Kurama

Night.

The long-awaited rain brought a touch of coolness to the sweltering summer heat, but the heavy clouds and intermittent thunder made the air feel oppressive.

The lights in the Hokage Office were always on. The villagers all knew that they symbolized the Third Hokage still working diligently.

Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly shifted his gaze away from the crystal ball and looked toward the visitor outside the window.

"You're back?"

"I'm back."

After a moment of silence, Jiraiya asked, "What happened with Naruto?"

Logically speaking, all information concerning a Jinchuriki had to be kept hidden.

Yet Naruto's identity, to some extent, could not be called universally known in Konoha—only known to every household.

It was utterly ridiculous.

What was Konoha? The strongest ninja village in the shinobi world!

The ninja regulations drafted by the First Hokage, refined by the Second Hokage, and supplemented by the Third Hokage clearly stated that ninja should regard intelligence as their lives!

"...It was an accident." Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep draw from his pipe, then slowly exhaled a moment later. Thick smoke completely obscured his gaze, making it impossible to read the changes in his expression.

The pungent scent of burning tobacco instantly filled the room.

"Is that so." Jiraiya said nothing more.

The Third Hokage was no fool, and neither was he. There was no point in asking further. Some things were not good for either side if they were questioned too clearly.

The next day.

Naruto sat cross-legged in his usual spot. This time, he did not fish. Instead, he plucked a leaf and placed it on his palm.

A moment later, he slowly moved his hand away.

A leaf sliced halfway through lay quietly in his palm.

After Jiraiya's guidance yesterday, his training in Wind Release Nature Transformation had made tremendous progress.

At this point, Wind Release Nature Transformation could already greatly enhance his strength.

Clang!

He drew Kusabimaru and slashed at the nearby tree trunk, burying the blade several inches into the wood.

He pulled it free. Wind Release Chakra instantly wrapped around the blade. The same tree, a different spot, with the same amount of force.

With a soft puff, Kusabimaru easily split the trunk in two.

Naruto held the Chakra-wrapped Kusabimaru upright before him, his expression filled with emotion. This was only at the level of cutting half a leaf.

When he could slice through a whole leaf, just how sharp would Kusabimaru become?

Of course, such powerful offensive capability did not come without a cost.

The Chakra consumed merely maintaining it for this short time was enough for Raimon to cast Lightning Release: Electrification several times.

But while such terrifying Chakra consumption might be a problem for others, it was barely tolerable for him.

That said, the loss of Chakra through the material could not be ignored either.

If the amount of Chakra he injected into Kusabimaru was ten, then only five would ultimately manifest.

More than half the Chakra was wasted during "transport."

That was determined by the metal used to forge Kusabimaru. There was nothing he could do about it.

The best solution would be to find some Chakra Metal and reforge Kusabimaru.

But that was unrealistic. Chakra Metal was scarce and had always been something with a price but no market.

The Ninja Academy textbooks only mentioned it briefly, giving students a rough idea that such a thing existed. They had never even considered letting students use it in actual combat.

With his financial means, let alone buying it, he could not even get near the market for the stuff.

"Yo, training this early?" Jiraiya's voice came from afar.

Naruto's heart stirred. The reason he had chosen to train here was partly because he hoped to continue receiving Jiraiya's guidance.

In terms of raw strength, he might not be much weaker than an average jonin.

But his understanding of ninjutsu theory was still at the genin level. Having a powerful teacher with strong teaching skills and a wealth of knowledge was better than fumbling around on his own no matter how he looked at it.

Although Jiraiya had only briefly shown his skills yesterday, that alone had made Naruto realize that this seemingly carefree Jiraiya was undoubtedly far superior to Hayate Gekko and Uzuki Yugao.

"Mm-hmm, not bad!" Jiraiya looked at the fallen tree trunk and nodded slightly.

"Your Nature Transformation training is about done. Want to learn some new ninjutsu?"

"...Why are you teaching me?"

Naruto knew exactly what he was to Konoha: a plague god everyone avoided like the plague.

"With a famous teacher like me, the man who taught the Fourth Hokage, guiding you, you still have other thoughts?" Jiraiya looked utterly astonished, as if he had heard a question that defied all reason.

"..." Naruto looked at him.

Nine-Tails, was my father the Fourth Hokage?

Within the Mental Space, Naruto asked the Nine-Tails lying on the ground. Though it was phrased as a question, his tone was certain.

Whether because of his rebirth or some other reason, he did not retain particularly deep impressions of his infancy.

As for his own identity, all he could do was make guesses based on the Nine-Tails within him and the different attitudes of those around him.

But judging from Jiraiya's attitude toward him, his previous suspicions were probably correct.

"...That's right. Your father was the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. Your mother was my previous Jinchuriki, Kushina Uzumaki." The Nine-Tails met his eyes for a moment, then the enormous fox head nodded lightly.

"Is that so..." Naruto nodded slightly and was about to leave the Mental Space.

"Kid, don't you hate me?" The Nine-Tails slowly pushed himself upright and looked down at him.

"Hate you? Why would you ask that?" Naruto looked up at him and asked in surprise.

"They all died by my hand. Don't you hate me?" the Nine-Tails asked in a deep voice.

"By reason, I should hate you." Naruto nodded. "But I have no memories of them at all, so where would any hatred come from..."

The debt of being born was greater than anything.

But without even the slightest emotional foundation, how could hatred arise?

Besides, the Nine-Tails had been sealed inside him by the Fourth Hokage—his father—unable to live, unable to die...

Objectively speaking, it seemed that the Fourth Hokage and his wife, even Naruto himself, were the ones the Nine-Tails had more reason to hate.

"I apologize to you for my parents' offense, Nine-Tails."

Naruto bowed deeply to the Nine-Tails. As their son, he had received the gift of life from them, but he would also bear their responsibilities and their mistakes.

"If I get the chance, I'll find a way to help you break the seal."

"..." The Nine-Tails looked at the child bowing before him and remained silent for a long time.

"You did nothing wrong. Get up."

"I don't understand the grievances between you all. I can only make a judgment from a relatively objective standpoint." Naruto said. From what he understood, they were the ones at fault.

"Hmph..."

The Nine-Tails lay back down.

Naruto withdrew from the Mental Space. Someone was still waiting for him outside.

"My name is Kurama."

Within the Mental Space, the Nine-Tails suddenly spoke.

"Hello, Kurama!" Naruto smiled faintly in the outside world.

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