The warmth of the baby in his arms and the abundant Nine-Tails Chakra inside him, potent enough to destroy the world at any moment, both made one thing clear to Uchiha Ling:
He had succeeded. Using his own body as a prison, he had sealed away half of the world's most vicious Tailed Beast—and won the first stepping stone to the future for Naruto in his arms.
"Wah..."
Perhaps still unsettled by the earlier shock, Naruto whimpered softly again, his little face scrunched into a frown.
Ling took a deep breath and tried to draw on the faint yet vigorous power of the Sage Body within him. A gentle stream of energy gathered at his fingertips. Awkwardly, he pressed them lightly against Naruto's forehead.
Something extraordinary happened.
The gentle, life-filled quality of the Senjutsu Chakra seemed to calm Naruto at once, stopping his wailing. He opened his sky-blue eyes again and gazed at Ling curiously. His tiny mouth curved into the faintest smile, and his little hand clutched Ling's finger tightly.
[ DING! Compatibility between Sage Body and Nine-Tails Chakra increased. Bond with Uzumaki Naruto increased. ]
The system's notification rang out.
Ling was certain of it. The Sage Body wasn't just a powerful tool in battle; it seemed to be effective at comforting Tailed Beasts and Jinchūriki, too.
Just then, several figures came rushing toward them with a series of whooshes.
"There!"
"Lord Fourth! Lady Kushina!"
"And two children!"
Several Anbu Ninja wearing animal masks landed first. They cautiously surveyed their surroundings before their gaze settled on the two children clinging to each other—and the Fourth Hokage and his wife, who had already fallen still nearby.
The sight left even these battle-hardened Anbu speechless. The dead Hokage and his wife, the traces of the rampaging chakra, and two surviving children? They recognized one of them as the Fourth Hokage's son, Uzumaki Naruto. Judging by his clothes, the other seemed to be an orphan from the Uchiha Clan.
A moment later, an elderly man with white hair and beard, clad in a Hokage's haori, slowly descended. It was Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had hurried over at the news. He looked at Minato and Kushina's bodies, and his face was instantly marked by grief and the weariness of age. He seemed to grow ten years older.
"Minato... Kushina..." His voice was hoarse, heavy with a sorrow too deep for words.
His gaze shifted to Ling and Naruto. When he sensed the vast, familiar, sinister chakra inside Ling—sealed, yet still faintly perceptible—his pupils suddenly contracted.
"Is this child Uchiha Ling, the orphan from the Uchiha Clan?" Third Hokage was deeply shaken. "Does he have the Nine-Tails' Chakra inside him?! How could this..."
He hurried over and crouched down, doing his best to make his voice gentle. "Child, your name is Uchiha Ling, isn't it? Can you tell Grandpa what happened here?"
Ling looked up. His face held just the right mixture of exhaustion, fear, and the dazed confusion of a five-year-old—something he had to make an effort to act out, as a transmigrator. Clutching Naruto tightly, he spoke in a faint but clear voice:
"I... I saw a really big fox. I was scared, so I hid. When I came out, I ran over and saw little Naruto crying. Then... then everything hurt and got really hot, and after that..." His words came haltingly, perfectly portraying an innocent child who had been swept up in the chaos and inexplicably turned into a Jinchūriki.
He deliberately left out the system and glossed over the fact that he had sealed the Nine-Tails of his own accord, attributing everything to "the unexpected" and "instinctive reactions."
Third Hokage studied Ling's eyes. There was fear and tension in those dark pupils, but deep down, an unusual calm. Was he in shock? Hiruzen reached out and gently pressed a hand to Ling's abdomen, sensing carefully.
There was no doubt—it was the Eight Trigrams Seal! Though it seemed a little different, the seal was stable, and it had indeed bound half the Nine-Tails securely inside this child. The other half was sealed inside Naruto.
Now there were two Nine-Tails Jinchūriki in the village—and both were such young children!
Third Hokage's heart sank. This meant twice the risk, but perhaps it could also mean twice the protection. He looked at Naruto, who clung tightly to Ling and showed him complete dependence, while remaining somewhat distant from Hiruzen himself. His feelings were tangled.
"You did well, child. You protected Naruto." At last, Third Hokage sighed, his voice much gentler. "Don't worry. The village will look after you from now on."
He waved to the Anbu behind him. "Bury the Fourth Hokage and his wife with care. Take the two children to a private room at the village orphanage for now, and assign Anbu to guard them. We'll discuss everything again once the situation has settled."
"Yes, sir!"
An Anbu stepped forward, intending to take Naruto from Ling's arms. But the moment he reached out, Naruto seemed to startle. He clutched Ling's clothes tightly, his little mouth drooping as if he were about to cry again. He curled his tiny body toward Ling with all his might.
Ling instinctively hugged Naruto tighter and looked up at Third Hokage, a pleading note in his eyes. "Grandpa Hokage... Naruto seems scared. Can I keep holding him?"
Third Hokage watched them and fell silent for a moment. He could see Naruto's unusual dependence on Ling. Perhaps it would soothe Naruto—and help stabilize the half of the Nine-Tails inside Ling, too.
"All right." Third Hokage nodded. "You can look after Naruto for now. We'll arrange for people to take care of you both."
And so Ling carried Naruto away under the "escort" of a squad of Anbu, leaving the place of sacrifice and tragedy behind.
Konoha had suffered a devastating blow and had a long road to recovery. Ling and Naruto were settled in a private room at a quiet orphanage on the outskirts of the village. Anbu kept watch outside in shifts around the clock, supposedly for their protection.
Ling knew perfectly well that they were mostly watching the half of the Nine-Tails inside him. He didn't care.
That night, moonlight spilled through the window and into the room. Naruto had already fallen into a deep sleep beside Ling, breathing evenly, one small hand still gripping the hem of Ling's clothes.
Ling remained awake. Sitting cross-legged on the bed, he let his consciousness sink into his body.
He found himself in a dark domain, with shallow water beneath his feet. Ahead stood a massive, ancient iron gate bearing the character "Seal." Behind it, a pair of huge crimson eyes filled with hatred and savagery stared at him through the bars.
"Hmph! Uchiha brat!" A low, venomous roar echoed through the space. "You dare seal me inside the body of a worm like you? When I get out, I'll tear you to shreds!"
Ling met its gaze calmly, without the slightest trace of fear.
"Kurama." He addressed the Nine-Tails by name, making the beast behind the gate pause in surprise. "Hatred and destruction won't solve anything. We're bound together now. My existence might not be such a bad thing for you."
"Arrogant!" The Nine-Tails erupted, its furious chakra slamming into the seal. The iron gate groaned, but the sealing markings didn't budge.
Ling could feel his body outside growing faintly warm, as threads of red chakra tried to spill out of his control. But with a single thought, his beginner-level Sage Body activated. A calm yet powerful vitality suppressed the restless chakra by force.
"See?" Ling's consciousness spoke within the sealed domain. "You can't hurt me. Instead of wasting your strength raging in there, just watch quietly. I'll show you a future completely different from anything you know."
With that, before the Nine-Tails could roar again, he quickly withdrew from the sealing space.
Back in the real world, he slowly opened his eyes, sensing the subtle balance between the Nine-Tails' wild, forceful chakra and the peaceful nature of the Sage Body within him. He understood that this was only the beginning. Subduing the Nine-Tails completely and earning its recognition would take time and opportunity.
He turned his head and looked at Naruto, sleeping like a little angel. His gaze grew resolute.
"System, display my status."
A half-lit screen appeared before him:
[Host: Uchiha Ling] [Age: 5] [Clan Heritage: Uchiha Bloodline (Unawakened), Sage Body (Beginner Level)] [Chakra Nature: Fire, Wind, Yang [Sage Body Activated]] [Tailed Beast: Nine-Tails Chakra Form (Can Grow, 1% Integration)] [Special Status: Sealed [Half the Nine-Tails], Complete Bond with Uzumaki Naruto]
The integration was only at 1%. He still had a long way to go. But his starting point was already higher than anyone else's.
Outside, Konoha's reconstruction struggled onward beneath the night sky. Inside, a dark star destined to illuminate—or swallow—the entire Shinobi World was quietly gathering strength.
His gaze seemed to pierce the walls and settle on the watchers hidden in the shadows.
"The higher-ups in Konoha, Danzo, and those other masterminds hiding behind the scenes..." A cold smile tugged at Ling's lips. "The game has only just begun."
Before you continue