"The Fourth Hokage..." The Nine-Tails watched with great interest, looking as though he were enjoying the show.
Minato Namikaze was somewhat bewildered. Something felt off. None of the Nine-Tails' chakra had leaked out, and Naruto did not seem to have gone berserk either. He had wanted to make a cool entrance before his son, so why had it turned out like this?
"You are... the Fourth Hokage..." Naruto said each word slowly. A strange feeling stirred within him. For some reason, now that his father stood before him, he no longer felt the anticipation he had once imagined. Instead, he felt lost.
He had imagined what it would feel like to meet his father. They should have had endless things to say, or perhaps, like the version of himself in Awen's memories, he would have punched him before crying about all the grievances he had suffered over the years.
But Naruto was now far more mature than the one in Awen's memories. Seeing his father standing before him, he could not possibly react as he had in those memories.
"That's right, Naruto. I'm your father. Being a Jinchuriki hasn't been easy, has it?" Minato Namikaze had expected this. Looking at the sealing strip and the calm Nine-Tails within the iron cage, he too sensed that something was unusual.
"I placed a safeguard within the seal. Once the eighth tail appeared, control was lost, and the seal began to break, the chakra remnant I left behind would appear here. I wanted to avoid that as much as possible. I never expected to appear under different circumstances. Naruto, why...?"
Minato Namikaze reached out, wanting to touch the now-grown Naruto.
Naruto lightly dodged aside, and Minato Namikaze's hand froze. His blue eyes trembled slightly as Naruto said, "Fourth... no, Father. We can talk