Chapter 7: 'I really am a good person'

"So, this little friend is the author of 'Your Name'? I haven't read that book yet, but I heard it's really famous, and my wife also loves it very much." Minato said in a friendly manner, without the air of a Hokage candidate. "Oh, sorry, my name is Namikaze Minato, a Jounin," said Minato with a sunny smile, the embodiment of the vibrant and heroic reputation that preceded him.

Hiroshi pretended that he couldn't hide his excitement. "Ah, I know you! You are the hero of Konoha village, Konoha's Yellow Flash. It's my honor to finally meet you."

Minato waved off the title with a modest chuckle. "No, no, what Yellow Flash? That's just exaggerated."

"One normal ramen for me, boss!" Minato then called out toward Teuchi, seamlessly blending into the relaxed atmosphere of Ichiraku Ramen.

Afterward, they all engaged in a pleasant conversation. The love between Kushina and Minato was palpable, creating a warm atmosphere. However, Mikoto and Hiroshi both wore complicated expressions. Mikoto couldn't help but envy the vibrant and affectionate dynamic between Kushina and Minato, especially in contrast to her own husband, Fugaku, who often appeared gloomy and stern. Meanwhile, Hiroshi had a different thought.

'They're gonna die in a year,' he thought somberly, the weight of that knowledge casting a shadow over his observant gaze. 'Can I do anything?' Although Hiroshi and the couple didn't have the best relationship, and he had even considered building a connection with them for personal benefits, he couldn't shake the realization that his inactions might seal their fate.

Even if they weren't his favorite characters in the series, the thought of knowing someone was going to die, yet not doing anything about it, disturbed him deeply. Despite their differences and his self-interest, Hiroshi grappled with a moral dilemma, contemplating whether he could find a way to change their fate or at least make their last year together more meaningful.

'I can't just outright remind them; that's a one-way ticket to the torture room. I can't help in a fight as I have no power whatsoever, so there is only one choice left...' as he continued brainstorming for a solution.

"What do you think of this idea?" Kushina inquired, presenting her thoughts on the Yamanaka proposal plan.

"Well, actually, I don't think the Yamanaka clan is like that, but I appreciate your thought", Minato responded with a warm smile.

"Sometimes I really think that you are a little too good-natured for a Hokage, Minato", Kushina said with a hint of playfulness.

Minato just laughed awkwardly, realizing that his wife might have a point. At that moment, Hiroshi interrupted,

"I have a favor to ask, Minato-sama. I'm working on a new book recently, and your perspective as a legendary hero of the village is really important to me. Can you answer some of my questions?"

Slightly surprised by the sudden request, Minato replied with a friendly smile, "Sure, I will try my best to answer if I can."

"Well, what if someday a meteorite falls on our village?" Hiroshi proposed.

"Ah, just like in 'Your Name,' right?" Kushina chimed in with a reference.

"Haha, yes, I was trying to think from a different perspective," Hiroshi admitted.

Minato frowned for a moment, deep in thought. "Well, I'll try to transport that meteorite somewhere else using the Flying Thunder God technique."

Kushina, proud of her husband, playfully hit her chest, saying, "My husband is indeed very powerful," earning another embarrassed face from Minato.

Hiroshi then shifted the scenario, "What if an earthquake or tsunami, something you can't teleport away, hits our village?"

Minato frowned, raising his eyebrows, but quickly turned it into a reassuring smile. "I'm very fast, so I would be able to inform powerful ninjas to set up protective seals or defensive jutsu immediately. Don't worry, Hiroshi, even if I'm not here, there are still many people defending the village."

Apparently, it seemed that Minato thought Hiroshi was concerned about potential disasters befalling their village.

Seemingly relieved, a glint appeared in Hiroshi's eyes as he posed what he considered the most important question while maintaining a casual demeanor. "And what if some monster attacks our village, a huge or powerful one?"

Upon hearing this, all three of them—Minato, Kushina, and Mikoto—were a little stunned. But with the previous questions about a few hypothetical situations, they had assumed Hiroshi was merely exploring potential dangers that the village might face. The progression from a meteorite to a natural disaster then a monster had felt logical, and it played into Hiroshi's plan to make them think along those lines.

With that thought, everyone eased their tense state, and Minato, now in serious contemplation, responded, "I can still teleport it away immediately."

However, Hiroshi, well aware of the events in the original books, knew that this wasn't entirely true. In those narratives, Minato had been thwarted by masked men—Obito—who had taken Kushina and Naruto hostage. Keeping this in mind, Hiroshi added, attempting not to arouse suspicion, "Hmm, it sounds the same as the first question then. Let's say, What if you were threatened? Let's assume someone would use your important people to restrict your movement. Can you do anything about it?" then pretending as if feeling his question might upset Kushina, Hiroshi immediately explained, "I mean this is a question I want to ask a powerful ninja in general, I'm not specifically talking about you, Kushina-neechan." 

"Well, in that case..." Minato frowned, appearing to be struggling with the hypothetical scenario. "I can teleport the hostage away first, but for that, I'd have to apply a Flying Thunder God seal to their body beforehand."

"So you only need to give a seal beforehand, hmm ...", Hiroshi noted Minato's response, pretending to write down those lines in his notebook while carefully gauging his reactions. 

In his opinion, the main reason the Nine-Tails caused so much damage to the village and led to Minato and Kushina sacrificing themselves was due to Minato being unprepared. The Flying Thunder God technique is one of the most powerful ninjutsu in Naruto. With enough preparation and without the lack of critical information, theoretically, Minato could be almost invincible. Except for the later stage of anime, that's just gods fighting with each other with a load of bullshit Gundam and rule-like abilities.

Hiroshi had long been puzzled about this aspect in the original manga. As a husband and wife, he wondered why Minato didn't place a seal on Kushina for immediate teleportation in case of emergencies. If Minato had a seal on Kushina, he could have quickly taken her to safety right after retrieving Naruto from Obito. This would take, like what, a second? True, Obito might use the time Minato needed to catch Naruto from the air to approach and transfer Kushina to a space inside his Mangekyo Sharingan. However, if Minato had a seal on Kushina's body, couldn't he have just teleported to that space and taken her away? Let's assume he couldn't enter that space; couldn't Minato still teleport immediately after she emerged? Obito still had enough time to set the stage, unlock the seal, and do a little dance before Minato returned from his trip to deliver Naruto to a safe location. The entire tragedy could have been averted if Minato had placed a seal on his wife's body first, and the anime could have been named "Kushina."

Minato maintained a thoughtful expression, his gaze often shifting towards Kushina. He seemed deep in contemplation, and Hiroshi could tell that the purpose of his questions had hit homerun. Hiroshi, satisfied with the progress, nonchalantly considered his next question, inwardly smiling at the thought, 'All according to keikaku. And with that, I've done all I could. The rest is up to luck and you, Minato.'

"So, what if our village gets hit by a massive group of innocent civilians controlled by someone? You know, the kind that can't be seen," Hiroshi threw out the question, subtly steering away from the focus on the third question about Nine-tails.

Minato returned to reality from his musings, offering a slight smile as he answered, "Well, this one's easy. I just need to ask a really powerful sensor ninja to pinpoint the mastermind's location. And before that, I'd apprehend the group of civilians. Any skilled ninja can do that without hurting them."

Hiroshi continued to keep the conversation flowing, maintaining the same subject matter. The hypothetical attacks shifted from a massive disease outbreak to scenarios like someone planting loads of exploding talismans in a delivery box and giving it to the Hokage's office. These questions were carefully crafted to divert attention, making everyone overlook the fact that Hiroshi was subtly trying to remind Minato of the potential Nine-Tails attack. 

'I really am a good person' he thought inwardly.

.......

"Thank you for everything," Hiroshi expressed, bidding farewell to Mikoto, Kushina, and Minato outside the Ichiraku Ramen store. The group exchanged goodbyes, and everyone went their separate ways.

Returning home, Hiroshi made his way to his room. He pulled out his notebook and jotted down, "[Good impression with: Minato, Kushina, Mikoto.]" beneath the heading, "[Number 3. Build a good relationship with important people carefully.]" 

Afterward, Hiroshi went to sleep with a satisfied smile on his face.