Chapter 152: Is a Living Minato with Nine-Tails Chakra Mode Underhanded Enough?
Konohagakure, Ninja Academy.
Stelle stood on the second-floor balcony, her arms casually crossed over her chest. Below her, the playground was a chaotic mess of dust and shouting as the latest batch of rookies pecked at each other in their rudimentary combat drills.
Over the past two years, this academy had become her absolute favorite hunting ground. The parents of the original timeline's main cast were sprouting up like weeds, enrolling in the academy and steadily swelling the ranks of her custom-made Elite Class.
Uchiha Fugaku, the future stern patriarch of the Uchiha clan, alongside the twin prodigies of the Hyuga Clan, Hiashi and Hizashi. The parents of various other major players had all been neatly corralled into her Elite Class, collectively sweating over the endless, soul-crushing assignments Stelle arranged for them.
She was no longer just shearing sheep for a few points of mood value; she was harvesting their very life force. A single session of despair from these future legends easily dropped three to five thousand mood value points into her system.
Because of this lucrative yield, Stelle practically lived at the academy during enrollment season, conducting rigorous screenings of the fresh meat.
The Hyuga Clan elders were the most ecstatic about her heavy-handed interventions. When news broke that the Clan Head's precious sons had been drafted into the Elite Class, the old men had practically wept with joy, thoroughly convinced that Hokage-sama was finally allowing their clan into the village's innermost circle of trust.
During another routine sweep of the future elites, a flash of bright blonde hair caught Stelle's eye. It was a newly enrolled boy. Minato Namikaze.
The little blonde was not the scion of some prestigious, Kekkei Genkai-wielding bloodline. He was a thoroughly ordinary civilian, a quiet orphan from the village orphanage. But his background was entirely irrelevant. The boy was the absolute, undisputed ceiling of what an ordinary human could achieve.
She turned her head slightly, addressing the Ninja Academy Principal who stood nervously at her elbow. "Arrange for Minato Namikaze and Uzumaki Kushina to be placed in the Elite Class. Put them right alongside the others."
After casually checking off a few names on the official register, Stelle tapped her chin in thought. A moment later, she gestured for a nearby Anbu operative to summon the blonde boy up to the second floor.
Normally, she could just let the kid run through the standard educational meat grinder. Toss him into the Elite Class, bury him in advanced lessons, drown him in a mountain of homework, and passively collect the mood value points as they rolled in.
But Stelle felt a twinge of genuine reluctance. Treating him like a standard NPC felt like a massive waste of potential.
This was Minato Namikaze. The future father of the prophesied Crown Prince. The man destined to become the fastest shinobi in the Ninja World. How could she possibly let him follow a boring, standard procedure?
If she orchestrated a little early meeting between him and the Nine-Tails, and used his innate Ninja World Succubus charisma to coax the massive chakra beast into a voluntary merger... Minato would become an absolute monster. A living, breathing Minato who already possessed the Flying Thunder God Technique, stacked with the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode and a Sage Body.
A Living Minato was already an underhanded cheat code on the battlefield. Layering all these absurd buffs onto him while he was still alive? The sheer unfairness of it made Stelle's smile widen.
A few minutes later, the young Minato Namikaze stepped onto the second-floor observation deck. He had noticed Hokage-sama watching the playground from above earlier, which had prompted him to treat today's combat drill with a terrifying level of seriousness. He had ended his sparring match in a single, decisive move.
"Hokage-sama!"
Minato snapped to attention, his small frame rigid, his voice carrying a slight, nervous tremor.
The Fourth Hokage was the undisputed idol of every child in Konoha, and he was certainly no exception. To be summoned for a private audience at the tender age of six was enough to make his heart hammer wildly against his ribs.
"Relax, do not be so nervous," Stelle said, her tone smooth and reassuring. "I called you up here because I have a specific mission I want to entrust to you. I wonder if you are willing to accept it?"
"A mission?"
Minato blinked, his blue eyes widening in shock. He was just a kid who had barely stepped foot into the academy. How could he possibly be qualified for a real mission?
He lowered his gaze, speaking softly. "Hokage-sama, I have only been at the Ninja Academy for a very short time. I do not know if I am capable of handling a mission yet. Besides, there are so many powerful geniuses in the older classes..."
"It is fine. If it is you, you can definitely handle it. I believe in you."
In the original timeline, the Yin half of the Nine-Tails had been a pure, seething mass of dark hatred, yet it had still eventually succumbed to Minato's overwhelming charisma and become his friend. That was to say nothing of the current, thoroughly domesticated Nine-Tails she had been raising in Konoha—a beast that had essentially devolved into a lazy, literal ball of fluff.
Hearing the absolute trust in Hokage-sama's voice sent a jolt of electricity through the boy. Young Minato gripped the hem of his faded, worn shirt, feeling his blood ignite with newfound resolve.
"Yes, Hokage-sama! I will definitely work my hardest to complete the mission!"
"Excellent. Starting today, I will be leaving my younger brother in your care. He suffered a severe brain injury during a highly classified mission and experiences frequent, unpredictable fits."
"Understood!" Minato looked up, his expression solemn and utterly serious.
He frequently helped the caretakers manage the younger toddlers at the orphanage, so he reasoned that taking care of an injured adult could not be that much more difficult. As for why the supreme leader of the village was assigning a six-year-old to act as a medical caretaker? He did not even question it. Hokage-sama possessed wisdom beyond mortal comprehension; she undoubtedly had her deep reasons.
Later that afternoon, Stelle dispatched someone to pack up Minato's meager belongings from the orphanage and deliver them to her private residence. She settled him into the bedroom directly across the hall from the Nine-Tails.
The great and terrible Nine-Tails was currently sprawled across the living room sofa, mindlessly watching television and aggressively crunching on a bag of potato chips. He was not sitting like a normal human. Instead, he was draped over the cushions in a standard, four-limbed fox sprawl, his human limbs dangling awkwardly over the edges.
He had completely mastered the art of acting normal in public while letting himself go completely feral at home. Thanks to his relentless television consumption, he had even managed to absorb a rudimentary level of human common sense.
"Hello, Kurama. I am Minato Namikaze. I will be living here starting today. Please look after me." Minato offered the disguised tailed beast his signature, blindingly sunny smile.
The Nine-Tails paused his chewing, glancing sideways at the tiny blonde intruder. He chewed thoughtfully for a second, then turned his gaze toward Stelle.
"Who is this? Your son?"
Minato blinked. 'Well... he has common sense, but clearly not very much of it.'
That single, brain-dead question instantly shattered Stelle's patience. She closed the distance in a flash, her fist blurring as she delivered two heavy, bone-rattling punches directly to the top of his head, slamming the human-shaped beast face-first into the floorboards.
"Setting every other logical impossibility aside," Stelle hissed, gesturing violently to her own head, "look at my pitch-black hair! In what universe could I possibly give birth to a blonde?"
Minato watched in sheer horror. He had not expected Hokage-sama's injured brother to be suffering from an illness this severe. Panicking at the thought that blunt force trauma might worsen the poor man's already damaged brain, the boy rushed forward to intervene.
"Hokage-sama, please! Kurama did not mean it. Please forgive him."
The Nine-Tails curled into a miserable ball, clutching his throbbing head with both hands and nodding vigorously. "It was just a slip of the tongue! Was there really a need to hit me that hard?"
Ever since he had been stuffed into this fragile human vessel, his natural damage resistance had plummeted. Every time she cracked him over the skull, it genuinely hurt.
"Talk nonsense again and I will dock your monthly salary," Stelle threatened coldly, withdrawing her fist and dusting off her knuckles. "I have to travel to the border soon and I will not have the time to babysit you. Behave yourself and do not cause any messes. If anything comes up, find Minato. He will be taking care of you."
The Nine-Tails squinted down at the tiny child. "What exactly is this little shrimp supposed to do for me?"
Stelle sneered, crossing her arms. "He can help manage your salary. At the very least, he will not let you blow through your entire paycheck within a week of getting paid, buying useless garbage you cannot even remember., when you inevitably run up massive debts at the local shops, he can sign the ledgers for you until I get back to settle the tabs. Is that enough utility for you?"
It was enough. In fact, it was more than enough. The Nine-Tails was particularly thrilled by the prospect of having a designated debt-signer.
Once Stelle finally left the house, the Nine-Tails pushed himself off the floor. He leaned in uncomfortably close to Minato, his slit-like eyes darting around as he sized the boy up.
"Minato, is it? Listen closely. In all of Konoha, there are no more than five people who are actually allowed to call me Kurama. Although Stelle used my true name when she introduced us, those who have not earned my personal recognition have absolutely no right to use it."
Minato did not flinch. Instead, his smile softened. "I will work hard to earn your recognition, Kurama. But until that day comes, how should I address you?"
The Nine-Tails stood up straight, puffing out his chest and raising his chin with arrogant pride. "As the Guardian Deity of Konoha, and a fully licensed professional, you shall address me as Lord Guardian Deity."
If he had been in his massive, mountainous Nine-Tailed fox form, with his deep, demonic voice rumbling through the air, the declaration would have been terrifyingly imposing. But currently, he was draped in the physical body of a scrawny eighteen-year-old youth. The grand title carried absolutely zero persuasive power. It just sounded incredibly, painfully chuunibyou.
Yet, Minato did not feel the slightest urge to mock him. Instead, a deep sense of solemn respect swelled within the boy's chest.
The rumors said that this senior shinobi had been reduced to this tragic, delusional state after sustaining horrific injuries while completing an impossibly difficult mission for the village. He had sacrificed his mind for Konoha, and Hokage-sama had graciously taken him in as an adoptive brother.
Since this senior had bled for the village, Minato swore to himself that he would take impeccable care of him. And the first step to recovery was keeping the patient happy.
"Alright, Lord Guardian Deity," Minato said, bowing his head respectfully. "Please look after me from now on as well."
The Nine-Tails stared at the bowing child, utterly baffled. 'How is this kid so incredibly easy to fool?'
For the first time in his long, demonic life, the great beast felt a rare, uncomfortable twinge of guilt.
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