The Plan Begins

Even without all the special advantages he would gain later, Naruto's status and backing were already more than Hiashi could afford to offend.

He couldn't talk to Naruto and tell him to stay away from his daughter. If he dared, he'd be summoned to the Hokage's office for a cup of tea that very night.

So all he could do was warn his daughter to keep her distance from that boy.

Unfortunately, Hinata might listen to him about other things, but there was no discussing this.

After they'd argued a few times, Neji found out about it too.

And he learned about Naruto.

Neji hated Hinata, but what he hated was his status as a member of the Main Family and Hinata's weak personality.

Deep down, Neji still cared a great deal about his little cousin.

So when he saw the blond boy, Neji immediately felt a surge of anger.

Naruto was baffled. He'd been insulted for no reason at all.

His eyes narrowed at once.

He was ready to teach the kid a lesson.

Just then, the door opened.

Hinata came out.

"Naruto-kun, Brother Neji."

"Hmph!"

Neji snorted and turned to leave.

"That guy really needs a beating."

Naruto almost couldn't stop himself from taking a swing at him.

"Let's go. We'll be late."

Seeing Naruto's expression, Hinata couldn't help smiling.

The two of them left.

By the river in Konoha.

A few people had gathered there. Some were fishing, while others were grilling food.

They passed the time in peaceful, carefree leisure.

For a while after that, Konoha remained calm and stable. Even the conflict between the Third Hokage and the Uchiha Clan died down.

Nobody knew about the turbulent currents beneath the surface.

Naruto didn't pay them any mind. At this point, nobody would be paying attention to him.

Naruto was eight this year, and he'd saved up three draws.

Name: Uzumaki Naruto

Bloodline: Uzumaki Bloodline

Cultivation Method: Triple Inversion

Skills: Fire Style, Twin Palms, Adamantine Sealing Chains, Mind's Eye of the Kagura.

Chakra: 300 cards

Restriction: Cinnabar Mark

Draws: 3

After taking stock of his strength, Naruto estimated that with the Adamantine Sealing Chains, he should be able to suppress the Nine-Tails.

The plan can begin.

After playing around for so long, Naruto was ready to improve his strength.

The first step was naturally to tame the Nine-Tails.

And to tame the Nine-Tails, he had to open the seal's cage.

That night, Naruto fell asleep in bed.

In his mindscape.

Naruto came here again.

"What are you doing here, brat?"

The Nine-Tails felt Naruto's chakra and frowned unconsciously.

After all this time, the Nine-Tails had noticed that Naruto was different.

"Long time no see, Nine-Tails."

This wasn't the first time he'd seen it, but no matter how many times he did, a mythical creature like this was still astonishing.

"Your eyes are annoying, brat."

The Nine-Tails could sense malice, but Naruto's gaze disgusted him even more than malice did.

"Heh. Don't worry. After today, we'll be good friends."

Naruto smiled, unfazed. After today, the Nine-Tails would be his most loyal power bank.

Naruto's original plan had been to completely devour the Nine-Tails if he obtained the Six Treasury Immortal Thief.

But he'd gotten Twin Palms first instead. He could only say the Nine-Tails wasn't destined to die.

"Oh? What's your trump card, brat?"

The Nine-Tails grew a little interested.

"Try me and find out."

Naruto moved forward. Only when he drew closer could he appreciate just how enormous the Nine-Tails was.

Naruto's body slowly floated upward.

The Nine-Tails' eyes lit up. It sprang to its feet from where it had been lying down.

"You'll pay the price for your arrogance, brat." The Nine-Tails' lips curled slightly, exposing its sharp fangs.

But rather than baring its teeth in anger, it was grinning with delight.

It didn't know what Naruto's trump card was, but it trusted in its own strength.

Meanwhile, in the outside world.

Two men in black had knocked out the Anbu outside and were quietly approaching Naruto.

Just as Naruto's hands were about to touch the sealing talisman,

a hand grabbed his.

At the same time, Naruto stopped moving.

"Damn you, Minato Namikaze! You really did leave a failsafe."

He'd been so close to breaking free, and now this guy had appeared again to ruin everything.

The Nine-Tails flew into a rage.

"Naruto, I'm sorry you have to see me under these circumstances."

Minato Namikaze looked ashamed.

But Naruto paid no attention to the man beside him. His eyes narrowed as he sensed what was happening.

The enraged Nine-Tails also noticed something and furrowed its brow.

Outside.

"That was easy?"

The man in black frowned, his voice tinged with confusion. They'd captured the jinchuriki this easily?

It felt almost unreal.

"Don't worry about that. Stick to the plan."

The other man didn't waste words. He picked Naruto up and rushed outside.

"Damn it, the plan's changed."

In the Sealing Space, Naruto's face darkened completely.

Who was it? Could it be Danzo?

Those two clearly weren't good people, but Naruto couldn't figure out who would make a move against him at this point.

With Hiruzen Sarutobi protecting him, nobody should be targeting him now.

"It's the Uchiha Clan. I recognize that loathsome aura."

But the Nine-Tails suddenly spoke.

Naruto froze.

Then he understood.

"Naruto, what's going on?" Minato Namikaze sensed the strange atmosphere.

"I don't have time to talk to you."

Naruto wasn't stupid. If the Uchiha Clan had captured him now, there was only one reason: the Nine-Tails.

So Naruto couldn't be bothered to waste time talking to Minato Namikaze.

Twin Palms activated.

Before Minato could speak, he turned into a mass of chakra that Naruto seized in his hand.

Naruto didn't have time to explain. Minato Namikaze had been one of his targets anyway.

Naruto liked the Flying Thunder God Technique a great deal, and a fragment of Minato's spirit was inside him. If he extracted those memories, he might be able to learn the technique.

Even the best-laid plans could go awry. Naruto had prepared everything carefully, but something had still gone wrong.

"You're saying those two are both from the Uchiha Clan?"

Naruto turned to the Nine-Tails.

"I sensed the evil power of the Sharingan."

The Nine-Tails' expression grew serious too.

This scene was all too familiar.

Kushina had been in the same situation as Naruto was now.

The Nine-Tails wasn't a mindless beast; it was intelligent. Sensing what was happening, it naturally knew what would come next.

"This is getting interesting."

Naruto's gaze flickered.

He began to think.

The Uchiha Clan was probably trying to release the Nine-Tails.

But releasing the Nine-Tails wouldn't be easy. The seal on Naruto was different from the one on Kushina.

The only way to release the Nine-Tails was to forcibly destroy the seal.

Naruto himself would probably die in the process. Clearly, those people hadn't considered whether he'd survive. Or rather, they didn't care if he did.

He'd felt a little sympathy for them before and wondered if he could change their fate. Now, Naruto finally understood what it meant to bring death upon yourself.

Naruto immediately sprang forward and tore off the sealing talisman.

The talisman only controlled how much of the Nine-Tails' chakra could leak out. It hadn't actually undone the seal.

To fully control the seal, he'd still need the key, which was kept at Mount Myoboku.

But Naruto had already learned Sealing Jutsu on his own. He didn't need any of that.