Kurama was in an exceptionally good mood.
An unbelievably good mood.
Originally, his plan had been simple.
He wanted Minato to remain inside the seal and gradually witness Naruto’s life in Konoha.
Little by little...
He would drown in guilt.
In regret.
In self-reproach.
In resentment.
Perhaps...
He might even come to hate the very village he had sacrificed his life to protect.
But to Kurama’s surprise...
Minato was far sharper than he’d expected.
From nothing more than Naruto’s brief conversation with the Third Hokage...
He had already pieced together most of the truth.
His fury had erupted almost immediately.
As expected of Konoha’s Fourth Hokage.
Then again...
No one who survived Konoha’s political landscape could afford to be naïve.
As Hokage...
How could Minato possibly fail to recognize Hiruzen’s methods?
"Kurama!"
Consumed by anger, Minato suddenly turned toward him.
His blue eyes blazed with fury.
"Tch."
Kurama sneered.
"What is it, Fourth Hokage?"
"Planning to vent your anger on me?"
Even when Minato had been alive...
Kurama had never feared him.
Now?
He was nothing more than a lingering construct of chakra.
Powerless.
Able to do nothing but rage.
Minato slowly closed his eyes.
"Ha..."
He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
Kurama blinked.
He hadn’t expected a simple taunt to make Minato regain his composure so quickly.
Opening his eyes again, Minato looked directly at him.
"Kurama."
"It seems your relationship with Naruto isn’t as close as it appears."
Although Naruto and Kurama seemed surprisingly friendly...
Minato had never truly trusted the Nine-Tails.
Kurama knew Naruto’s true identity.
If he genuinely cared about Naruto...
If he truly acknowledged him...
Wouldn’t he be furious after seeing how Konoha had treated him?
Instead...
Kurama had merely watched everything unfold.
Once Minato calmed down...
That contradiction became impossible to ignore.
"...Hah?"
Kurama stared at him for a moment.
Then suddenly burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha!"
Minato frowned.
"I don’t understand."
Kurama’s crimson eyes brimmed with ridicule.
"Fourth Hokage..."
"You’re already at your limit?"
"You’ve only heard a few words."
"You haven’t even seen anything."
Minato’s expression changed instantly.
His pupils contracted.
He understood.
Kurama wasn’t indifferent.
He had simply...
Seen too much.
He had grown accustomed to it.
Accepted it as normal.
What a horrifying thought.
After a long silence, Minato finally spoke.
"Kurama..."
"Can you tell me..."
"What Naruto has gone through these past few years?"
Kurama narrowed his eyes.
"You’re asking me?"
Minato lowered his head.
"...Yes."
Naruto refused to speak about his past.
The only one who knew everything...
Was Kurama.
For the sake of his son...
The Fourth Hokage.
The Yellow Flash who had once struck fear into every nation during the Third Shinobi World War...
Lowered his proud head.
...
For some reason...
Kurama didn’t feel happy anymore.
The satisfaction he had expected...
Simply wasn’t there.
Instead...
Everything suddenly felt hollow.
Slowly...
Kurama extended one enormous fist through the bars of the cage.
Minato didn’t understand what it meant.
But instinctively...
He knew it was a gesture of agreement.
Without hesitation...
He raised his own fist and pressed it against Kurama’s.
The instant their fists touched—
Minato’s pupils contracted violently.
"Lord Third!"
"The Nine-Tails destroyed our village!"
"Let’s kill the child!"
"That’s right!"
"The Nine-Tails has already been sealed inside him!"
"As long as we kill the baby..."
"We’ll avenge the Fourth Hokage and everyone who died!"
It was the night Naruto was born.
Several of the shinobi shouting those words...
Were people Minato had personally saved during the Third Shinobi World War.
...
The scene shifted.
"I heard the baby the Kawamoto family is raising is the incarnation of the demon fox that destroyed Konoha."
"No way..."
"Didn’t the demon fox kill the Kawamoto family’s parents?"
Around the corner...
A middle-aged man froze.
The baby bottle in his hand slipped from his fingers.
Clatter.
...
The next moment...
He stood beside a crib.
The baby inside smiled innocently the moment he saw him.
Without warning—
The man lunged forward.
His hands wrapped around the infant’s tiny neck.
Veins bulged across his arms.
The baby’s face turned bright red.
Confusion filled those innocent eyes.
...Why?
...
The scene changed again.
A different crib.
The same child.
This time...
There was no smile.
The innocence had disappeared.
His eyes were empty.
Bruises covered his tiny body.
...
Another scene.
A woman forced the infant beneath the water.
Without the slightest mercy.
...
The memories continued.
One after another.
A toddler who had only just learned to walk...
Who still couldn’t pronounce words clearly...
Was arranged by the Third Hokage to live alone.
His monthly allowance...
Three thousand ryō.
The reward for a single D-rank mission.
The price of a few quality kunai.
Or one barbecue meal.
Life...
Didn’t become any easier.
General Store
"Get out!"
"We don’t sell anything to you!"
Food Shop
"You’re not welcome here!"
"Scram!"
"Nothing but bad luck follows you!"
Street Vendor
"Please..."
"You’ve already destroyed my family..."
"Don’t ruin what’s left of my life too..."
Villagers
"That’s the demon fox!"
"Why don’t the shinobi drive it out of the village?"
"I don’t understand why Lord Third lets that monster stay here."
"They should just kill it."
Children
"Beat him!"
"Kill the demon fox!"
Former Subordinates of the Fourth Hokage
"Isn’t that Lord Fourth’s son?"
"What nonsense."
"That’s the monster who killed Lord Fourth."
"The one responsible for thousands of deaths."
"...That’s going too far."
"If he hadn’t been born..."
"None of this would’ve happened."
"It’s all his fault."
"What a jinx."
"Come on."
"You’re not actually thinking of helping that murderer, are you?"
"...Forget it."
"Let’s go."
The Third Hokage
"Naruto..."
"Hitting people is wrong."
"The villagers have simply misunderstood you."
"You should forgive them."
"Be strict with yourself."
"Be tolerant of others."
"If you do that..."
"I’m sure one day..."
"The villagers will finally accept you."
Scene after scene flashed before Minato’s eyes like an endless nightmare.
When it was finally over...
He wasn’t angry anymore.
Only silence remained.
A suffocating silence.
...
At that moment...
Naruto appeared inside the sealing space, carrying a notebook and a pen.
"Kurama."
"Don’t do unnecessary things."
One glance at Kurama.
One glance at Minato’s reddened eyes.
Naruto didn’t need anyone to explain what had happened.
The past...
Was the past.
Even if Minato was his father in this life...
Naruto had no desire for anyone to see the scars he carried.
Hearing Naruto’s cold voice, Kurama awkwardly withdrew his fist.
He lay back down and deliberately turned his head away, avoiding Naruto’s gaze.
Minato did the same.
Quietly wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes.
"Hmph."
"I’m remembering this, Kurama."
Naruto shot the great fox a sharp glare before tossing the notebook toward Minato.
"Fourth Hokage."
"The ninjutsu."
With those final words...
His figure disappeared from the sealing space.
Just before he left...
He faintly heard Minato whisper,
"...Naruto."
"I’m sorry."
Author’s Note:
Thank you all so much!