Konoha's Hokage Advisor, Danzō Shimura.
Leader of the organization known as the Darkness of Konoha, he represented the village's shadow alongside the publicly revered Third Hokage. In his own mind, his contributions far surpassed Hiruzen Sarutobi's, yet the Third Hokage had strictly forbidden him from interfering in anything related to the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki, Uzumaki Naruto.
Danzō reached for the notebook.
But the moment he opened it, the words recorded on the pages in special ink suddenly twisted and distorted before bursting into black flames that instantly consumed the entire notebook.
Danzō's expression darkened.
Recalling the Konoha Chūnin who had stood there earlier—especially that mechanical, emotionless manner of speaking—he quickly realized something.
"Hmph. A sealing technique."
Hiruzen's blatant warning irritated Danzō immensely. But at present, the Third Hokage's reputation as "The Professor" and the strongest Hokage still resounded throughout the shinobi world. Danzō had no choice but to suppress his anger instead of openly confronting him.
With a cold snort, he flicked his sleeve and departed.
Meanwhile, inside Naruto's mental world—
"All of this…"
After hearing Kurama's explanation, given without much concealment, Minato Namikaze's heart churned violently.
He had never imagined the truth behind everything traced all the way back to the Sage of Six Paths' mother—the very origin of all shinobi.
Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
The Sage of Six Paths.
Asura.
Indra.
"So after learning all this, what do you intend to do?"
Kurama grinned as he watched Minato's expression.
"Still planning to keep your guard up against this old man?"
"..."
Minato fell silent for a long time, while Kurama patiently waited for his answer.
"...The other half of you, along with my soul, is sealed inside the Shinigami summoned by the Dead Demon Consuming Seal."
At last, Minato chose to trust Kurama.
"If we want to restore you completely, we'll first need to undo the Dead Demon Consuming Seal and allow my soul to return to reality with the other half of you. But neither you nor I can accomplish that right now."
"No problem. Just telling this old man the method is enough."
Kurama sounded unconcerned.
That was right.
Kurama had explained the future to Minato and pointed out that the other half of himself, sealed away by Minato and offered to the Shinigami, was the true key.
Kurama understood Minato and Kushina's personalities very well. If he had truly returned to the past, then at this point in time, Minato was unquestionably one of the few people in the world who would help both him and Naruto without hesitation.
The chakra Minato left inside Naruto was linked directly to his soul—a final safeguard left for his son.
Or rather…
The Naruto from the future had once nearly released Kurama after being manipulated during a berserk state, only to be stopped by this very failsafe Minato had prepared.
The Fourth Hokage.
Even in death, every step that man arranged had been calculated countless moves ahead.
At present, Kurama was incomplete.
Without the missing half of his power, even if the seal were removed right now, little Naruto's current abilities would be nowhere near enough to control him. In the current shinobi world, there were likely no fewer than a dozen people capable of easily suppressing them.
Naruto was not yet the strongest shinobi alive.
To others, he was merely the container of a Tailed Beast.
Konoha's living weapon.
Anyone in the world who coveted Kurama's power would become a danger to Naruto.
The inevitable arrival of the Ōtsutsuki clan.
Uchiha Obito.
The Akatsuki.
Orochimaru.
The other four great nations…
Even Konoha itself.
Kurama was not some ignorant beast.
Having witnessed endless darkness within humanity through generations of Jinchūriki, he understood one thing perfectly—
Until they possessed enough strength, they absolutely could not entrust the future to so-called human kindness.
The old Kurama might not have cared.
But after forming a bond with Naruto, Naruto's safety naturally became his concern as well.
"After undoing the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, what do you plan to do?"
Minato asked quietly.
"Once you recover your full power, will you leave Naruto's body?"
"Leave?"
Minato slowly processed the overwhelming truths he had learned. Though his calm demeanor had weakened somewhat, he still spoke rationally.
"Even if all of this still feels unbelievable… Kurama…"
"For some reason, I can no longer sense hatred from you. In fact, I don't think you're dangerous anymore."
He looked directly at the giant fox.
"If this is truly who you are now, then I no longer have a reason to keep sealing you away. Once you recover your complete strength, even my Eight Trigrams Seal won't be enough to restrain you anymore. The world is vast—there's nothing left that could truly imprison you."
Minato paused slightly before asking:
"Don't you want freedom?"
Freedom.
The familiar word caused Kurama to freeze momentarily.
As he stared at the blond man before him, another familiar figure suddenly overlapped with Minato in his memories, accompanied by a voice ringing in his ears.
"Kurama, have you ever thought about where you'd go afterward? I mean, if I end up becoming an old man like Lord Third someday, my lifespan's eventually going to run out too."
Kurama silently listened.
"Hehe… I think having Jinchūriki end with our generation would be pretty nice. After that, you and the others would all be free."
In his memory, the man wearing the Seventh Hokage's cloak stretched lazily inside the Hokage's office while grinning up at the sky.
Back then, Kurama had never answered.
He had merely closed his eyes lazily and continued lying within Naruto's inner world.
Avoiding the question through silence alone.
After a long while, Kurama snorted disdainfully.
"Hmph. You're still just as annoying as ever, Minato."
"This old man already said I'm not as hypocritical as you humans, so stop trying to test me."
"If I leave, Naruto dies as the Jinchūriki, doesn't he?"
Kurama's voice grew calmer.
"Relax. This old man plans to stay and watch him achieve his dream… and then grow old peacefully afterward."
Hearing that answer, Minato finally revealed the warm smile that once defined him.
"Then I can rest easy."
"You're relaxing too early."
Kurama's tone remained as unpleasant as ever, leaving Minato looking slightly awkward.
But the next sentence immediately turned Minato serious again—
"The Third Hokage is coming to see Naruto."
Beside a flowing stream, snow covered the riverbank while a thin layer of ice had already formed across the surface.
Dressed far too lightly for winter, little Naruto was carefully searching for spots where fish might be hiding.
He should have gone home and slept long ago, but his stomach was growling painfully from hunger. And for some reason, despite the falling snow, he didn't feel cold at all tonight.
So he had simply decided to sneak out in the middle of the night to catch fish.
Fish inside frozen winter streams tended to move sluggishly and were easier to catch.
That was something Naruto had learned a long time ago.
"Well now, Naruto… what are you doing out here?"
At that moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi—wearing the robes of the Third Hokage—approached from nearby with a gentle smile on his face.
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