Naruto was taken aback for a moment. In the next second, the space of his subconscious shuddered, and a furious scream pierced the air.:
— Naruto, wake up quickly! You've fallen into that bastard's trap, Namikaze Minato!
"Namikaze Minato, how dare you!"
The Nine-Tails' voice and an unfamiliar female voice boomed out almost simultaneously. Immediately, a red-haired figure materialized in the space of his subconscious and punched Namikaze Minato with his fist.
At the same time, the Nine-Tails' voice rumbled in Naruto's mind:
— Wake up!
And then Naruto understood everything. His father had come not to reason with him, but to... buy time! Give Jiraiya and Tsunade a chance to defeat him.
"Father... Namikaze Minato!" Naruto laughed, but his laugh was full of bitterness. —Haha, is that what 'father' means?" Ha ha!
He was betrayed by the very idea of fatherly love, that imaginary family connection he had dreamed of for so long. The fate of a child who has never known a father is to look with envy at other people's happy families, remaining on the sidelines. And then, hiding under the covers, tearfully imagine what it would be like to have a father. Fantasize about how happy he would be if his father finally showed up.
And so the long-awaited meeting turned into a nightmare.: The so-called father turned out to be just a scumbag. He did not come for the sake of family ties, but like a gambler who owed the whole world and came to his son to pay off his bills.
What the hell?!
— My son, go and kill, fight, do whatever you think is necessary. Such a Konoha does not deserve protection. Mom will always support you!
At that moment, when Naruto's heart was bursting with pain, the figure who was beating Namikaze Minato turned around. It was Kushina. She always saw her son's suffering, but she was powerless.
Before, she had reluctantly put up with it. After all, her own life in Konoha had been rough at first, too. Naruto was following in her footsteps—and even though it hurt, it was still bearable. Moreover, if Naruto had accidentally set foot on a dark path, she would have stopped him.
But now everything was different!
When Jiraiya and the others nearly killed Naruto with their punch, not caring about his life, her faith in Konoha collapsed. Therefore, when the Nine-Tails later told Naruto about the incident, she did not interfere.
Those scoundrels from Konoha treated her precious son like an expendable item! She was already dead, but if she were alive, she would never have allowed this!
She was not a native of Konoha; her attachment to the village was never absolute. The village meant less to her than her family, less than her own child. Therefore, to hell with such a dark Konoha. She doesn't need to exist anymore!
But she could never have expected that this man, Minato, would raise his hand against his own son for Konoha. Just now, while Naruto was in a daze, Minato was blocking her way, preventing her from shouting at her son. It was only with great difficulty that she managed to break through.
"It's useless, Kushina. Sorry... Naruto, the millet…
Namikaze Minato didn't even think to resist, allowing Kushina to beat him up. There was immense sorrow on his face. He understood what his act meant to Naruto.
— Mom…
Naruto stared at Kushina's back, as if trying to engrave her image in his memory forever. Unlike his so-called father, he recognized her as his mother immediately, without exchanging a single word.
But, as Namikaze Minato said, it was too late.
From the outside, a crushing attack rained down on the Tailed One's cover, tearing it to shreds. Fragments of orange-red flame and a pair of claws were melting in the sky, still clutching the giant Bomb of the Tailed Beast.
The chakra flowed furiously through Naruto's body, trying to weave a new cover in the shortest possible time.
But it was too late.
— Namikaze Minato! Nine-tails, the force! Give me strength! Naruto roared, opening his eyes wide.
"Brat, that's enough!
Jiraiya appeared next to Naruto and, roaring, grabbed his head. His other hand, on which the symbols of the sealing technique were already glowing, he pressed directly to Naruto's chest. The power in his body surged, imprinting the technique into Naruto, furiously strengthening and strengthening the already existing seal.
The Tailed Man's chakra, which was frantically rushing out, began to recede like the tide of the sea.
— no! Kushina, help me! Help your son! Nine—Tails roared. He desperately called out to his power, trying to stop Jiraiya's seal, even begging Kushina to intervene. But she was still beating Namikaze Minato!
He was so close to destroying Konoha! Perhaps this was his only chance!
But alas, it was all in vain.
Jiraiya put almost all of his strength into the technique, and his seal sealed the power inside Naruto with almost no resistance.
However, once the sealing was completed…
— Ah, ah! The brat!
An agonized scream escaped Jiraiya's throat. Naruto abruptly raised his hand, plunged his fingers into Jiraiya's eye and pulled it out.
"Jiraiya, die!" Naruto growled.
With a face distorted with rage, he looked at him, crushed the torn eyeball in his fist and reached for the other eye.
Overcoming the pain, Jiraiya completed the seal, completely draining Naruto of his powers. Then he grabbed him by the head and threw him aside like a bag of trash. He didn't notice the faint smile that slipped across Naruto's lips.
—Ah! My eye! Damn brat! Jiraiya howled, clutching at his bleeding eye socket. He lost his left eye.
But just at that moment, Tsunade's desperate cry came from afar.:
"Jiraiya, run!"
At the same moment, the two Sage Toads on his shoulders also screamed:
—Jiraiya, watch out!
— Wh…
Jiraiya didn't have time to realize what was happening, as in the next second…