BANG!
Kurama slammed his paw against the red iron bars, the jarring sound commanding everyone's attention. Naruto grabbed Kakashi's sleeve, a hint of disappointment in his voice. "Kakashi-sensei, why is my Bijuu so rude?!"
Kakashi let out a dry chuckle. "Naruto, there are a total of nine Tailed-Beasts, all of them siblings, and from my knowledge, which is correct by the way, only Chōmei is the one with an easygoing personality."
Hearing this, Naruto scowled a little, while Fuu jumped for joy, feeling fortunate that her Bijuu was Chōmei. Naruto then clapped his hands together. "Hey, fox, let's be friends too!"
"YOU DAMN BRAT! AFTER ALL THESE YEARS OF IMPRISONMENT, I WANT NOTHING MORE THAN TO TEAR YOU ALL APART!"
Kurama roared, his voice shaking the entire mindspace as he slammed his massive paw against the cage repeatedly. The cage rattled under the assault, as the fox howled furiously. But instead of fear, Kurama saw a look of sadness in Naruto's eyes, a deep sorrow that was new. Naruto lowered his head, feeling the immense loneliness behind Kurama's anger. It was a feeling he hadn't noticed before, perhaps because of his own hatred for the fox he had initially.
But there was also another emotion in Naruto's deep blue eyes— complete disappointment. He was disappointed that Kurama wasn't like Chōmei. He had even, for a fleeting moment, found Chōmei to be a cute giant beetle. But Kurama? He found this fox to be ugly, when he roared violently.
Naruto then raised his head, crossing his arms. "Haa... why are you so angry at me? I really want to be your friend. I understand what it feels like to be... lonely."
Kurama bellowed, his voice violent. "I AM THE NINE-TAILED FOX! THE STRONGEST OF ALL TAILED BEASTS! DO YOU THINK I WILL BECOME YOUR FRIEND?! WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE, I SWEAR I WILL DESTROY KONOHA AND KILL EACH OF YOU!"
Kakashi calmly watched the exchange between Naruto and Kurama. Well... to call it a conversation would be an insult to the word itself. Naruto took a step closer, staring up at the giant orange fox. "Why do you hate me so much? I know how you feel. I feel the same way. That's why I want to be your friend."
Kurama paused momentarily, then a toothy grin spread across its face. "Hmph! Brat, you're only saying this because you don't know that I'm the reason you're alone..."
Naruto cut him off. "I know. People are afraid of me because they think I'm you."
Kurama halted its speech and stared at him curiously. "Idiot brat, I'm not talking about your ostracized life in Konoha. I'm talking about you being an orphan!"
Kakashi had already understood what Kurama was about to say when Naruto interrupted him. He wanted to see how Naruto would react to the revelation, but he had already decided to tell him that Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki were his parents anyway. He felt that now was the perfect time.
Naruto was momentarily dumbfounded, but after a brief moment, the meaning of Kurama's words settled in. "Y-you are the reason for my parents death?" Naruto asked, his voice shaking slightly.
Kakashi stepped closer to him. "Naruto, how much did Mizuki tell you about the Kyūbi? And how much do you know?"
Naruto was dumbfounded again, this time by Kakashi's question. He replied, "That... I really have a monster inside me, but... but nothing else. And that's the reason why everyone keeps their distance from me. But he... he killed my parents!"
"It was also your father who sealed him inside you," Kakashi stated immediately.
Naruto looked at Kakashi with bewilderment. "Huh? My father? But... why?"
"...Before that, you should know who your father is, Naruto," Kakashi said. "The one who sealed this giant orange fox inside you is the Fourth Hokage, my Sensei, Minato Namikaze."
"HUH?!" Naruto was left speechless upon hearing Kakashi's revelation.
The Fourth Hokage?
His father?
The truth was too good to be true. Kakashi took a photograph from his Inventory Seal and showed it to Naruto. It was the team picture from when he with Obito and Rin had become part of Team Minato.
"This one is me, in the center is Rin Nohara, and on that side is the one whose Sharingan I have, Obito Uchiha. And he is my Sensei, your father and the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze." Kakashi pointed at each person in the photograph, finishing with Minato.
Naruto grabbed the photograph from Kakashi's hand, his eyes wide not from shock, but from scrutiny. He studied the facial features of Minato, who was smiling in the picture. Naruto mumbled, "Blonde hair, blue eyes... aside from the whiskers, my face really does match the Fourth Hokage's!"
He then remembered what Kakashi and Kurama had said, and a sudden memory clicked into place. Hiruzen had often called him, whenever visit him, 'You are the legacy of the Fourth Hokage, Naruto.' He had never thought about it before, but today, he felt he finally understood what it meant.
Tears welled up in his eyes as he looked at his father's picture. Kakashi gently placed a comforting hand on his shoulder but didn't say anything. Kurama also watched Naruto silently, before a grin spread across its face. "So, brat, do you still want to be my friend, when I killed your parents?"
POOOOOOF!
But before Naruto could say anything, a huge poof sound echoed through the mindspace. Kurama, Kakashi, and Naruto looked in the direction of the sound, their eyes wide with shock. They had all momentarily forgotten about Fuu, who, in the midst of their conversation, had unsealed Chōmei.
"Yeah! You're free now! My Big Bug!" Fuu cheered, looking up at the now-freed Chōmei, the Seven-Tails Bijuu.