Before the morning mist had fully dispersed, Naruto was already squatting in the pine forest behind Konoha, clutching a few brightly colored mushrooms in his small hand.
Dewdrops slid down the caps of the mushrooms, refracting a dangerously beautiful hue in the rising sun.
“Never touch the ones with red caps and white stems,” Madara’s voice echoed in Naruto’s mind.
“Eating these poisonous mushrooms will cause your liver and intestines to rupture within two hours.”
Naruto shivered, almost dropping the mushrooms.
He carefully used a twig to draw the markings Madara had taught him on the dirt—a crooked skull with a cross next to it.
“Th-then what about this?” Naruto pushed aside another clump of bushes, revealing several pearl-like white berries.
Madara replied, “Stay away! Those are ‘Widow’s Tears.’ Touching the skin will cause…”
Before Madara could finish explaining, an old voice came from behind.
Naruto, startled, sat down on the ground.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had appeared behind him at some point, the smoke from his pipe a conspicuous sight in the morning mist.
“Th-Third Grandpa!” Naruto hastily wiped the skull pattern on the ground with his foot.
“I was… I was picking mushrooms!”
The Third Hokage’s gaze swept over the colorful fungi, his wrinkles deepening.
“Who taught you to identify these?”
Naruto’s eyes darted around, as Madara had warned him not to reveal his existence.
After much thought, Naruto could only stammer out a lie.
“I… I read it in a book! ‘Konoha’s Guide to Plants’!”
The Third Hokage crouched down, picked up a “Widow’s Tear,” and then looked at Naruto’s hands.
To his surprise, his fingers were covered with a thin layer of chakra, isolating them from the poison.
This was absolutely not the chakra control ability that a child of this age should possess.
“This book,” the Third Hokage said slowly, “is the seventh from the right on the third shelf in the library. It was only borrowed three times last year.”
His gaze suddenly sharpened.
“And you, Naruto, have never been to the library.”
His lie exposed, Naruto felt cold sweat trickle down his back.
He could feel Madara’s chakra enveloping his mind like armor, but the Third Hokage’s gaze seemed to penetrate everything.
“It’s the seal,” Naruto repeated what Madara had told him internally.
“The survival knowledge left by the Fourth Hokage.”
The Third Hokage’s eyes narrowed slightly.
He stared intently at Naruto’s small face, his right hand subtly forming a “Un” (未) hand seal.
“The Fourth Hokage?” the Third Hokage asked softly.
“The Fourth Hokage?”
However, Naruto was unfamiliar with this term and showed a confused expression.
This made Madara cover his face.
It seemed asking a child to lie was too difficult.
“Say it after me: it’s information left by the Fourth Hokage in the seal, to give you the ability to protect yourself.”
Naruto tried very hard to say it completely, but when the words reached his mouth, they turned into: “Um, it seems to be… some information… um… to give me the ability to protect myself.”
Seeing this, the Third Hokage sensed something.
Naruto was still a child and couldn’t express himself clearly, but it was likely some contingency left by Minato.
This is why the current Naruto accidentally unlocked it, leading to the current abnormality.
After much thought, the Third Hokage could only conclude this and patted Naruto’s small head.
“Is that so? But it’s still very dangerous for you to come into contact with these things without anyone to teach you.”
“I’m sorry…”
In response, Naruto could only lower his head and apologize to the Third Hokage.
This sentence pierced the Third Hokage like a kunai.
The Third Hokage had always admitted to himself that he had failed Naruto.
As the son of a hero, Naruto’s identity as a Jinchūriki necessitated a lockdown of his status.
To the point where he couldn’t even inherit his father’s surname, having to hide under the Uzumaki name.
Although the Third Hokage provided the greatest assistance in terms of food, clothing, housing, and transportation, the villagers still couldn’t accept Naruto’s existence due to him being a Jinchūriki.
Even if he himself spoke up, it would only lead to Naruto living the current life.
The old man was silent for a long time, finally sighing.
“If you want to learn these things in the future, come find me.”
He stood up and looked back before leaving.
“I hope… I’m just overthinking all of this.”
After the Third Hokage’s figure completely disappeared, Naruto slumped to the ground like a deflated ball.
“Dad! You scared me to death!”
Madara’s chakra churned within the seal space.
“That old fox is suspicious, but he won’t investigate deeply for now.” He paused.
“However, for the next few days, you will be under strict surveillance.”
As expected, when Naruto went to Ichiraku Ramen that afternoon, he noticed two masked ninjas in the corner.
Even when he went to the restroom, he could feel chakra fluctuations on the roof.
“One on the tree to the left, two on the roof to the right.”
Madara coldly reported the locations of the watchers.
“Konoha’s ANBU are becoming more and more outrageous.”
Naruto slurped his ramen and asked in his mind, “Are we still going to continue learning?”
“Of course,” Madara’s voice was undeniably firm.
“But first, digest what you learned today. Tomorrow, we’ll start physical training.”
Uncle Teuchi pushed a double portion of chashu in front of Naruto and affectionately ruffled his blond hair.
“Itadakimasu!”
Naruto’s eyes narrowed into slits as he smiled, beginning to enjoy the delicious feast before him.
After nightfall, Naruto sat cross-legged on his bed.
Following Madara’s instructions, he was trying to concentrate chakra at his fingertips.
“Focus,” Madara’s voice was unusually patient.
“Imagine your chakra is a net…”
Naruto gritted his teeth, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
Suddenly, his index finger emitted a faint blue light, flickering like a firefly.
“I succeeded!” Naruto cheered.
Madara snorted.
“Barely passable.”
But he didn’t tell Naruto that this kind of fine chakra manipulation usually required the control of a Genin.
Just as Naruto was about to try again, the seal space suddenly began to shake violently.
The Nine-Tails’ chakra surged like a tide, constantly washing over Madara’s soul.
“Uchiha Madara,” the Nine-Tails’ voice rumbled like thunder.
“Let’s talk.”
Madara closed and opened his eyes, his figure appearing in the seal space.
His scarlet Mangekyō Sharingan directly faced the scarlet vertical pupils.
“Beast, are you seeking death?”
The Nine-Tails’ tail impatiently slapped against the iron bars.
“Stop playing dumb. You know this isn’t normal—why would a specter from the Warring States period appear inside this brat?”
Madara’s Sharingan slowly spun.
“It’s none of your business.”
“Of course, it is.”
The Nine-Tails grinned, revealing its white fangs.
“I’ve been sealed for over sixty years and have never seen anything like this.”
“An Uchiha with no connection to the Uzumaki clan, whose soul is parasitizing a Jinchūriki…”
Its gaze turned dangerous.
“Unless, someone deliberately arranged this.”
Madara’s soul chakra suddenly became unstable.
This was a question he had pondered countless times—why Naruto?
Why him specifically?
“The Sage of Six Paths,” the Nine-Tails suddenly uttered the name.
“Only that old man has the ability to interfere with soul reincarnation.”
Madara’s pupils contracted sharply.
He naturally knew the legends of the Sage of Six Paths, but…
“Do you think I’d believe that?” Madara sneered.
“If it really was him, what’s the purpose?”
The Nine-Tails’ tail stopped swaying.
“Ask yourself, Uchiha Madara. When you taught that brat how to identify poisons, when you watched him clumsily practice chakra…”
A cunning glint flashed in the fox’s eyes.
“Who did you remember?”
Madara’s phantom figure suddenly froze.
Countless fragments of memories flashed by—Izuna’s clumsy attempts at practicing shuriken.
His brother’s dying grasp, saying, “Brother, you must live on”…
“Shut up!” Madara’s chakra exploded like a rampage, shaking the entire seal space.
In the real world, Naruto suddenly clutched his stomach.
“It hurts!”
The Nine-Tails returned to its usual state, lying on the ground, looking with satisfaction at Madara’s loss of composure.
“Interesting. It seems my guess was correct.”
Madara forced himself to calm down.
He took a moment to compose himself, his voice no longer as certain.
“Even if what you say is true, so what?”
“Cooperation,” the Nine-Tails’ claws scraped the iron bars, making a grating sound.
“You teach that brat how to survive, and I’ll provide the chakra. After all…”
It gave Madara a meaningful look.
“We both want to see what that old man, the Sage, is planning.”
Madara was silent for a long time.
Moonlight filtered through the ceiling of the seal space, casting broken shadows on the murky water.
Finally, he raised his head, his Sharingan emitting an eerie glow in the darkness.
“Remember, beast, this is just a temporary truce.”
The Nine-Tails let out a low chuckle and slowly retreated to the depths of the cage.
Meanwhile, in the real world, Naruto knew nothing of this.
He was rolling on the bed, clutching his stomach, completely unaware of why it suddenly hurt so much.
“Dad…” Naruto cried out, his voice laced with tears.
“Did I get poisoned?”
Madara’s chakra gently enveloped the painful area.
“Sleep, Naruto. It will stop hurting soon.”