It's All For Your Own Good

"Hokage-sama!" x2.

The two Anbu who had stayed behind to monitor Naruto emerged from the shadows and knelt on one knee before the Third Hokage.

Standing below, the Third Hokage gazed up at the second-floor window without speaking. He was bringing people over. From a considerable distance from Naruto's hut, he had sensed a suppressive and wild chakra.

This chakra was not only familiar to him; everyone in Konoha who had survived that night five years ago was intimately familiar with it.

"What happened?"

The Third Hokage asked, a shadow crossing his face.

Progress on Naruto's arrangements that morning had only just been made with Shikamaru, and by evening, there were signs of the Nine-Tails potentially going berserk.

This put the Third Hokage, who was working tirelessly for Konoha in his office, in a very bad mood. He had originally planned to go back and check on his grandson, Konohamaru, who had just turned one year old.

"The target hasn't left his home since returning this noon. He went out onto the second-floor balcony for less than two minutes this afternoon. Everything was normal, but just a few minutes ago, we discovered the target on the second floor suddenly and without warning unleashed the Nine-Tails' chakra."

Upon hearing this, the Third Hokage's expression softened slightly. He then turned his gaze and nodded to the Anbu beside him.

Six figures emerged from the group behind him. They moved swiftly, forming hand seals.

"Barrier! Seal!"

Starting from each of the six individuals, a semi-transparent light screen rose and connected, encircling the small building. In an instant, Naruto's small building was enclosed within a hexagonal space.

An Anbu wearing a beige hooded coat walked up to the Third Hokage and said, "Hokage-sama, the barrier is complete. We still sense the Jinchuriki's position hasn't moved. Shall we..."

BOOM—

Before he could finish speaking, everyone below saw the wall next to the second-floor entrance instantly explode, creating a large hole.

The Third Hokage's gaze immediately sharpened as he stared at the opening. Soon, he saw Naruto emerge, wearing his pajamas.

His face immediately turned as dark as if it could wring water out. He saw Naruto completely enveloped in crimson chakra, his eyes now crimson vertical slits, and two wavering tails behind him.

"Hokage-sama, why have you come?"

"Hm~~ Hm?" The Third Hokage blinked in surprise, then exclaimed, "Naruto? You're still conscious?"

Before deciding to break through the wall, Naruto had weighed everything in his mind. He needed to appear as if he could still be firmly controlled. The situation wasn't dire yet, so he needed to manage his emotions and maintain his usual calm demeanor to cooperate with the situation he would face.

Hearing the Third Hokage's question, a flicker of confusion crossed Naruto's face. "What do you mean?"

The Third Hokage was truly surprised. He hadn't expected Naruto, in his Tailed Beast form, to retain his self-awareness.

After countless thoughts flashed through his mind, the Third Hokage's benevolent expression returned as he asked Naruto, "Naruto, what is this chakra on you?"

"I don't know."

To deceive others, one must first deceive oneself. Naruto uttered this sentence, as if answering and as if murmuring to himself.

"You don't know? Then how did this chakra appear?"

The Third Hokage looked at Naruto's somewhat fierce and ferocious face, distorted by the Nine-Tails' chakra, and felt speechless.

Although Naruto appeared very calm, covered by this ominous chakra on his body, the Third Hokage remained highly vigilant. This concerned a Tailed Beast, so he had to be even more cautious.

Naruto seemed curious as he raised his hands, which had transformed into beast-like claws, and examined them back and forth. He opened his mouth innocently and said, "Hokage-sama, I really don't know. Today, I made a friend. He's from the Nara Clan."

"I was so happy that I went straight home. Then, after lunch, I was refining chakra upstairs. It wasn't until evening when I felt a bit sleepy that I suddenly heard a voice in my mind calling my name."

What kind of logic was this?

You made a friend, and you immediately went home happily.

The Third Hokage and his subordinates nearby found their minds struggling to process this.

However, their attention quickly shifted to Naruto's last sentence.

The Third Hokage's expression darkened. "A voice called you? What voice?"

A flicker of confusion crossed Naruto's face. "It sounded like a fox?"

The Third Hokage asked sternly, "What kind of fox!"

"I didn't see it clearly. When I followed the sound, I saw a fox-like face!" Naruto said with surprise. "This fox called me to a dark iron gate, and then some red stuff flowed out from the gate and spilled onto my feet."

"It said this was a reward for me being able to see it at such a young age."

"Then, I don't know what happened, but my body became like this."

Inside the sealed space, Kurama heard Naruto say this, and his crimson eyes lit up.

Although he felt that the things Naruto was saying were strange, they somehow suited his intentions.

The Third Hokage nodded thoughtfully. It sounded like the Nine-Tails within Naruto had actively lured him into the seal, causing this outcome. However, he stared at the large hole upstairs and suddenly asked, "Naruto, why did you break your own wall?"

Upon hearing this, a flash of anger crossed Naruto's face. "I didn't break it!"

"What? You didn't break it?"

This time, not only the Third Hokage's expression was strange, but even the Anbu surrounding them had speechless expressions beneath their masks.

"Yes! It wasn't me!" Naruto nodded, then pointed to the two swaying tails behind him. "It was them! Just as I discovered these things on my body and was wondering about them, these two things smashed all the tables, chairs, and a lot of furniture in my room."

"Seeing them destroying things, I wanted to come out. But just as I was about to open the door, these two things broke the wall next to the door."

The Third Hokage still felt somewhat doubtful upon hearing this.

Although he was certain Naruto's consciousness was completely clear and not faked at all, why couldn't he control the Nine-Tails' chakra?

The tailed beast data they possessed had no such situation.

From the day Konoha gained its first Jinchuriki, whenever the Jinchuriki's body manifested the Tailed Beast's chakra or was covered by it, either the Jinchuriki's consciousness was in control, or they completely lost themselves and were controlled by the Tailed Beast's consciousness.

When the Jinchuriki was in control, they could fully utilize the Tailed Beast's chakra within their body. When controlled by the Tailed Beast, they would fall into a berserk state that was difficult to contain.

Furthermore, the data on Jinchuriki sent back by Konoha's spies in other villages with Tailed Beasts was also consistent with this.

But what was Naruto's situation? The Jinchuriki hadn't lost his consciousness, yet he couldn't control the Tailed Beast's chakra. This was completely unreasonable.

The Third Hokage felt the situation was a bit of a misunderstanding, but there was another tricky matter at hand.

Judging by Naruto's appearance, he didn't seem to know what the events happening to him meant. This made the Third Hokage's head ache immensely, wondering how to explain everything that had happened to him.

In a flash, the Third Hokage had a plan. He looked at Naruto upstairs and smiled, "Heh heh, Naruto, come down first. Now you need our help to control this chakra."

"Okay," Naruto jumped down from the second floor and walked a few steps to the Third Hokage, tilting his head up to ask, "Can this really be controlled?"

The surrounding Anbu scattered before Naruto even moved closer, adopting a highly vigilant posture.

"Heh heh, of course, it can," the Third Hokage showed his kind smile again, then said to Naruto, "Naruto, take off your clothes so I can take a look."

"Why should I take off my clothes?" Naruto asked, looking confused.

The Third Hokage said gently, "Don't be afraid, Naruto. I just need to check if your body has been negatively affected, just like when you went for check-ups at the Konoha Hospital. Do you remember the medical ninja you saw when you were little?"

"Oh, okay."

Hearing this, Naruto lowered his head and began to unbutton his shirt, but a trace of bloodlust flashed in his eyes for a moment. He immediately closed his eyes and suppressed that emotion.

It was actually quite difficult to control this chakra for the first time. If he wasn't careful, it could stir up the deepest negative emotions within him.

Seeing Naruto close his eyes, the Third Hokage thought he was just scared. However, he considered it a perfectly normal reaction for a child.

When he inspected the Konoha Hospital, he often saw children closing their eyes out of fear during check-ups or injections. Naruto was special, but he was still a child.

A smile flashed across his face, and the Third Hokage crouched down. The sealing jutsu on Naruto's stomach had clearly appeared.

"It's the same as a few years ago. The Eight Trigrams Seal shows no signs of damage. The Fourth Hokage specifically developed the Eight Trigrams Seal based on the Four Symbols Seal to allow the Nine-Tails' chakra to leak out from the Four Symbols Seal and revert to Naruto's own."

"It seems that the reason for Naruto being able to retain his consciousness but not control the Nine-Tails' chakra is likely related to the special nature of the Eight Trigrams Seal."

"Fourth Hokage truly thought far ahead for this child."

After examining the sealing jutsu, the Third Hokage placed a hand on Naruto's stomach and sensed carefully. After a moment, his eyes sharpened.

Naruto's own chakra reserves had already reached the level of a typical Konoha Jonin.

"This child is only five years old, and he's already reached this point using the commoner's method of chakra refinement!"

"If we add the chakra converted from the Nine-Tails..."

After many thoughts flashed through his mind, the Third Hokage narrowed his eyes and said with a smile, "Heh heh, Naruto, I've checked you. Your body hasn't been affected."

"However, from now on, if you hear any voices in your head, just ignore them. They are evil monsters."

"Don't move now. I'll help you seal this chakra within your body."

Hearing this, Naruto's internal alarm bells rang loudly, but he still didn't dare to open his eyes. He could only nod expressionlessly.

The Third Hokage actually didn't care whether Naruto agreed or not. As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly opened one hand, and a ball of chakra ignited at each of his fingertips.

"Five Elements Seal!"

After saying this, the Third Hokage precisely targeted the details of the Eight Trigrams Seal's runes and swiftly placed his hand on Naruto's stomach.

The Five Elements Seal's sealing jutsu was successfully engraved onto the Eight Trigrams Seal.

"I'm doing this for your own good."

The Third Hokage finally relaxed his expression and slowly uttered these words.

Upon hearing "Five Elements Seal," Naruto knew something was wrong.

But he didn't have time to dodge, nor did he dare to.

A pain that pierced his soul struck him, and the Tailed Beast chakra within his body rapidly retracted.

"Ugh..."

Hearing the Third Hokage's words, Naruto forcefully suppressed the urge to cry out in pain, but he also completely fainted.