Naruto and Hoshiyomi's first meeting didn't turn into the kind of cliché novel scenario where two men shake hands and start testing strength. They simply exchanged a polite handshake and released. At that moment, Reiichi stepped in and properly explained Hoshiyomi's situation:
"Uncle Naruto, this Uncle Hoshiyomi is the mysterious man mentioned in the report from the Ryūmyaku research team. I've already organized the information on the way here.
Uncle comes from Konoha Year 47. While investigating Rōran, he encountered the Ryūmyaku going berserk and was accidentally sent to our era."
Hearing this, Naruto raised an eyebrow. He was no longer the clueless fifteen-year-old boy from back then. Not only had he personally experienced the Rōran incident, but now his strength far surpassed his father Minato's — there was no way some memory seal would still be holding him back.
And he remembered clearly:
During the Rōran incident, the person he met was his father, not someone named Gekko Hoshiyomi.
On top of that, though his theoretical knowledge wasn't great, he had crammed enough shinobi history to know:
Not once in the last century of Konoha's history was there a powerful shinobi named Gekko Hoshiyomi.
But with Reiichi standing beside them, Naruto couldn't question it directly. So he spoke:
"Reiichi, I need to discuss something privately with Mr. Hoshiyomi. Could you wait outside for a bit?"
Reiichi, unlike Naruto's own rebellious son, was obedient. He nodded, stepped out of the Hokage's office, and even closed the door gently.
Once Reiichi left, Naruto dropped his smile, sat back down behind his desk, laced his fingers together, and fixed his eyes on Hoshiyomi. Instead of mentioning his own past, he asked directly:
"Mr. Hoshiyomi… is everything Reiichi said true? I'll be honest with you — your answer will directly affect how much of a threat Konoha considers you.
I hope you respond honestly."
Seeing Naruto's solemn expression, Hoshiyomi nodded inwardly.
Time really does change people.
The loud, impulsive Naruto from the original story had grown into a Hokage who could think like one.
Hoshiyomi wasn't annoyed by Naruto's aggressive questioning. In fact, he felt an odd warmth — after all, Naruto had accompanied him throughout his entire teenage years in his past life.
Seeing Naruto mature into his "final evolution form" gave Hoshiyomi a strange, proud feeling.
Knowing Naruto's personality well, Hoshiyomi chose not to hide anything and answered straightforwardly:
"I am from Konoha Year 47… but the Konoha Year 47 I come from is very different from the one you know.
After arriving here, I noticed immediately that things didn't match — for example, this world's history contains no record of me at all.
It's hard to explain clearly in a short time, but… you can think of me as someone who isn't entirely from this world."
Naruto frowned at first, but gradually relaxed. The answer wasn't what he'd expected — but neither he nor Kurama sensed any lies or hostility.
More importantly, Hoshiyomi wasn't hiding anything about himself. He openly stated he found discrepancies in the timeline, and that history had no record of him.
From Naruto's perspective, these were sincere and logically consistent statements.
So Naruto decided — for now — to trust him.
Just as he was about to continue questioning Hoshiyomi about the differences he mentioned…
A loud commotion suddenly erupted outside the office:
"Grandma Tsunade, calm down! There might be some kind of misunderstanding here!"
"Calm down? Calm down MY ASS! I want to see exactly who has the guts to spread rumors about me!"
A second after the angry shout, a boom shook the entire building.
The wall beside the Hokage's office door was blown completely open, debris scattering everywhere. Out of the dust and smoke strode a stunningly curvaceous woman whose figure could only be described as explosive. Her face burned with fury—
—and her blazing gaze locked directly onto Hoshiyomi, who had just turned his head.
......
Let's rewind to the moment when Reiichi had first stepped out of the Hokage's office.
Outside the office, Reiichi sat idly fiddling with the bone blade he'd formed, occasionally glancing toward the office door, his face full of unresolved distress.
He wasn't troubled because he couldn't hear Naruto and Hoshiyomi's conversation — he could more or less guess the main points anyway.
No, what weighed on him was…
How was he supposed to tell Uncle Hoshiyomi that both he and his child had died young?
Now that they were already in Konoha, any normal person would definitely want to know whether their future wife and child were doing well.
There was no way to hide it.
But how was he supposed to deliver such a cruel truth?
And Uncle Hoshiyomi was from the past.
If he couldn't accept it and something happened… who knew what kind of terrifying effect that might have on this world?
The more he thought about it, the heavier the responsibility on his shoulders felt. He couldn't help letting out a long sigh:
"If only Grandma Tsunade had told me earlier that Uncle Hoshiyomi was her husband… then I could've prepared myself."
Just as Reiichi was drowning in worry, a voice crackling with anger suddenly sounded beside him:
"Little Reiichi… what was that you just said? 'Husband'?"
Reiichi's body stiffened. He slowly turned his head — and sure enough, Tsunade, who still looked like a woman in her late twenties or early thirties, was standing there with a dark, stormy expression.
Reiichi's first reaction was confusion — why wasn't Grandma Tsunade sad? Why was she angry instead?
But Reiichi had seen Tsunade angry before. Sensing that she was about to explode, he quickly tried to calm her down — which led to the chaotic scene just moments earlier.
Back in the Hokage office—
Hoshiyomi stared at the wall-smashing Tsunade, a flash of helplessness — and unmistakable affection — passing through his eyes. After all, they had been husband and wife for many years in his world. Seeing her face again made his emotions surge involuntarily.
A moment later, he remembered clearly:
This Tsunade is not the same one he knew.
But even so, he still couldn't control the softness in his gaze, and he sighed inwardly.
He'd been worrying earlier about how he should act when meeting this world's Tsunade…
Looks like he didn't need to worry anymore.
On Tsunade's side, her furious expression froze the instant her eyes met Hoshiyomi's.
How to describe this feeling?
They had never met — yet it felt as though they had lived side by side for countless years.
Just one look into those warm, doting eyes, and the flames of anger in Tsunade's chest dissipated by more than half.
...
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