"Uncle, since you've trained here before, you must have opened this door once. It should be okay to open it again, right?"
Morkel, always quick on the uptake, was the first to think of the idea.
Killer Bee immediately objected. "You wish! Who's doing the training here—you or me?"
He then crossed his arms with a smirk. "Since no one wants to step up, I guess today's training is done!"
Left with no choice, Morkel stepped forward. "Fine, fine, I'll go!"
Might Guy called out in concern. "Wait! If this goes wrong, it could cost you your life. Can you at least use a clone?"
Killer Bee shook his head solemnly. "No way. This is a sacred ground. Using a clone here would be disrespectful."
"Still…" Guy started, but before he could finish, Morkel had already shoved his head into the mouth of the stone beast.
Click. Click.
Mechanical sounds echoed behind the wall, as though Morkel's head had triggered some ancient mechanism.
Suddenly, a door embedded in the otherwise smooth wall opened slowly.
Behind it was a room bursting with light, so radiant it seemed to be made of light itself—no walls, no ceiling, no windows, only luminous brilliance.
Naruto, naturally curious, was the first to peek inside.
At that moment, a scream came from the side.
"Ouch! My head! My head!" cried Morkel.
Everyone rushed forward—only to recoil in shock.
Morkel's head was missing!
Blood was still gushing from his neck as if his aorta had been severed.
Guy was stunned.
He had sworn to protect Naruto and Morkel. How could the most reliable among them end up decapitated?!
Frantic, he shouted, "Morkel! Morkel! Where's your head? I'll find it!"
As Guy prepared to stick his own head into the monster's mouth, Morkel's voice echoed out.
"Hehehe… Relax. The beast's mouth has a switch inside. It doesn't actually bite."
From the side, Killer Bee laughed. "Haha! That Transformation Jutsu was top-notch. Your acting's even better than mine!"
Realizing he'd been tricked, Guy was speechless. "This is what you meant by respecting ancient ruins?!"
After the playful episode, the group entered the brightly lit chamber.
"What's this place made of? It's so bright," Naruto asked in wonder.
"No idea," Killer Bee responded.
Then he clapped his hands. "Alright, who's next for training?"
Naruto quickly raised his hand. "Me! Me!"
Killer Bee nodded. "Okay, go in. Sit cross-legged and concentrate—just like at the waterfall. You should be able to face the tailed beast inside you."
Naruto scratched his head. "But I can already talk to the Nine Tails without this room…"
"This room exists for a reason," Killer Bee explained.
With that, he led everyone deeper into the luminous space.
Suddenly, Killer Bee turned to Naruto. "What kind of seal is holding the Nine Tails in your body?"
"The Four Symbols Seal, I think," Naruto replied.
"Is there a way to remove it?"
Naruto nodded. "Yeah, the elder toad from Mount Myōboku can break it... but so can Morkel."
Killer Bee glanced at Morkel. "You're a jack of all trades, huh?"
Then he addressed Naruto seriously. "Listen carefully. You'll enter the sealed space within yourself, greet the Nine Tails, and then remove the seal. Once it's broken, you must use your chakra to extract the Nine Tails' chakra."
"Only chakra can grasp chakra," he emphasized.
"So I just fight it for chakra?" Naruto asked. "Then what's this room for?"
Killer Bee smirked. "If you fail and the Nine Tails breaks loose, this room can hold it until a new Jinchūriki is chosen."
Naruto nodded thoughtfully. Deep down, he believed that with Morkel around, the Nine Tails was no threat. But he kept that to himself, not wanting to undermine Killer Bee's dedication.
"Alright, let's do this."
Naruto, Killer Bee, and Morkel closed their eyes, entering their inner worlds.
Inside Naruto's spiritual plane, he appeared before the giant cage holding the Nine Tails.
"We meet again," Naruto said.
Behind the bars, the Nine Tails growled, "You think you can take my power?!"
Suddenly, Morkel appeared.
The Nine Tails immediately recoiled. "What... What are you doing here?!"
Naruto asked, "Morkel, can you open the seal?"
"Sure."
Morkel stepped forward, peeled off the sealing tag, and revealed a spiral lock.
He pressed his palm to the seal on Naruto's stomach and began rotating it slowly.
Click. Click.
With each turn, the spiral lock loosened, and finally, the cage door swung open.
The Nine Tails huddled in the corner. "Don't come any closer!"
Just as Morkel prepared to help subdue the beast, Naruto stopped him.
"Thank you, Morkel. You've helped enough. I want to do the rest myself."
He knew the Nine Tails only behaved because of Morkel's presence. But Morkel wouldn't always be there. He had to learn to handle things on his own.
The Nine Tails asked hesitantly, "Are you sure?"
Naruto nodded. "I'm going to be Hokage. I may not be as strong as Morkel, but I'm not weak either!"
The Nine Tails snorted and lunged at Naruto.
But Naruto was ready. With years of training under Morkel, and Sage Mode on his side, he put up a decent fight.
Meanwhile, Morkel stood silently nearby. He wouldn't interfere unless Naruto's life was truly in danger.
A few minutes later, Killer Bee's spirit appeared beside him.
"Wow~ I didn't know Naruto was this strong. He's going toe-to-toe with the Nine Tails!"
Morkel smiled. "Of course. He's my brother."
But after Sage Mode wore off, Naruto's energy dropped rapidly. Eventually, the Nine Tails swatted him away.
Whoosh!
Morkel teleported to catch him.
"Done already?" he teased.
Naruto gritted his teeth. "Not even close! Stupid fox! I'm getting some chakra out of you even if it kills me!"
And with that, he charged again.
Outside, in the real world, Might Guy watched Naruto's fluctuating chakra in alarm.
Suddenly—
BOOM!
Naruto's chakra flared violently. Blood-red energy wrapped around half his body, and one of his pupils turned crimson.
Inside, Naruto was struck down again, coughing blood.
Killer Bee asked, "Morkel, why aren't you helping?"
Morkel frowned. "Something's not right. Naruto's chakra feels... unfamiliar."
Just then—
Clatter!
Golden chakra chains erupted from Naruto's body and bound the Nine Tails tightly!
Killer Bee's jaw dropped. "Wow! Your Four Symbols Seal is way more advanced than the Cloud's Iron Seal!"
But Morkel was baffled. "That's not Naruto's chakra…"
Even the Nine Tails was shocked. "This... this chakra… it's hers!"
Meanwhile, Naruto's spirit entered a new, golden realm—glowing and ethereal.
There, he saw a red-haired woman smiling gently at him.
Naruto blinked in confusion. "Who are you? Another illusion from Nine Tails?"
She smiled wider, then smacked him on the head.
"Silly boy. I'm your mother!"
Naruto froze.
His nose tingled. "Really?"
She opened her arms. "Haven't you already felt it in your heart, my child?"
Naruto leapt into her embrace. "Mom! I missed you so much…"
Back in the sealed space, Morkel and Killer Bee were still trying to make sense of what had happened.
Killer Bee said, "Well, this isn't part of the training method I taught. I swear I never had this problem."
Morkel placed a hand on Naruto's spirit form to communicate.
In the golden realm, Kushina began telling Naruto the truth behind the Nine Tails attack.
Before she could finish, another red-haired figure entered—Morkel.
Naruto's face lit up. "Morkel! You're here too?! Look, this is my mom! Isn't she pretty?"
Morkel nodded silently, touched by the reunion.
Though he had no family in this world, his past life had been full of love. That was enough.
"It's alright. Auntie, I'll give you two some time."
As he turned to leave, Kushina called out.
"You must be Morkel. With that red hair, you look like one of us Uzumaki."
"Thank you for taking care of Naruto."
Morkel replied, "He's my brother. Of course I would."
Kushina smiled. "Good. Then you should hear the truth too."
Naruto grumbled, "Mom, didn't you say time was short? Can we skip the backstory?"
Kushina smacked him again. "Kids shouldn't interrupt!"
Then Naruto brightened. "Wait! Morkel knows the Yamanaka clan's Mind Transmission Technique. Can you just share the memory?"
Kushina blinked. "You know the Yamanaka techniques too?"
"That's even better. Watching the memory directly is faster than explaining."
She grabbed both their hands and completed the circle.
Their shared memory journey was about to begin…
---