The Nine-Tails' seal

There had clearly been no one there just a moment ago.

Naruto even noticed that the cracks and rubble that should have been on the ground had vanished.

"What's going on?" Naruto felt utterly bewildered.

"It looks like everything's fine now. That person must have fled after failing. I'll leave you here, then, Naruto." The Third Hokage nodded. "Don't worry. I'll have people track down the enemy right away. However they managed to sneak into the village, it won't happen again."

"Grandpa Hokage, you can't let your guard down!" Naruto was still worried, but looking at the peaceful street, he perked up. "And don't worry about me. I'm not someone you can push around! Whoever that guy is, I'll drag him out myself and beat him to a pulp!"

Kakashi, who had been watching from a hiding place, suddenly felt a chill run through him. Naruto's words genuinely unnerved him.

The Nine-Tails' overwhelming presence had been...

"Heh, then I'll look forward to it." The Third Hokage smiled with relief, then watched Naruto head home.

Only long after Naruto had disappeared at the end of the street did the Third Hokage lift his gaze to the sky. The starlight was dim, but an ocean of brilliant stars seemed to glitter in his eyes.

"Hmph." The Nine-Tails had watched the whole affair. Unlike before, he had not withdrawn his senses when the Third Hokage appeared. Instead, he had figured out what was going on without the man noticing, and his gaze settled on Minato Namikaze.

"Was this part of your plan too?"

"How could it be?" Minato Namikaze smiled. But after spending so much time with Minato, the Nine-Tails could naturally hear the evasion in his voice. That meant Minato had indeed anticipated this.

Ever since Minato had begun teaching sealing jutsu and the Flying Thunder God Technique, the Nine-Tails had asked him several times what would happen once Naruto revealed the Flying Thunder God Technique.

The Nine-Tails had even prepared to forcibly use his own contingency plan if Naruto was put in danger because of it.

But Minato's answer had always been firm and confident.

There would be no danger. He trusted Konoha.

That confident expression reminded the Nine-Tails of Naruto declaring that he would become Hokage. Like father, like son.

"Come out." After parting with Naruto, the Third Hokage did not go straight home. Instead, he returned to the entrance of the Hokage Building. Putting away his pipe, he slowly exhaled. "Thank you for your hard work, Kakashi."

"Lord Hokage, if possible, I'd really like to go home and rest before giving my report." Kakashi, who had followed the Third Hokage the whole way, stepped into view. He held his forehead with one hand, his white hair hanging limply, looking utterly drained.

The Third Hokage had been maintaining an air of calm composure, but he jumped when he turned and saw Kakashi's miserable state. He had assumed that, at worst, Kakashi simply wouldn't be able to handle Naruto. Yet looking at him now, had Konoha's elite jonin and former Anbu Captain actually suffered quite a bit at the hands of this six-year-old?

Still, Kakashi was a professional. Despite his complaint, he immediately began reporting on the mission.

"Naruto is an exceptional child. In fact, I believe he's surpassed even your expectations, Lord Hokage." Kakashi gave a detailed account of everything he had just experienced.

Hearing that Naruto had forced Kakashi to use his Sharingan and Lightning Blade with nothing more than the Body Flicker Technique and Clone Technique already came as quite a surprise to the Third Hokage.

He knew, of course, that Kakashi had plenty of other methods at his disposal. But when had Naruto's fundamentals become so strong? He knew Naruto practiced often, but to hold his own against Kakashi...

"...Finally, just as you predicted, Lord Hokage, Naruto used the Flying Thunder God Technique to vanish completely in the face of my Lightning Blade. Given how quickly he reacted in that instant, I couldn't track him." Kakashi rubbed his temples again as he spoke. Naruto's talent was so astonishing it was almost frightening, and it reminded him of another young prodigy he knew well.

Uchiha Itachi.

No, judging by age alone, Naruto's performance had far surpassed that of Itachi, who had already been remarkable when he first joined the Anbu.

"Truly... But from what you've said, Naruto never attacked you. Why are you in such a state...?" the Third Hokage asked, puzzled as he studied Kakashi.

"Maybe I didn't get enough rest after my previous mission, and using Lightning Blade again disrupted my chakra?" Kakashi looked equally confused. Why was he in such terrible shape?

"All right, go home and get some proper rest. We'll discuss the rest tomorrow." Seeing that nothing seemed seriously wrong with Kakashi, the Third Hokage patted his shoulder and motioned for him to leave.

The instant he patted Kakashi's shoulder, the Third Hokage used a faint trace of chakra, but found nothing.

It wasn't genjutsu. Apparently, Kakashi really was just feeling unwell.

Once he established that, the Third Hokage stopped worrying about it. After all, achieving his objective was enough.

"Then I'll take my leave."

Hearing the undisguised delight in the Third Hokage's voice, Kakashi also breathed a sigh of relief.

Very few people in Konoha knew that Naruto was the Fourth Hokage's son. The position of someone like Kakashi, a former Anbu member, was particularly sensitive. He couldn't even approach Naruto the way Guy could.

So if his actions tonight brought Naruto a good outcome, at least he would have done his part...

No!

Not long after Kakashi turned to leave, he suddenly felt a pain in his head quietly fade away. Then something abruptly came back to him, and his expression filled with horror—

How could I have forgotten to report the Nine-Tails?

Without time to think, Kakashi instinctively tried to return to the entrance of the Hokage Building. But the instant he turned around, that pain flickered and vanished again. He stood where he was, his mouth opening beneath his mask, yet no sound came out.

"What... is wrong with me? I'm so tired..." Kakashi felt much of his strength drain away in an instant, and his head grew even foggier. "This is bad. I'm going to pass out..."

"Hey, if it isn't my eternal rival, Kakashi!!!"

Suddenly, an enthusiastic shout rang out from a distant street corner. Kakashi blearily looked over and saw a strangely shaped figure rapidly approaching.

As two shoe soles abruptly appeared before Kakashi's face, the booming voice kept going. "What a coincidence! I'm taking an after-dinner walk around the village on my hands. How about joining... Hm? What's wrong, Kakashi?"

The newcomer was Might Guy, dressed in a green flak jacket. He had clearly noticed something wrong with Kakashi too. With a graceful flip, he landed on his feet and dropped his playful expression.

"...Nothing. Just a little dizzy. It's fine." Kakashi glanced at Guy. He knew Guy had not been involved in this operation, and with secrecy his first priority, he offered no explanation. "Walking on your hands after dinner? Aren't you worried you'll throw up...? If you've really got nothing to do, go home and sleep. Or buy me a bottle of water."

"Water, right? Wait here!" Guy laughed. Just as he was about to set off, he abruptly turned and delivered a chop to Kakashi's forehead, catching him completely off guard with the pain. "Do you really think I'm an idiot? You think I can't tell something's wrong? If it's mission-related and you can't talk about it, I won't pry. I'm taking you home."

Holding his head, Kakashi endured the pain, thinking that single blow had hurt worse than all the earlier pain. Still, he sank to the ground and waved a hand. "No need. I just need to rest a little. I'm fine."

"Really?"

"Really."

Guy stared wide-eyed at Kakashi sitting on the ground, looking utterly unconvinced.

A long while passed.

"...Just take me home, then." Kakashi finally gave in to his friend's stubbornness. If Guy kept staring at him like that, who knew what people might think?

"Now that's more like it!" Guy flashed a brilliant smile, hoisted Kakashi over his head, and laughed. "Then I'll do frog jumps all the way to your house! Let's go!"

Give me a break.

Bobbing up and down overhead, Kakashi felt utterly defeated. He could only pray no passersby saw this, and his body seemed to feel even worse.

After Kakashi left, the Third Hokage waved a hand and instructed the Anbu to summon Konoha's advisers. He could no longer wait until tomorrow.

It wasn't that he distrusted Kakashi. On the contrary, it was precisely because he trusted Kakashi enough that he didn't want him involved any further. He knew his old companions too well. His earlier decision to withdraw the Anbu watchers and close off the street must already have caught their attention.

If Kakashi were present to explain things now, those people would instead think he and Kakashi had staged the whole affair.

The Third Hokage took out his pipe, entered the Hokage Building, and waited quietly in his office.

He looked up at the photographs of the successive Hokage hanging on the wall, his gaze lingering on the face of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.

After tonight, Naruto will at least have the right to move freely within the village. Then I can start paving the way for him. Minato, although I don't know exactly what you want Naruto to do... just as I supported your nomination as Hokage, I'll continue to support your decisions.

The Third Hokage said this silently to himself.

Meanwhile, now home, Kakashi had finally managed, with tremendous effort, to convince Guy that nothing serious was wrong and that he was merely a little weak. Only then had he gotten him to leave.

But once Guy was far enough away, Kakashi felt the pain in his head disappear again, and everything involving the Nine-Tails came back to him.

The sensation made Kakashi's head swim, but his experience let him immediately draw a conclusion. He hurried to the Mirror above the sink and pulled aside his clothing, following the source of the fading pain—

Then he clearly saw a tiny yet conspicuous mark on his neck. The discovery made his expression darken.

This is sealing Jutsu!

The Nine-Tails sealed inside Naruto placed a sealing jutsu on me in that instant? How did he do it?

I've never heard of the Nine-Tails having this ability!