The streets of Konoha were filled with laughter and lively chatter.
Not long ago, Konoha had finally signed a ceasefire agreement with Kumogakure. Peace had at last returned to the village, if only slightly, and smiles had gradually reappeared on the villagers' faces.
"This mission was seriously exhausting. Kumogakure finally calmed down for once. So where are we eating today?"
A kunoichi stretched lazily while chatting with her teammate as they walked through the village after returning from a mission.
"Ramen."
Her teammate answered instantly.
"There you go again. Every single time you come back to the village, you want ramen."
The kunoichi sighed helplessly.
"But it really is delicious—oof!"
The shinobi turned his head, intending to passionately explain the greatness of ramen, only to accidentally bump into someone.
The small figure stumbled backward.
Yet before the shinobi could reach out to catch him, the figure naturally performed a clean back handspring and landed steadily on his feet.
Then he straightened up calmly.
"Nice reflexes!"
The Konoha shinobi's eyes lit up with surprise. But he quickly remembered to apologize and hurried forward.
"Sorry about that, kid. I wasn't paying attention and bumped into—"
Then he finally saw the boy clearly.
And instinctively froze.
However, the other party seemed completely used to this kind of reaction. He merely glanced up at the shinobi and casually tossed out:
"I'm fine."
Then he turned and walked away beneath the shinobi's gaze.
Maybe it was just an illusion, but as they passed each other, the shinobi vaguely heard the boy mutter:
"Ramen, huh…"
"Hey, what's wrong with you?"
At that moment, the female teammate walked over and smacked the shinobi lightly on the shoulder.
"Ah, nothing. I just didn't expect it to be… that demon fox."
The Konoha shinobi—who had become a Chūnin last year—wore a complicated expression.
Four years ago, his mentor had died during the Nine-Tails Incident.
Naturally, he couldn't simply forget that hatred.
But when it came to this "incarnation of the demon fox" the Hokage spoke of…
Truthfully, he couldn't bring himself to feel much hatred toward the child.
After becoming a shinobi and carrying out missions outside the village, he had learned far more about the world than ordinary villagers.
Compared to the true darkness of the shinobi world…
What was so terrifying about a child?
"So that's him?"
The kunoichi blinked curiously while staring at the blond boy's retreating back.
"Hm. Doesn't look particularly special. Anyway, which ramen shop are we going to?"
"...I suddenly lost my appetite. And it's way too hot for ramen."
The Chūnin shook his head before sighing.
"Forget it. My treat. Let's go eat something good instead."
His teammate immediately brightened at that suggestion.
This was Naruto's everyday life.
He had already grown accustomed to the villagers treating him differently.
But compared to before, Naruto no longer cared about it as much.
Instead, he had started thinking about the strange things happening to him lately—
Over the past six months, several odd changes had appeared.
For example…
Every time he fell asleep, he vaguely dreamed of a warm figure.
That person always seemed to speak to him endlessly inside the dream, yet whenever Naruto woke up, he could never remember what had been said.
And every time he woke up…
He would somehow perform actions he had never known before.
Like just now.
The instant he lost balance, his body naturally reacted with a back handspring as though he had practiced the movement countless times already.
Yet he had no memory of ever learning it.
More and more things like that had started happening recently.
Sometimes Naruto encountered objects he had never seen before, yet they somehow felt strangely familiar.
Sometimes there were words he clearly shouldn't have been able to read…
Yet somehow, he could pronounce them naturally.
And…
Naruto raised his head and narrowed his eyes toward the blazing sun hanging overhead.
Many villagers had already hidden themselves beneath roofs and trees to escape the heat.
But Naruto didn't feel hot at all.
Just like how he hadn't felt cold during the snowfall before.
The only strange thing was that every time he woke up, he became unbelievably hungry…
As though he had spent the entire night running nonstop.
Grrrrrr…
His stomach growled loudly at the worst possible moment.
Naruto awkwardly rubbed his belly before reaching into his pocket.
All he found were a few dirty coins.
"Sigh…"
Thinking about the ramen those two shinobi mentioned earlier, Naruto immediately became conflicted.
Every month, someone from the village gave him living assistance.
But it wasn't much.
At least, not from Naruto's perspective.
"With this much money, I could buy five loaves of bread…"
Naruto sighed bitterly.
"But if I want ramen…"
He stood there struggling internally.
Meanwhile, inside Naruto's mental world, there happened to be two beings even more troubled than Naruto himself as they held a not-particularly-intense discussion regarding his next meal.
"There's a ninjutsu that can turn water and earth into edible food using chakra."
Minato said seriously while thinking.
"The taste isn't very good, but it's enough to fill someone's stomach. Quite a few shinobi used it during wartime."
"If we start teaching him today, he should learn it by next month."
"No."
Kurama rejected the idea instantly.
"Didn't this old man already tell you? We can't teach Naruto ninjutsu too early."
"The moment Naruto starts using techniques nobody has ever seen before, he'll inevitably attract unnecessary suspicion."
Kurama rolled his eyes afterward.
"You really are panicking because you're his father. Hiruzen won't actually let Naruto starve to death."
"I should've left more money behind for Naruto…"
Minato still looked upset.
"If I hadn't listened to Kushina and secretly hidden some private savings under the bed or something, I could've left them for him…"
Kurama immediately rolled his eyes even harder.
Internally, he couldn't stop himself from complaining.
This brat Minato was obviously insulting him indirectly.
Rather than blaming himself for not saving money, wasn't he basically blaming Kurama for attacking Konoha back then?
"Enough already. Trust Naruto to handle this himself."
Kurama swished his tails lazily.
"Besides, only physical training won't arouse suspicion right now."
"As for Fūinjutsu, as long as there's no practical reason to use it, Naruto probably won't use it in reality."
"And even if he does…"
"It's fine."
Minato explained calmly.
"The sealing techniques I'm teaching him belong to the Uzumaki clan. Aside from Lord Third, the only person in Konoha familiar with them should be my teacher, Jiraiya."
"No matter their reasons, neither of them would ever harm Naruto. That much I can guarantee."
"Jiraiya, huh…"
Kurama visibly relaxed upon hearing that name.
"Hmph. You don't need to explain him to this old man."
When it came to Jiraiya's personality, Kurama honestly felt he understood the man better than Minato did.
After all, Kurama had personally witnessed the days Jiraiya spent traveling alongside Naruto.
"Oh right."
Kurama spoke again after settling back down.
"Even though this old man already understands why you insist on teaching Naruto sealing techniques first, I still need to remind you of something."
"Don't let Naruto learn about our existence too early."
"That could create a lot of unnecessary trouble."
Minato quietly watched Kurama lie back down inside the seal once more.
Although his expression revealed nothing, a question had always lingered in his heart—
Kurama had handed Naruto's entire education over to him, claiming that while he could provide Naruto with a Tailed Beast's power, he didn't understand how humans taught one another, which was why Minato needed to handle Naruto's foundational growth instead…
But Minato always felt that wasn't Kurama's only motive.
If the godlike enemies Kurama spoke of truly existed…
Then why…
Did Kurama seem completely unhurried?
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