Minato Namikaze

Tailed beasts were masses of condensed Chakra, not living creatures in the traditional sense. They were simply energy.

So the Nine-Tails was not surprised by his resurrection. After all, the Baryon Mode he had provided Naruto to fight an enemy like Ōtsutsuki Isshiki had essentially consumed his own energy as fuel. But the Chakra that burned away transformed into another form rather than disappearing entirely, much like water turning into vapor when heated. Once his Chakra had burned out, the Nine-Tails could no longer maintain his physical form.

It would simply take some time for his Chakra to recover and condense back into a tailed beast, so the Nine-Tails knew his resurrection was inevitable.

But looking at the little Naruto before him, he knew this was definitely not the resurrection he had expected—

He was supposed to come back after some time had passed. Since when did time run backward?

"So where exactly is this place?"

"..."

"Huh, now that I look closer, you're locked in there. This gate's huge! Hey, say something!"

"..."

"What kind of Monster are you? Why are you here? Hey, if you won't talk, I'm leaving!"

With the chatter ringing in his ears, the Nine-Tails, already unsettled by this bizarre situation, irritably scraped his claws against the floor. "Damn it! Enough thinking about this. Hey, Naruto."

The Nine-Tails' sudden words startled the curious Naruto, who answered reflexively, "Yes!"

"Go peel off that Eight Trigrams Sealing Style. It's uncomfortable being stuck in here." The Nine-Tails extended a long, sharp claw and tapped the bars, indicating the paper seal attached to them.

"How do you know my name?"

Little Naruto rubbed his ears and followed the Nine-Tails' gesture to the seal stuck to one of the bars in the center. Its strange markings made him nervous, and he stood there in a daze.

"What's wrong? Hurry up and tear it off." Watching Naruto stand there blankly, the Nine-Tails said impatiently, "Don't tell me you're afraid I'll come out and hurt you?"

"Huh? You can get out if I tear this off?" Little Naruto asked, finally catching on. "Then why don't you tear it off yourself?"

"I can't even touch it. Unless your resolve wavers, the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style won't even let me reach my claws outside... Tch, just tear it off." The Nine-Tails felt frustrated. He was starting to miss the Naruto who understood him so well, rather than this little brat before him.

Yet even after he had repeated himself so many times, little Naruto continued to gaze up at the seal on the bars.

After a while, he glanced at the Nine-Tails behind the bars, then walked over and touched them. He tried slipping his hand inside a little before pulling it back, his face deep in thought.

So Naruto was already wary of me at this age? Of course. Wasn't all the suffering he endured as a child the fault of a Demon Fox like me?

Watching little Naruto ponder, the Nine-Tails found himself dwelling on those thoughts, and frustration welled up inside him.

A long while passed.

"Hey, if you don't want to tear it off, I..." Seeing Naruto still standing motionless in thought, the Nine-Tails had done plenty of thinking himself. He was about to speak when Naruto interrupted him.

"All right, I've figured it out! Just wait."

Little Naruto struck his left fist into his right palm. After all that thinking, he finally broke into a bright smile, then dashed

over. Under the Nine-Tails' astonished gaze, he walked straight up to the bar with the seal without the slightest hesitation. Looking up at the towering Nine-Tails, he took off his scarf and his outer shirt with its spiral design, then, under the fox's slightly puzzled gaze, reluctantly knotted them together.

"Naruto, what are you doing?"

"Hm? Isn't it obvious? I'm figuring out how to climb up and tear that paper off for you!" He wrapped one end of the knotted shirt and scarf around his waist, then held the other end out to the Nine-Tails through the bars. "Here, help pull me up. Otherwise, I can't reach."

Watching this boy who never did what anyone expected, the Nine-Tails froze for a moment.

"Hurry up! It's really cold in here," Little Naruto urged.

So he was trying to figure out how to get up there.

"You... want to help me?" For some reason, the Nine-Tails asked the question without thinking. "Weren't you scared of me just now?"

"Huh? Anyone would be scared the first time they saw a huge guy like you, right? But it's fine now." Naruto gave the Nine-Tails a radiant smile and a thumbs-up. "I feel close to you when I look at you. And you're not mean, and you don't act like you don't need me, the way everyone else does. Of course I'll help you!"

The Nine-Tails stared for a moment, then the corners of his enormous fox mouth lifted ever so slightly. The anxiety that had plagued him since he woke up vanished without a trace—the boy before him was still the Naruto he knew!

The Nine-Tails reached out a claw, pinched the clothing, and lifted him. As he rose, little Naruto squirmed for a moment when the fabric tightened uncomfortably around his stomach, but he soon reached the seal.

Then, without the slightest hesitation, Naruto reached out his little hand and grabbed the Sealing stuck to the bar. Just a slight tug would undo the Sealing that bound the Nine-Tails.

But the next instant, a long arm reached out, its hand closing over Naruto's outstretched little hand and gently pulling him back.

"You can't do that, Naruto."

"Huh?" Hearing the voice, Naruto instinctively started to turn around, only to suddenly feel the world spin before he lost consciousness.

The Nine-Tails watched with interest as Naruto's body disappeared before him. Rather than showing surprise, he shifted his gaze to the figure that had suddenly appeared because of the Sealing.

"Even though I left some of my Chakra behind as a precaution, I never expected my Sealing to be this ineffective. You've already managed to seep through and control Naruto after only a few years..." The instant little Naruto disappeared, the blond man's gentle smile faded, and he turned a grave gaze on the Nine-Tails behind the bars. "Nine-Tails, you really are powerful."

"The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze." The Nine-Tails grinned. "What, didn't you leave this chakra behind precisely so you could reinforce my seal at a time like this?"

Konoha's Fourth Hokage, the Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze.

A legend who had once swept across the Shinobi World now wore a grim expression, tinged even with despair.

He did not understand why the safeguard he had left for Naruto had activated so soon. The Nine-Tails had even severed his connection to Naruto the instant Minato touched the boy—

The Nine-Tails had done it of his own accord, without even giving him time to warn Naruto. The Nine-Tails should not have been able to freely control Naruto's inner world like this while still trapped inside the Sealing!

Moreover, according to the memories of this Minato Namikaze, formed from the chakra left behind, the Nine-Tails inside Naruto was not even complete at this point.

"The legendary tailed beasts are harder to deal with than I imagined," Minato Namikaze sighed. Still, he had no intention of wasting words on the Nine-Tails. He had left behind very little chakra, and he needed to reinforce the seal as quickly as possible.

But before Minato Namikaze could act, the Nine-Tails' next words stopped him short—

"Come here. I'll give you some Chakra so that body of yours doesn't disappear." The Nine-Tails swished his tails and spoke casually.