Somehow, after hearing Naruto's words, Kushina felt her heart ache. Is this really the Nine-Tails? Why is there such a difference in treatment?
However, Kushina was primarily concerned about Naruto's physical condition. "Naruto, after the Nine-Tails came out of your body, did you feel anything strange?"
Sensing his parents' concern and anxiety, Naruto looked puzzled. He scratched his head. "No, Mom, Dad—I didn't feel anything strange after Nine-Tails came out. If anything, I suddenly felt relaxed. My whole body became more energetic."
To prove his point, Naruto deliberately flexed his muscles, showing his parents he was in excellent condition.
Seeing this, Minato and Kushina exchanged glances. They both arrived at the same conclusion: that terrifying existence that had pulled the Nine-Tails from Naruto's body must have ensured his safety.
On this point, they'd worried for nothing.
"Mom, Dad... can you tell me about yourselves?" Naruto looked at Minato and Kushina expectantly. He wanted to know what kind of people his parents had been.
"Of course, Naruto..." Kushina gazed at him lovingly, then began speaking alongside Minato.
As they talked, a transparent screen suddenly appeared between them—like a projection from a video recorder. The protagonists were a yellow-haired man and a red-haired woman.
The man was handsome. The woman was beautiful.
Of course, this was the System's doing.
Only Naruto could see it.
Naruto watched and listened quietly.
It turned out his mother had also been a Nine-Tails Jinchūriki as a child. She'd also faced various forms of discrimination. But his mother had been hot-tempered. She'd ambushed people on their way home from school and beaten them up. Since then, she'd earned the title "Red Hot-Blooded Habanero."
Seeing this, Naruto couldn't help but smile. His personality was more like his father's—he was a gentle person. Faced with discrimination and coldness, he didn't resort to violence.
He just wanted to make friends with them.
He saw another scene: when Sarutobi Biwako had taken Kushina to the village outskirts to await delivery, they'd met Sasuke's mother, Mikoto Uchiha, on the road. At that time, Sasuke had been only two months old.
Mikoto Uchiha was exactly as Naruto had imagined—she had the gentle face of a loving mother. When she spoke, her eyes constantly drifted to gaze at Sasuke's cute little face.
His mother had made an agreement with Aunt Mikoto: when the two children grew up, they had to become good friends.
Mom, Sasuke and I are already good friends.
Naruto continued watching and listening. Then he saw the masked man appear, hijacking his infant self and his weakened mother.
Looking at this masked man, Naruto immediately decided: This kind of person can never be my friend. If we meet again in the future, I'll absolutely blow him away with one punch.
To actually lay hands on a newborn child?
To hold his mother hostage and threaten his father?
The more he watched, the more Naruto felt the masked man deserved to die.
Later came the story of how his parents both sacrificed themselves to seal the Nine-Tails. Before their deaths, they'd found the Third Hokage, hoping he would care for their orphaned son. They wanted him to live as a hero's child in this village.
To live with respect.
To live according to his own will, and then guard the village just as they had.
Seeing this, and thinking about his terrible life before, Naruto felt more and more that he absolutely must make Hiruzen Sarutobi his friend.
Minato seemed to sense Naruto's resentment. He sighed internally, unable to say much. "Naruto, don't hurt innocent people."
"Don't worry, Dad. I won't." Naruto nodded seriously.
"Naruto, will you inherit your father's will and protect Konoha for the rest of your life?" Minato asked earnestly.
Naruto nodded. "I will protect my Konoha."
That's right—that's what Naruto thought. He would protect his Konoha. But not someone else's Konoha. What he would guard was his own Konoha. The Konoha of his friends.
The screen stopped abruptly. Kushina and Minato had almost finished their story. Some screens had suddenly gone black—impossible to know what had happened during those moments.
"Naruto, I can't sense any chakra in your body. What's going on?" Kushina asked.
"Mom, I've taken a different path." Naruto spoke with confidence. "An invincible path. An eternal one."
Hearing this, Kushina felt both surprised and delighted. She was always perceptive, and instantly understood—the existence that had released the Nine-Tails must have taught Naruto this path.
But Minato couldn't share her joy. Hearing the word "eternal" made him deeply worried. "Naruto, you have to be careful. If people learn your path can lead to eternity, it will attract countless people who covet such power. Be cautious."
Kushina also caught on at this point. "Naruto, you still need to learn some regular ninjutsu. Just to keep up appearances and hide your true abilities."
What Minato and Kushina said made sense. Naruto nodded in agreement.
"Naruto, let me teach you all my techniques." Minato extended his fist.
Naruto also extended his fist. The two touched lightly. Immediately, a flood of information poured into Naruto's mind.
Afterward, Kushina also passed on her various sealing techniques to Naruto.
When it was over, both Minato and Kushina looked weaker. They gazed at Naruto with reluctance in their eyes.
"Naruto, live well."
"Naruto, Mom loves you!"
After speaking, Minato and Kushina slowly faded from view.
Naruto's expression fell. He truly wished his parents could stay by his side forever.
[Naruto, don't lose hope. Work hard to become stronger. After you achieve eternity and become immortal, you can revive your parents.] The System's voice came at that moment.
"Really?" Naruto's eyes suddenly brightened with hope.
"Can I really bring Mom and Dad back?"
[Of course. As long as you're strong enough.] The System spoke seriously.
"Then I must become incredibly strong! Mom, Dad, wait for me! We'll meet again one day!" At this moment, Naruto felt unprecedented fighting spirit surge through him.
"Dinner time, Naruto!"
At that moment, Nine-Tails came bounding over, wearing his apron. He stood on a rock beneath the tree, placed his two front paws around his mouth, and shouted loudly.
Naruto turned his head and looked at Nine-Tails. His expression grew complicated.
Before, he'd only known the Fourth Hokage had died because of the Nine-Tails. But now he knew the Fourth Hokage was his father. Naruto felt conflicted.
He silently walked over to Nine-Tails.
Seeing his expression, Nine-Tails felt his heart skip a beat. "Naruto, what's wrong?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writing takes time, coffee, and a lot of love.If you'd like to support my work, join me at [email protected]/GoldenGaruda
You'll get early access to over 50 chapters, selection on new series, and the satisfaction of knowing your support directly fuels more stories.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~