Upon hearing Minato Namikaze's question,
Naruto answered without hesitation, "Yeah! My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm a ninja from Konoha Village."
Then, he subconsciously scratched his head.
Minato Namikaze did not answer immediately, instead falling into confusion, because he was absolutely certain of one thing.
The young man before him gave him an inexplicable sense of attraction, one that told him this young man was not lying.
Yet he was certain that, due to the special nature of this mission, he was the highest commander.
He had not been informed that anyone else would be involved.
At that moment, Naruto suddenly added, "Oh, right. We were sent on this mission under the orders of the Fifth Hokage."
Minato Namikaze said nothing, because what Naruto had said struck him as absurd and bizarre.
Not only was the Third Hokage still in office, but even if something unexpected had happened, the Fourth Hokage should have succeeded him. How had it jumped straight to the Fifth?
Keeping his expression calm, Minato Namikaze continued, "Then who is your Fourth Hokage?"
Naruto immediately replied, "The Fourth Hokage is Minato Namikaze. He was a truly great ninja, but unfortunately..."
As he spoke, his tone grew somewhat subdued. Then he added, "Still, Granny Tsunade, our current Fifth Hokage, is pretty good too."
Though Minato Namikaze showed no reaction, he was utterly shocked inside.
What was going on? He was confused. By all rights, he should not have believed what Naruto was saying.
After all, he had no idea when he had become the Fourth Hokage, and as for the Fifth, she had long since left Konoha. How could she have become Hokage?
Yet by his judgment, this strange fellow before him did not seem to be lying.
Then there was a problem.
He decided to change