#maybe I am criticizing Minato but not in bad faith okay?

[team7-headquarter]

I'm kinda curious about the period of time when Minato was Hokage, because there's so much you could say about Konoha depending on it. It could be that I don't remember what the manga says about it too, but anyway.

We know that before Minato was Hokage, the discrimination towards jinchuurikis was high. We know it from Kushina's story. After Minato, the jinchuurikis discrimination was not exactly as bad as it could have been (and the bar is soooo low) in physical terms, but the level of sheer isolation was ridiculous. Sure, Kushina had guards and she lived in a tower with a perimeter drawn around it, one that she couldn't surpass. The difference is that Kushina knew why she was being isolated, there was someone willing to teach her about it right from the start, a family member even if distant, someone with the same experience.

All Naruto knew is that he was unwanted. He had no family, no one was willing to guide him. No, not even Iruka. I'm talking about before in the manga, before Iruka realized how much Naruto needed him and did something about it.

If that was before and after, how was it during the time Minato was Hokage?

Did Minato push for Kushina to become Hokage? Was the idea rejected? Did he get angry? It was her dream after all. Or did they realize it would be impossible so they pushed Minato to go for it? Were they sad about the idea of Kushina having to live her dream through Minato, because they wouldn't let her go for it? When did Kushina give up and change her goal in life?

Did Minato tell anyone about his plan on how to get rid of the jinchuuriki discrimination? Did he talk about it with Kushina? We know that they planned Naruto's birth and tried to make it as safe as possible. When the time to seal Kurama within Naruto came, they both knew how Konoha would treat Naruto. Minato wanted Naruto to be viewed as the son of a hero, but his wishes were thrown aside as soon as his body was cold enough.

With no law to protect the jinchuuriki of the kyubi, I wonder how bold the people of Konoha were in their discrimination against Kushina while Minato was Hokage. Times were different, Minato was highly respected and feared, but how many times did he have to tell someone to mind their words? How many times did he catch Kushina avoiding a certain restaurant or a street? Did he ever feel a slight of resentment against his home for the way they treated his wife? His pregnant wife?

Were there rumors of the child being a monster for being the son of a jinchuuriki? It could be that some Konoha parents telling their kids to not play with the little Uzumaki/Namikaze was a thing before Naruto was even born?

From what I've seen, Konoha has no gentleness for kids of prestigious lineages. Being a child of a powerful shinobi makes your life worse, in fact. A million times over: it happened to Sasuke, to Neji, it happened to Kakashi in the generation before them, it happened to Itachi in the in-between.

I don't think that being the son of the hokage would have saved Naruto for being mistreated by the village. Not when his mother was a jinchuuriki.

It just makes me wonder, you know?

In the time he had, how did Minato try to change things to protect his family?

Was it a matter of needing more time? Or there wasn't a plan at all?

#I've realized this reads as if I'm harshly criticizing Minato #as always the problem is not within the character but the plot holes in the story itself #Kishimoto clearly presents Minato as a man who loves his family but not always does the best for them #he struggles balancing his duty to konoha and his role as a father and a husband #it is a fact that he failed to protect Naruto #but the lack on information about his time as a hokage makes it seems like he waa failing his family before Naruto was even born #it contradicts what we saw of him in the newest Naruto one-shot #he created the rasengan to protect Kushina and help her be free and safe #he reacued her when she was kidnapped #he stood up for her #they seemed to love each other deeply and Kushina had the temper to chase after him if she thought he was avoiding her for example #sealing kurama within naruto was really bad but in the end he had little time and there were on a big crisis #I wonder what type of pressure was put on him while he was Hokage #even when he was really smart and dangerous and whatever he still was young #he failed his genin team too #I'm sorry but all those pieces are not in Minato's favor #which makes him a great character for being complex and compelling #but anyway #maybe I am criticizing Minato but not in bad faith okay? #minato namikaze #kushina uzumaki #naruto uzumaki #naruto #naruto shippuden #naruto classic