See Who Can Control Everything

Konoha Hospital.

It was already dawn. In a spacious room, the unconscious Naruto had been placed on a hospital bed, translucent tubes inserted all over his body. Four medical ninja in white coats watched a monitor beside him, its screen filled with complex data fluctuating wildly.

The Third Hokage and a group of Anbu stood in a circle around the bed. No one spoke, and the silence was stifling.

A whole night had passed, yet Naruto still had not awakened. The Third Hokage and his subordinates had kept watch all night.

Other than those in the room, no one in the village knew what had happened the previous night.

"Lord Hokage, there is nothing abnormal with the Jinchuriki's body." The leader of the four medical ninja stepped up beside the Third Hokage. "His body is actually extremely healthy. According to our analysis of the data, after the Tailed Beast Chakra in his body vanished, he likely fell into a state of extreme mental exhaustion."

"Is that a possibility, or a definite conclusion?"

The Third Hokage's eyes were bloodshot from reviewing documents all day without rest, then staying up through the night. His voice was cold and low.

What had happened the previous night had drained far too much of his energy. Logically, Naruto should not have remained unconscious for so long after the seal he had placed on him. The matter weighed heavily on him.

A new day had arrived. Though he had not rested, he had to return to his office immediately to handle the latest government affairs. He needed a definite answer.

"The data cannot be wrong!" The medical ninja's expression turned serious. "Lord Hokage! There is no need to worry too much. The Jinchuriki is not in mortal danger. We have all the data collected since the Jinchuriki's birth, and we will continue monitoring his condition!"

"This will have to do for now." The Third Hokage felt irritated, but there was nothing he could do.

He raised his head and glanced silently at the clock on the wall. Although the medical ninja's words had offered neither substance nor value, official affairs awaited him, and he had to return to his office.

After taking one long look at Naruto, who showed no sign of waking, the Third Hokage turned and led the Anbu toward the door.

The huge room became utterly quiet once more. The four medical ninja resumed checking the data, then tucked Naruto in, gathered their things, and left the room as well.

Didi—didi—

Only the sounds of the operating equipment remained in the room.

A moment later, Naruto, who had lain unconscious on the bed the entire time, abruptly opened his eyes. A sharp glint flashed through them, while a grim edge curled across his lips.

"Naruto, are you all right?"

Minato Namikaze's slightly worried voice sounded in Naruto's mind.

"I'm fine, Father. You don't need to worry."

After thinking briefly, Naruto closed his eyes again, and his consciousness descended directly into the seal.

"Naruto, something is not right." Kurama stared fiercely beyond the iron gate. "I just tried it. The Chakra I leaked outside the sealed gate for you has been thrown into complete disorder."

"This is the Five Elements Seal." Naruto stepped through the iron gate and nodded. "It was included in the Fuinjutsu Father passed down to me. It can be broken with the Five Elements Seal Release, using wind, lightning, fire, earth, and water attribute Chakra."

"But right now, I only have wind and fire attribute Chakra."

"What?!" Kurama's fur instantly bristled. "Then what do we do?!"

It was already trapped by a seal so powerful it was absurd, and now the Third Hokage had added another seal on top of it. It was utterly detestable.

Minato Namikaze quickly said softly, "Kurama, Naruto can undo this seal. Once a ninja reaches a certain level of strength, they can cultivate other Chakra attributes. Even if Naruto cannot undo it now, he can look for someone later who can."

Bang!

Kurama slapped a paw against the outside of the iron gate. "Hmph! Fourth Hokage, I can hardly be bothered with you. Don't tell me you don't know why the Third Hokage placed this seal on Naruto."

Minato Namikaze's face immediately filled with rage as well.

The seal he had placed on Naruto was an even-numbered Eight Trigrams Seal, yet the Third Hokage had insisted on unnecessarily stacking an odd-numbered Five Elements Seal over it.

His seal allowed Kurama's Chakra to leak through and be converted for Naruto's use. But once the Five Elements Seal was layered on top, not only would Kurama's leaking Chakra be immediately disrupted, it would also affect Naruto's control over his own Chakra.

The intentions behind it were truly sinister!

If Naruto had not torn off the sealing talisman from the very beginning and recognized him, then reconciled with Kurama afterward, whether his son could undo the Five Elements Seal in this lifetime would have been left to fate.

He had just wanted to tell Naruto to seek out his teacher Jiraiya, but a sudden realization struck him. When the time came, Jiraiya might very well act according to the Third Hokage's will.

As for anyone else, he could no longer think of anyone who could help his son.

At that thought, Minato Namikaze felt utterly disheartened. He realized just how ironic it was that he had been the Fourth Hokage.

Kushina and he had sacrificed themselves for Konoha. Before dying, they had sealed the Tailed Beast into their son as a Jinchuriki because they wanted the villagers to regard Naruto as a hero.

Who could have expected it to become a self-made trap? Not only had their son become a fox demon everyone hated and wanted to beat, but the Third Hokage had even resorted to such despicable means in an attempt to restrain Naruto's growth.

Naruto calmly extended his fist toward Kurama. "Kurama, don't panic. The situation isn't that bad yet."

"Hm?" Kurama's gaze sharpened. It clenched a paw and pressed it against Naruto's fist. A moment later, it said, "Heh, I had forgotten you could still go there."

Minato Namikaze watched the boy and fox in complete confusion. He had no idea what Naruto had said to Kurama, or why Kurama had suddenly started laughing again.

"Naruto, what did you mean when you said the situation wasn't that bad?"

"It means it's still all right."

Minato Namikaze froze. Was his son mistaken? Could this situation still be called all right?

"Yes." Naruto's gaze was as calm and deep as water. "Under certain suitable circumstances, the current situation can even provide me with some cover."

"You have seen it too. Ever since I was born, the higher-ups led by the Third Hokage have treated me as a Tailed Beast weapon that brings harm but no benefit, driven by their own selfish desires and political aims."

Minato Namikaze nodded with difficulty.

"But Father, you have also seen that they cannot bear to discard me as a weapon, because I am one of the necessary conditions for maintaining the balance among the major ninja villages of the Shinobi World."

"So, the Third Hokage has been monitoring me."

"Looking at it another way, this is a necessary process for them to slowly cultivate a weapon."

After recalling Gaara of the Sand Ninja from the anime and his childhood experiences, Naruto continued, "First they monitored me, then they even arranged specific people for me to befriend."

"After all, I have a Tailed Beast inside me. They are observing and manipulating my humanity."

"Everything was carefully arranged and designed solely to ensure that, even if I could not become a qualified weapon in the end, I would still have to remain under their control."

Minato Namikaze's expression had become incomparably grim. Naruto's words suddenly made him think of a possibility.

"What do you think, Father? Doesn't this pattern feel very familiar?"

"Impossible!" Minato Namikaze immediately roared, his expression frantic. "What happened between your mother and me was absolutely not arranged! That's impossible!"

Kurama slightly parted its steel-like jaws. It understood Naruto's meaning as well, but found it equally unbelievable. After all, it knew everything about the Fourth Hokage and Kushina Uzumaki better than anyone.

"Oh?" Naruto calmly looked at his father and continued, "Judging from the memories Father passed down to me, it indeed seems impossible. But they still obtained the result they wanted, didn't they?"

"I..." Minato Namikaze bitterly closed his eyes.

He had been Hokage before. He understood those political methods.

Naruto had no intention of soothing his father's emotions. In his view, recognizing certain realities was necessary.

"Now it is my turn." Naruto shifted his gaze back to Kurama and stared firmly into its crimson vertical pupils. "Unfortunately, my personality differs from Mother's. To keep me from escaping their control, the methods they use naturally will not be so gentle."

"Since they have believed from beginning to end that I know nothing and wish to control everything about me..."

"Then let them stand at the edge of the unknown and probe into the void themselves. Let us see what the outcome will be."

After saying those final words, Naruto's consciousness had already shifted to the Mirrored World.

After carefully reviewing the data of every Puppet currently available to challenge, he walked toward Shikamaru, the good friend the Third Hokage had arranged for him.