Chapter 7

It took an entire month of meticulous coordination, waiting for the grueling international soccer season to finally transition into the off-season. Minato had realistically expected nothing more than a formal, clipped letter from an agent or a brief, five-minute phone call from a busy talent manager.

Instead, a sudden, encrypted video call request flashed across his laptop screen.

Minato quickly clicked the accept button. The screen flickered, and his breath caught sharply in his chest. Staring right back at him through the high-definition lens was none other than Naruto. He was sitting on a bench in what appeared to be an empty stadium locker room, dressed in his vibrant blue-and-yellow team jersey and athletic shorts, light sweat still glistening on his forehead from a post-season workout.

Minato's eyes went wide, his hands gripping the edges of his desk. "Naruto...? I... I wasn't expecting to talk to you directly. Especially not so soon."

On the screen, Naruto leaned forward, placing his hands flat on his knees and staring critically at the camera, inspecting his father's face.

"I've got to say, you haven't changed a bit," Naruto murmured, a detached, observant tone in his voice. "Even after seventeen years, you still look like you're in your twenties." He shook his head, sitting up straight and crossing his arms. "But let's get down to it. My agency told me the Hokage's office was reaching out. I assume you want to negotiate some type of international contract or media deal?"

Minato looked down for a fraction of a second, then took a deep, centering breath, looking his son dead in the eye. "Actually... the contract was just an excuse. I used it because I desperately wanted a way to talk to you. Or, at least, I hoped I could eventually get a line of communication open through your staff. I really didn't expect you to pick up the call yourself."

Naruto leaned back against the locker, his expression remaining completely unreadable. "Well, you have my undivided attention, Lord Fourth. So, what is this actually about?"

The official title stung, but Minato pushed through the emotional barrier. He needed to lay his cards on the table. "Honestly, Naruto... it's about everything. The past. I bought your book, and I read every single word of it. I've been carrying how much regret ever since we discovered you went missing all those years ago. We weren't good parents to you. It took us three whole weeks just to notice you were gone."

Naruto simply rolled his eyes, waving his hand dismissively through the air. "Okay."

Minato paused, completely taken aback by the casual, brief response. He blinked at the screen. "Is... is that really all you have to say? Then again, I suppose a simple apology over a video link can't possibly cover the depth of how sorry we are, and..." Minato cut himself off, shaking his head violently. He couldn't do this like this.

A sterile digital screen was a terrible place to mend a broken family bond. "Listen, Naruto. I can't have this conversation on a laptop. It's not right. It will take me about a week to arrange travel across the ocean, but... can I please come over to your country? To visit your place?"

Naruto picked up a leather-bound scheduler from the bench next to him, flipping through the pages with a practiced, efficient rhythm. He stared at the dates for a long moment before looking back up at the camera."If you agree to come completely by yourself," Naruto stated, his voice firm and laced with an absolute boundary, "then sure. I'll text the coordinates to this device."

A wave of profound relief washed over the Hokage, making his shoulders drop. "Thank you, Naruto. I'll be there as fast as I can."

As the connection severed and the screen went black, Minato closed the laptop with a definitive snap. He stood up from his desk, entirely bypassing his official schedule. He didn't notify Kushina, and he didn't brief the elders. He packed a single travel cloak, pocketed the book, and prepared to step out of the Hidden Leaf Village alone, finally ready to face the son he had lost.

To be continued...

Now some people have probably wondered why has this only been focusing around mostly with minato and not with his wife or the other children?

Because it's a bit weird that he would not tell anyone else about this but there is a reason and it will be explained in the next chapter.