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For a long period, many fans of Naruto speculated as to whether Minato and Naruto Uzumaki were related in some way, be it father and son, uncle and nephew, brothers, and so on. In chapter 367, Kishimoto finally settled all speculation – Naruto is the son of Minato, the Fourth Hokage.

The hints were there all along. Here is a discussion of the clues Kishimoto weaved into the story for us.

An Orphan

So a lot of children in Konohagakure do not have parents, particularly after the Nine Tails attack. However, it is also noted at the beginning of the series that Minato had passed away shortly after sealing the bijuu inside of Naruto, which is the same night he also lost his parents.

The Third Hokage told Iruka Umino that it was Minato’s wish for Naruto to not be looked upon with hatred as the jinchuuriki of the Nine Tailed Fox, but rather as a hero, a ninja whose life was dedicated to acting as a container to hold the demon fox and protect Konoha. Very few in the village could do so. Yet Minato obviously had a reason for wanting this boy to be loved – as a parent knowing he would be unable to watch his child grow up would.

The Chosen One

Over the course of the manga, it has been noted that the Kyuubi no Youko or Nine Tails Demon Fox is the strongest of the nine bijuu that exist. His chakra is both powerful and also equally poisonous to those who come into contact with it – which makes Naruto’s ability to hold such a form inside of him remarkable.

In terms of Sunagakure’s jinchuuriki for Shukaku, there have been many who were unable to deal with being one. This indicates that being a jinchuuriki who can successfully co-exist with the bijuu sealed inside requires certain traits. Being the genius Minato was, he had to know what type of person would be right to hold the Nine Tails. Furthermore, it would seem off for Minato to just take any random child from Konoha.

Rather, he used his own son. In fact, the Fourth Kazekage has been the one who also decided to have Shukaku sealed in Gaara, his own son. A coincidence?

Jiraiya’s Knowledge

Being the teacher of Minato, it would not come as a surprise to many that he knows a lot about his student. Upon first meeting Naruto and helping him learn to walk on water, Jiraiya took note of the seals used to seal the nine Tails in Naruto, carefully done in such a way to have the chakra mix right with Naruto’s own chakra – a way to protect him. After deciding that it was time for Naruto to use the powers of the Fox, he silently asked Minato for forgiveness before doing so. And after Naruto successfully summons Gamabunta, the boss toad likely notes that the last person to have summoned him was Minato.

Jiraiya tells Naruto that he reminds him of Minato, which Naruto is surprised at. Later in the story when Tsunade and Jiraiya are reminiscing, Jiraiya states how teaching Naruto felt like teaching Minato again, due to their similarities in appearance.

Learning Rate

Many would argue that Naruto is not a genius academically. Yet it took him a week to perfect the rasengan, a class A level jutsu that Minato had created and took three years to develop. It was as if Naruto had an innate sense as to how to produce it.

Later, Kakashi Hatake reveals to Naruto that the rasengan was in fact an incomplete jutsu – Minato has planned on adding his own elemental manipulation to it, but was unable to before he died. Kakashi states that he also has been unsuccessful, and that to do so is perhaps the result of an innate sense or knowledge. Kakashi believes that Naruto will be able to accomplish this feat, and that he will be the one to surpass Minato.

Their Appearance

Minato was known as the Yellow Flash, due to his spiky blonde hair. He also is noted to have blue eyes and a wide grin. Sound familiar?

While it has been argued that just because Minato and Naruto looked alike, it did not mean that they were necessarily related, by rule of thumb, Kishimoto had often made their young nin resemble at least one of their parents – look no further than Sasuke and his mother, Chouji and his father, and so on. Kishimoto has made it clear that the upcoming nin look like their family. And as a result, Naruto and Minato are not an exception.

Upon getting the form of the would be fuuton rasen shuriken, Kakashi asks Naruto to put his jutsu against the normal rasengan to test its strength. Kakashi’s hand is wounded enough to cause him noticeable pain. Upon looking back at Naruto, Kakashi briefly sees Minato in place of Naruto, perhaps the biggest indicator to that point in time that Kishimoto gives us.