Nine-Tails and Minato

"The Uchiha Clan was annihilated." In the Sealing Space, the Fourth wore a wistful expression.

Even when he had been alive, the Uchiha Clan's situation had not been very good.

Danzo, the Second Hokage's disciple, and the Third had always been deeply wary of the Uchiha, constantly maneuvering to suppress them.

The Fourth saw it all, and it weighed heavily on his heart.

He had been very close with Fugaku and Mikoto—close enough to call them dear friends.

He had also always worked to ease the relationship between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha.

He knew full well that the Uchiha Clan could indeed be arrogant and stubborn by nature, but they were not bad people.

Sometimes, they were even adorably foolish.

Yet Konoha's upper ranks, deeply influenced by the Second, did not see them that way.

They regarded the Uchiha as beasts of prey and had never truly considered them part of Konoha.

What they did not realize was that their actions had driven the Uchiha into rebellion.

"With the Uchiha gone, there's still the Hyuga. Konoha really has fewer and fewer clans." The Nine-Tails gloated from the side. "Wipe out a few more clans, and Konoha won't be able to contain me anymore."

Minato's eyes were filled with exhaustion.

Precisely because he had tried, he understood that sense of loss all too well.

"Fugaku and Mikoto are dead too," he murmured.

"Konoha really couldn't tolerate the Uchiha, could it?" he sighed heavily.

"Stop thinking about it. You're dead anyway. Why not think about how to improve your relationship with Naruto? He doesn't see you as his father at all right now! You're just a tool to him." The Nine-Tails sneered.

"I've tried very hard." At the mention of Naruto, Minato looked utterly dejected.

"I wanted to give him the warmth of a family, but he seems not to care about any of it."

"If he hated me, that would be better. At least it would mean he still cared about me."

"But the way he looks at me is like I'm a stranger. Everything from the past seems to have become passing clouds to him. Do you understand that feeling, Nine-Tails? He truly doesn't care. It's as if everything that ever happened has been completely erased." The Fourth clutched his head, his words growing incoherent.

"He doesn't care how Konoha treated him in the past. He doesn't care about me. He doesn't care about anyone. He looks refined and gentle, but his heart is more ruthless than anyone's."

"It isn't an act. He truly does not care."

Minato slapped his own head in self-reproach.

"It's all because of me that Naruto became like this."

Naruto's indifference even left Minato horrified.

Just as Naruto himself had said.

He only wanted to pursue strength and transcend this world. But anyone who stood in his path would be crushed without mercy.

Whether it was Konoha, his friends, or even Minato himself.

"Isn't this all karma for your own sins, Forever Little Sister? You really don't understand people's hearts~~" The Nine-Tails sat cheerfully in a gaming chair, beginning his usual round of mockery and scolding.

"Yes, I really don't understand. I hurt Naruto." The Fourth did not argue, only spoke quietly.

"Hurt him? Hmph, I suddenly understand why Naruto has never bothered with you." The Nine-Tails snorted disdainfully.

"Because you're far too full of yourself. Naruto is doing very well. He fills his days with training, and he has plenty of friends too."

"From my perspective, he is the most successful Jinchuriki. He deceived—no, he cultivated his image and earned the recognition of many people, while also possessing the ambition to grow stronger."

"If you ask me, he's far more outstanding than you, and he doesn't need your pathetic pity." The Nine-Tails praised Naruto without reservation, then turned the words into a jab at Minato.

This was the first time he had praised Naruto so wholeheartedly.

His relationship with Naruto was complicated.

They were not friends, yet somehow they were.

He was the one who understood Naruto best, and the one who had accompanied Naruto as he grew up.

Yet they still remained wary of one another.

One used the other for ninjutsu training.

The other used Naruto to create more amusement for himself.

Finding joy amid suffering.

He looked forward to the day he could escape, completely free himself from Konoha's control, and vent his rage.

The Nine-Tails firmly believed Naruto would not disappoint him.

"You're right. He really is far more outstanding than I am." Minato muttered to himself despondently.

Over the past year, Minato had thought about many things.

Although Konoha had treated Naruto so terribly, Minato still could not bring himself to hate Konoha.

Perhaps he truly loved this land too deeply.

So he shifted all his hatred onto Konoha's upper ranks.

His goal was simple now: to make sure Naruto could live well, while also hoping to influence him so that he would not harbor hatred toward Konoha.

Even going their separate ways would be better than destroying Konoha.

Minato knew that such thoughts were unfair to Naruto.

But as a father, he naturally did not want to see his only son commit such an appalling act as destroying Konoha.

He hoped Naruto could retain a little kindness.

Even if it was only a little.

The problem was that he knew far too little about Naruto now.

Even the Nine-Tails knew Naruto better than he did.

Thinking of this, Minato looked at the Nine-Tails and spoke sincerely:

"Nine-Tails, could you tell me more about Naruto's past? At worst, I'll shiny-hunt for you all night again."

Unexpectedly, those words made the previously relaxed Nine-Tails change expression instantly. He roared in fury:

"Bastard, don't even think about it! Don't you dare touch my computer again! Otherwise, we'll be mortal enemies!"

"What's with you? Why are you being so stingy?" Minato froze for a moment, then muttered, "Didn't you enjoy it when I helped you hunt so seriously before?"

"Stingy? You bastard! Naruto must have been blind to give you Reiatsu." The Nine-Tails was so furious that all the fur on his tails stood on end.

He still remembered how smug he had been back then, convinced that he had Minato completely under his control. He had even assigned him the task of catching a shiny.

Then he had simply sat back and waited to reap the rewards.

At first, everything had gone smoothly.

He had tormented Minato until his face was ashen. Every day, Minato had repeatedly hunted shinies like a walking corpse.

But everything changed after the shiny was caught.

Once a Pokémon was caught, it could be given a name.

That damned Minato had actually named his shiny Mewtwo Chōton Senkō Sasa Hayate Reishiki Shinjū.

Not even someone with a ten-year brain clot could come up with such an idiotic name.

At the time, the Nine-Tails had been so angry he nearly had a heart attack.

He immediately fell out with the Fourth.

He had been just short of crying, throwing a tantrum, and threatening to hang himself.

It had even gotten bad enough for Naruto to step in and mediate.

From that day onward, the Nine-Tails never let Minato touch his computer again.

He had a mental cleanliness obsession. Any Pokémon Minato had named would be released immediately.

Even thinking about it now made his heart ache.

That had been a shiny Mewtwo!!!

At that thought, the Nine-Tails could not help snorting coldly.

He mocked Minato:

"Foolish Fourth, just keep looking forward to it. Scratch your ears and cheeks, yearning for the day you can learn Naruto's past from me. Once I've completed all my shiny hunts, that will be the day you truly despair."

The Nine-Tails proudly raised his tail, humming a little tune as he began another day's journey.

Minato pursed his lips and stood behind the Nine-Tails, starting to suggest all kinds of fun and pleasant-sounding names.

This once again sent the Nine-Tails into a rage.

The Sealing Space immediately descended into chaos.

Please vote and keep reading.