Minato Namikaze now had a clear understanding of Danzo Shimura's origins. After all, he had seen all kinds of dirt on the Root—how could he possibly hold a good opinion of Danzo?
But upon realizing that this man, born in another world, had also harmed his own son, that loathing was completely ignited. It felt like this guy's very existence was a blazing firestorm, destined to stir up chaos.
Following that line of thought, Minato began to connect the dots—Danzo Shimura held deep-rooted malice toward the Uchiha Clan. That could only mean that the Uchiha in that parallel world had been screwed over by him. And based on Danzo's usual behavior and methods, there was no way he would act directly. He must have manipulated or tricked others into doing it.
Danzo's rampant actions were surely due to the Third Hokage's indulgence and the ever-worsening character flaws brought on by old age.
There was no doubt—when the Third Hokage was in his prime, his trusting and kind demeanor, paired with his leadership style, was a huge asset. It united people around him. His strength in his prime ensured that even if someone wanted to cause trouble, he could suppress it with ease.
He had both decisiveness and resolve in his younger days and was unafraid of confrontation. Everything had been on the right track.
But as he aged and his body weakened, his former ambition inevitably faded, and his character flaws were magnified.
Then, after inheriting a devastated Konoha—ravaged by the Nine-Tails' Attack and severely weakened—he inevitably became indecisive, hesitant, and fearful of further confrontation.
In such circumstances, crisis after crisis would erupt, especially with someone like Danzo Shimura, the internal warfare mastermind, lurking within the village.
It only took a short while for Minato to imagine all the possibilities—none of them good. They were all leading straight toward disaster.
If Uchiha Kei knew what Minato was thinking, he'd probably applaud and say, "As expected of the Eternal Bro-in-Law—spot on." His guesses were nearly identical to the truth.
To be fair, the only reason Minato was able to think so deeply was thanks to Uchiha Kei. If it were the original Minato, his perspective and understanding wouldn't have reached this level of mental calculation.
Because of this new knowledge, Minato set aside his concern for his beloved son for the time being and fully shifted into intelligence-gathering mode.
He was collecting information not just for the future, but also to understand this alternate world and prevent his own world from heading down the same tragic path.
Once fully in this state, Minato's information extraction became more precise and efficient. Even though Naruto Uzumaki was still his usual emotional self when speaking—often expressing his subjective feelings—Minato could always parse out the key intel through the noise.
—The Uchiha Clan was exterminated by none other than Fugaku's son, Itachi Uchiha, the heir of the clan? And his reason was to seek greater power? What kind of abstract Uchiha is that? Another Madara Uchiha? Wait, he was only fourteen when he did it? How? Even with the Mangekyō Sharingan, that shouldn't be possible!
Heh. Who'd believe this wasn't the result of power games among Konoha's upper echelons and Danzo's meddling?
—And what? Not long after the Fourth Hokage's death, the Hidden Cloud Village took advantage of Konoha's weakness and attempted to kidnap Hinata Hyuga, the eldest daughter of Clan Head Hiashi Hyuga. After Hiashi killed the kidnappers, they demanded Konoha hand over the "murderer" or face war?
Even worse, the Third Hokage bowed to this war blackmail. In the end, Hiashi's younger brother, Hizashi, volunteered to sacrifice himself to protect his brother.
Tch. Minato's guess that the Third had become indecisive and hesitant was spot-on. But it also revealed just how weakened Konoha was post-Nine-Tails' Attack. The entire middle generation had likely been wiped out.
—Kakashi became Naruto's squad leader? Jiraiya-sensei met Naruto this way?
—Wait, the Third Hokage died too? Killed by Lord Orochimaru? Lord Orochimaru became a rogue ninja? Then Lady Tsunade was brought back and became the Fifth Hokage, and Naruto's teammate, the Uchiha Clan's last survivor, Sasuke Uchiha, defected to Orochimaru?
—Then came three years of training, the Akatsuki's assault on the Hidden Sand Village, the kidnapping of the Kazekage, and the mission to retrieve Sasuke, among other events.
All this information showed Minato just how much the times had changed—how unpredictable the future could be. All the developments that should have been impossible in the main world were happening in the parallel one. For the young Yellow Flash, this was a real eye-opener.
Compared to the main world, this other Shinobi World was "brilliant" in a different, twisted way.
But this kind of "brilliance" was not what Minato wanted.
Once the questioning was mostly over, Minato and Uchiha Kei left the room. They stopped at the hallway corner.
Minato sighed deeply and said, "I never imagined… Konoha in another world would become something like that…"
He shook his head, regretful over the situation in the other world, lost in contemplation.
Uchiha Kei remained calm. "It's fine. It's a parallel world, after all. Huge differences are normal."
Minato shook his head again. "No. The biggest difference between our world and that one… is that they didn't have you. Without you, there was no Genjutsu Game. Without you, the Uchiha Clan didn't choose to integrate into Konoha or lead its progress."
"So I'm truly grateful that we have you here. Because of you, Konoha shines as it does today. Because of you, the future is full of infinite possibilities. And only because of you have I come to understand things I never could've as just a Konoha ninja, the Yellow Flash, or even the Fourth Hokage."
As he spoke, Minato looked at Uchiha Kei with heartfelt gratitude. He truly felt lucky to have met Kei.
Because… Kei had saved his life.
Yes—saved his life!
Although Naruto only knew what the public knew, Minato was no fool. His intellect was on par with that of Itachi Uchiha from the original story. And that was the original story—he was now the upgraded Eternal Bro-in-Law PLUS version with even more intel.
Minato had keenly detected something off about "his" death.
That Nine-Tails' Attack wasn't just a matter of the Nine Tails going berserk and escaping from Kushina Uzumaki's body. There had to be a terrifying manipulator behind it all.
In fact, Minato could even guess the date of the Nine-Tails' Attack—it happened on the very day Naruto was born!
After all, childbirth is when a Jinchūriki's seal is weakest—that's the perfect chance for any hidden hand to strike.
On that day, the hidden enemy must have launched a surprise assault, unleashed the Nine Tails, and attacked them. It must have drained their strength, leaving Konoha unable to reseal the beast, forcing him to use a forbidden technique.
Like the Dead Demon Consuming Seal!
Since in the other world there was no Kei, they couldn't make peace with the Nine Tails. Without any trust between them, Minato likely had to resort to extreme measures to protect the village and fight the hidden enemy.
There was likely another reason—Kushina. After having the Nine Tails extracted, she wouldn't survive long. If the other Minato loved Kushina as deeply, he would've sealed part of both their chakra into Naruto, so Kushina could see their son one day.
On this, Minato was even more certain—when he met Naruto earlier, he sensed two hidden chakra signatures within him, aside from the Nine Tails.
If it weren't for Minato's current heightened sensory abilities from syncing with the Nine Tails, he might not have noticed that these chakras shared his origin.
As for the hidden enemy's identity, Minato had guesses: Danzo Shimura, Madara Uchiha, Black Zetsu—any of these shadowy figures could be involved. Maybe even working together.
After all, Danzo was obsessed with the Hokage seat and would've seen the other Minato as an obstacle. And as the leader of the Root, he would've known where Kushina gave birth—such security would be meaningless if there was a traitor among the top brass.
Minato considered all these possibilities, realizing that the other him never had a chance. His enemies had calculated every move.
And that was a world without Uchiha Kei.
That's why Minato was filled with such gratitude—and why he felt so lucky to have Kei.
Without Kei, even if he was powerful and brilliant, he likely would've ended up just like the other him: sacrificing himself to protect the village, sealing the Nine Tails into his own child, burdening his son with a heavy fate.
Because… that's just the kind of person Minato Namikaze was.
Like this story Leave a review ; it would really help me out a lot.
Want to Read Ahead in Advance?
Join my Patreon!
+75 Chapters
Support me in
Patreon.com/BestElysium