Parents

Just as Naruto was about to tear off the seal, a hand suddenly grabbed his, pulling him back. Before Naruto could recover from the shock, a roar from Kurama echoed through the space: "Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze."

Naruto hurriedly looked at the person who had pulled him back, seeing only a back clad in a Hokage Cloak embroidered with the words "Fourth Hokage." Seeing this figure, which he had only ever encountered in his dreams, tears welled up in Naruto's eyes uncontrollably. He whispered softly, "Dad."

Minato turned his head, looking at Naruto with a mix of surprise and confusion. "Yes, I am your father. But I thought a long time had passed; judging by your appearance, Naruto, you should only be five or six years old. Furthermore, the seal shows no signs of damage. Why would you want to undo the Nine-Tails' seal?"

Naruto was about to speak, but another roar from Kurama interrupted him. Naruto said to the Nine-Tails with some dissatisfaction, "Kurama, you promised me you would stay calm. You've forgotten again."

"You tell me to stay calm? He is the one who sealed me away! How can you expect me to be calm?" the Nine-Tails retorted angrily.

Naruto looked at the Nine-Tails and replied, "But my parents died because of that, too. So, you two are already even. Besides, without my parents, we wouldn't have become friends. So, don't be so angry. Isn't everything fine now?"

Although the Nine-Tails felt Naruto had a point, he remained furious. Seeing the Nine-Tails still sulking, Naruto put on a coaxing smile. "Alright, alright, don't be angry anymore. Besides, I still need Dad's help to undo the seal."

Hearing this, the Nine-Tails reluctantly turned his head away and fell silent.

Watching the interaction and hearing their conversation, Minato asked Naruto in astonishment, "Naruto, you've become friends with the Nine-Tails and want to undo his seal? Is this true?"

Naruto explained, "Yes, Dad. Actually, Kurama isn't as terrifying as you all think. He's just a lonely being who hopes to make friends and connect with others. I don't know why everyone is so afraid of him. He's actually a good person."

Hearing this, Minato looked at the Nine-Tails, who was stubbornly looking away, and felt as if his entire worldview had been refreshed.

Minato looked at Naruto's face, which bore a striking resemblance to his own, with a complex expression. His thoughts raced until he recalled the "savior" Jiraiya had spoken of.

Minato smiled at Naruto and said, "Naruto, you really might be the savior Teacher Jiraiya mentioned. When you were still in your mother's womb, I always felt you would be the one to bring peace to the ninja world. Seeing you become friends with the Nine-Tails makes me even more certain."

Naruto knew the savior Minato referred to was the original Naruto, not himself. He was about to tell Minato that he wasn't a savior—that he was actually quite selfish and couldn't achieve the selflessness of the original Naruto—but Minato interrupted him.

"Alright, we can talk about that later. Let me release your friend first." Minato smiled at Naruto, peeled off the seal, revealed the Seal Key, and used the Summoning Jutsu to bring the scroll-frog, Gamatora, into Naruto's seal space.

Upon seeing that it was Minato who had summoned him, the seal-frog exclaimed in surprise, "Minato, you aren't dead? That's wonderful! We all thought you had perished."

"I am indeed dead; this is merely the chakra I left behind within Naruto. Give the key to Naruto," Minato told Gamatora.

Gamatora didn't waste time and opened the scroll. Minato said to Naruto, "Place your hand on it." As Naruto did so, he instantly understood how to undo the Nine-Tails' seal.

After Naruto took the key, Minato told Gamatora, "If Teacher Jiraiya asks later, tell him it was my decision and not to worry." "I understand," Gamatora replied before dispelling the summoning and returning to Jiraiya.

At that moment, Jiraiya, who was away gathering material, felt Gamatora, who had been suddenly summoned, return. He quickly summoned the frog to ask what had happened, and Gamatora relayed everything he knew.

Jiraiya was stunned that Minato had left such a contingency within Naruto, and he sighed with deep emotion, "I never expected things to turn out like this."

"It seems I must find time to return to Konoha, or else others might start acting up. But before that, I should continue my research. Minato will handle things. For the sake of my vast readership, I'll return to the village a bit later. Hehehe."

A lecherous expression appeared on Jiraiya's face as he continued his "great" research (perhaps it was great; well, everyone understands).

After obtaining the key, Naruto excitedly ran to the Nine-Tails and said, "Kurama, I've got the key. I'm going to let you out now."

With that, he undid the seal. After the seal was broken, the Nine-Tails still couldn't quite believe it. "I'm free, aren't I?"

"Yes, you are free. And I'm sorry," Minato said to the Nine-Tails with a smile.

Hearing Minato's apology, the Nine-Tails replied nonchalantly, "You don't need to apologize. If it weren't for me, you and Kushina wouldn't have died. If anyone should apologize, it's me."

"Alright, you don't need to apologize to each other, Dad, Kurama," Naruto said happily. Seeing Naruto's joy, both Minato and the Nine-Tails felt happy as well.

"Alright, Kurama, regarding the question you asked earlier, I said I would tell you. Now, let me explain. Dad, you listen too," Naruto said solemnly to the Nine-Tails and Minato.

Minato looked at Naruto with a grave expression. "Go ahead, Naruto. This is something I want to know as well. Although I am only a chakra clone, I have been watching over you all these years. But why you possess the White Eye is truly a strange matter."

"Neither Kushina nor I have the White Eye, so why do you? Right, we must let your mother know; she must be just as confused. I sealed her chakra inside you as well back then," Minato suddenly realized.

"Dad, are you saying I can see Mom right now?" Naruto asked excitedly.

Minato walked to Naruto's side with a smile, performed a hand seal, and placed his hand on the seal on Naruto's body. Suddenly, a strand of chakra separated from Naruto, taking the form of Kushina.

Seeing Kushina, Naruto happily hugged her and cried, "Mom." Kushina looked at Naruto, who was hugging her, and Minato standing beside them, shedding tears of happiness.

Kushina picked up Naruto and said, "Yes, it's Mom. My little Naruto has grown up. You know how to call me Mom now." Minato also walked up, moved, and hugged the mother and son.

Kushina said to Minato blissfully, "Thank you, Minato." "Thank you too, Kushina," Minato replied just as happily. The Nine-Tails, off to the side, turned his head away, ignoring them, though he felt happy for this family in his heart.

"Dad, Mom, Kurama, the truth is, I have memories of my past two lives," Naruto revealed his biggest secret to them.

Minato, Kushina, and the Nine-Tails were shocked on the spot. Minato, being more composed, asked, "You mean you have the life experience of two previous lifetimes?"

"Yes. My first life was as an assassin, and my second was as a wealthy merchant. Neither was in this ninja world, but in a world called Earth," Naruto said with a sigh.

The Nine-Tails asked, "You mean to say that after you died in your world, your soul traveled through space to this world and was reincarnated as the child of Minato and Kushina?"

"Yes. In our language, it's called reincarnation. People there believe that after death, one goes to the underworld, drinks the Soup of Meng Po to forget the past, and is reborn. But I don't know why I ended up here, or why my soul traveled across space," Naruto replied, equally confused.

At this, Minato said, "That's impossible. Space is chaotic; a soul traveling through space would be torn apart by spatial turbulence."

Naruto thought for a moment and said, "I remember that at the end of my second life, I was killed by a lightning strike while escaping in a plane after killing my enemy. The sky seemed to split open like a crack."

After hearing the description, Minato said, "Then that must be it. Someone must have opened a spatial tunnel, and you happened to be swept into it. But entering a spatial tunnel rashly should have left your soul fragmented. How did you recover?"

Naruto replied, "After my consciousness returned, there were many soul fragments around me. I absorbed them to recover. The owner of those souls was named Otsutsuki Koshiki. My White Eye came from absorbing his soul."

Minato, Kushina, and the Nine-Tails finally understood the origin of Naruto's White Eye. Suddenly, Kushina asked excitedly, "Right, Naruto, how did you end up reincarnating as my child? Was it because you saw how beautiful Mom was?" Three black lines appeared on Naruto's head, while Minato let out an awkward, embarrassed laugh.

"Otsutsuki Koshiki was the younger brother of Kaguya Otsutsuki. He was killed by a sneak attack. His White Eye contained the technique for spatial movement. I absorbed his ocular technique and activated it."

"It brought me to this world, but the journey through space left my soul fragmented again. The White Eye, out of instinct, made me become Mom's child, to be nurtured anew in her body. As for why it was Mom..."

"It's because Mom was carrying the reincarnation of Asura, and Asura's bloodline was the closest to Otsutsuki Koshiki's. Before I was even born, my soul merged with Asura's. So, do you still accept me?" Naruto asked, worried.

Naruto feared that because he was born with memories of his past lives, Kushina and Minato would reject him. Seeing Naruto's worried expression, Minato and Kushina couldn't help but laugh.

Kushina hugged Naruto tightly and said, "Silly child, no matter if you have memories of your past lives or not, you are mine and Minato's child." Minato also hugged Naruto, adding, "You only need to remember that you are Naruto Uzumaki, the child of Kushina and me. That is enough." Held by Minato and Kushina, Naruto felt he was the happiest person in the world.