Minato Namikaze

Inside the Sealing Space.

Naruto did not have to spend much effort coaxing the Nine-Tails. After all, it was only a fox that had been imprisoned for decades. What it wanted most now was to see the pain on the face of the person who had once sealed it away.

Naruto stood directly beneath the massive gate. Chakra surged around him, and the water beneath his feet began spinning around him before gradually rising to envelop half his body.

Lifted by the column of water, Naruto went straight to the seal affixed to the gate.

Naruto raised a hand and pressed it against the seal, pinching one corner between two fingers as he prepared to tear it off.

But the instant Naruto made his move and disturbed the seal on the gate—

In the stillness, a warm golden radiance, like sunlight, quietly bloomed. It slowly took the shape of a person before appearing in front of the boy and the fox. The light was gentle and friendly, nothing like the scorching sun.

Within that dazzling golden glow, a firm yet warm hand precisely caught Naruto's hand just as he was about to tear away the seal.

Once the light faded, Naruto finally saw the figure clearly. Golden hair, blue eyes, handsome features, a white Hokage Battle Robe over a green flak jacket—he truly did look like Naruto.

Only, the Hokage Battle Robe behind him fluttered without wind within the Sealing Space, its words—"Fourth Hokage"—dancing wildly through the air.

Minato Namikaze brought Naruto down to the ground.

He kept gazing at Naruto with gentle eyes, his expression gradually turning relieved and satisfied.

When he had sealed the Nine-Tails inside Naruto, Naruto had been nothing more than a wailing infant in his final moments.

Back then, he had imagined what their reunion might look like.

Would Naruto have become an outstanding ninja? Would he have married and had children? Or perhaps, like him, become a hero of Konoha?

But now that they had met again, Naruto was still only a child. Yet seeing his sturdy physique, handsome face, golden hair, and azure eyes—

Surely, with the identities of the Fourth Hokage's son and a hero's descendant, Naruto must have grown up supported by the villagers and lived a happy life without want.

"Naruto, you've grown up."

Minato Namikaze looked utterly gratified as he released Naruto's hand and reached out to pat his head.

Naruto, however, quietly took a step back and avoided the outstretched hand.

Minato Namikaze looked somewhat awkward. Smiling, he said, "Naruto, perhaps Lord Third never told you who I am. I am actually..."

"Enough nonsense, Fourth Hokage."

Naruto directly cut off Minato Namikaze's words. "I didn't come here to undo the seal just to listen to you ramble."

Minato Namikaze froze again. His expression seemed to say something, yet he held it back, leaving him suddenly at a loss.

Perhaps he could handle relationships with comrades well, but he did not know how to deal with his apparently rebellious child. Naruto had been so tiny when he was born, yet now he was already a grown boy.

Could his identity have made him rebellious within the village?

Yet because Naruto had been made an orphan from birth, Minato also felt deeply guilty and could not bring himself to say much.

"It seems Lord Third took very good care of you."

At least Naruto looked healthy, and his body was in good condition. He presumably had never lacked food or clothing in the village.

"Naruto, you cannot easily trust the Nine-Tails' temptation. If you want to train with Tailed Beast Chakra, Teacher Jiraiya needs to be present."

Minato Namikaze explained to Naruto with a gentle smile.

"Hahahaha, Fourth Hokage, this was not this old man's temptation."

Before Naruto could speak, the Nine-Tails' mocking laughter suddenly rang out behind him.

"Nine-Tails! So it really was you causing trouble!"

Only then did Minato Namikaze notice the Nine-Tails when he heard its voice. He turned toward the fox, whose face was full of mockery, and fury filled his eyes.

"Hahahaha, Fourth Hokage, you alone have no right to blame this old man for that. Without me, this brat would likely have died at Konoha's hands long ago."

The Nine-Tails was not wrong. Without the incredible recovery granted by the Nine-Tails' Chakra, considering Naruto's childhood experiences, even if he had not died, he would likely have been left with many lasting injuries.

"Impossible!"

Minato Namikaze instinctively refuted the Nine-Tails, then immediately turned back to Naruto, hoping to learn the truth from him.

Minato Namikaze had grown up under the Will of Fire. He loved the village deeply, and after becoming Hokage, he had devoted everything he had to Konoha. He could not possibly believe the Nine-Tails' words.

"What a hassle."

Naruto frowned, though his eyes remained unchanged and as calm as ever.

"Fourth Hokage, I no longer care what happens to this village. The only reason I came to undo the seal was to gain greater control over the Nine-Tails' Chakra, as well as the Flying Thunder God Technique you possess and the Sealing Techniques of the Uzumaki Clan."

"Gain greater control over the Nine-Tails' Chakra?" Minato Namikaze suddenly seized on the key point. A faintly gratified smile appeared on his troubled face.

"Naruto, can you already control the Nine-Tails' Chakra?"

Using the Nine-Tails' Chakra—Kushina herself had needed a long time to achieve that. How old was Naruto now, and he could already obtain Chakra from the Nine-Tails?

"Fourth Hokage, you're far too arrogant."

Naruto gave Minato Namikaze a cold glance, then tore off the seal on the gate before Minato could stop him in his shock. He walked through the sealed gate and stood beside the Nine-Tails.

"It's not about controlling the Nine-Tails. The Nine-Tails and I are companions."

Minato Namikaze stared blankly at the scene, feeling as though his entire worldview was shattering. Why? Why could Naruto stand so naturally beside the Nine-Tails?

The Nine-Tails' expression was exceedingly ferocious, baring its fangs at him again and again. Yet its eyes were filled with mockery and hatred. No matter how he looked at it, they could not possibly be beings who understood one another.

But Naruto did not look as though he had been tempted.

Only then did Minato Namikaze calm down and begin to think. Since appearing in the Sealing Space and seeing Naruto, everything he had assumed about Naruto's situation in the village had been nothing more than his own subjective imagination.

He could see how Jinchuriki were treated in a village from Kushina's experience, but could even the status of being the Fourth Hokage's son and a hero's son not change that treatment?

"Naruto, I can teach you the Flying Thunder God and Sealing Techniques, but I am only a strand of Chakra. I fear I cannot teach you everything."

Minato Namikaze looked guilty and ashamed. He could not even fulfill his son's first request—perhaps even his only request.

"That isn't a problem, Kurama." Naruto looked toward the Nine-Tails. This was what they had agreed on.

Kurama possessed abundant Yang Release Chakra, which could greatly improve the quality and stability of this strand of Minato Namikaze's Chakra. As long as it was replenished in time, there was no need to worry about it disappearing.

"Tch, you little brat."

Kurama's face showed extreme disgust, but he still separated a strand of Chakra, sent it past the seal, and injected it into Minato Namikaze's body.

"This is...?"

Minato Namikaze felt the changes to his Chakra in astonishment. It had stabilized directly. The quality of the Chakra in his body had become higher, and that feeling that he might disappear at any moment was gone. Was this the power of the Nine-Tails' Chakra?

Then he looked at Naruto with expectation and said,

"Naruto, can you first tell me about what you've experienced over these years?"