Nine-Tails' Rampage

"Waaah... waaah..."

A loud baby's cry suddenly rang out, instantly jolting Zhang Miao awake from his sleep.

"Why is there a baby crying?"

The baby's cries were incredibly loud, making Zhang Miao's ears ache. Listening to the crying beside him, he frowned and slowly opened his eyes.

But the moment he opened them, the sight before him shocked him.

A blood-covered man and woman stood before him. A massive claw had pierced straight through their bodies, its tip less than ten centimeters away from him!

In other words, if that enormous claw moved forward even a little, he would be pierced as well!

"Wh-what is that? What the hell is going on?"

As Zhang Miao stared at the scene in shock, a woman's tearful voice suddenly sounded beside his ear.

"I'm sorry... Ryunosuke, Naruto, Mommy woke you up. I'm sorry..."

Hearing her voice, Zhang Miao involuntarily lifted his head slightly and looked toward her face.

When he saw her features clearly, his heart was once again filled with shock.

"Minato Namikaze! Kushina Uzumaki!"

As a devoted Naruto fan, Zhang Miao recognized the two of them at a glance. Familiar with Naruto's plot, he also understood his current situation.

The Nine-Tails' Rampage!

In Konoha's forty-eighth year, just as Kushina Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki, was giving birth and the seal on the Nine-Tails was at its weakest, Obito Uchiha suddenly attacked. He extracted the Nine-Tails from Kushina Uzumaki's body and used the Mangekyō Sharingan to control it, intending to destroy Konoha with the Nine-Tails' power.

When the situation was at its most critical, the Fourth Hokage stepped forward. At the cost of his own life, he used the forbidden technique, the Reaper Death Seal, to seal the Nine-Tails inside his son, Naruto Uzumaki. He quelled the Nine-Tails' Rampage and saved Konoha.

This was not only the opening of Naruto, but also one of its later tearjerker scenes. Naturally, Zhang Miao knew it well, but he had never expected that he now seemed to have become one of those involved.

Looking at the Nine-Tails' enormous claw so close before him, as well as Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki, their bodies covered in blood, Zhang Miao's eyes were filled with shock and fear.

"They... did this to save me? But... why?"

As an orphan, Zhang Miao had suffered far too much. He understood the coldness and warmth of human relationships better than most. Watching the two people before him desperately protect him, he was confused.

However, time did not stop because of Zhang Miao's confusion. At that moment, Minato Namikaze's broken voice rang out.

"Kushina... it seems we can't hold on much longer. It's about time to activate the Eight Trigrams Seal. I also want to seal as much Chakra as possible into Ryunosuke and Naruto. We'll have to part for a while. If there's anything you want to say to them, say it now!"

After hearing Minato Namikaze's words, Kushina looked at Zhang Miao again and spoke.

"Ryunosuke, Naruto, don't be picky eaters from now on. Eat your fill every day and grow up strong. Remember to take hot baths every day. And don't stay up late. Make sure you get enough sleep every day and sleep well. Try to make friends. It's fine if you don't have many—just having a few trustworthy companions is enough..."

Listening to her rambling words, Zhang Miao's eyes immediately reddened, and two streams of tears ran down from the corners of his eyes.

As an orphan, Zhang Miao had never seen his parents. No one had ever fussed over him with such caring words. Now, hearing Kushina's heartfelt concern, his entire heart trembled.

"They're obviously just fictional anime characters. This is obviously just one of Kishimoto's plot holes. It's obviously all fake, but... but why can't I stop crying?"

Although Zhang Miao kept telling himself that everything before him was fake, fictional, just an anime trick to make people cry, and even told himself that it was all just a dream, his tears still burst forth like a collapsed dam and refused to stop.

Seeing Zhang Miao weeping uncontrollably, Kushina, who had been talking nonstop, could no longer hold back and broke into sobs as well.

"Ryunosuke, Naruto, no matter how hard or painful things become in the future... you'll both experience a lot. Keep to... your own pace... and hold on to your dreams. Then make those dreams a reality. Have faith in yourselves. I still... still... still have so much I want to tell you. I want so badly to live with you... I love you..."

Hearing this and seeing Kushina sobbing so hard she could barely speak, Zhang Miao felt his heart tremble even more violently. Tears streamed down his face as he clenched both fists tightly.

Zhang Miao was the kind of person who would give his whole heart to anyone who treated him well. Kushina's sincere feelings let him experience familial love he had never known before, but this hard-won love was about to be taken away from him. His heart was filled with both sorrow and fury.

"Damn Nine-Tails... damn Obito... damn Danzo... damn it... damn it all..."

His intense fury immediately stirred Zhang Miao's fearless nature. At that moment, he forgot his fear. His eyes locked onto the enormous Nine-Tails across from him, meeting its gaze head-on. The hatred in his eyes seemed ready to tear a piece of flesh from its body.

The Nine-Tails sensed Zhang Miao's gaze as well, and a trace of surprise flashed through its blood-red eyes.

"Sorrow, rage, hatred... are those the eyes a newborn child should have?"

It was not only the Nine-Tails that was surprised. Even Minato Namikaze was moved when he saw Zhang Miao's gaze.

"Kushina, Jiraiya-sensei said Naruto would be the Child of Destiny who saved the ninja world, but I think Ryunosuke is special too. I can see from his eyes that there is darkness in his heart, and the Nine-Tails is the embodiment of hatred. So the Nine-Tails can only be sealed inside Naruto. Then I'll begin."

Hearing Minato Namikaze's words, Kushina nodded while wiping away her tears.

"I understand... I'm sorry, Minato. I got so carried away talking..."

Seeing Kushina's tear-streaked face, Minato Namikaze shook his head.

"No... it's all right..." At this point, Minato Namikaze smiled faintly at Naruto and Zhang Miao. "Naruto, Ryunosuke, what Dad wants to say is the same as what your chatty Mom said—Eight Trigrams Seal!"

As Minato Namikaze's words fell, the technique activated instantly. Under the effects of the sealing technique, the Nine-Tails' enormous body transformed into a massive torrent of red Chakra, which was forced like a flood into the tiny body beside Zhang Miao. In the end, a black spiral-shaped sealing formula remained on his abdomen.

The Eight Trigrams Seal was complete!

The Nine-Tails had been sealed. Having exhausted the last of his strength, Minato Namikaze collapsed to the ground and lost his final breath.

At that moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others, who had been waiting outside the barrier, rushed over, their faces full of anxiety.

"Kushina, how are you?"

Looking at the worried Hiruzen Sarutobi, Kushina forced out a smile.

"Third Lord, the red-haired one is the older brother. His name is Ryunosuke. The blond-haired one is Naruto. I'm entrusting them to you."

Hearing Kushina's words, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately nodded.

"Ryunosuke and Naruto? Understood. I'll call the medical team right away!"

But Kushina shook her head at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was about to summon people, then said in a broken voice, "N-no need. Also... Minato said there is darkness in Ryunosuke's heart, so please take extra care of him. Th-thank you..."

As her voice faded, so did her life.

By now, Zhang Miao understood that the "Ryunosuke" Minato Namikaze and Kushina had been talking about was him. Because of that, when he saw that Kushina was still worried about him even as she died, a piercing pain twisted through his heart, and his tears poured down like floodwaters from a broken dam.

"Was she still worrying about me even before she died? This damn dream really won't stop until it has wrung out every last tear from me. Enough... I don't want this to continue anymore. Wake up already, damn dream!"