Naruto's words instantly embarrassed Nine Tails. "Yellow Monkey." Few people know this name, and many are unclear about it.
But Nine Tails knew another name for Minato.
"Naruto, the opponent is very strong!"
"I know."
Naruto's expression was very serious, he naturally knew.
Blue Pheasant, Yellow Monkey, Red Dog... These three names were what "Gold" told him, supposedly what Shanks specifically used to call those three people.
Although Shanks later said that these three names were made up by him and didn't exist at all.
But everyone who knows, knows. "Blue Pheasant" and "Red Dog" might not really exist, but "Yellow Monkey" truly exists.
Since "Yellow Monkey" exists, then "Blue Pheasant" and "Red Dog" naturally also exist.
Naruto initially wanted to ask more, but Kakashi stopped him.
Having come from that era, Kakashi understood many things. Shanks saying they didn't exist meant... those three people had already died.
That's why Shanks was like that.
And the existence of "White" actually replaced the position of "Blue Pheasant."
After that, Naruto stopped dwelling on these things. He only knew one thing: the three Admirals that Shanks spoke of were strong people even Shanks acknowledged.
He didn't know exactly how strong they were, but he could get a glimpse of it from "White," which was that the three Admirals' talents were definitely existence that suppressed their time.
And thinking about why the new era had Four Emperors? Shanks was one of them, and weren't the other three positions set up by Shanks to commemorate his three departed friends?
As someone who knew the "inside story," Naruto was more cautious about these three Admirals than anyone else.
"What Brother Shanks said means that he didn't open up the new era alone. The burden he carries isn't just his own belief."
Every ninja has their own unbearable past, those dark and heavy pasts.
As a genius of the Uzumaki Clan, which had already been destroyed, no one understood how much Shanks carried.
And the "three Admirals" that Shanks casually made up could very well have been Shanks's most important friends. It was because of the sacrifices of these people that the new era was opened.
"How could I possibly look down on the heroes who opened up the new era? But, I don't want to see the heroes of the new era become puppets of others like this."
Naruto roared as he charged toward Minato. In that instant, the Chakra in Naruto's body burst out recklessly. At the same time, the will in his body rapidly elevated. The already powerful will reached a certain limit at that moment.
It seemed as if a layer of film had been broken open, and the three wills in Naruto's body merged into one. Three different Chakras combined perfectly.
The Chakra covering his body turned into a bright red Chakra cloak. As the will spread, the power in everyone, including Toneri, was triggered. A pressure similar to Conqueror's Haki descended from the sky.
"Boom!"
Minato's figure paused for half a second in that instant. Toneri's face was filled with horror as he barely dodged Minato's attack. The blade light that flashed on the kunai grazed a few strands of Toneri's hair.
In that instant, Toneri understood how terrifying the enemy in front of him was.
As for Kabuto on the other side, he felt the difference between people even more deeply.
Minato had only just been brought back by Edo Tensei. After being brought back by Edo Tensei, his strength actually couldn't improve.
To be precise, his life force was locked, so he couldn't display strength that surpassed his original power.
However, what was ridiculous about Minato was that the kunai in this guy's hand could actually produce the kind of slashes like a swordsman's katana.
This showed that the original Minato had already achieved this.
Of course, the actual original Minato couldn't do it, at least not produce sword light with effects.
Because at that time, Shanks hadn't appeared yet, hadn't broken the upper limit of swordsmanship in this world. And at that time, Minato was actually the well-deserved number one in "swordsmanship."
It's just that his "sword" was this special kunai.
But in the ninja world, which ninja could cut off Eight Tails's tentacles with a kunai?
Besides Minato, no one could do it, and that was when Shanks hadn't broken the upper limit yet.
Eight Tails's tentacles, which were taller than a person, were cut off by Minato with a kunai.
That's why the current Minato seems so ridiculous, but in reality, he was already ridiculous.
As the youngest Kage in Konoha, Minato's fighting strength was actually very qualified, which highlighted his talent even more.
And at this moment, facing the sudden pressure, Minato adapted in an instant. After all, this kind of pressure wasn't like Conqueror's Haki, which directly crushes a creature's instincts, but more like a suppression of forming his own world.
"Such a strong power, gathering everyone's strength, has it formed a barrier-like existence?"
Within the other's sphere of influence, Minato's power was almost suppressed, although not severely.
It was as if the other party had forcibly changed the battlefield for him, turning it into the most suitable battlefield for the other party.
Minato looked at Naruto, who had already arrived in front of him, and was also extremely surprised in his heart. He's strong, Naruto is really strong.
"Rasengan!"
In that instant, Naruto's Rasengan had already reached Minato.
"Flying Thunder God!"
Minato disappeared directly from where he was. The next moment, he had already appeared above Naruto. Without any warning, not even Naruto's Observation Haki sensed Minato's movement trail.
"How could this be!"
Naruto's attack missed, instantly making him feel danger. As expected, the next moment, a huge force came, and Naruto in mid-air was struck by a huge force.
His eyes widened. Dozens of special kunai had appeared in the sky at some unknown time. The moment Naruto was knocked down, all of these kunai scattered onto the ground.
"Boom!"
Naruto's body directly smashed into the ground, and Minato frowned at this moment. Naruto's body disappeared and turned into a cloud of smoke.
"The instant of attack is your most vulnerable state. Only when attacking will there be a moment of pause. Attack means abandoning defense."
A kunai that fell behind Minato turned into Naruto. There was no flashy ninjutsu. Even Rasengan needed a certain amount of time to gather.
And when facing Minato, Naruto needed to attack the other party as quickly as possible.
The combat experience honed on the battlefield countless times finally came in handy at this moment.
"As expected of... my son."
Minato understood in that instant.
During the Nine Tails Rebellion, Minato also dealt with Obito like this.
Obito could use Kamui to absorb his body into the Kamui dimension, unaffected by outside attacks. At that time, Minato was also in contact with this ability for the first time.
But after only coming into contact with it, Minato found a solution.
It should be known that Obito relied on his ability to defeat many strong people. Only Minato, who was clearly in contact with it for the first time, made Obito's ability almost ineffective.
And at this moment, Naruto seemed to have become the Minato of that time, while Minato had become the Obito of that time.
"But..."
"You shouldn't use this ninjutsu."
In front of Minato was the Rasengan that was about to disappear because Naruto's clone had disappeared, but... this was the ninjutsu he, Namikaze Minato, invented.
Minato's palm appeared above the Rasengan, and the blue light rapidly grew larger in the next instant.
"Sage Art: Second-Stage Succession Multiply Spiraling Flash Super Round!"
Under normal circumstances, Minato wouldn't be able to counterattack effectively at all, but the current situation was not normal at all.
Minato's attack also smashed into Naruto at the instant Naruto's attack arrived.
"Boom! Krah!"
The Rasengan enhanced by natural energy directly shattered Naruto's Chakra cloak. At the same time, Naruto's fist also directly smashed Minato into the ground.
The terrifying power directly shattered Minato's waist, and Naruto's injuries were not light either. Just out of instinctive combat response, Naruto used Shadow Clone Technique again in mid-air.
A large number of clones protected Naruto's main body, and Naruto's main body also arrived next to Toneri after landing.
At this moment, Toneri's eyes had emitted a white light, and the five attributes of Chakra were completely gathered, ready to attack at any time.
But Naruto raised his hand to stop Toneri.
Toneri didn't say much. He was worried about the other party's pursuit just now, so he reminded him.
"That person is very strong and doesn't seem like an ordinary ninja."
"That's... the Fourth Hokage of Konoha, and also a friend of Brother Shanks."
"But..."
Naruto stood up shakily. The clothes on his chest had been shattered, and several bones were broken, but this kind of injury was nothing to Naruto.
What really concerned him was...
"Why... why can he use my Rasengan!"
Naruto was different from others. He had a lot of Chakra in his body, so even if he reintegrated a part of the Chakra back into his body, he could still use ninjutsu.
It wouldn't turn into Zabuza, whose ninjutsu regressed several levels, because Naruto only knew a few ninjutsu, and there wasn't much room for regression.
But Naruto understood that the counterattack just now was very abnormal, extremely abnormal.
In the distance, Minato stood up again.
Looking at the large missing piece on his waist, Minato's face showed a proud smile. If it were an ordinary person, no, to be precise, if it were him in the past.
Then Naruto would have won just now.
"He has grown up to be able to stand on his own, it's really great!"
The smoke and dust dissipated with the wind. Minato's Hokage robe flapped in the wind. He turned to look behind him.
In the distance, Naruto's clones opened a path for the main body. Naruto was watching Minato in the distance, and in his eyes, for the first time, there appeared...
a sad emotion.
That carefree kid also felt sadness for the first time.
If some things had never existed, that would be great.
Naruto's eyes were filled with tears, but he didn't say a word. He just quietly watched Minato in the distance.
The right hand covering the "wound" on his chest was put down. That was the place where he was hit by the Rasengan. The injury was not light.
But what Naruto was truly concealing was his heart.
He raised his head, and tears slid from his lower eyelashes with this movement, falling to the ground.
And on his face, there was once again the cheerfulness and sunshine of the past, as well as that somewhat carefree appearance.
"Konoha's Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato!"
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, the man who will become Hokage, the one who will lead Konoha to a new era!"
"Fourth Hokage, I will prove it to you. I, Uzumaki Naruto, will one day prove it to you!"
Naruto shouted these words breathlessly.
At this moment, Naruto seemed to have returned to the time in the Land of Waves, when he was naive and arrogant, when he spoke boastfully to Shanks.
Saying that he would become Konoha's Hokage, that he would bring Konoha to a new era, that he would become a Hokage of the new era.
Naruto has experienced a lot and has become much more mature, but... the current Naruto spoke these words like a child in the past.
He just wanted to prove, to prove something...
He, can become their pride, become the pride of his parents.
"Is that so?"
Minato's voice was gentle, as if it wasn't him who fought with Naruto in the previous moment.
But this voice also seemed to carry a trace of pride.
"If your mother could see you now, she would be very pleased, Naruto."
Minato gazed at his son. Naruto was already a powerhouse comparable to them, the "Kage."
However, Minato also knew that Naruto's achievements were inseparable from Shanks.
Although he had never met Shanks and didn't know Shanks, Minato could clearly see Shanks's care for Naruto, as well as... the other members of the Uzumaki Clan's care for Naruto through the newspapers given to him by Kabuto.
"Naruto!"
"If you meet Shanks, thank him for me."
A smile appeared on Minato's face. He, this irresponsible father, was truly... very grateful to Shanks, very grateful for Shanks's appearance.
Very grateful that his son was not bullied, not bullied by the World Government, not treated as a war machine with no feelings by those people.
He... was very grateful to Shanks.
After saying these words, Minato disappeared from where he was.
He left.
Everything seemed as if it had never happened. Only Naruto's heart carried a trace of reluctance. He looked at the wound on his chest. It was clearly painful, but it felt... as if it was warm.
And Minato's last words before leaving made Naruto think of something.
"Kurama... the Fourth Hokage is my father, right?"
Naruto looked at his right hand. As someone who had come into contact with the ultimate power of the Ninshu Sect, Naruto's perception of bonds, that is, the response of will, was very keen.
Nine Tails just nodded.
"Don't you already have the answer in your heart?"
"No wonder Brother Shanks takes care of me so much. So I'm the son of his good friend, hehe."
Naruto's mood also suddenly brightened at this moment. Combining Minato's words when he left, Naruto was even more certain that Minato and Shanks were friends.
Otherwise, why would he ask me to thank the other party next time I met Brother Shanks?
"But, Brother Shanks and my father are friends, and I still call Brother Shanks, Brother?"
Naruto pondered. This seniority seemed a bit messy.
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