10 Giveaways Minato Was Naruto's Father All Along - CBR

When Naruto learns who his parents are, he finally realizes his significance to Konohagakure as the son of Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage and hero who stopped the Nine-Tails. Naruto spent his childhood trying to fill the void of loneliness as he had no family member to rely on.

RELATED: 10 Ways Naruto Would Be Different If Minato Was The Main Character

For fans, the reveal of Minato and Kushina as Naruto's parents was a moment they all waited for because they were already in on the secret. It was exciting to know that Naruto came from greatness, and even though Naruto had no idea where he came from, there were several hints given throughout the series that made it obvious who his father really was.

10 The Fourth Hokage's Monument Appears Behind Naruto In The First Episode

When Iruka takes Naruto out for ramen, Naruto begins to describe his dreams of becoming the Hokage one day. As he’s thinking about this, the image of Hokage Rock appears behind his head. The monument has the faces of all of the Hokage carved into it. As Naruto envisions the monument, the only face from the mountain that appears above behind him is that of Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage.

9 The Third Hokage Stared At The Fourth's Image When Speaking Of Naruto's Mistreatment

The Third Hokage spoke often of the Fourth Hokage and the sacrifice he made to save the village. While talking about the events that took place when the Nine-Tails attacked the village, the Third Hokage was staring up at Hokage Rock, specifically at the image of the Fourth Hokage. He revealed that the defeated Nine-Tails was sealed inside of a baby whose umbilical cord had just been cut. Knowing that Naruto had just been born and that it was the Fourth Hokage who sealed the Nine-Tails inside of Naruto, it only made sense that Minato was his father as he was there at the time of his birth.

8 The Identities Of Naruto's Parents Were Made A Secret To The Village

The Third Hokage decided that no one would speak about the night the Nine-Tailed Fox Spirit attacked the village. Only the shinobi who fought that night knew about the events that transpired and that the Nine-Tails was sealed inside of Naruto. Even though Naruto’s peers didn't know what had happened, the older villagers treated Naruto as if he himself was the demon fox spirit.

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Seeing how the identities of Naruto's parents were purposely kept a secret from the public, it made sense to assume his parents held respectable positions of some sort. As it turned out, the Third Hokage feared that if Naruto was revealed to be the son of the Fourth Hokage, it could've put a huge target on Naruto's back.

7  Naruto's Appearance Resembles Minato

Whenever the image of the Fourth Hokage was shown, viewers could see that he was a tall blonde man. There are very few children in The Leaf Village who are blonde. Not only that, but the Fourth Hokage’s hair was worn in the same spiky style as Naruto’s. With the mystery of Naruto’s parentage looming in the background, it’s easy to connect him to the ghostly yellow haired figure who saved Konoha. When his photograph was shown, fan’s suspicions were confirmed as he looked exactly like Naruto.

6 Naruto's Mentors, Kakashi & Jiraiya, Had Personal Relationships With Minato

It’s no coincidence that the two men closest to Minato ended up being Naruto's teachers. Minato was Kakashi’s teacher, while Jiraiya was Minato's teacher who had a close relationship with him and his wife Kushina Uzumaki. It’s revealed later that Jiraiya was Naruto's godfather and that Naruto was named after a character in a book he had written. In hindsight, it only makes sense that Minato would be connected back to his son with Jiraiya and Kakashi becoming personally responsible for Naruto's training and growth.

5 Jiraiya Apologized To Minato For The Dangerous Training He Was About To Put Naruto Through

When Jiraiya began training Naruto, he started with summoning jutsu and encouraged him to learn how to use the Nine-Tails chakra. Naruto had a difficult time attempting to summon toads, as he would summon tadpoles instead. Furthermore, he was unable to channel the Nine Tails chakra at will. Jiraiya decided he needed to try a risky approach to get Naruto to generate the chakra of the Nine Tails. He knocked Naruto unconscious, believing that the "excitement of danger and emotion" was the key to Naruto drawing out his red chakra. While doing this, Jiraiya apologized to The Fourth Hokage with a smile, telling him it was nothing personal.

4 Naruto Was Taught Minato's Signature Ninjutsu

Jiraiya used the Rasengan while out in town with Naruto. Naruto was extremely intrigued by this jutsu, and he observed that it didn’t come from regular hand movements. Jiraiya began his lesson with simplicity, telling Naruto to use the chakra in his hand to move the water inside of a balloon.

RELATED: 10 Times Naruto Earned His Village's Respect (In Chronological Order)

Excited, Naruto explained that he would master the technique in three days. Jiraiya then explained to Naruto that the Rasengan is a ninjutsu passed down by the Fourth Hokage and it took him three years to perfect it.

3 Gamabunta Is Reminded Of The Fourth After Naruto Summons Him

Following through with his idea to force Naruto into using the Nine-Tails chakra, Jiraiya pushed Naruto off of a cliff, telling him he’d have to generate the Nine-Tails chakra or die. As Naruto began falling to his death, he was able to use the Nine Tails chakra and summon Gamabunta. Gamabunta was the chief toad and didn’t want to accept Naruto as his master as he was only a child. After spending the day torturing Naruto and trying to get him to fall off his back, Gamabunta finally admitted that he was aware that Naruto was the one who summoned him on his own. He then stated that it was the first time since the Fourth Hokage that someone has climbed on his head.

2 Kakashi Tells Naruto He Has The Potential To Become Stronger Than The Fourth Hokage

When Kakashi called Naruto in for training, he wanted him to develop a unique jutsu just for him. He taught him about "change in chakra nature" and "change in chakra form." This would eventually lead to Naruto creating the Rasenshuriken. While instructing Naruto, he tells him that it’s a difficult ninjutsu to learn and even the Fourth Hokage couldn’t do it. He then tells Naruto he believes he’s the only one who surpass the Fourth. It was an obvious giveaway that Kakashi was aware Naruto and Minato were father and son.

1 He's Constantly Being Mentioned When Naruto Is Training

The Fourth Hokage is referred to often throughout the series, especially prior to Naruto finding out he’s his father. In almost every scene where the Fourth Hokage is mentioned, it involves Naruto. In almost all of Naruto's training sequences, he’s either compared to the Fourth Hokage or given a lesson about him. Naruto's skills as a shinobi and special techniques are typically correlated with Minato’s. Though none of the characters who make these observations explicitly mention that Naruto was Minato’s son, these were clear signs that pointed to who Naruto's father truly was all along.

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NEXT: Naruto: 10 Biggest Underdogs Who Proved Everyone Wrong