"Hmph."
Kurama gave an inscrutable snort, lowering his enormous head until it was almost level with the newly opened hole. His sharp gaze pierced through it and fixed on Naruto.
"You... I've actually wanted to ask you this for a long time."
His voice grew low, losing its usual frenzy and taking on a solemn, probing edge.
"You mentioned it before, and now you're saying it again... 'the contingency the Fourth Hokage and his wife left behind.' What exactly is that? Does those two's chakra still remain inside this seal in some form?"
Naruto nodded, his expression turning serious as well.
Keeping the opening in the seal stable, he explained, "Yes. They cleverly integrated a portion of their own chakra consciousness into the core of this Eight Trigrams Seal.
"It doesn't manifest under normal circumstances. Only when the seal suffers an extreme impact, or... when the tailed beast chakra inside me runs out of control and reaches a dangerous threshold, will their chakra consciousness be triggered and appear temporarily."
Those two portions of chakra had witnessed everything about him since his birth. They might not approve of him.
Until he found a way to earn their trust, Naruto had no intention of simply opening the seal and releasing the Fourth Hokage and his wife's chakra.
He genuinely wanted to see whether they knew any sealing jutsu he had yet to learn, or had any insights into developing them.
"...If it's Kushina..."
"I could try... using my chakra to 'nurture' and 'anchor' what remains of her consciousness."
The suggestion made Naruto's eyes widen instantly, his face filling with shock and disbelief.
Kurama continued in that low voice, his tone complicated. "Kushina... she was my previous jinchūriki.
"We fought against each other for a long time.
"My chakra existed inside her for