Meeting Kushina, Breaking the Seal

"Guess who I am, little Naruto?" A slightly playful, adorable voice came from behind Naruto.

For some reason, the moment he heard that voice, Naruto's eyes welled up uncontrollably, and tears began streaming down his face.

"Is that you, Mom?" Naruto turned around and finally saw the mother he had longed for day and night.

Before him stood a beautiful woman with lovely red hair, radiating a vitality as powerful as the sun. A small hair clip rested in her bangs as she smiled warmly at Naruto, her own eyes glistening with tears.

"So smart—you actually guessed it right. As expected of Kushina Uzumaki's child!"

At that point, Naruto could no longer hold himself back. He rushed forward and threw his arms around Kushina Uzumaki.

"Mom, I missed you. I really missed you, missed you so much!" At that moment, Naruto's language center seemed to have stopped working. He did not know what he could say to express how he felt.

"I missed you too, Naruto. My good child!"

Kushina gently held Naruto as well. There was none of that legendary fiery temper in sight. Sure enough, it had all just been rumors.

Kushina was also filled with emotion. The last time she had seen Naruto was when he had just been born, and they had immediately been faced with life and death. Though their time together had been so brief, she had still etched Naruto's appearance deep into her mind.

In the blink of an eye, so many years had passed, yet Naruto still did not seem very old. He looked like he was only six or seven.

"Let me get a good look at you, my child. How old are you this year?" Kushina carefully looked Naruto over and asked.

"I'm six. I just started at the Ninja Academy!" Naruto wiped away his tears and answered Kushina.

"Only six, and you're already so handsome. You're exactly as handsome as your dad was back then!"

"From the looks of it, you'll definitely become an outstanding ninja in the future—at the very least, as strong as your dad!"

"Um, are you talking about me, Kushina?" Minato had not had the heart to interrupt the touching scene, so he had remained silent. Only when Kushina mentioned him did he quietly speak up to show that he was there too.

"Oh! Minato, so you're here too. I missed you so much!" Kushina instantly abandoned Naruto and ran toward Minato.

She leaped through the air and pounced at Minato.

Minato carefully caught the flying Kushina, held her as he spun around a few times, and landed steadily.

Then he gently embraced Kushina and said, "I missed you too, my Kushina!"

The family of three had finally reunited, but as an onlooker, Naruto felt like he should not have been there. He should have been under the car, watching just how sweet the two of them were!

He had been force-fed a mouthful of lovey-dovey affection—and it was from his own parents.

"Minato, Naruto doesn't seem very old. This is completely different from what I expected. I imagined Naruto would be in his teens by the time he came to this place. Did something unexpected happen?"

Naruto then explained why he and his father had come here. He had already become friends with Kurama, and they had come to break Kurama's seal. Minato wanted to seek Kushina's opinion, which was why they had come here.

He also told her about everything he had experienced in the village over the years, all of it from beginning to end.

After hearing Naruto's words, Kushina's anger instantly hit the roof. The chakra around her surged violently, and her fiery red hair floated up. Was this Kushina Uzumaki's enraged form? She looked like someone no one should mess with!

She cursed, "Outrageous! Absolutely outrageous! That old man, the Third Hokage, actually let my little Naruto suffer for so long! And that old dog Danzo Shimura—I haven't seen him in so long, yet he's still as detestable as ever. Back when I was in the village, he was never a good person!"

"Sure enough, a dog cannot stop eating shit. I wish I could rush back right now and grind those two birds of a feather into the dirt. I'd use my Adamantine Sealing Chains to show them what the Uzumaki Clan's sealing techniques are all about! Compared to them, the Nine-Tails suddenly looks much more pleasing to the eye."

After hearing that, Minato cautiously asked, "So, Kushina, does that mean you're willing to support Naruto's idea? You agree to break the seal?"

Kushina smiled sweetly. "Of course. Our child has his own thoughts, so as his parents, we should naturally support him properly."

Kushina said to Naruto, "Naruto, I believe in you. It is precisely because you fully understand the Nine-Tails' pain that you were able to truly enter its heart. Tailed beasts are living beings with feelings too. I believe the friendship between you will surely allow you to become a perfect jinchuriki and accomplish what your mother was never able to do!"

Minato also said from the side, "Since your mother has said so, then as your father, I will definitely support what you want to do!"

"Go, Naruto. Break the Nine-Tails' seal and free your friend from its prison. Your father and I will support you from behind!"

"Thank you, Dad. Thank you, Mom. I definitely won't let down the trust you have in me!" Naruto nodded heavily and made his promise to them.

The surrounding space gradually faded away, and the family of three returned to the sewer from before.

"Naruto, you're back? Huh, isn't this Kushina? It's been so long, but you still look exactly the same. You haven't changed at all!" Kurama was also somewhat emotional when he saw Kushina again after so long.

"Yes, Nine-Tails. I never imagined that what I failed to accomplish back then would actually be achieved by my son. He really is an incredible person!" Kushina said to the Nine-Tails.

"That's true, Kushina. Your son is far more impressive than you were. As expected of the friend I acknowledged!" Kurama did not refute Kushina's words.

Seeing the Nine-Tails' reaction, Kushina understood. This kind of attitude was something she had never experienced back then. It seemed the Nine-Tails really had changed!

Naruto looked at Kurama and shouted, "Kurama, wait for it! I'm letting you out right now!"

Naruto's body rose into the air once more. This time, when he reached the seal, Minato did not stop him. Naruto did not hesitate in the slightest. He placed his hand on the seal and pulled hard. With a ripping sound, the seal tore apart beneath Naruto's hand.

Minato and Kushina exchanged a smile.

"Minato, it's our turn to perform. Let's show our son how capable his parents are!"

Minato and Kushina stood beside Naruto together, blue chakra flames emerging from their hands.

Their hands rapidly formed seals, and the technique was soon complete.

Aiming at Naruto's navel, they shouted in unison, "Eight Trigrams Seal, release!"

At Naruto's navel, the Eight Trigrams Seal slowly unraveled like layer after layer of spirals.

As the seal came undone ring by ring, the giant red pillars slowly dissipated as well. They had succeeded!

All the shackles in Kurama's consciousness space vanished. Kurama had gained true freedom in every sense of the word!

"Hahahahaha! I, Kurama, am finally free again!"

Kurama could feel his sealed power constantly returning, and the sensation was utterly wonderful!

The original sewer continuously sent out ripples beneath Kurama's immense chakra, reflecting how unsettled Minato and Kushina felt at that moment.

As they watched the Nine-Tails release its aura without restraint, power gushing from its body and far surpassing even the Uzumaki Clan's vitality, even Kushina could not help feeling intimidated.

Kushina and Minato also prepared for battle. If the Nine-Tails changed its mind, they would use every last bit of their strength to protect Naruto.

But the Nine-Tails was still the Nine-Tails, the strongest tailed beast in the world! At least, that was what the two of them believed.

Even half of it was already this powerful. They could not imagine how terrifying a complete one would be!

Watching the Nine-Tails recklessly release its power, Kushina and Minato exchanged a glance, feeling that the situation was becoming difficult to control.

At its core, the Nine-Tails was still a tailed beast. Perhaps it was naturally cunning and had deceived their son after all.

"Get ready, Kushina. We may have to risk our lives!"

"Yes. If I'd known, we shouldn't have agreed to Naruto's request so rashly. That Nine-Tails is just too cunning—it even fooled us!"

Could Naruto really control such immense power? The couple had their doubts. They were only worried that their child would not be able to bear such power.

Seeing Kurama like that, Naruto sighed helplessly. "Kurama, enough messing around and acting. Don't actually scare my dad and mom!"

After hearing Naruto, Kurama instantly behaved. It quieted down at once, reined in its aura, and said to Naruto, "You're the only one who understands me, kid. You saw through my incredibly realistic performance right away!"

"I thought I acted out the feeling of just gaining freedom perfectly, along with all that excitement. See? Minato and Kushina were completely fooled by me. They sealed me up for so long, so what's wrong with fooling them for a bit?"

Hearing Naruto and the Nine-Tails, Kushina and Minato finally relaxed with relief.

Just now, they had truly thought the Nine-Tails was about to go berserk. Even if it meant sacrificing all their chakra, they would have protected Naruto.

"Dad, Mom, I told you already. Kurama and I really are friends, so you don't need to worry about Kurama hurting me," Naruto said to Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze.

At the same time, Naruto extended a fist toward Kurama. Kurama immediately understood and extended its own fist, lightly bumping it against Naruto's. From that moment on, their bond was officially formed!

Kushina looked at the Nine-Tails with gratitude and said, "Kurama, we wronged you in the past. We do not have much time left. I hope you can help us take good care of Naruto. From now on, you two will be friends who rely on each other. We can entrust Naruto to you without worry!"