In Konoha's shadows, Shimura Danzo stood. He led Root, the village's dark arm, balancing the Third Hokage's light. Danzo believed his work outshone Sarutobi's. Yet Sarutobi banned him from anything tied to Naruto, the Nine Tails' Jinchuriki.
Danzo opened the ninja's notebook. The words, written in special ink, twisted. Black flames burst out, burning the pages. Danzo frowned, recalling the Chunin's robotic answers. He understood. "Sealing jutsu," he muttered. Sarutobi was warning him. As the "Ninjutsu Professor," Sarutobi's power echoed across the ninja world. Danzo could not challenge him. He tossed his sleeve and left.
In Naruto's inner world, Minato faced Kurama. "All this…" Minato said, shaken. Kurama had revealed the truth: Kaguya Otsutsuki, the Sage of the Six Paths, Asura, Indra. The roots of ninja history.
"What now?" Kurama grinned. "Still guarding me?"
Minato stayed silent, thinking. Kurama waited.
"Your other half and my soul are with the Shinigami, sealed by the Dead Demon Consuming Seal," Minato said. "To make you whole, I must break that seal. My soul would bring your half back. But we cannot do it now."
"Tell me how," Kurama said, calm.
Kurama knew Minato and Kushina's loyalty. In this past, Minato would aid Naruto and Kurama without question. The chakra Kurama left in Naruto tied to his soul, a safeguard. In the future, Naruto nearly freed Kurama in a rampage, but Minato's plan stopped it. Every move Minato made before death was calculated far ahead.
This Kurama was incomplete. Even without that sealed half, Naruto's current seal was weak. In this ninja world, dozens could crush them. To others, Naruto was just a tailed beast's vessel, Konoha's weapon. Those craving his power—Otsutsuki, Obito, Akatsuki, Orochimaru, even Konoha—were threats.
Kurama had seen human cruelty through past Jinchuriki. Without strength, trusting kindness was a gamble. Before Naruto, Kurama cared little. Now, their bond made Naruto's safety vital.
"What's your plan after breaking the seal?" Minato asked. "Will you leave Naruto?"
"Leave?" Kurama blinked.
"You don't seem angry or dangerous now," Minato said, steady. "If you're not a threat, I have no reason to seal you. Once whole, my Bagua seal won't hold you. Nothing will. Don't you want freedom?"
Freedom. The word hit Kurama. He saw Naruto's face from the future, the Seventh Hokage. *Kurama, ever thought about freedom?* Naruto had asked. *When I'm old, my life will end. Jinchuriki won't be needed. We'll both be free.* Naruto grinned at the sky.
Kurama had stayed silent then, closing his eyes in their inner world. He dodged the question.
Now, Kurama sneered. "Minato, you're boring. I'm not a scheming human. Stop testing me. If I leave, Naruto dies as a Jinchuriki. I'll stay until he achieves his dream and grows old."
Minato smiled warmly, his first true smile here. "I'm relieved."
"Too soon for that," Kurama snapped. Minato looked sheepish. Then Kurama's tone shifted. "The Third is visiting Naruto."
Snow dusted a stream's icy bank. Naruto, in thin clothes, crouched by the water, eyeing spots for fish. He should have gone home to sleep, but hunger gnawed. The snow fell, yet he felt no cold. So, he fished in the dark.
Fish slept in frozen streams, easier to catch. Naruto knew this trick.
"Oh, Naruto!" Sarutobi Hiruzen called, wearing his Third Hokage cloak. He smiled, standing a short distance away.