Kitazawa remembered very clearly: in the original story, when Naruto and the others were dragged into the Dragon Vein and appeared in Rōran, they were all scattered, not together.
To be safe, he immediately sent out chakra threads and bound his three students to himself.
"The situation inside is going to be a mess. Don't get too far away from me," Kitazawa reminded them, then led Uzumaki Naruto, Aburame Shino, and Hyuga Hinata into the hall where the Dragon Vein's seal was located.
Seeing this, Hatake Kakashi did the same, linking Uchiha Sasuke, Kaguya Kimimaro, and Hyuga Neji together with chakra.
Up to this point, he still didn't understand what Kitazawa was really after.
If the goal was just to defeat Mukade, there was no need to drag the kids into such a dangerous situation.
The two of them, as the squad leaders, could just go in, draw Mukade out, and fight him themselves.
But Kitazawa was his superior, so all Kakashi could do was trust him.
Kakashi and the others followed closely behind and stepped into the hall.
"Is that a Flying Thunder God kunai?"
Kakashi noticed the Dragon Vein seal in the center of the hall and couldn't help but widen his eyes.
As the Dragon Vein seal crumbled away, what was revealed inside was a kunai.
It looked almost the same as a regular kunai in shape, but there were formulas engraved on it and four words: "Sword of Shinobi's Love."
Kakashi recognized it in an instant as his teacher Namikaze Minato's Flying Thunder God kunai.
What exactly happened back then? Why has he forgotten everything? He doesn't even remember this kunai at all.
Right at that moment, the purple chakra waves washed over the Flying Thunder God kunai.
Kakashi instinctively reached out, wanting to grab the kunai back.
The kunai suddenly trembled and, with it as the center, space itself was torn open. Everyone was swallowed by the purple chakra.
Kitazawa glanced around. He couldn't see Naruto and the others—there was only that thick purple chakra all around.
But his chakra threads were still intact.
Kitazawa immediately poured in more chakra.
After maintaining it for a few seconds, he felt his body shake violently and then come to a sudden stop.
His feet landed on solid ground. The dense purple chakra vanished completely, replaced by an endless desert.
Kitazawa steadied himself—then felt his thigh being hugged tightly.
He looked down and saw Hinata clinging to him.
Her face was slightly pale; clearly she'd been frightened.
Which was understandable. During that whole crossing, they had no idea where they were headed and couldn't see anyone else nearby.
At her age, of course she'd be anxious and on edge.
So the moment she saw him, she just ran over and grabbed onto him on reflex.
The reason Kitazawa was so calm was because he'd seen the original plot. He knew there was no real danger during the crossing itself.
"What's going on? How did we end up here?"
Naruto got up, brushed the sand off his clothes, and looked around in all directions.
He was bold, so he didn't react like Hinata. He was more curious than scared.
"We were in that hall just now, and in the blink of an eye we're in a desert," Shino pushed up his glasses and analyzed. "We were probably sent out here by that purple chakra."
"Sasuke! What about Kakashi-sensei and the others?"
Naruto suddenly realized something and quickly asked.
"With Kakashi there, they'll be fine," Kitazawa said.
"So what do we do now? Go look for them?" Naruto relaxed at that and asked again.
"Shino, scout the area," Kitazawa ordered.
Shino nodded, raised both hands, and released a swarm of kikaichū insects.
"Hinatа."
Kitazawa patted her head. "You okay?"
"I–I'm fine…" Hinata snapped back to herself and quickly let go of him.
She stepped back half a pace, face flushed, and lowered her head.
"As long as you're okay." Kitazawa chuckled.
"Kitazawa-sensei," Shino suddenly spoke up. "I couldn't find Kakashi-sensei and the others, but there's a huge steel city ahead of us."
"Huh? A steel city? In the middle of a desert?" Naruto asked, baffled.
"I don't know why either," Shino shook his head.
"Let's go take a look. Kakashi and the rest might be in that steel city," Kitazawa said.
He'd already guessed that this so-called steel city was the Rōran of the past.
Which meant they'd successfully time-traveled.
Led by Shino's bugs, the group walked for about ten minutes and arrived at their destination.
"This is awesome!" Naruto couldn't help but exclaim.
Shino and Hinata also nodded unconsciously.
Towering metallic buildings rose up all around them, gleaming with a metallic sheen. Compared to Konoha, this place was a completely different world.
Just then, heavy footsteps echoed toward them.
A group of puppets, like walking clay statues, surrounded them.
Without saying a word, they raised their arms.
Purple chakra blasted out of their palms and turned into a storm of senbon.
Naruto and the others had already been on guard the moment the puppets appeared.
When they saw them attack, they reacted quickly and moved to defend.
"Wind Style: Gale Palm!"
Naruto clapped his hands together.
A gust of wind surged out and blew against the rain of senbon.
"Secret Technique: Insect Wall!"
Shino swung both arms, sending kikaichū surging out to form a thick insect wall in front of him.
"Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
Hinata stepped in front of Kitazawa, her hands blurring as she struck.
Every incoming senbon that reached her was slapped aside.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Once Naruto had blown away the senbon, he shouted. In the blink of an eye, hundreds of shadow clones charged at the puppets.
With the pressure on them suddenly reduced, Shino and Hinata could breathe easier.
"Since they're puppets, someone must be controlling them," Shino said, scanning their surroundings.
"They do have chakra strings," Hinata frowned, "but… those strings are running underground."
"The puppeteer is underground?" Shino asked on reflex.
"There's no one underground," Hinata explained. "The strings go beyond the range of my Byakugan."
"I've never heard of a puppeteer like this," Shino said gravely.
Normally, a puppeteer controlled just a few puppets at once.
But the one they were facing now was completely different—controlling dozens of puppets remotely via chakra strings. Just thinking about it felt… un-ninja-like and completely outside their common sense.
"Rasengan!"
Naruto leaped forward, slamming a Rasengan into the puppet in front of him.
Boom!
The spinning chakra tore through the puppet's body like a drill.
A second later, the puppet split apart from the middle, broken clay scattering everywhere.
"Another batch of puppets coming in from the distance!" Hinata quickly warned.
"Bee Bomb Technique!"
Shino released a swarm of chakra-laced bees.
The bees slammed into the oncoming puppets and exploded on contact like living explosive tags.
Suddenly, six kunai came whistling in, landing around Kitazawa and the others.
"Who's there?" Shino's heart lurched.
He hadn't seen where those six kunai came from at all.
"Are you ninja from Konoha?"
A blond young man wearing a mask appeared out of thin air and asked.
But his gaze stayed fixed on Naruto.
Because Naruto had just used the Rasengan.
The Rasengan was a jutsu he'd only just created—right now, only he and his teacher Jiraiya could use it.
So why could this eight- or nine-year-old kid do it?
There was no doubt: this man was Namikaze Minato.
He'd been on assignment in Rōran for some time now. Not long ago, he sensed a fierce battle here and rushed over.
And what he saw was Naruto using the Rasengan he himself had invented.
"We're from Konoha," Shino said, noticing Konoha forehead protector on Minato. "Are you a Konoha ninja too?"
"Yeah," Minato nodded. "This isn't a good place to talk. I'll take you somewhere safe first."
Shino didn't answer. He just looked to Kitazawa.
Minato's sudden appearance was more than a little suspicious.
Even with Konoha forehead protector, Shino didn't trust him right away.
"There's no end to these puppets. If we keep fighting them, we'll just be wasting time," Minato added quickly.
He could tell at a glance that Kitazawa was the one in charge.
In truth, he had plenty of questions himself.
Not just because Naruto used the Rasengan, but because he'd never seen Kitazawa or Hinata before.
Not knowing Kitazawa he could excuse—there were plenty of ninja in Konoha.
But Naruto, Hinata, and Shino being complete strangers was strange.
They were young and strong; by all rights, they should be top-tier geniuses in the village.
"Then we'll trouble you to get us out of here," Kitazawa said with a smile.
Minato pulled himself together and immediately used the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Kitazawa felt his vision blur—and then he was in a different place.
This should be inside one of the buildings in Rōran.
Through the window, he could see the steel city outside.
"Whoa! Old man, you're amazing!" Naruto's eyes went wide. "How'd you do that? We just suddenly ended up here!"
"You know about space–time ninjutsu, right?" Minato asked with a smile.
He felt a strange sense of warmth toward Naruto for some reason.
"I do!" Naruto said excitedly. "Flying Thunder God Technique!"
"Correct. That's the Flying Thunder God Technique," Minato admitted.
Even though Kitazawa's group was strange, aside from Konoha, no other village would have Rasengan, kikaichū, and the Byakugan all together.
"Huh?" Naruto froze.
He remembered the Third Hokage telling him there had only ever been two people in Konoha's history who could use the Flying Thunder God: his dad, Namikaze Minato, and the jutsu's creator, the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama.
Shino and Hinata were equally confused.
Minato was the Fourth Hokage.
Kitazawa had told them his legendary deeds back in the academy, and the Flying Thunder God was especially famous.
So why had some random Konoha ninja suddenly shown up using Flying Thunder God?
Listening to their conversation, Kitazawa couldn't help but smile to himself.
This was… honestly pretty fun.
"What's your name?" Minato couldn't hold back and asked.
He was most interested in Naruto.
After all, Naruto could use the Rasengan.
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto answered immediately.
"...?"
Minato froze on the spot.
"Uzumaki" was a name he knew very well—his girlfriend was Uzumaki Kushina.
"Naruto" was also very familiar to him; it was the name of the protagonist in Jiraiya's novel, The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi.
He'd even planned to name his future son "Naruto."
Uzumaki Naruto. Blonde hair. He can use Rasengan. Could this really be my son?
But he and Kushina weren't even married yet, much less parents.
"What about you, old man?" Naruto asked curiously. "My dad can use the Flying Thunder God too. Were you his teammate?"
That was the only explanation he could think of.
"Who's your dad?" Minato asked, stunned.
"The Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato!" Naruto said proudly.
"???"
Minato completely glitched out.
I became the Fourth Hokage?
No, wait, that's not the main point.
The main point is I suddenly have a son this big?
Minato instinctively pressed a hand to his forehead.
He thought hard and came to a ridiculous conclusion.
If Naruto wasn't lying, then he had to be from the future.
Thinking that, Minato gradually calmed down.
If they were future shinobi, they shouldn't mingle too closely with people from the past.
In the original story, Minato had made the same choice.
From start to finish, he never asked Naruto anything, never formally acknowledged him. In the end, they even sealed away each other's memories and returned to their own timelines.
"How old are you now?" Minato rested a hand on Naruto's shoulder and asked.
"Nine," Naruto answered.
He didn't notice the subtle shift in Minato's tone or gaze.
"For you to have learned the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu and Rasengan at your age… your talent is incredible," Minato said, very satisfied.
His future son was this gifted—what else could he possibly ask for?
"It's all because Kitazawa-sensei is such a good teacher," Naruto grinned.
"Kitazawa?" Minato repeated, thrown for a moment by the familiar name.
"You don't know Kitazawa-sensei?" Naruto asked, puzzled.
In his mind, Kitazawa was famous—everyone in Konoha knew him.
Not just Konoha, either. Whenever Kitazawa reported his name on missions outside the village, it always made people go pale.
Of course, saying "Sarutobi Hiruzen" had pretty much the same effect.
Minato frowned.
Suddenly, something clicked. He remembered where he'd seen Kitazawa before.
It had been on the day Ichiraku Ramen opened, right when he'd received the Rōran mission.
Ichiraku was doing a half-price promo, so he swung by for a bowl before going to see Hiruzen.
There were a ton of customers. He'd seen Kakashi, Might Guy, Shizune, Asuma, and the others lined up.
Kakashi had eagerly volunteered to join the mission. Considering his strength and his early reputation as a genius, Minato had agreed.
Queued up with Kakashi and Guy had been a boy named Kitazawa—very handsome, but with average talent and no real reputation.
Minato had only given him a casual greeting in passing.
After finishing his ramen, he'd gone with Kakashi and Guy to meet Hiruzen, then brought Aburame Shibi and Akimichi Chōza with him to Rōran.
Minato instinctively looked over at Kitazawa.
He never would have guessed he'd misjudged him so badly.
For Kitazawa to be able to teach Naruto both Multiple Shadow Clone and Rasengan, his strength clearly wasn't simple.
Had he been a late bloomer? Or had he been hiding his true ability all along?
"Nice to meet you. I'm Kitazawa," Kitazawa said, reaching out with a smile. "Thanks for your help."
They had met a few times before, but they'd spoken fewer than three sentences in total.
Back then, he'd been completely ordinary—he hadn't awakened his "system" yet.
"I should be the one saying thanks," Minato shook his head and took his hand.
"Old man, you still haven't told us your name," Naruto suddenly remembered.
"I…" Minato stopped.
He hesitated for a moment, then looked over at Kitazawa.
"Could I borrow you for a moment?" Minato raised his hand slightly.
"Sure," Kitazawa said. He more or less knew what Minato wanted to do. "Naruto, you guys rest for a bit."
With that, he and Minato walked over to a corner of the room.
"What I'm about to tell you—don't freak out," Minato said solemnly.
Kitazawa blinked.
Why did that line sound so familiar?
"I'm Namikaze Minato," Minato said, taking off his mask.
"You… You're the Fourth Hokage?" Kitazawa asked, pretending to be shocked.
"I know it sounds unbelievable, but you've really traveled to the past. This is our timeline," Minato said, putting his mask back on. "Can you tell me exactly what happened?"
Kitazawa nodded and went over the whole time-travel process.
Of course, he skipped the part where he deliberately set Mukade up.
"So it was because of the Dragon Vein…" Minato sighed when he finished. "I never expected the Dragon Vein to have that kind of power."
"It might also have something to do with the Flying Thunder God kunai you left behind," Kitazawa guessed.
"Could be." Minato grew thoughtful.
The Flying Thunder God was a space–time jutsu.
But up to now, it had only ever manifested as spatial teleportation.
With the Dragon Vein's power added to it, it had apparently triggered time travel instead.
"Let's set that aside for now," Minato drew a deep breath and asked, a little tense, "Naruto really is my son?"
"Yeah," Kitazawa nodded. "He's the son you have with Kushina-senpai."
"I knew it…" Minato confirmed it and felt a strange mix of emotions.
He wasn't even married yet—and he already had a son.
Even with his strong mentality, it was a lot to take in all at once.
"We were dragged here because of Mukade and the Dragon Vein," Kitazawa continued. "If we defeat Mukade and then use the Dragon Vein's power again, we should be able to return to our original timeline."
There was another version of him in this time already. If he stayed, it would only wreck the future.
Besides, his original timeline was already almost a perfect life.
He was only here to complete a system quest. In the end, he had to go back.
"Sounds right," Minato nodded. He agreed, but then his face clouded over again.
"We investigated Rōran before coming. There was no one named Mukade," Minato said.
"What's your mission?" Kitazawa asked, pretending he didn't know.
"To protect the Queen of Rōran and investigate the minister Anrokuzan," Minato explained. "He's using the Dragon Vein's power to build a puppet army and start a war that'll engulf the entire ninja world."
"In that case, Anrokuzan knows the Dragon Vein very well," Kitazawa said. "Mukade also understands the Dragon Vein. Could they actually be the same person?"
"The same person?" Minato was taken aback. "But Anrokuzan came to Rōran six years ago, and Mukade traveled here with you."
"Traveling together doesn't mean you land on the same timeline," Kitazawa shook his head. "Mukade showing up six years earlier is completely possible."
Minato fell silent, deep in thought.
This Rōran mission had twisted and turned in ways he'd never imagined. Every step kept blowing past his expectations.
Out of all the missions he'd done, this was by far the strangest—even time travel was in the mix.
"If that's the case, then our mission is the same," Minato said, quickly making up his mind. "We can work together and take down Anrokuzan."
"That's exactly what I was thinking," Kitazawa smiled. "It's an honor to work with the Fourth Hokage."
"I'm not Hokage yet. You don't have to call me that," Minato said—and then suddenly realized something.
Kitazawa had said "Fourth Hokage" specifically, not just "Hokage."
Which meant that in Kitazawa's timeline, the Hokage wasn't him. Otherwise, there'd be no need to add the "Fourth."
Had he retired early? Or died?
Minato almost blurted out the question.
He really wanted to ask, but after a moment, his expression settled.
If you change the future, there are two possibilities: it gets better, or it gets worse.
If it gets worse, it's not worth it.
"What about the other two kids?" Minato changed the subject.
"Hinata is Hyuga Hiashi's daughter, and Shino is Shibi-senpai's son," Kitazawa replied.
"So he's Shibi's kid. No wonder there's a bit of a resemblance," Minato laughed. "I'll have to tell Shibi later—see how he reacts."
"Shibi-senpai came with you too?" Kitazawa asked at just the right moment.
"Yeah," Minato said. "Him, Chōza, and Kakashi."
"Well, that's convenient. I came with Kakashi too," Kitazawa smiled.
"Kakashi's here? Where is he?" Minato asked, curious.
He wanted to see what Kakashi looked like as an adult.
"We came as two teams on the same mission," Kitazawa said, briefly outlining Kakashi's squad and the kids.
"Then our goal today should be to regroup with them," Minato decided.
"Do you plan to tell Naruto the truth?" Kitazawa nodded, then asked.
"No need," Minato replied. "We're from different timelines. Getting too tangled up isn't good."
"We can seal everyone's memories after the mission's over," Kitazawa suggested. "That way there won't be any impact."
From his point of view, only Minato and the others really needed their memories sealed.
People from the past could change the future—but people from the future couldn't change the past.
The former hadn't happened yet; the latter already had.
"That makes sense," Minato nodded.
"Since we're sealing everything anyway, there's no harm in letting Naruto know," Kitazawa added.
Minato went blank for a second.
Logically, there was nothing wrong with that. But being asked to suddenly acknowledge a son out of nowhere was… embarrassing.
"I'll go explain the situation to them first," Kitazawa said with a smile. "You don't plan to keep wearing that mask around us the whole time, do you?"
That had indeed been Minato's plan, but after a moment of silence, he agreed.
He'd noticed that Kitazawa was unusually proactive about him meeting Naruto.
Minato was very sharp.
He understood why.
Kitazawa was Naruto's teacher. He obviously wouldn't hurt him.
The only explanation was that Naruto lacked a father's love.
And as for why… the answer was obvious.
"I'll go find Chōza and Shibi first," Minato said, tamping down his complicated feelings. "Kakashi's guarding the Queen of Rōran, so he can't leave yet."
As soon as he finished, he vanished.
"Flying Thunder God really is convenient," Kitazawa muttered, a hint of envy in his voice.
Still, he'd soon have the aptitude to learn space–time ninjutsu himself.
"Kitazawa-sensei, where'd that old man go again?" Naruto asked when he saw Kitazawa return.
"You guys think he's weird, right?" Kitazawa asked.
"He is weird," Naruto nodded. "All secretive and stuff."
"He can use the Flying Thunder God," Shino cut right to the point.
"Kitazawa-sensei, you said in class that only the Second Hokage and Fourth Hokage can use the Flying Thunder God," Hinata said. She remembered everything Kitazawa taught very clearly.
"Oh yeah!" Naruto suddenly remembered. "Grandpa Third said the same thing!"
"Then why did he say he could use it?" Shino asked, confused.
"I get it!" Naruto said, suddenly excited. "He's a spy from another village, pretending so he can get close to us!"
"He's not a spy," Kitazawa said with a smile. "Do you remember that purple chakra?"
All three of them nodded.
"That was the Dragon Vein—the earth's leyline filled with special chakra," Kitazawa explained. "Mukade opened the Dragon Vein and caused us to time-travel."
"Time-travel?" All three of them were stunned.
"In simple terms, we've come to more than ten years in the past," Kitazawa gave a rough number.
"Huh?" They were even more dazed.
"Kitazawa-sensei, you mean that old man is actually the Fourth Hokage?" Shino was the first to react.
"That's right," Kitazawa nodded.
Shino and Hinata instinctively turned to look at Naruto.
Naruto was completely out of it.
Never in his wildest dreams had he thought he'd see Namikaze Minato—the long-dead Fourth Hokage—in Rōran.
"The Fourth Hokage went to find his two teammates. He'll be back soon," Kitazawa added. "And you know his two teammates too—Akimichi Chōza and Aburame Shibi."
"What?" Shino lost his composure completely.
His dad was here too?
"Naruto." Kitazawa stepped forward and patted his shoulder.
"K–Kitazawa-sensei… is he really my dad?" Naruto asked, voice trembling.
"In theory, yeah," Kitazawa said. "But in this timeline, you haven't been born yet."
"I…" Naruto's thoughts were in a jumble.
"I've already told him everything," Kitazawa said gently. "When he comes back, you two can talk."
"…Mm." Naruto answered without thinking.
There were so many things he wanted to say to Minato.
He'd never had the chance before. Now he finally did, even if it was… slightly off from what he'd imagined.
"There are some things you should try not to mention," Kitazawa reminded him. "Like death."
Naruto fell silent again.
At nine years old, living in the shinobi world, he already understood more than enough.
Just then, three figures appeared out of nowhere.
It was the younger versions of Namikaze Minato, Aburame Shibi, and Akimichi Chōza.
Shibi instinctively turned to look at Shino.
Minato had already told him what was going on—that he suddenly had a son from the future.
The two of them locked eyes. The air was a little awkward.
Shino, unlike Naruto, had no regrets about his father. They were together every day. So seeing a younger version of Shibi, he mostly just felt curious.
"This really is eye-opening," Chōza sighed.
The moment he saw Naruto and Shino, he believed Minato's story.
Fathers and sons really did look a lot alike.
Minato walked up to Naruto.
Naruto opened his mouth several times, but in the end, he couldn't get the words out.
He didn't manage to hold it together, though. He threw his arms around Minato and burst into tears.
Seeing that, Kitazawa signaled to the others.
They got the message and quietly stepped outside.
[Current Mission: Cross time and space and help Naruto reunite with his father.]
[Mission Reward: Space–Time Ninjutsu Aptitude.]
[Mission Completed. Reward Granted.]
Kitazawa exhaled when he saw the three lines pop up.
Even though his body didn't feel any different, he now had the qualifications to learn the Flying Thunder God.
If he'd known, he thought wryly, he would've brought the Flying Thunder God scroll with him.
Not that it mattered much. Mastering Flying Thunder God wasn't something you did overnight. A little earlier or later made no real difference.
Chōza glanced around.
Shibi was already chatting with Shino.
But he didn't know Hinata, so he couldn't exactly walk over and start making small talk.
"How should I address you?" Chōza asked Kitazawa instead.
"Just call me Kitazawa, Chōza-senpai," Kitazawa smiled. "I was in the same class as Asuma and the others."
"How's my kid in the future?" Chōza couldn't help asking.
"He's very talented," Kitazawa said. "At nine, he's already mastered the Expansion Jutsu and Super Push, those clan secret techniques."
Since everyone's memories were going to be sealed anyway, he didn't mind sharing a bit more.
"That strong?" Chōza's eyes went wide.
At nine, he himself hadn't learned a single secret technique.
"Kitazawa-sensei taught him," Hinata said quietly.
Kitazawa smiled and patted her head.
"You're my kid's teacher too?" Chōza blinked.
He'd assumed Kitazawa was just Naruto, Hinata, and Shino's teacher.
Minato had thought the same.
"I'm an academy teacher," Kitazawa explained. "They haven't graduated yet. I just brought them out for some field experience."
"…?"
Chōza was dumbfounded.
Future students were really something else.
Back in his day, anyone that strong would already be a jōnin. Even if not, they'd at least be chūnin—not still in the academy.
"Here's how it works," Kitazawa decided to just explain the Advanced Class to him.
"The Hokage himself teaches the Advanced Class?" Chōza whistled when he heard that.
Because Sarutobi Hiruzen was the current Hokage, Kitazawa didn't bother adding "Third."
Hinata opened her mouth.
She wanted to set the record straight—when it came to teaching ability, Hiruzen couldn't hold a candle to Kitazawa.
But Hiruzen was the Hokage. Saying something like that out loud would be… bad. She hesitated and said nothing.
Kitazawa didn't mind.
Chōza's reaction was normal.
In his memories, Hiruzen was still the strongest Hokage.
They chatted as they waited.
After a long while, Minato reappeared in front of them.
He was alone.
"Naruto got tired, so I let him rest," Minato explained.
Given his age and everything he'd gone through today, it wasn't surprising Naruto had fallen asleep mid-conversation.
"Hinatа, Shino, you two go rest as well," Kitazawa said after thinking for a moment.
"Yes, Kitazawa-sensei," Hinata and Shino said, then went inside.
"Let's talk about this mission," Minato said, his tone turning serious. "You're from the future. To avoid causing too many ripples, you should go back as soon as possible."
Kitazawa nodded.
"What did you two find?" Minato looked at Shibi and Chōza.
"I found a lot of missing residents in Rōran," Chōza said. "Every one of them had opposed Anrokuzan at some point."
"I located a puppet factory underground where Anrokuzan is making his army," Shibi added.
"Looks like we've got enough evidence," Minato said after a brief pause. "We'll go see the Queen tomorrow."
"Your actions might already have tipped Anrokuzan off," Kitazawa reminded him. "I think the most urgent thing is to tighten the Queen's security."
In the original story, the Queen ended up killed by Anrokuzan, leaving only her daughter Sara behind.
Sara was the heroine of The Lost Tower. She and Naruto had some vague flirting going on—even something like a confession.
You could say that was standard operating procedure for Naruto in the movies.
Later, when Sara's daughter met Naruto's team after they returned from the mission, Sara herself had already passed away.
In that sense, it was a pretty tragic fate.
"Kakashi's strong, but he's still young, and he's alone," Kitazawa went on.
He meant the teenage Kakashi, of course.
"You're right," Minato nodded. "I'll head over."
"Let me go," Chōza offered, immediately thinking of Naruto. "I'll protect the Queen."
"Chōza-senpai can guard the Queen. Minato-senpai, you stay here with Naruto. Shibi-senpai and I will go find everyone else," Kitazawa suggested.
"That works for me," Shibi said. "I want to see what Kakashi looks like grown up too."
"All right," Minato agreed.
Chōza and Kitazawa weren't exactly subtle.
Minato understood what they were doing the moment he heard them.
But that was fine too. When Naruto woke up, he'd have more time to talk with him.
"Be careful of Anrokuzan's puppets," Minato reminded them. "Don't get bogged down. If you try to fight them head-on, more and more will just keep coming."
Kitazawa and Shibi nodded and headed out.
Once they stepped outside, the two of them split up, each going a different direction.
When Shibi had gone a good distance, Kitazawa activated the Byakugan.
The entire city of Rōran unfolded in his field of vision.
He spotted the young Kakashi, the Queen of Rōran, Sara, and Anrokuzan.
His Byakugan was now at 80% purity, plus 10% Ōtsutsuki bloodline, so it was much stronger than Hinata's.
He quickly located Kakashi, Sasuke, Neji, and Kimimaro.
They had also entered Rōran. They hadn't met Minato's team, but they had encountered some Rōran residents.
Kitazawa immediately headed in their direction.
Once he was close enough, he vaulted in through a window.
"Who's there?" Kakashi shot to his feet, fully on guard.
"It's me," Kitazawa said quietly. "Keep it down, or you'll attract the puppets."
"How are Naruto and the others?" Kakashi relaxed and asked.
"They're fine," Kitazawa said as he walked over. "I came out specifically to find you."
"We're fine too, but we ran into some Rōran villagers. Their family members have been taken," Kakashi explained. "When they saw we were ninja, they invited us in and asked us to help."
"Anrokuzan took them?" Kitazawa asked, remembering what Chōza had just said.
The original story had the same plot point.
Because of those villagers, Sara eventually discovered Anrokuzan's true nature and that her mother hadn't died of illness.
"According to them, yes. The minister Anrokuzan," Kakashi nodded.
"Based on my investigation, Anrokuzan is Mukade," Kitazawa said outright.
"How is that possible?" Kakashi was stunned. "Didn't Anrokuzan come here six years ago?"
"Here's what happened…" Kitazawa went over the Dragon Vein time travel and how they'd met the younger Minato.
"...?"
Kakashi froze.
His most respected teacher, Namikaze Minato, was still alive in this timeline?
Just thinking about seeing him again made Kakashi feel a tangled knot of emotions.
Even if he was younger, he was still Minato.
Aside from Minato, there was also his younger self.
Sasuke and Kimimaro didn't react much, but Neji instinctively clenched his fists.
In this timeline, his father, Hyuga Hizashi, had to still be alive.
But was there really any point in meeting him?
After all, his father wouldn't know who he was.
~~~
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