Naruto's words made Sasori glance at Mingye. Mingye spread his hands and shook his head. "He isn't my biological son. Even I couldn't possibly have told him that much!"
"Who are you?!"
Mingye had always been someone Naruto could not identify. Even though he had seen Mingye's true face, Naruto suddenly realized he could no longer remember what Mingye looked like. He had never seen that butterfly-patterned mask in the Akatsuki of the future either. Who exactly was this person, and how could he have appeared here? And Mukade, the person he had come looking for, had yet to appear.
There were many things Naruto did not understand. So when he finally stopped fighting to think them through, he found his mind filled with a completely different tangle of thoughts.
"Kid! What's your name?!"
Mingye looked down at Naruto and knowingly asked the question. Naruto glanced at the people of Rōran, clenched his teeth, and answered in a low voice, "My name is Naruto! Naruto Uzumaki!"
"I have no more questions."
Mingye gradually relaxed inside. He looked at Sasori and shook his head. Sasori had no idea what Mingye was up to, and since he could not figure it out, he stopped thinking about it and looked at Naruto.
"You're the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, aren't you?"
Naruto nodded. Sasori frowned deeply and asked again, "What is your relationship with Kushina Uzumaki?!"
"Kushina Uzumaki?! Who's that?!"
Naruto answered quickly, his face full of confusion. Sasori looked at Mingye again, but Mingye still shook his head. The other boy did not know who Kushina Uzumaki was, yet he was the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki. That was highly abnormal. And Mingye, the man who had done the most to drive Konoha forward, was still playing dumb.
"..."
Wanting to test Mingye's true reaction, Sasori had already