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editMinato Namikaze  [1]

(波風ミナト, Namikaze Minato)

Fourth Hokage (四代目火影, Yondaime Hokage)

Konoha's Yellow Flash (木ノ葉の黄色い閃光, Konoha no

Kiiroi Senkō; English TV "Yellow Flash of the Leaf")[2]

Child of the Prophecy (予言の子, Yogen no Ko)[3]

Saviour of this World (この世の救世主, Kono Yo no

Kyūseishu)[3]

Debut

Manga Chapter #1

Anime Naruto Episode #1

Movie Naruto Shippūden 4: The Lost Tower

Game Naruto: Ultimate Ninja

OVA Hidden Leaf Village Grand Sports Festival!

Appears in Anime, Manga, Game and Movie

Voice Actors

Japanese Toshiyuki Morikawa  

Miyu Irino    (Child)

English Tony Oliver  

Personal

Birthdate  January 25

Gender  Male

Status Deceased

Height Part I: 179.2 cm

Weight Part I: 66.1 kg

Blood type B

Classificatio

n

Jinchūriki

Sage

Sensor Type

Tailed Beast Kurama (Yin half) (Forms)

Occupation Hokage

Affiliation  Konohagakure

 Mount Myōboku

Team Team Jiraiya

Team Minato

Rank

Ninja Rank Part I: Kage

Academy

Grad. Age10

 [Hide] Family

Naruto Uzumaki  (Son)Kushina Uzumaki  (Wife)

 [Show] Jutsu

 [Show] Tools

Minato Namikaze (波風ミナト, Namikaze Minato) was the FourthHokage (四代目火影, Yondaime Hokage; Literally meaning "Fourth Fire Shadow") of Konohagakure. He was famous in life for his speed, leading to the moniker of Konoha's Yellow Flash(木ノ葉の黄色い閃光, Konoha no Kiiroi Senkō; English TV "Yellow Flash of the Leaf"). He died during the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha, sacrificing his life to seal a part of the Nine-Tails into his newborn son, Naruto Uzumaki.

Contents[show]

BackgroundEarly Life

Minato as an Academy student.

When Minato was in theAcademy, his class-mate Kushina Uzumaki thought that he looked "unreliable" and even "girly".[4]He dreamed of being acknowledged by the Konoha villagers by becoming the Hokage, which Kushina considered to be an impossible dream for someone like him.[5]

Minato rescues Kushina.

Years later, however, when Kushina was kidnapped byKumogakure ninja, Minato was the only one to pick up on the fact that she was leaving behind strands of her red hair to mark their path. After rescuing her, Minato explained that he had always admired her hair. No longer seeing him as "unreliable", she fell in love with him.[6]According to those who knew him personally, Minato was a very talented ninja prodigy — a rare genius that appeared only once in a generation.[7] He graduated from the Academy at the age of ten,[1] and was added to a genin team under the tutelage of Jiraiya,[8] who took a special interest in Minato, and took him on as an apprentice,[9] amongst other things teaching him the Summoning Technique [10]  and senjutsu. He even believed Minato might be the Child of the Prophecy, someone who would someday save the world.[11] [12]

Konoha's Yellow Flash

Team Minato.

In time, Minato married Kushina. He also became a jōnin and was put in charge of a genin team of his own, consisting of Rin Nohara, Obito Uchiha, and Kakashi Hatake.

[8] For their test to officially become genin, Minato tasked them with taking one of two bells from him in actual combat. Despite the team not having full loyalty towards each other, seeing them work together to snatch even one bell convinced Minato to pass his team.[13] During the Third Shinobi World War, Minato led his team on a mission into Kusagakure to destroy the Kannabi Bridge. Because Kakashi had recently become a jōnin, Minato gave leadership of the mission to Kakashi while he went to help Konoha's forces on the front lines. After meeting up with the surviving and out-numbered Konoha ninja, Minato used his Flying Thunder God Technique to kill the opposing Iwagakure ninja, in the anime stated to be a thousand shinobi.[14] He then returned to his team, just in time to save Kakashi and Rin from another group of Iwa forces, but was too late to save Obito. When Kakashi and Rin recovered from the ordeal, Minato helped them complete the mission.[15]

Minato vs. A.

Before becoming Hokage, Minato clashed with A on several occasions.[16] On what was seemingly their first meeting, Minato, Inuzuka, Akimichi, and a fourth member, confronted A and his team. There, Minato and A had a clash of speed with Minato almost severely injuring the future Raikage before Bintercepted the attack. Upon receiving the signal that Konoha was retreating for the time being, Minato lingered to praise B's bravery and told A that he had a good family and followers surrounding him as he did, and also offered A the advice of making sure his brother knew who he was before he became neither human nor jinchūriki. Minato then declared that the next time they met, it would be to put the title of "Kage" on the line.[17] Not one to allow his enemy to escape so easily, A attempted to attack Minato before he left. Believing that Minato would teleport to one of his special kunai, A was shocked to see the Konoha-nin appear behind his brother before realising that Minato had marked him earlier. Impressed by the fact that B had reacted fast enough to pull one of his swords on him, Minato praised B for his skills.[18]

Fourth Hokage

Minato and Kushina.

Some time after the war, Minato, not yet thirty years of age, was chosen to become the Fourth Hokage.[19] At some point during his reign, Minato taught his Flying Thunder God Technique to the Hokage Guard Platoon to better aid them in their duties of serving the Hokage at any given time.[20] In the anime, shortly after Minato's official reign began, he sent Kakashi on a mission to retrieve important documents to aid the delicate transition of peace between Konoha and Iwa. Knowing that Kakashi was still traumatised by the death of Rin by the young jōnin's own hand, Minato sent Might Guy and some Anbu as secret backup for Kakashi, which proved to be a wise decision as Kakashi soon collapsed from hyperventilation in battle. Visiting his former student in the hospital,

feeling that his student needed a new direction as a ninja, Minato decided to promote Kakashi to the Anbu, working directly under Minato himself.[14]Later, when Kushina became pregnant, the two expecting parents were overjoyed. Kushina, however, became a nervous of their future child's well-being, to which Minato promised as a father he would definitely protect their child. Midway through the pregnancy, Jiraiya visited with his first book. Minato read it and liked the main character's determination — whom he believed to be just like Jiraiya — decided to name their son "Naruto" in the hopes that he would be just like the main character and, in turn, Jiraiya. Jiraiya warned them that it would make him Naruto's godfather, but they insisted that this was a good thing.[21]Because Kushina was the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, special arrangements had to be made for Naruto's birth. Since the seal keeping the Nine-Tails within her would weaken during childbirth, Naruto would be secretly delivered in a remote location outside Konoha. In the anime, as Kakashi continued his duties in Anbu admirably, Minato grew concerned when reports told him that Kakashi was growing colder in all his aspects.[22] Deciding to help Kakashi regain his value of life, he went to Hiruzen for advice, who suggested that he assign Kakashi to protect Kushina during the pregnancy.[23]On the night Kushina's due date, Minato decided to give Kakashi the day off as gratitude for his good work. Soon after Naruto was born they were found by a masked man who had killed the Anbu stationed outside and infiltrated the cave. The masked ninja killed Biwako Sarutobi and Taji then took Naruto hostage, threatening to do the same to him. Minato was able to take Naruto back, but this gave his opponent the chance to escape with Kushina to break the seal. By the time Minato found a safe place to put Naruto and then teleported to Kushina, he spirited her to safety just as the freed Nine-Tails was about to kill her. With Kushina looking after Naruto, Minato heads to Konoha to defend it from the Nine-Tails.[24]

Minato defeats the masked invader.

Minato arrived in the early stages of the Nine-Tails' attack. After protecting the village from the beast's Tailed Beast Ball by erecting a barrier and sending the attack elsewhere, Minato tried to reach the Third Hokage to inform him of what had happened, but was stopped by the masked man, who tried to warp him away. However, Minato flew to another one of his kunai, and was quickly followed by his opponent. Analysing his opponent, Minato came to assume that the man standing before him was Madara Uchiha, which he discarded by saying that Madara was dead. When the two began fighting, Minato realised that the battle would be decided by speed, and by carefully timing his Flying Thunder God Technique, Minato was able to strike the masked man with a Rasengan and apply the Flying Thunder God Technique seal on his back as well. This allowed him to teleport directly to the masked ninja and uses a Contract Seal to sever the ninja's hold on the Nine-Tails before he could escape.[25]

Minato using the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.

When Minato returned to the ruined village, he summoned Gamabunta to hold down the Nine-Tails long enough to teleport it away from the village to Naruto and Kushina's location. Kushina then restrained it with her chakra chains and erected a barrier so that the beast could not escape. Despite knowing that the trauma of resealing the Nine-Tails in her weakened body would kill her, she volunteered to do it so the Nine-Tails would die with her. Minato however disagreed, and instead decided that he would use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal on the Nine-Tails to seal the beast into Naruto. Kushina objected since this would mean Minato's death and leave Naruto orphaned. Minato insisted it was for the best since allowing the Nine-Tails to resurrect itself, without a jinchūriki to contain it, would inevitably cause harm to Konoha and the Fire Country. Also, Minato was convinced that Naruto was the "Child of the Prophecy" Jiraiya had once told him about and would need the Nine-Tails' power to someday defeat the masked man. Knowing that the Nine-Tails' chakra was too immense to seal inside an infant, Minato used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal weaken the demon by removing the Yin chakra, sealing the half inside Minato himself. The Nine-Tails realised their intentions and tried to kill Naruto, but Minato and Kushina used their bodies to shield him.[26]

Minato and Kushina protecting Naruto from the Nine-Tails.

While Kushina gave her final words to Naruto, Minato summoned Gerotora, gave him the key to the seal he would use on Naruto, and sent him to Jiraiya. After Kushina told Naruto how much his parents loved him he seconds everything she says and then sealed the Nine-Tails and the rest of their chakra into Naruto so that they would be able to see him again when he was older, ending their lives.[27] Since the Third Hokage had come to help, Minato used his last moments to request that Konoha think of Naruto as a hero, and not the container of the monster that caused so much death and destruction.[28]Before he died, he sealed the rest of their remaining chakra into Naruto so that they could someday see him again too, specifically if ever the seal was about to break so that they could restore it, or help him control Nine-Tails' power.[29] [30]  Ultimately, Minato's reign as the Hokage was rather short, as Tsunade noted that he "died too early".[31] [32]

PersonalityJiraiya and Tsunade pointed out that Naruto physically bears great resemblance to Minato.[33] Minato was calm, collected, and highly perceptive. During difficult events, he was still capable of maintaining his composure, assessing the situation, and devising appropriate plans of action. He did have a playful side, once making a highly convoluted name for a technique combination, before quickly disconsidering it.[34] He also seemed well aware of the terror his reputation inspired in his foes. He appeared to be respectful of those around him; he didn't like freely speaking about others' pasts, and was said to be a very nice person. Minato also referred to Orochimaru as "Orochimaru-san", a polite way of addressing someone, when questioning how Orochimaru managed to reincarnate him and his predecessors. He deeply cared for and loved his wife and child, becoming very nervous because of Kushina's pain during labour and even shedding tears of joy at his son's birth. Minato also deeply cared for the village and all the shinobi, saying that they all are a big family. He also enjoyed reading, and took a special liking to reading Jiraiya's work in particular.

Though not knowing each other for very long, the dynamics between Minato and the Second HokageTobirama Senju is very unique. Both men seem to have a great level of respect for one another, especially since they seem to operate the same in battle in terms of thinking. The fact that they are both users of the Flying Thunder God Technique also seems to factor into this as each has lauded the other's speed and quick-thinking.[35] [36]  One quirk Minato possess is his tendency to create ridiculous names for techniques. For example, upon seeing Naruto and Sasuke's combination Rasenshuriken, Minato decided to name itScorch Release: Halo Gale Jet Black Arrow Style Zero, a grandiose title which he himself thought didn't sound good.[37] Later, when he announced he was going to use his Spiralling Flash Super Round Dance Howl Participate Formula, Tobirama stated if they weren't in the middle of a battle he would laugh at such a terrible name.[38] When he later reiterated the name of Naruto and Sasuke's technique, Tobirama exasperatedly dismissed the name, telling Minato to not stop the attack.[39]Jiraiya said that Minato was a shrewd person, and was not a man who would do something without reason.[40] He was very knowledgeable of the ninja world, concluding that only Madara Uchiha would have the power or the reason to have the Nine-Tails attack Konoha during his battle with the masked man.[41] Minato was known for his indomitable spirit, drive, determination, and fierce ambition which was inherited by his son. His devotion to the village, and his love for his friends inspired all those around him, and, as a result, he became well-liked by the villagers. Minato is also shown to be very forgiving, as even the revelation that the masked man who was responsible for his and Kushina's deaths was none other than Obito Uchiha wasn't enough to make him show the slightest bit of anger toward his former student, and instead showed great sadness over the fact that Obito ended up like that instead of becoming Hokage and displayed a desire to save him instead.[42]Upon his reincarnation by Orochimaru, and after Sasuke Uchiha's inquiring about the Uchiha Clan Massacreand the meaning of being a shinobi, Minato confessed himself disappointed in failing to meet the Third's expectations for him, as his reign as Hokage was shortened by his sacrifice during Kurama's attack on the village. He also believed that the Uchiha clan's situation could have possibly had a different outcome, if he had survived.[43]

After becoming Hokage, Minato started to take more pride in himself, referring to himself as "ore", which is a prideful way of saying "I" or "me", instead of using "watashi", a more formal way of referring to one's self. Still, this did not make him haughty as he still addressed others with the appropriate honourifics.

Minato was also a very cautious individual as he set up at least two safe houses as well as scattered his Flying Thunder God Kunai over the outskirts of Konoha, presumably so he can intercept enemies that cross Konoha's borders. Inadvertently, this trait enabled him to escape from Obito's Kamui away from Konoha. Ultimately enabling him to subdue the latter and remove his control over Kurama without causing more chaos in Konoha.

Appearance

Minato as the Fourth Hokage.

Minato was a fairly tall, fair-skinned man who on more than one occasion has been compared with Naruto in terms of physical appearance; both have bright, blue eyes and spiky, blond hair. Minato also had jaw-length bangs framing either side of his face. According to Jiraiya, Minato was considered to be very handsome.[31]His normal attire consisted of a standard Konoha-nin uniform with two bands each on both of his sleeves, a leaf green flak jacket, blue forehead protector, and blue sandals. After becoming Hokage, he started wearing a short-sleeved long white haori over his normal attire, decorated by orange flames-like motifs on the edges, with the kanji for "Fourth Hokage" (四代目火影, Yondaime Hokage) written vertically down the back, and closed on the front by a thin, orange rope.During his time in the Academy, he wore a simple white suit of clothing with green trimmings and a hood. After becoming a full-fledged shinobi, he wore a tracksuit with three stripes on the sleeves, mesh under-armour, a pair of black pants and sandals.

Abilities

Minato about to kill Mahiru.

According to Jiraiya, Minato was one of the most gifted shinobi who ever lived.[31] His abilities were so far advanced that even the Fourth Raikage thought that no one would be able to surpass him.[16] Anko Mitarashi, in discussion with the Third Hokage about Orochimaru's immense strength and his threat to the village, stated that she wished the Fourth had been alive to face him.[44] At a young age, he was able to single-handedly rescue Kushina Uzumaki from three Kumogakure ninja.[45] During

the Third Shinobi World War, flee-on-sight orders were given to enemy shinobi should they ever see him appear on the battlefield.[2] In the anime, he alone defeated a thousand Iwa shinobi in one battle, later prompting Ōnoki to immediately consider accepting a peace treaty from Konohagakure.[14] Minato was also capable of counteracting the Nine-Tails' attacks to the point that Tobi found it necessary to intervene and stop Minato directly due to the short amount of time he could keep Kurama summoned. Tobi was later forced to retreat due to being severely injured by Minato, but not before commending Minato's skills, stating he was worthy of his title of "Fourth Hokage".[46] Upon entering the Fourth Shinobi World War after being reincarnated he was able to give Obito Uchiha trouble despite being the Ten-Tails jinchūriki while fighting alongside his son, Tobirama Senju, andSasuke Uchiha. He even managed to briefly overpower Obito while both himself and Naruto were in theirSage Tailed Beast Modes.[47]Minato's fighting style often excluded time consuming hand seals that give enemies an opening so he often relies on two techniques: the Flying Thunder God Technique and the Rasengan.Physical Prowess

Minato saving Kakashi.

Hailed as the fastest known shinobi in history,[16] Minato's trademark attributes were his immense speed and near instantaneous reflexes. His renown was such that the speed of the currently fastest living shinobi often being compared to his own, such as A or Naruto in his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, with the former admitting that even with his Lightning Release Armourenhancing his already immense speed and reflexes was still outmatched by Minato.[16] He was able to react fast enough to catch an infant Naruto mid-fall to prevent him from being stabbed by Tobi and teleport away before the attached explosive tags went off.[48] He could also respond to Tobi's Kamui technique quickly enough to escape it.[49] Combined with his great proficiency in the Body Flicker Technique, he could easily react and reach in time an ally to save them from enemy attacks.[50] He could likewise well-outstrip Tobirama Senju's, the fastest shinobi of his era, own usage of the technique.[51] In the anime, when Minato went to save Kushina from abduction, he managed to swiftly defeat three Kumogakure shinobi in closed-ranged combat, all of them almost twice his size.[52]When fighting, he mainly employed the use of his unique kunai, wielding them proficiently and taking advantage of their particular form, which made them even more suitable for close range combat than standard kunai. Using this type of kunai, he was able to nearly sever one of the Eight-Tails' tentacles when Bmoved to save his brother from Minato's counter-attack despite having nearly no leverage, showing that he possessed a great deal of strength.[53]

NinjutsuRasengan

Minato demonstrating the dynamic creation of a Rasengan.

Minato spent three years creating the Rasengan by observing the Tailed Beast Ball.[54][55] It is the highest level of shape transformation and it does not require hand signs to be performed. Instead, using precise control of one's chakra to concentrate and spin it, forming a sphere in the user's palm. It is able to inflict immense damage to its target upon contact. The lack of elaborate preparations needed for the Rasengan gave Minato an advantage over other technique users in battle. During his fight with Tobi, he is able to form a Rasengan right after throwing his marked kunai, allowing Minato to land a devastating blow immediately after performing the Flying Thunder God Technique. As its creator, Minato had great mastery over the Rasengan, able to form it in either hand and even make it larger than any other user's Rasengan (roughly the size of the Big Ball Rasengan).He had intended to combine the Rasengan with his own nature transformation, but the task was too difficult to complete before his untimely death.[56]

Space–Time Ninjutsu

Minato's special kunai.

Minato was famous for his use of the Flying Thunder God Technique, later even gaining praise from Tobirama Senju, the creator of this technique, for his superior usage of it. It is a space–time technique applied through the use of special seals, which essentially allowed him to teleport to any location with untraceable movements. With the Flying Thunder God Technique and his reflexes, he could even dodge and counter attack the likes of A despite A's extremely fast speed, being only one of two people to avoid his maximumLightning Straight.[57] By throwing kunai that had the seal attached to them behind enemy lines, Minato could wipe out an entire platoon in the blink of an eye.[58] Because Minato would mark his kunai beforehand, he could use them as a medium for his space-time ninjutsu, allowing him to remotely activate said techniques from any distance.[59] Likewise, Minato could teleport to his kunai even as it travelled through the air, allowing him to both attack and defend simultaneously, and through this method, outmanoeuvre Obito's intangibility.[60] Minato is also capable of simultaneously transporting multiple people to different markings, without accompanying them.[61]During the Fourth Shinobi World War, Minato was able to teleport the entire Shinobi Alliance, something that even Tobirama admitted that he could not do.[62]For defensive use, Minato was capable of implementing space–time barriers to counter large attacks such as a Tailed Beast Ball, sending the blast to a distant area away from the village.[63] He was later even able to warp away a Tailed Beast Ball of larger proportions created by the Ten-Tails,[64] and was able to teleport things even as large as the Nine-Tails itself, albeit at the cost of a large portion of his chakra due to the beast's immense size.[65] By working in conjunction with another Flying Thunder God

user, he can instantly swap places with said person and any enemy they bring along, in order to allow attacks to connect with the target.Fūinjutsu

The key to the Nine-Tails' seal.

Minato was highly skilled in fūinjutsu, which is due partially to Kushina teaching him some of the Uzumaki clan's unique sealing techniques.[66] He could perform the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to seal opponents at the cost of his own soul being sealed as well. However, he was fully aware that he could not completely seal all of the Nine-Tails' chakra within the death god. Minato could also perform a seal to remove an opponent's control over the respective creature brought by the Summoning Technique.[67]One of the greatest examples of his prowess with fūinjutsu is the seal used on Naruto to make him a jinchūriki, placing two Four Symbols Seal to create the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style, which would allow small amounts of the Nine-Tails' chakra to leak out and naturally mix with Naruto's own [68] as well as set parameters so that if the seal weakened, he would appear within Naruto's sub-conscience to reinforce it. Minato also showed the ability to transfer an already sealed tailed beast into another target.Summoning Technique

Minato summons Gamabunta to stop Kurama.

In his youth, Jiraiya taught Minato how to use the Summoning Technique to summon toads. He was able to summon Gamabunta, showing considerably proficiency in this technique as he was one of the few people that Gamabunta would willingly cooperate without hesitation.[69] He could use the Summoning: Food Cart Destroyer Technique for a devastating surprise attack that could even pin powerful large targets like the Nine-Tails down.Jinchūriki TransformationsMain article: Nine-Tails Chakra Mode

Minato uses the Rasengan in Tailed Beast Mode beside Naruto.

Due to sealing the Yin half of Kurama into himself before his death, once he was reincarnated he was able to use a cloak similar to Naruto's Nine-Tails Chakra Mode which overlays his mantle.[70] It seems to take some skill to activate this, as Naruto was amazed, and even the Yang half of Kurama complimented his sealing skills for using the cloak.[71] In this mode, he was seen using chakra arms to grab the chakra

of the tailed beasts.[72] He also showed the ability to enter a Tailed Beast Mode, one of near-identical appearance to that of his son, albeit with a darker colouration. In this form, Minato could still use his regular techniques, such as the Rasengan, albeit on a much larger scale. He could also use other techniques that come with the form such as the Tailed Beast Ball in conjunction with Naruto.[73]

After Yang-Kurama was removed from Naruto, to save his son's life, Minato transferred Yin-Kurama to Naruto (which was intercepted by Black Zetsu).

Senjutsu

Minato's Sage Mode.

During his lifetime, Minato learned to use the senjutsu taught at Mount Myōboku — the art of gathering natural energy to aid in his techniques, and also how to enter Sage Mode by gathering natural energy into his body as well.[74] By his own admission, Minato stated that his skills with senjutsu were limited as he took a longer time to gather the natural energy, and as such he never applied them to actual combat before due to his fighting style revolving around speed and taking out his opponents as soon as possible.[75]Nevertheless, he was able to perfectly balance the natural energy with his chakra, only displaying the pigmentation around his eyes — the true marking of a Sage. In this form, his physical parameters and techniques are greatly augmented.IntelligenceMinato was shown to be very intuitive and clever from a young age. Of the many ninja sent out to save Kushina from her Kumogakure kidnappers, Minato was the only one to notice the trail of hair she was leaving.[45] After seeing a technique once, he could correctly deduce the basic mechanics behind it, such as the strengths and weaknesses of Kakashi's Chidori.[76] During his skirmish against the masked man, he was able to determine that his opponent didn't want to drag on their fight as he could not keep Kuramasummoned for very long, as well as quickly ascertain a method of counter-attacking. Using this information, he was able to take advantage of Tobi's haste to not only wound him, but also remove his control over the beast as well.[77] [78]  Minato was also able to understand part of the workings of the Truth-Seeking Balls and come up with an effective counter measure involving his teammates in a relatively short period of time.[79]Minato was also shown to be very clever in marking his enemies with his Flying Thinder God formula shortly after striking a successful blow on them so they

wouldn't know they were marked until he jumped to their location. Minato has also seemed to somehow make this into a subconscious habit as he slashed and marked Killer B while at the same time being in shock at discovering his status as a jinchūriki.Other SkillsMinato had very large reserves and strong levels of chakra, being able to perform high-level summonings as well as enter Sage Mode. Likewise, his chakra control was very refined, most often seen from his proficiency of the Rasengan. Minato could transfer chakra and adapt it to another person's own chakra, as he placed some of Kushina's and his own chakra within Naruto to help him in the future to deal with Kurama.[80] [81] Minato also displayed the ability to form hand seals using a single hand.[82]Minato had noticeable sensory type abilities similar to Tobirama's, being able sense Naruto's chakra within the Nine-Tails', despite being a great distance away.[83] and detect the presence of people within an area by simply placing his finger on the ground.[84] He is adept at using barrier ninjutsu, capable of erecting a Kage-calibre barrier powerful enough to trap the Ten-Tails.[85] He can also use the Shadow Clone Technique.[86]

Part IIInvasion of Pain Arc

Minato placing his trust in Naruto.

It was not until the Invasion of Pain that he made an actual appearance in the story. When Naruto started to give into the temptation of power from the Nine-Tails and was about to release the beast, the imprint of Minato stopped him. Minato voiced his dislike of seeing the Nine-Tails again, but pointed out that its actions had allowed him to see his son once more. Naruto eventually picked up on what Minato was saying, and was overjoyed to finally find out who his father was. Minato tried to talk with Naruto, but the Nine-Tails kept interrupting the conversation, angered at the presence of the Fourth Hokage, so Minato transported them to another space that was quieter. Naruto was outraged at the idea that Minato would seal the Nine-Tails into his own son, which Minato apologised for. Naruto punched him in anger but quickly got over it, claiming that as his son, he could handle it.Because he had a limited amount of time to talk to Naruto, Minato briefly caught up with him, at the same time indicating that he knew that Pain had killed Jiraiya and was aware of Konoha's destruction as he saw it through Naruto. He expressed his suspicions that Pain was actually being manipulated by someone else due to his childhood psychological traumas, and that it was "The masked man of the Akatsuki" who really wished Konoha's destruction. He went onto suggest that, as long as the current ninja system exists, people like Pain, who were ruined by war will continue to exist. He restored the seal on Naruto's stomach and voiced his confidence in him that he would find a way to stop the vicious cycle of death and destruction before disappearing to the afterlife.Chikara Arc

Main article: Chikara ArcIn the anime, Minato restored Naruto's seal once more when the latter almost lost control after his clone absorbed his Nine-Tails chakra. Once again, Minato voiced his confidence in his son, and his ability to overcome this adversity.[87]

Ten-Tails Revival Arc

Minato is reincarnated alongside his predecessors.

In Sasuke Uchiha's quest for answers, Minato's soul was freed from within theShinigami and subsequently reincarnated by Orochimaru along with otherthree past Hokage that preceded him, using Zetsu's spore clones as sacrifices.Shocked to find himself in this state, Minato questioned Orochimaru about how he was able to break the Dead Demon Consuming Seal. Greeted with the question of who he was, Minato proudly brandished the emblem on the back of his haori, letting the First and Second know that he was the person who had inherited the title of Fourth Hokage, pleasing Hashirama who took this as a sign of the village's stability, though Minato admitted he could not say anything about that as he had actually died before Hiruzen had. He later sheepishly told Hashirama that his sealing inside of the Shinigami was due to a different incident than Hiruzen coming to be there. Upon Hashirama's reaction on learning that Tsunade had inherited the title of Fifth Hokage, Minato could not help but ask if he was worried, but Hashirama simply laughed his concern off, noting that he had spoiled the Fifth quite a bit when she was a child.

Minato and the other reincarnated Hokage prepare to head out to the battlefield.

After the exchange between an outraged Tobirama, who was ready to retaliate after hearing Sasuke declare that he may exact his revenge on the village, and Hashirama, who had to forcefully stop his brother, Minato marvelled at the fact that something so simple had almost caused the Naka Shrine to cave-in. Upon hearing that Madara had been reincarnated on the battlefield and about theFourth Shinobi World War, Minato soon felt Naruto and Kurama's chakra on the battlefield, and was elated that his son had managed to achieve what he had hoped he would when he sealed the beast inside him. After Hashirama completed his story, and Hiruzen lamented that he had been too indulging a Hokage, Minato told the Third that he had done the best he could have given the circumstances. He lamented that he had failed as a Hokage, having died during the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha, which left his reign woefully short and falling short of all the expectations which had been heaped upon him. Nevertheless, when Sasuke had made his decision to protect Itachi's sacrifice, the four Hokages and their new-found allies moved to the outside of the Naka Shrine where, upon Hashirama's behest, took his place upon his bust on the Hokage Monument. Minato expressed

excitement in finally being able to meet his son as well as bringing him a present to make up for not being able to be there for him as a father.

Minato and the other Hokage arrive on the battlefield.

Arriving on the battlefield just in time to warp the Ten-Tails' Tailed Beast Ball away, he managed to save Naruto and the remainder of the Shinobi Alliance. There he greeted his son — enquiring whether or not he was too late — to which Naruto happily responded that he was right on time. Introducing himself to Sakura, Minato also noted that they needed to brace themselves for impact. Just then, the ocean behind them rose up, leading Minato to first explain that he had sent the Tailed Beast Ball out to sea and then that though he was reincarnated, he was on their side. Curious, as he thanked Sakura for healing his son, he also asked whether she was his girlfriend. Sakura's subsequent violent response to Naruto's answer reminded Minato of Kushina. With this the other Hokage arrived on the battlefield and launched into action immediately, at Hashirama's behest. Minato then entered his own Nine-Tails Chakra Mode using the Yin chakra he took fromKurama's being, telling the other Hokage that he had already marked the location. With the Hokage moving to their designated location, Minato and the other Hokage used the Four Red Yang Formation technique to trap the beast as they prepare their counter attack. Minato later is impressed by Naruto changing the "nature" of the Rasengan after seeing the Rasenshuriken.

Minato attacks Obito.

Minato's attention was later called to the once masked man's cries atop the Ten-Tails. Realising that Madara was controlling the newcomer with his chakra so that he could revive himself. As others around him sprung into action to stop this from happening. Minato then created a shadow clone and was able to teleport directly to where the newcomer was, and is shocked to see that it was his former student Obito. With realisation dawned on him, as he realised that Obito had been responsible for the attack on Konoha by the Nine-Tails. Noting that the Flying Thunder God marking never disappears as Sasuke arrived. Obito falls to the ground, and they turned their attention to Madara. However Obito who is still alive used the opportunity to seal the Ten-Tails within himself, finally achieving his goal of becoming the beast's jinchūriki.

As the shell fell away, Obito's new form was revealed. His appearance changed somewhat drastically, causing Minato to comment that this was too odd. As Obito surveyed the battlefield wide-eyed, he created several chakra arms and destroyed the Four Red Yang Formation sending the real Minato and the other Hokage reeling. As Minato called out for him to stop, in response to this, Obito simply sounded out his own name, as if it were unfamiliar to him.

Minato clashes with Obito once again.

Shocked to see Obito attack the First and Second with such speed, Minato nevertheless heeded Tobirama's command to get away from the area. Flying Gamakichi and the others to a safer distance, Minato noted how quick Tobirama was to act and watched on as the Second used his Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags in an attempt to incapacitate Obito. When this did not work, Minato noted to Sasuke that while the Hokage were in fact fighting to reveal Obito's abilities, their reincarnated bodies would take some time to reconstruct and such needed to buy some time. Teleporting his clone to his side, Minato noted that while it had been some time since he had used it, he would attack with the Spiralling Flash Super Round Dance Howl Participate Formula  technique but before he was able to do so, he noticed Obito's upper half was about to attack Naruto. Just before he was about to teleport to his son's aid, Sasuke arrived using Susanoo and diverted the attack, at the same time, Minato, unaware, was sent reeling by Obito's apparently vulnerable lower half. Later when both Naruto and Sasuke were attacked by his former student, Minato anxiously prepared to fly to their location, hoping that he would make it in time.

Unable to teleport to Sasuke and Naruto's aid as it appeared that the seal for the Flying Thunder God Technique had disappeared from Obito's body, Minato was a