"Dad... Mom..." Naruto murmured, still in a daze.
This was the first time he had seen his parents, so he felt both a sense of strangeness and an overwhelming warmth.
"Leave it to Dad..." Minato Namikaze said.
"And Mom!" Kushina Uzumaki added.
"Naruto, don't you think your parents are a bit thick-headed?" Suddenly, Lexon looked at Naruto and spoke.
The Hokage couple hadn't even noticed yet that Kurama was only releasing his aura and didn't have any actual intent to attack.
This quite surprised Lexon.
"..." Naruto didn't quite know how to respond.
"Dad, Mom..." Naruto called out to Minato and Kushina.
"Don't be afraid, Naruto! Dad and Mom will bring you over right now!" Seeing her young son next to two 'villains,' Kushina couldn't help but feel a surge of worry. Thinking her son was afraid, she quickly tried to reassure him.
Beside her, Minato was already prepared to strike, ready to burst forth with full power at any moment to bring his son back.
"The grumpy fox and Lexon aren't bad people! They're my good friends!" Naruto shouted loudly.
"Huh?"
Hearing her son's voice, Kushina couldn't help but feel puzzled.
Minato Namikaze slowly withdrew the foot he had already stepped forward, equally confused.
The two looked at each other, neither understanding what their son meant.
The terrifying Nine-Tails could be your good friend? And the person who directly tore off the seal could be a good person?
'Son... I feel like you've been tricked...'
This thought surfaced in both Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze's minds simultaneously.
"Hmph... Brat, I don't ever want to see these two again..." Kurama, who was staring fixedly at Kushina and Minato, suddenly turned his head and spoke to Naruto.
He really didn't appreciate those who would immediately provide a fox with binding services upon meeting!
Of course... there was one person he had to tolerate whether he liked it or not...
Then, Kurama turned his fox body around and slowly walked back to the corner where he usually stayed.
Before long, the sound of an intense game echoed from that dark corner.
Clearly, Kurama was venting his earlier frustration on the game.
"This..."
Seeing this situation, Kushina and Minato were completely bewildered.
Hearing what that Nine-Tails guy said to their son...
It seemed...
Could they really be friends?
No way...
Naruto is still so small...
Can he already get along harmoniously with the Nine-Tails?...
Both of them felt it was somewhat unbelievable.
"We didn't kidnap your son, so rest easy," Lexon said with a smile, sensing their concerns as he ruffled Naruto's hair.
Kushina and Minato looked at each other again upon hearing this.
"We misunderstood. Our apologies." Knowing that the two of them had been reckless, Minato Namikaze apologized directly to Lexon.
"I am very sorry," Kushina added.
They were afraid that their actions just now might have affected Naruto's relationship with his two friends...
They hadn't been able to take care of Naruto as he grew up or give him the love he deserved... yet they might have damaged his relationship with his friends during his growth...
They would never be able to forgive themselves if that were the case.
The two were even thinking about apologizing to the Nine-Tails later.
With the misunderstanding resolved, Kushina and Minato walked towards Naruto without any further hesitation.
"You've grown so big... Naruto!" Kushina, who had just been saying Naruto wasn't old enough, now remarked on how much he had grown as she pulled him into a direct embrace.
"Have you been eating well? Is your home okay? Are you happy every day? Do you have many friends? How do the people in the village treat you? Do you get along well? Is school hard? Have you been studying properly?"
Having not seen him for so long, Kushina couldn't stop the flood of questions, asking about every aspect of Naruto's life.
Every word was filled with concern.
Beside her, Minato Namikaze didn't say much, only looking at Naruto with loving eyes.
"I..." Naruto didn't know how to answer many of the questions.
From childhood until now...
To be honest, he hadn't been eating very well.
Because the pocket money Grandpa Third Hokage gave him every month was limited, he had to be frugal. Sometimes he wouldn't eat if he didn't feel hungry, and he would even consume food and milk that had already expired just to avoid waste...
His living conditions weren't great either; that apartment leaked when it rained, and it was often quite damp...
Apart from when Lexon visited, his daily life hadn't been very happy...
He didn't have many friends either...
The people in the village... the interactions...
School was hard... but he did study properly...
"I'm very happy, I'm very happy, Mom... Dad..." All those thoughts condensed into a single sentence.
Naruto buried his face in his mother's chest, and along with his murmur, tears welled up and spilled from his eyes.
This was the first time he had ever cried.
All the past sadness and unhappiness suddenly poured out like a flood.
Kushina and Minato were a bit surprised by Naruto's sudden crying, but they both vaguely sensed something and didn't say much at that moment.
Kushina simply held Naruto tighter.
Minato Namikaze just gently placed his hand on Naruto's head.
Only after Naruto had cried his fill did Kushina slightly release him.
Naruto wiped his tears, ignoring his reddened eyes, and tried his best to show his parents a bright smile.
Yet, for some reason, seeing his smile made Kushina and Minato's hearts ache.
After the heartache... came deep self-reproach...
If only they could have accompanied him as he grew...
"Can you tell Dad and Mom... everything from your childhood until now?" Kushina said softly to Naruto.
Minato Namikaze also looked at Naruto seriously.
He also wanted to know what his son had experienced all these years.
Fortunately, a lot of the chakra consciousness they had originally planned to use to help Naruto take the Nine-Tails' power remained, allowing them to stay in the mental space for a significant amount of time—enough to listen to their son's story.
"Let me tell it. I know... much more than Naruto does." Before Naruto could respond, Lexon spoke first.
Regarding Naruto's life, as one of the viewers who had watched Naruto grow up step by step, he knew everything as clear as day.
He definitely knew more than Naruto.
"You?" Kushina and Minato's gazes shifted between Lexon and Naruto.
Even if they were good friends, the two wouldn't think Lexon would know their son better than the son knew himself.
"Do you want to tell it, Lexon?" Naruto looked at Lexon, confused.
He trusted his good friend implicitly, especially after his friend had allowed him to meet his parents.
Therefore, if Lexon wanted to speak, Naruto wouldn't have any objections.
"Yeah, leave it to me. If I say anything wrong, you can just add to it later," Lexon said with a smile, patting Naruto's head.
"Okay," Naruto nodded.
Seeing their son agree, Kushina and Minato didn't say much else, only saying to Lexon: "We'll trouble you, then."
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]