Minato chuckled and coughed twice.
He paused before speaking:
"You've earned my recognition with your strength. Why not tell me your names?"
"Heh, Sasuke, see that? Even the Hokage admits I'm strong."
"Don't push your luck."
"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and he's Sasuke Uchiha. Hokage, remember our names! We're destined to shake the Shinobi World in the future!"
Naruto held his head high.
Minato played along, as though humoring a child. "I see. I'll remember. Oh, right, Naruto, how has life been in the Land of Grass?"
"Isn't it obvious? The Land of Grass is my home. Uncle Sakumo treats me really well, Kakashi treats me like a little brother, and Captain Nagato looks after me too. Hehe, nobody blames me or points fingers at me for being a Jinchūriki."
Naruto was no longer naive and innocent.
Through the Land of Grass's systematic education, he had learned what a Jinchūriki was and knew that he was one himself.
That had helped him understand why Konoha's villagers had hated him so much before.
It was because Konoha's villagers hated the Nine-Tails inside him! But the Nine-Tails was pitiful too, always trapped inside someone else's body.
The night breeze swept across the clearing, lifting the few strands of blond hair hanging in front of Minato's Konoha Forehead Protector.
He listened quietly and attentively to everything Naruto said, his eyes reddening slightly. Fortunately, it was hardly noticeable in the darkness. "I see. That's good. That's good."
Sasuke stood beside Naruto, the lightning in his hand gradually fading as his gaze moved between Minato and Naruto in confusion.
He looked at Minato's expression, then at Naruto's oblivious profile.
Seeming to sense something, he kept his mouth shut.
He remembered his mother once telling him that Naruto had also come from Konoha, and that