So, I have been thinking about Minato and his era lately....
Classmates — Outside of Kushina, I can't think of many. But wouldn't their friends and classmates should still be around and active in the village at the time Naruto is a teen (at the time of the manga). But all I can think of are Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji's dads.
Minato's elite guards — Much later in the manga we learned that Raido, Genma and Iwashi were Minato's elite bodyguards — which is nuts because the look to be Kakashi and Asuma's age. And literally show no exceptional powers at all, at least not strong enough to defend one of the strongest/fastest men alive.
Namikaze clan — Where are they? Really. This dude is so fast he awes everyone who meets him. So...where did his power come from (like what's his personal story or was he just a straight up prodigy like Itachi), where are the rest of his family, and what is this history of his clan's power?
Kushina — I used to think Kushina was an orphan as well, but in reading the wiki page about her, it seems that they've intermarried quite a bit with the Senju over the generations. Which is what's crazy — Naruto's mother is an outsider clan (from their own long-lost country) but with many family members probably still in and around Konoha, and with a secret clan compound somewhere outside the village. While Minato's family was apparently from Konoha, but there is apparently no one left and no info to be passed down (even though he was the youngest kage, fastest man in history, etc).
(Really, it should be Kushina who's the complete outside orphan, while Minato and his family should be the one with the hidden legacy left to be discovered by Naruto. (Sort of like Harry Potter with James and Lily.) But aside from some sparce facts about their lives, neither Minato nor Kushina are given much background unfortunately.)
So just wondering if anyone had any thoughts on Minato and his era. For me, from everything I've seen in the manga, it seems like Naruto, the orphan, is the only son of Minato, the orphan, and any legacy that's to be uncovered would be from Kushina's side. Thoughts?