Chapter 382: Real and Fake Fourth Hokage

After sensing something was wrong, Obito thought back to how Naruto had just said that Muyue was the Fourth Hokage, while Yamato said they were on a mission ordered by the Fifth Hokage.

"So... what happened to the Fourth Hokage when you came over?" Obito asked Yamato and Naruto with a last shred of hope.

Although so far, basically a new Hokage only took office after the previous one died, that wasn't because all Hokage wanted to die in office, but because of various accidents—the First died young, and the Second died in a coup by Kumogakure ninja.

So the existence of a next Hokage didn't necessarily mean the previous one had fallen.

Obito thought that maybe Muyue didn't want to hold onto power forever and left the opportunity to his juniors, which was why the Fifth Hokage appeared so quickly.

Kakashi looked at Obito, opened his mouth, then closed it again.

How could someone as sharp as him not have caught that information? It was just that the shock was too great all at once, and asking would only make his comrades more upset.

Kakashi wished this were his dream, a bizarre nightmare—how could Muyue, whose strength was unfathomable, die before him?

Muyue had mastered multiple Breathing Technique chakra modes, had both offensive and defensive Armament Haki, was proficient in all seven nature transformations of chakra, had even developed his own Kekkei Genkai, Ice Release, and knew countless advanced jutsu and taijutsu. How could such a powerful person be killed?

But Kakashi knew very well in his heart that all men must die. The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, was a powerhouse who shook the ninja world and developed countless forbidden jutsu, yet he still died in Kumogakure's coup.

Naruto Uzumaki scratched his head and glanced at Yamato beside him. Even he knew it was bad to talk about someone dying in the future right in front of them.

Yamato was also very conflicted. If he spoke, he worried it might change history and cause unknown changes in the future.

If the change meant the Fourth Hokage didn't die and Konoha became even stronger, that would naturally be good. But Yamato couldn't guarantee whether this deviation would be beneficial or harmful. If he said something and history changed, and when they went back to the past, Konoha had already been destroyed, Yamato would be devastated.

But at a time like this, not answering was itself an answer.

"Why aren't you saying anything? A Konoha ninja wouldn't know about the Hokage?" Obito clenched his fists and continued to ask. By now his voice was trembling.

He couldn't believe Muyue would die. This was the all-powerful Muyue, the Sage.

The massive surge of negative emotions caused Obito to unconsciously activate his Sharingan. His eyes quickly turned blood red, two tomoe patterns spinning continuously, soon becoming three tomoe. The three tomoe kept spinning at extreme speed, but just as the three tomoe were about to merge, they abruptly and weakly scattered, finally exiting the Sharingan state in a three-tomoe pattern.

"Obito, don't ask." Muyue placed his palm on Obito's shoulder, shook his head slightly, and said with a gentle smile.

"Ninja of the future have their own difficulties. Besides, their future is their future. Our future is still ours to create."

Based on the behavior and information revealed by Naruto and Yamato, Muyue guessed that they were not from the future of his own world, but rather from the future of the original Naruto world.

By now, Muyue was no longer an unknown in Konoha. Even if he still failed to overcome Madara Uchiha and Black Zetsu, and he himself died, his disciples either dead or corrupted, as a Root-born ninja, Yamato should have had at least some reaction to the name Muyue Haryu.

His training results for the Root and Anbu had been recognized by both Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimoda. If it weren't for the war causing a shortage of combat power in Konoha, the second phase of training would already be in planning.

His current strength guaranteed that his death would never be ordinary. Give him three more years to develop, and he might have the strength to single-handedly take on a major ninja village without injury.

Unless the opponent was Madara Uchiha at the peak of his Rinnegan, Muyue couldn't think of any reason why he would lose so badly.

But if Madara Uchiha could return to his peak alive, he wouldn't have to go through such a complicated resurrection plan, nor would he need to try so hard to corrupt Obito into darkness. So that scenario didn't hold up.

Still, Muyue didn't rashly conclude that Naruto and Yamato were one hundred percent from the original timeline. The ninja world was too deep; the leaders of the three great sage regions were all unfathomable old monsters, and though the Sage of Six Paths was dead, his chakra still lingered in the world.

If he failed, his opponents wouldn't necessarily be just Madara Uchiha and Black Zetsu.

The warmth transmitted through Muyue's palm calmed Obito's emotions somewhat, but his expression remained pained and confused.

"But... but..." Obito was incoherent. He had too much to say and his words were jumbled.

Muyue's words were cool, but he really didn't want the future Yamato and Naruto spoke of.

A future without Teacher Muyue—Obito couldn't imagine what kind of future that would be.

Kakashi's eyes dropped, unable to maintain his calm expression any longer.

He was a very sensible person. If someone from the past learned the future, history would likely change. For the people of the future, this change was unknown and uncontrollable. So the best choice to avoid causing trouble for others was not to ask too many questions.

But this time Kakashi couldn't control himself. He would definitely sneak away to find Naruto and Yamato tonight, get the whole story about Muyue, and try to change the history of Muyue's death.

What this action might do to the future, Kakashi didn't know. But he did know that if such an opportunity was placed before him and he didn't act, when Muyue really died someday, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

Not just about Muyue—he would ask everything about Obito and Rin Nohara. If only he survived from Squad Muyue, then it would be better for them all to die in battle together.

"Just as Teacher Muyue said, our future can be decided by us." Rin Nohara showed a gentle smile and soothed him.

In truth, her own feelings were also very complicated. Judging by the behavior of Yamato and Naruto, she would probably die one day soon.

To say she wasn't afraid of death at all would be a lie. Rin sometimes thought about how after death, all thoughts would disappear and she could no longer think—that made death very frightening.

But she was still alive now. If she was afraid just because she might die, then everyone should be afraid from birth, because death is the destination of every person. So Rin, alive now, chose first to calm her unstable friend.

"As expected of Lord Minato." Yamato looked at Muyue with a respectful gaze.

Putting himself in another's shoes, if he had encountered a ninja who had traveled from the future and was being secretive about his own matters, then Yamato would definitely not be at ease unless he got an answer.

But this Fourth Hokage was different. Not only was he unconcerned about his own life and death, he even comforted his disciple, and even said things like our future still needs to be created by us.

The young Fourth Hokage before him fulfilled all of Yamato's fantasies about the Fourth Hokage.

"Lord Minato?" Obito, Kakashi, and Rin all looked confused and then turned to Yamato.

Kakashi frowned slightly. Hadn't he already introduced Muyue? Even though it was mixed with some false information.

"Did I say something wrong?" Seeing Kakashi and the other two all staring at him, Yamato was a bit puzzled.

He frantically reflected on what he had just said but couldn't find anything wrong. It was perfectly normal.

Although he was older than the current Fourth Hokage, the other was still the future Fourth Hokage, and his current strength was much greater than his own. Calling him 'Lord' was fine.

"Dummy big brother, are your eyes bad or your ears bad? You're calling our Teacher Muyue by Teacher Minato's name?" Maybe because he hadn't recovered from the negative emotions just now, Obito's words were quite aggressive.

Obito's "dummy big brother" pierced into Yamato's body like a sharp sword.

First being told off by Kakashi, then by Obito, now Yamato was starting to doubt himself. He couldn't help asking Uzumaki Naruto beside him, "Do I really look dull?"

"So you never noticed, Captain Yamato?" Uzumaki Naruto replied honestly.

This sword from Naruto stabbed straight into Yamato's heart, severely damaging his self-esteem. He had always thought of himself as someone with authority.

"You're missing the point. Why are you calling Teacher Muyue 'Lord Minato'?" Kakashi asked seriously.

He felt that a turning point had appeared, and the future might be different from what he had imagined.

Obito and Kakashi's words left Yamato dumbfounded. Wasn't the name Hanyu Muyue used to deceive him? Because back then, they had regarded him as an enemy.

"Because isn't he Lord Minato?" Yamato couldn't sort out all the information at once.

"Although Teacher Minato and Teacher Muyue look very similar, you can't treat them as the same person." Obito complained. He only thought of the two as close brothers.

Kakashi's mind raced. He realized they might have misunderstood something. Muyue didn't seem to be the future Fourth Hokage. Yamato and Uzumaki Naruto had mistaken him for the extremely similar-looking Namikaze Minato.

"So the Fourth Hokage's full name is Namikaze Minato?" Kakashi asked with a flickering gaze.

Yamato subconsciously nodded.

After getting confirmation, Kakashi showed a shocked expression.

Good news: Teacher Muyue might not be dead. Bad news: Teacher Minato seemed to be about to die.

"Huh? The Fourth Hokage is Teacher Minato?" Obito also became flustered.

He didn't know what emotion to use to face this. If Minato died, he would be very sad too.

Yamato was at least an Anbu captain. Seeing Kakashi and Obito's reactions, he immediately thought he might have mistaken the person, but he was still puzzled and unsure.

The golden-haired man before him looked almost the same as the one on the stone face, was powerful, and could skillfully use the Flying Thunder God. He perfectly matched the characteristics of the Fourth Hokage. If not the Fourth Hokage, who else could it be?

Now Yamato really didn't know what was going on.

Even Yamato was this confused, let alone Uzumaki Naruto, who had already lost track of their conversation.

"Ha, what do you mean? Isn't this big brother the Fourth Hokage?" Uzumaki Naruto asked in confusion.

"We don't have a Fourth Hokage now. But if your Fourth Hokage is Teacher Minato, then you've mistaken him. In front of you is Teacher Muyue." Obito replied.

Naruto was very puzzled. In his eyes, Muyue was exactly the same as the Fourth Hokage on the stone face. He looked at Yamato, but Yamato himself hadn't fully understood yet and couldn't help Naruto clear his confusion.

"You two must have mistaken me. My full name is Hanyu Muyue. Minato is a close friend of mine." Muyue introduced himself.

"Ah, this..." Yamato was dumbfounded. He really had mistaken him.

He didn't understand. This man looked the same as the Fourth Hokage and was so strong with the Flying Thunder God, yet he wasn't the Fourth Hokage. Where could he go to reason?

Logically, if Konoha had a ninja who was powerful and resembled the Fourth Hokage, he should be quite famous. But Yamato really had no impression of the name Hanyu Muyue at all.

"In your world, how is Kenji's cultivation of the Dark Breathing going?" Muyue suddenly asked Yamato.

"Senior Zou? I'm not too sure about that." Yamato thought for a moment and replied.

Tobita Kenji's code name in the Anbu was Zou. He was a capable senior Anbu. Yamato knew Tobita Kenji was skilled in Lightning Release sealing techniques, but he didn't know anything about Dark Breathing.

Muyue could basically confirm that the Yamato and Naruto Uzumaki before him had crossed over from the original Naruto world.

Even if he failed and died and the plot returned to its original course, it would be impossible to erase all traces of his existence, right? That workload would be too great, and it would also be meaningless.

"Then, Big Brother Muyue, do you know where Mukade is?" Naruto Uzumaki suddenly remembered that he was here to do a mission and quickly asked.

"I don't know the ninja you're talking about." Muyue shook his head and said.

The current situation was too different from the original anime plot. Acting blindly would only make things worse, so Muyue did not directly spoil anything.

Yamato covered his forehead. He realized that aside from Muyue's name, Kakashi seemed to have lied about everything else.

"But Little Kakashi-sensei said..." Naruto wanted to say something more, but was directly interrupted by Kakashi.

"I said that back then just to buy time. We came to Loulan because of an investigation mission issued by the queen. Of course I don't know where that ninja you mentioned is." Kakashi explained.

"Captain Yamato, what should we do now? We need to find that guy before we can go back." Naruto Uzumaki said with some distress.

He didn't quite understand why they had traveled through time and space, but he knew the logic that "the one who tied the knot must untie it." Finding Mukade, who caused all this, gave hope of solving the problem.

"We can only search Loulan first. We all crossed over in Loulan, so he should be here too." Yamato said after thinking it over.

Now he had no good plan either, after all, traveling through time and space was just too unimaginable.

"If you don't mind, our team can help with the search, as long as it doesn't interfere with our mission." Muyue said with a warm smile.

Having seen the script, Muyue knew that their missions were essentially the same. The Mukade that Yamato and Naruto Uzumaki wanted to eliminate was the current Loulan minister, An Lushan.

If An Lushan's ambitions and actions were investigated and exposed, the Queen of Loulan would certainly ask them to eliminate An Lushan.

The difference between their mission and Naruto Uzumaki's mission was that they had to conduct an investigation first, which was like having a prerequisite mission.

"If that's possible, that would be great." Yamato nodded and thanked Muyue.

Looking at the gentle, refined, and helpful Muyue, Yamato felt a pang of regret. A ninja like this might die in the war that was soon to come.

He had not a single memory of a ninja like Muyue. That could only mean one possibility: Muyue died very early, perhaps before Minato Namikaze became the Fourth Hokage, dying in the Third Great Ninja War.

"If I can go back, I should ask Kakashi-senpai." Yamato thought. Since Muyue was also Kakashi's teacher, Kakashi should know a lot about Muyue.

"Thank you so much, Big Brother Muyue!" Naruto Uzumaki also smiled and thanked Muyue.

Although Muyue was not the Fourth Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki still felt very favorable toward Muyue, feeling that he was very kind.

Then Muyue told Yamato and Naruto Uzumaki the location of the inn where his team was staying. After that, the two groups each went about their own business: Muyue's team went to investigate An Lushan, while Naruto Uzumaki and Yamato searched all over Loulan for Mukade.

In fact, Kakashi and the others still had many doubts. Muyue and Minato really did look alike, and coupled with the Flying Thunder God Technique, it was easy to misunderstand. So Yamato and them mistaking him was understandable.

But there were still many doubts. Why did Yamato and Naruto Uzumaki know nothing about the name "Hasu Muyue"? And what exactly happened to Minato Namikaze? What happened to Obito, Rin Nohara, and Asuma?

Obito really wanted to figure all this out, but Naruto and the others' situation was indeed urgent. If they couldn't go back, the problem would be huge. So Obito could only suppress his doubts, planning to talk with Naruto Uzumaki and the others when they returned to the inn that evening.

"Indeed, as expected of the 'protagonist.'" Taking another look at Yamato and Naruto's status panels, Muyue sighed inwardly.

【Name: Naruto Uzumaki】

【Chakra: (???)】

【Potential: SS+ (Six Paths lineage + Nine-Tails + Basic talent)】

【Skills: Wind Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Mastery), Rasengan, Rasenshuriken...】

Although his chakra amount appeared even less than that of Nagato, who was slightly younger than Naruto, the chakra detected now was only superficial. Once he erupted, the chakra Naruto could utilize was far more than what was appraised.

Moreover, Nagato was no ordinary member of the Uzumaki clan. Being chosen by Madara Uchiha to have the Rinnegan transplanted naturally meant he had his own special traits.

【Name: Yamato】

【Chakra:】

【Potential: S (Hashirama's cells + Basic talent)】

【Skills: Wood Release (Mastery level 30/), Earth Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Mastery level: 800/), Water Release Chakra Nature Transformation (Mastery level), Wood Release: Four-Pillar House...】

Seeing Yamato's panel, Muyue could only say that Hashirama Senju was ridiculously strong. Even his cells could affect a person's potential calculation.

Based on Yamato's performance in the original work, he clearly couldn't compare to Minato or Hiruzen Sarutobi. So Muyue felt that Yamato's S potential was entirely boosted by Hashirama's cells.

Perhaps due to the influence of Hashirama's cells, Yamato's chakra was relatively outstanding, but other aspects were rather ordinary. Although his Water and Earth nature transformations and Wood Release had all reached mastery level, his proficiency was not high; basically, he was the gatekeeper of the mastery level.

After looking at Naruto's status panel, Mu Yue felt that only someone like the Sage of Six Paths, who was born with the Rinnegan, could have 3S potential.

Naruto already had enough buffs on him: first the reincarnation of Asura's chakra, then the Uzumaki clan, and finally being the Nine-Tails jinchuriki. With all these bonuses, he was still only SS+, which shows how difficult it is to reach 3S.

However, Mu Yue's requirements weren't that high. If someone's potential reached S-level, he would be very willing to use the fifth slot. If it were double S, that would be even better.

Mu Yue was also willing to teach people with low potential, but his current circumstances did not allow him to use his disciple slots on students with low potential.

After parting from his disciples, Mu Yue began to continue his study of Loulan's Dragon Pulse.

His Byakugan could easily see through the ground and observe the enormous chakra hidden underground.

This chakra felt very special to Mu Yue, quite different from the chakra that ordinary ninjas refined.

However, Mu Yue had no way to control this chakra, so he could only find an abandoned underground base, get as close to this chakra as possible, then open the Transparent World to sense it.

"Later, I can interrogate An Lushan or ask for the help of the Queen of Loulan," Mu Yue thought after studying until evening.

An Lushan had a secret technique to absorb the power of the Dragon Pulse. Although it seemed to turn him into something neither human nor ghost, it should still have some research value.

The Queen of Loulan had the power to control the Dragon Pulse, which would be of great help to his research.

After Mu Yue returned to the inn, Kakashi and the others had just finished their investigation.

"Could it be that the Queen was really overthinking? Why does it feel like everyone likes him?" Obito said, scratching his hair.

They had investigated all day without any useful results, because they found that An Lushan was truly very popular in Loulan. The people were all saying how good and wise An Lushan was.

"Besides, he actually gives things to the people. He really doesn't look like a bad guy."

This situation was completely different from the time in the Snow Country. Even if Dotō Kazahana hadn't betrayed them later, Obito still didn't like him very much — he always had a stern face and was arrogant as hell.

But An Lushan was different, putting on an appearance of dedicating his life to Loulan and being popular among the people.

"Our investigation is still too superficial. Everything is just on the surface," Kakashi shook his head and said softly.

If he had an undercover mission, he could also pretend to be a minister working for the country and the people, but unless he could pretend for a lifetime, he wasn't one.

At that moment, Obito and the others also saw Mu Yue walking in. Mu Yue smiled, nodded, and walked over to them.

Obito was just about to talk to Mu Yue about the mission when he noticed that Naruto Uzumaki and Yamato had also walked in.

PS: Had some family issues today, which distracted me, so the update is a bit shorter. Today 6k, tomorrow if nothing happens, continue with 8k. If I need to take a day off, I'll post a single chapter notice in advance.