As Kurama waited with growing unease, the terrifying pressure radiating from Naruto intensified with each passing moment.
Not good. This is really bad.
Although he was a being composed entirely of chakra, and although his death would likely mean the jinchuriki couldn't survive either, Kurama still felt an overwhelming sense of mortal danger.
Just as Naruto was charging up his technique with cold, mechanical precision, an unexpected figure materialized before him.
A golden-haired man wearing the Fourth Hokage's ceremonial white and red robes appeared, his kind eyes fixed on his son.
"Naruto, I need to tell you..."
BOOM!!!!
Without hesitation, without the slightest pause for recognition or doubt, Naruto unleashed his devastating punch!
Kurama watched in stunned silence as Minato Namikaze, who had appeared less than a heartbeat ago, was instantly sent flying by his own son's fist. The Fourth Hokage crashed into the sealed bars with earth-shaking force, the impact reverberating through the entire mental space.
At this moment, Kurama could only think one thing: Well, after getting hit like that, he definitely can't hit back anymore.
Minato, existing as fragments of memory and residual chakra, had never imagined his first reunion with his son would be quite this explosive. He'd expected maybe one angry punch to vent frustration, but this was a full-powered technique with killing intent behind it.
Thank goodness he was already dead.
Like Kurama, this memory fragment of Minato had been forcibly imprisoned when Naruto first crossed into the pirate world. Originally able to freely observe the outside world and watch over his son, he'd been locked away in complete darkness for over twenty years.
When he finally regained the ability to see his son again, it was the day Naruto returned to Konoha. The boy, who should have been in his thirties or forties, had somehow reverted to the appearance of a ten-year-old, leaving Minato utterly bewildered.
Later, when Kurama forcibly dragged Naruto's consciousness into this space, Minato had wanted to appear and explain everything. But that unreliable fox had ejected Naruto before he could say more than a few words.
After that incident, he'd witnessed everything that happened to his son, including the second journey to that other world, which hadn't been interrupted by mysterious forces this time. He'd seen that vast ocean so completely different from the ninja world and watched his son's incredible adventures and growth.
"Naruto..."
Minato slowly slid down from the barred gate where he'd been embedded, and the moment he opened his mouth to speak, an enormous fist stopped mere inches from his face.
The sheer wind pressure from the halted punch transformed the still-handsome middle-aged man, the legendary Golden Flash, into something resembling a punk rock star with his hair blown completely wild.
Fortunately, despite his anger, Naruto was still fundamentally an adult. He'd only lost control momentarily upon seeing Minato appear. His emotions had already been severely destabilized by both Danzo's revelations and his confrontation with Kurama. The Fourth Hokage had simply appeared at the absolute worst possible moment.
But Minato had no choice in his timing. He couldn't allow Naruto to shatter the seal in his current state. Forget whether the Nine-Tails would run amok. Even if Naruto somehow managed to kill Kurama outright, as a jinchuriki whose chakra had been intertwined with the tailed beast for years, Naruto himself would die in the process.
"Um... Naruto, could we perhaps sit down and have a proper conversation first?"
Minato spoke hesitantly, while Naruto simply stared at him in cold silence.
After what felt like an eternity, Naruto finally lowered his fist.
"So you're not some illusion conjured by that fox."
The feedback from his Observation Haki revealed Minato's emotions with perfect clarity. They were far more complex than Kurama's mixture of suspicion, hatred, and newfound fear.
So he attacked me because he thought I was a genjutsu construct?
This realization made Minato feel somewhat better about the violent greeting.
But in the next instant, Naruto delivered another precise blow that caught the Fourth Hokage square in the face, sending him spinning like a top for more than ten full rotations before he slammed back into the bars.
This display made Kurama, who'd been watching the entire exchange, fall into instinctive silence. The current Naruto seemed even more unhinged than he was. If the seal were actually broken, who knew which of them would end up influencing the other.
The first punch had been cautious verification. This second punch was pure emotional release.
Fortunately, after this chaotic introduction, Naruto finally chose to settle down and engage in actual conversation with his father.
...
"So you witnessed everything that happened to me over the years?"
Naruto listened to Minato's explanation with an expression that revealed no significant emotion.
"Actually, that doesn't include the twenty-plus years you spent in that other world. I was sealed away during that time."
"I see."
Naruto nodded to show he understood, then asked, "How do I get out of this place? There are people waiting for me in the real world."
"Ah? Well, Naruto, since you entered this space on your own, you should be able to leave just by willing it. But wait!"
Minato was initially as puzzled as Kurama had been, then suddenly realized something and quickly grabbed Naruto's sleeve as his son prepared to depart without another word.
"Wait, please! Naruto, don't rush off just yet!"
Seeing that Naruto showed no interest in spending even a few more moments with him, Minato felt a crushing weight of frustration and shame. Everything his son had endured over the years was directly connected to decisions he and Kushina had made.
Naruto glanced back at the hand gripping his sleeve but said nothing. However, his father's inner anguish was transmitted clearly through his Observation Haki, causing some of the coldness to fade from his expression.
After all, for Naruto, those childhood sufferings were decades in the past. To be completely honest, he'd experienced far more heartbreaking losses during his time at sea. It was only because this particular pain involved his origins and parents that he'd lost his composure so completely.
Now that the initial shock had passed, his emotional turbulence wasn't quite as intense.
Of course, expecting him to show Minato a warm, welcoming face was asking too much. One thing at a time.
"Time flows much more slowly in the mental realm than in reality, so don't worry about what's happening outside."
Minato even projected a view of the external battle for Naruto to see. Just as he'd said, Danzo was still being pummeled by Naruto's physical attacks, his form dispersing and reforming at an incredibly slow pace. Despite how long they'd been talking, not even a single second had passed in the real world.
"Now then, will you let me finish what I need to say?"
"..."
"Speak your piece... Fourth Hokage."
Hearing that formal mode of address, Minato's expression crumpled momentarily, but he quickly recovered and pressed on.
"The truth about that night isn't what Danzo and the Third Hokage told you."
"On the night Kushina gave birth, the reason the Nine-Tails attacked our village was because someone was controlling everything from behind the scenes."
"It was an incredibly powerful enemy. They'll probably target you as a jinchuriki as well, so you need to be extremely careful."
"They?"
Upon hearing Minato mention a mastermind, Naruto's eyelids lifted, his blue eyes becoming as deep and dark as ocean trenches.
"Yes, it's an organization. You've already encountered some of their members."
"Those individuals wearing black robes decorated with red clouds. They call themselves the 'Akatsuki' organization."
"The one who controlled the Nine-Tails that night was a masked member of their group."
After absorbing this information, Naruto didn't explode into the rage that both Minato and Kurama had expected.
He simply nodded with deadly calm.
"I understand."
Killing intent began seeping from his body like thick, poisonous liquid. It wasn't as explosive as his earlier outburst, but it was far more refined and concentrated.
"I'll hunt them down, one by one."
"And I'll kill every last one of them."
[Chapter Complete]
***
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