next part of the mission?"

Namikaze Minato invited him.

"No."

Naruto Uzumaki shook his head and refused: "I need to act on my own, and besides, I still need to go find Sasuke and the others."

"Alright, then take care of yourself."

Namikaze Minato said as he patted Naruto on the shoulder, leaving behind a Flying Thunder God mark, and handed him a signal flare, saying: "If you encounter an emergency, pull this, and I will arrive immediately."

"Don't worry, Dad!"

Naruto Uzumaki gave a thumbs up, then looked at Uchiha Aoba and said: "Aoba-sensei, the future you asked me to pass on a message: no matter what you want to do, just follow your own path."

"I understand."

Uchiha Aoba's pupils flickered, and a smile curled at the corners of his mouth.