Lying comfortably atop Kurama’s warm fur, Naruto stared into the darkness, unable to fall asleep.
After a long silence, he suddenly asked,
"Kurama... do you want to leave?"
Kurama glanced at him before slowly closing his eyes again.
Do I?
Once...
The answer would have been yes.
But now...
Not really.
If he left...
Naruto would die.
Besides, even if he escaped, where would he go?
Every hidden village in the Shinobi World would hunt him relentlessly.
Compared to that...
Staying inside Naruto wasn’t such a bad choice.
Seeing that Kurama remained silent, Naruto simply smiled.
Then he climbed down from the fox’s back and walked toward the iron gate of the seal.
Kurama opened one eye, a hint of confusion flashing across it.
Naruto bent his knees...
Then suddenly leaped into the air.
Kurama’s pupils instantly narrowed.
Wait...
Is he—?
Rip!
The unmistakable sound of paper tearing echoed throughout the seal.
Naruto landed lightly on the ground, two torn sealing tags pinched between his fingers.
"...You tore them off?"
Kurama froze.
Surprisingly...
He felt neither joy nor excitement.
Because...
He had no intention of leaving.
At that moment, the torn sealing tags suddenly erupted with a brilliant golden glow.
Just as I thought.
Naruto nodded inwardly.
Removing the sealing tags had never been about releasing Kurama.
Over the past three years, he had already mapped out much of his future.
The one thing he had never truly resolved...
Was how he should view the parents of this life.
Today, he intended to find out.
More specifically...
He wanted to see how the chakra Minato Namikaze had left behind would respond.
Besides, three years ago, the System had copied every one of Minato’s and Kushina’s abilities.
Back then, his body had been far too weak to use them.
Now that he was three years old, however, he could finally begin basic physical training.
Sooner or later...
He would need a reasonable explanation for where those techniques came from.
A few moments later...
The golden light gradually faded.
Standing before them was a blond young man wearing Konoha’s standard flak jacket beneath the white Hokage cloak.
Minato Namikaze.
The moment he appeared—
Boom!
Kurama’s killing intent erupted.
Violent crimson chakra surged throughout the seal.
His massive claws slammed against the iron bars as though he wanted nothing more than to tear Minato apart.
Having no idea what had happened, Minato instinctively assumed the Nine-Tails had broken free.
He immediately reached toward Naruto.
"Naruto!"
Instead...
Naruto casually slapped his hand aside.
With a few quick steps, he leaped onto Kurama’s enormous head.
Minato froze before urgently shouting,
"Naruto! What are you doing? Get away from him! It’s dangerous!"
Naruto narrowed his eyes.
Completely ignoring Kurama’s violent chakra, he calmly sat cross-legged atop the fox’s head.
His left hand rested beneath his chin.
His right hand gently stroked Kurama’s forehead.
Then he looked down at Minato.
"Who are you?"
...
Meanwhile...
Elsewhere in Konoha.
"...That feeling..."
An ANBU operative assigned to monitor Naruto suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
An overwhelming sense of dread washed over him.
Damn it!
Without a moment’s hesitation, he vanished with the Body Flicker Technique and appeared outside Naruto’s apartment window.
The moment he looked inside...
His expression changed dramatically.
Naruto lay peacefully asleep on his bed.
Yet streams of crimson chakra poured from his body, bathing the dark room in an eerie blood-red glow.
Even through the closed window, the chakra radiated overwhelming hatred...
Violence...
Malice...
An aura so sinister it made his skin crawl.
Just as I feared!
The ANBU’s face turned pale.
He immediately formed a specialized communication hand seal.
Moments later, another ANBU operative appeared beside him.
"Hurry!"
"Report to Lord Third!"
"The Jinchūriki’s seal has changed!"
"Yes!"
Knowing the gravity of anything involving the Nine-Tails’ Jinchūriki, the second ANBU vanished immediately, racing toward the Hokage’s Office.
...
Inside the seal...
Minato silently watched Naruto sitting calmly atop Kurama’s head.
The Nine-Tails’ violent chakra had visibly calmed beneath Naruto’s gentle touch.
A trace of confusion crossed Minato’s face.
Naruto removed the sealing tags himself.
He doesn’t seem to be under the Nine-Tails’ control.
In fact... the two of them seem to get along surprisingly well.
Still... he’s only a child.
Could Kurama have manipulated him into removing the seal?
No...
His eyes are too clear.
He’s extraordinarily mature for his age.
Just as expected... he’s Kushina’s and my son.
Lord Third must have raised him well.
With that thought, Minato smiled warmly.
"Naruto."
"I’m your father."
"Impossible."
Naruto answered without the slightest hesitation.
"I’m a demon fox."
"Demon foxes don’t have human fathers."
Minato stood there in stunned silence.
Then he quickly replied,
"Naruto, you’re Kushina’s and my son! How could you possibly be a demon fox?"
"No."
Naruto calmly shook his head.
"I don’t have parents."
"I’m the demon fox."
Three years.
Three years of living a life worse than an animal.
Did Minato really think that saying I’m your father was enough to erase everything?
Impossible.
Seeing Naruto’s indifferent expression, Minato’s brows drew together.
Why does Naruto insist on calling himself a demon fox?
Didn’t Lord Third tell him who he really is?
What exactly happened?
Unfortunately...
The chakra Minato had sealed inside Naruto existed only as a safeguard.
It would awaken only under specific circumstances.
He simply didn’t possess enough information to understand what Naruto had gone through.
His gaze slowly swept over Naruto...
Then Kurama...
Searching for even the slightest clue.
Finally...
His eyes settled on Naruto’s pajamas.
The fabric was rough.
The stitching was crude.
The clothes were obviously too small.
Their faded color showed they had been washed and worn countless times.
From that single set of pajamas...
Minato reached an unmistakable conclusion.
Naruto’s life...
Had been painfully difficult.
How is that possible?
Kushina and I left behind savings worth tens of millions of ryō.
Even if Naruto never became a shinobi, that money alone should have allowed him to live comfortably for the rest of his life.
And beyond our savings...
What about the death compensation?
Every fallen shinobi’s family receives compensation based on rank and position.
As the Fourth Hokage...
The benefits paid after my death alone should have been enough for an ordinary family to live comfortably for years.
So why...
Why is Naruto living like this?
Konoha...
Is this how you treated Kushina’s and my child?
Lord Third...
Is this how you protected my son?
For the first time...
Minato Namikaze began to doubt Konoha’s leadership.
He began to doubt Hiruzen Sarutobi.
And for the first time...
He regretted not listening to Kushina.
He regretted entrusting everything to others.
Most of all...
He regretted not living long enough to raise his son himself.
Author’s Note: