I Finally Got Out

It was only because of Naruto that the Nine-Tails was willing to admit his mistake.

Naruto didn't say whether he forgave him or not. Instead, he asked, "Kurama, why did you suddenly want to tell me all this? You could've chosen not to."

The Nine-Tails replied in a low voice, "You said we were friends."

A faint smile appeared on Naruto's face. "Thanks. From my perspective, you weren't wrong. It was all the Masked Man, Daiban's fault."

The Nine-Tails perked up.

"But I can't forgive you."

The Nine-Tails' eyes dimmed. He lay down listlessly and turned his head away, not wanting to look at Naruto.

"Leave."

Their friendship was over.

"Let me finish." Naruto wore an exasperated expression. Hadn't he said he could accept it whether Naruto forgave him or not?

"I think you should talk to the people involved instead of asking me to speak for them."

The Nine-Tails was puzzled. "They're not here anymore..."

He couldn't very well have me go down to the Pure Land and talk to them. That would be even worse than not forgiving me.

"But their Chakra is still here...and I have something to ask them, too."

As he spoke, Naruto walked up to the sealing gate and reached out to pull at the sealing tag on it.

"Naruto, stop!"

A large hand grabbed Naruto's arm.

A handsome man appeared beside him.

He had blond hair and blue eyes. Aside from lacking the Six Paths markings on his face, he looked very much like Naruto.

The Nine-Tails roared instinctively. "Fourth Hokage!"

Minato had no time to deal with the Nine-Tails. "Naruto, you can't tamper with the seal..."

Naruto ignored Minato's lecture. "Kurama, calm down."

The Nine-Tails came back to himself. He glared viciously at Minato, then said to Naruto, "Whether you accept it or not, I'm not apologizing to him. I'm only willing to apologize to you."

The pain of Minato tearing him in half that year was etched into the Nine-Tails' memory.

"Apologize? What's going on?"

Minato was stunned. As a sealed sliver of Chakra serving as a failsafe, he had no strength to peer into the outside world. He had no idea what was happening.

"Dad...never mind. I'll call you Fourth Hokage for now. Fourth Hokage, let me explain."

After hearing Naruto's account, Minato gaped in shock. When he finally recovered, his eyes brimmed with pride as he looked at Naruto.

"As expected of my son. Naruto, you've grown beyond anything I could have imagined. Your dad is proud of you."

The Nine-Tails sneered. "Too bad Naruto's your son. Otherwise, he'd be perfect."

Minato smiled wryly. "Kurama..."

The Nine-Tails bristled. "Don't call me Kurama! You have no right!"

In the Nine-Tails' heart, only the Sage of Six Paths and Naruto were allowed to call him by name.

Naruto stepped in to mediate. "Kurama, do me a favor, okay?"

"Hmph!"

The Nine-Tails crossed his arms and turned away without a word.

Minato smiled. "Looks like you're good friends..."

Naruto nodded. "The Nine-Tails really is my good friend."

"Since you're good friends, don't let the past come between you."

With that, Minato walked up to the Nine-Tails and said, "If anyone should apologize, it's me. I split you in two without your permission and sealed you inside Naruto... I'm truly sorry, Nine-Tails."

The Nine-Tails pursed his lips. "Fourth Hokage, you finally said something sensible."

Minato took no offense. He smiled, pressed his hands together, and said, "Please look after Naruto from now on."

"That must be what you wanted all along. But you didn't need to ask. I would've done it anyway, because Naruto and I are..."

As if he'd suddenly remembered something, the Nine-Tails paused and turned to look at Naruto.

"Friends, right?"

Naruto blinked, puzzled. "Yeah. Didn't we already say that?"

"So, the apology?"

"The apology doesn't matter. I just wanted you to talk it out. That's all."

Naruto had never intended to force the Nine-Tails to apologize to Minato.

Only then did the Nine-Tails nod in satisfaction. Good. He really was someone the Nine-Tails had chosen to trust.

"There's one more."

"Wait..."

Ignoring Minato's urgent cry, Naruto tore open the seal.

"Nine-Tails, don't you dare run wild!"

A red-haired woman appeared. Dozens of thick chains burst out from behind her, ensnaring the Nine-Tails from every direction until he was bound up tight like a dumpling.

Seeing this, Naruto hurriedly tried to intervene. "Um...ma'am..."

Kushina turned and saw Naruto beside her. She glared at him. "You're Naruto, right? Don't call me ma'am. Call me Mom!"

"Uh..."

The Nine-Tails struggled with all his might and roared, "Kushina Uzumaki, you jerk!"

Kushina raised her eyebrows. "You dare insult me? Stay still! Adamantine Sealing Chains!"

Even more chains burst out from behind her, wrapping around the Nine-Tails' mouth until all he could do was make muffled noises.

A few minutes later.

"I'm sorry!"

Faced with Minato and Kushina apologizing in unison, the Nine-Tails snorted and glanced at Naruto.

"I'll forgive you this one last time, for Naruto's sake."

By this point, everything had turned completely upside down.

Not only had the Nine-Tails not apologized, he'd become the one doing the forgiving.

It was all rather surreal.

Minato and Kushina said a few more conciliatory words, and the Nine-Tails' anger finally subsided.

Next came the family reunion.

"Naruto, this is your dad, and this is your mom."

Kushina pointed at Minato, then at herself, and looked at Naruto expectantly. Her meaning was clear.

Naruto lowered his eyes. "Sorry, I can't bring myself to call you that yet."

He didn't think he was a brat, but being asked to call two strangers Mom and Dad after only meeting them a few minutes ago was a bit much.

Minato and Kushina exchanged glances, feeling rather awkward.

They hadn't expected their first meeting with their child to be so uncomfortable.

The atmosphere fell silent for a while before Minato spoke up. "Is there anything you'd like to say to your mom and dad, Naruto?"

Naruto pointed at the sealing gate. "Can you open it?"

At that, the Nine-Tails perked up his ears to listen.

Minato scratched his head, looking embarrassed. "Sorry, but you need a special key. Without it, even I can't open it."

The Nine-Tails' ears drooped in disappointment.

"Then...I'll just have to do it myself."

Naruto murmured as if he'd made up his mind.

Worried that his son might do something reckless, Minato hurriedly said, "Don't do anything rash. The key is with Master Jiraiya. You can get it when you see him."

"But I can't wait any longer."

That night, he'd nearly died at Obito's hands. The experience had taught Naruto one thing:

No one knew whether tomorrow or an accident would come first.

The Rinnegan alone couldn't protect him. He needed the Tailed Beasts' power.

As Minato and Kushina watched in shock, Naruto activated his Rinnegan and used the ocular technique Kamimusubi.

The green essence of life flowed into the sealing gate.

From that moment on, the gate was alive.

"Open!"

The gate automatically split apart, revealing the exit.

"I finally got out!"

Overjoyed, the Nine-Tails sprang out in a flash and roared at the sky.