Fans are finally a week away from the release of the Minato one-shot manga and it's time for the fans to be excited for it. Ever since the announcement of the one shot, fans have been eagerly waiting in anticipation for its release and now, fans are only a week away from its release. Minato Namikaze is a beloved character among the fans and, for the very first time, the fans are going to see a story that is solely focused on the 4th Hokage of Konoha.
Fans are also very excited in general for Kishimoto's return after a very long time. Naruto has continued through Boruto over the years with Kishimoto's involvement in the plot, however, it certainly doesn't feel the same as Naruto. The original series has its own charm and that charm will finally be brought to the surface through this Minato one-shot, which will also mark Kishimoto's return after nearly 8 years.
A Look Into The Life Of Young Minato
For quite a while, fans were wondering whether the Minato one shot would give them a look into his life as the Fourth Hokage or a time before that. It has now been confirmed, judging by the Key Art that was revealed, that the one shot is going to be focusing on Minato before he became the Fourth Hokage. This means that fans will get a look into the life of a younger Minato, who was still full of promise and raw talent and most likely a student under Jiraiya.
It remains to be seen whether Minato was already a Jonin by this point or not, however, regardless of that, a Shinobi as powerful as him would amaze the fans with his jutsu prowess either way. Fans will most certainly get to see him train and attempt to get stronger. Since he is not going to be the Hokage at this point, fans could even get a look into his dream and the incredible zeal that he has to see it become a reality. Minato would certainly be doing everything he possibly can to become the Fourth Hokage and that is certainly something that the Minato One Shot is going to focus quite a lot on.
One of the most intriguing aspects of the story that the Minato one-shot can focus on is his ninja team, which can go two ways. If Minato is not a Jonin in this manga already, then he will be in a team that is led by Jiraiya. In this case, fans will get to see Minato and Jiraiya work together and that is certainly going to be a sight to behold. At the same time, fans will also find out about Minato's other two teammates, who were briefly seen in Auto, however, nothing was revealed about them moving forward. This will certainly become a great opportunity for Kishimoto to introduce them to the fans.
However, if Minato is already a Jonin by this point, then he will likely not get the chance to draw his old teammates. Curiously, however, this will give fans a chance to see Minato going out on different missions. Fans know Minato has completed quite a lot of missions in Konoha, with quite a few of them being S Rank missions. If Minato is already a Jonin, fans could, perhaps, see him embark on one of these dangerous missions and solidify his infamy as one of the strongest ninjas to ever exist. Whichever way the story goes, fans are likely going to see quite a lot of the genius of Minato Namikaze.
The Creation Of His Jutsu
Of course, it has already been teased that the manga is going to focus on the creation of Minato's jutsu. Fans know that Minato was a genius ninja and that he had access to countless powerful jutsu. For a genius such as himself, creating new Jutsu should not have been a challenge at all. Throughout his life, Minato likely created quite a lot of jutsu, most of which the fans have not even seen. However, some of them have ended up becoming iconic in the world of Naruto.
Fans know Minato to have taken the Flying Raijin that was created by Tobirama and then perfect it, taking it a step beyond. While it is possible that the story will focus on this jutsu of his, it is not a technique that he created himself.
The chances of the story focusing on the Flying Raijin are lower than another powerful technique that Minato ended up creating from scratch by himself, the Rasengan. Minato created the Rasengan by observing a Tailed Beast Ball at some point in his life. How and when this happened is something that the fans don't know, however, what they do know is that it took Minato 3 years to perfect the Rasengan, which is believed to be the epitome of shape transformation and Chakra control.
This dangerous jutsu ended up becoming his signature technique and, using it, he could end fights within a matter of seconds. If the Naruto Gaiden: Minato One-Shot does focus on the creation of the Rasengan, then fans can see how Minato struggled to accomplish this great feat and why it ended up becoming as legendary as it is in the world of Naruto.
Furthermore, fans also know that the Rasengan is not a complete jutsu. Minato originally intended for it to be the basis for his ultimate technique. He wanted to add nature transformation to the Rasengan, completing it in the process. Sadly, he ended up dying at a very young age, leaving him unable to finish the job himself. Naruto ended up doing it for him later on in the story, however, fans could, perhaps, see Minato try his luck at mixing nature transformation with the Rasengan.
Minato And Kushina
Minato Namikaze is going to be central to the story of the Minato one shot, as is expected, however, the story could also throw some light on other side characters in Naruto that fans absolutely adore. Jiraiya is one such character that fans could see in this one shot and, other than him, there is also Kushina Uzumaki, Minato's wife, who could end up making her way into the one shot.
Fans have seen very little of Kushina in the story and whatever role she has played has been in conjunction with Minato. Given that the story is heavily focused on Minato Namikaze, fans could, perhaps, see him together with her. This could be through a mission that they take on together or, just discussing the secrets of his jutsu with her. It must also be kept in mind that Minato learned quite a lot from Kushina. Being a member of the Uzumaki Clan, she knew the many secrets and Sealing techniques that she ended up teaching to Minato later on.
This is yet another aspect that the minute one shot can focus on moving forward. Of course, the problem is that the Minato one-shot is just 55 pages long and can't cramp everything in one chapter. Kishimoto will have to carefully plan how he structures this one shot in order to give fans everything that they want. However, even if that doesn't happen, it is still going to be an incredible story, just for the fact that Naruto is once again returning.
Fans have been waiting for Kishimoto to make a return and, hopefully, this will open the doors for more one-shots about different characters from the story in the future. There is quite a lot of untapped potential in the Naruto universe that Kishimoto can tap into and, hopefully, he does that moving forward.
Naruto Gaiden: Uzu no Naka no Tsumujikaze will be released on July 17, 2023. Fans can read the chapter for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus app.