Every single character in Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto plays a significant role in the series, including the parents of our protagonists themselves, Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. He took up the name of his mother instead of his father according to tradition, due to reasons that were revealed later in the series.
Nonetheless, fans have always wondered what if Minato was not Naruto’s father to begin with. This is a question whose answer can be found in the original one-shot for the manga. It reveals a grave secret that had the potential to change everything forever.
Who Was Supposed To Be Naruto’s Father In The Franchise?
For those who might not know, the established timeline portrays none other than the Minato Namikaze, or the fourth hokage to be the father of our protagonist. It is through his sacrifice that half of Kurama was sealed inside Naruto, granting him his unique powers and abilities.
However, revealed back in 1997, one of the one-shots included a storyline where Naruto turned out to be the kid of Nine-Tails Fox himself, instead of Minato. If Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of the series, had decided to go ahead with this idea, we would have seen a whole different franchise, destroying everything we know about it.
Kurama, or the nine-tails being the father of our protagonist is not only an idea, but it also came with a whole plot and storyline that could be worked on, as seen usually with one-shots.
What It Would Have Been Like To Have Kurama As A Father Figure?
As mentioned before, the mangaka of the series had the courtesy to plot out the whole storyline when he was planning to make the nine-tails fox the protagonist’s father instead of Minato Namikaze.
It would have started with the attack of Kurama on a village found on Mt. Oinari. After managing to defeat the evil fox, the leaders of the village would then find our hero as the child of the nine-tails fox. They would then adopt him in hopes that he will grow up to be less violent and evil than his father, with the story continuing as usual, where he acts mischievously to blend in with others.
While it might not have suited the main timeline that we see now, it would have been great if there was a spin-off series following down this particular road. It could also have been implemented in a non-cannon movie, where our hero would be the son of Kurama in an alternate universe, something that has been explored before by the studio.
Naruto is available to watch on Crunchyroll.
