*Hamura Estate – Training grounds*
Dan Hamura reached the training ground and stopped.
The pressure in the air was familiar. It reminded him of the night Naruto was born, four years ago. A dark presence that made skin prickle, like something standing too close behind your shoulder.
Inside the innermost barrier, Ryu stood with both palms open. Naruto was opposite him, small body tensed, wrapped in a red chakra cloak that flickered and crawled. Between them, gold-yellow chains and chakra ran through it circulating between Ryu and Naruto, like a feedback loop.
People had already gathered.
Yasashii and Jiyuu stood together near the edge of the formation, both shocked, trying to understand what was happening.
Kaia held Akihiro's hand, anchoring him without thinking. Akihiro tilted his head, tracking the chakra shift.
Rina and Souji stood near, and their bodies were shaking. They were trying to maintain the balance they had learned in the last month, but the intense chakra given off by Naruto was making it hard for them.
Shiroi watched the barrier's edges. The pressure dragged him back to the day his parents died a few years ago, the same helpless weight in the air.
Toshiro Senju braced himself against the momentary increase in pressure.
Kohinata Mukai kept his posture controlled, eyes narrowed as he watched the red chakra and the seal interaction. He thought, "That's Nine-Tails chakra."
Enjomi Kaori, near Mukai, stayed calm; her eyes didn't. She thought, "So this is nine-tailed chakra... so strong and sinister."
An ANBU squad landed near Dan, forming a line. Their captain stepped forward.
"Elder Dan," he said, voice clipped. "We request your assistance. The Nine-Tails' seal is destabilising. We need to reseal it immediately."
Dan did not answer at once. He checked the barriers, then the chains. He read Ryu's stillness and the calm, smiling face that should not have existed in a moment like this.
Then he spoke.
"Kaori," Dan said. "How does their chakra feel to you..."
Kaori answered.
"Their chakra is in flux," she said. "Control keeps shifting between two points after every few minutes, like an oscillation. And Boss Ryu is absorbing the overflow slowly and steadily."
The ANBU captain looked at the chains.
"Absorbing Nine-Tails chakra?" he exclaimed.
"Yes," Kaori corrected. "Also suppressing it using the same chakra mixed with his own."
"But how?" the captain said. "We should help him."
Dan finally looked at him. His expression was mild.
"If you jump into that loop now," Dan said, "you add another hand to a knot while it is tightening."
"It is the Nine-Tails," the captain said, as if that ended the argument.
"I know what it is," Dan replied. "Better than you do. Only Ryu can do it."
The captain's gaze flicked to the gold-yellow links again. "Uzumaki chains?"
Dan nodded once, confirming what the ANBU already suspected.
"Yes," Dan said. "That and his special chakra control, which can weaponise chakra without elemental ninjutsu."
ANBU nodded.
Dan's voice stayed calm.
"That boy has done the impossible before," Dan said. "I have watched him do it. Let him handle it."
The ANBU captain held Dan's gaze for a long beat. Then he nodded and said, "Understood."
Dan turned back to the barrier. Then the pressure spiked. A wave of pressure rolled through the training ground, sharp enough that everyone felt it on their skin. The red chakra inside flared again.
*Inside Naruto – A few moments earlier — before Ryu took action*
The world here existed as black water and a corridor that did not obey the rules of distance. Naruto was too young to be here. He was not supposed to reach this place at this age.
But the cosmic butterfly had another plan, and Naruto found himself in this place. It triggered something buried in the seal, like a hidden clause, a contingency set up by a concerned father.
Minato Namikaze opened his eyes and understood instantly what the situation was.
He was not a complete man or soul; he was a sealed mass of chakra — a fraction of the original.
Kushina Uzumaki appeared beside him, already leaning toward the corridor beyond their boundary with a mother's instinct that automatically told her that her baby was in trouble.
Their place was in a deeper layer of the seal of Naruto, below the Nine-Tails' corridor, deep but close enough that they could see and intervene anytime but not visible from the corridor where Naruto and the fox were.
"Our baby," she said, voice tight.
Minato and Kushina heard Naruto's voice for the first time since their last meeting, when all they could hear were baby cries and screams.
Naruto: ["This must be a dream,"]
Naruto: ["I fell asleep during training again, like that funny guy at Ichiraku who fell asleep randomly, even with his mouth full."]
Naruto: ["Brother Ryu is going to make me run laps again when he finds out,"]
Kushina's breath caught. "A brother!!!"
Minato's voice softened for a moment. "So he has family !!!."
A voice from behind the gate came sweet and coaxing. Kushina recognised it at once.
Nine-Tails: ["Hey, kid. Come near. Come near the gates,"]
Kushina said, "Don't."
Naruto heard it, faint, like a whisper through the seal.
Naruto: ["Who's there?"]
Naruto: ["Where am I?"]
Nine-Tails: ["Come near and I'll tell you,"]
Naruto took a step, then hesitated.
Naruto: ["That's what bad guys say,"]
Kushina let out a tight, quiet sigh of relief. The relief did not last. Behind the bars, the Nine-Tails stared, gathering chakra in silence.
Red chakra curled around Naruto's ankles and climbed fast, dragging him towards the gate.
Naruto: ["What is this?"]
Naruto: ["Leave me! I'm not scared! Show yourself!"]
Naruto: ["I am not tasty! I taste very bitter!"]
Kushina moved. "Minato, we're going."
Minato caught her wrist. "No, we can't. Only one of us has to do it. We have to choose."
"What?" she snapped.
"We're only fragments of ourselves," Minato said. "If only one of us acts, we burn the chakra reserve set into the seal. If we both act together, we get a lovely family reunion, but after that we lose any chance to help him later in the future if the seal weakens again. Only one of us should go."
Kushina swallowed hard, anger and grief fighting for space. "You should go."
Minato looked at her, surprised.
Kushina continued, her voice tight. "When we died… I took all the time we had. I said what I needed to say, but you didn't get anything to say."
Minato's jaw tightened once. He did not deny it.
Kushina forced the words out: "You go first this time."
Minato released her wrist and stepped to the edge of the boundary. A vast silhouette surged behind the bars.
Before Minato could move, gold-yellow chains snapped in from behind Naruto and yanked him back in one clean motion.
Minato's head turned sharply. He looked back at Kushina.
Kushina's eyes widened as recognition hit her before the relief did. "Uzumaki Adamantine Sealing Chains."
Minato's voice went tight. "Kushina. Was that you?"
"No," she said immediately. "I didn't do anything."
Kushina leaned forward, staring harder. Her expression shifted. "Those chains are different from mine."
Killing intent rolled out from the cage, and Naruto's body went limp.
A footstep landed on the water behind him. And then there was silence — nothing moved.
Ryu's voice cut through the pressure like it had always been there.
Ryu: ["Luring kids now?
Is that what you've come to?"]
Kushina stared into the darkness where the boy stood.
"He's a child," she said.
Minato's voice stayed quiet. "He saved our son at the right moment. Maybe we won't have to act…. Let's observe…"
Nine-Tails: ["Who are you, boy?"]
Ryu: ["I am Ryu Hamura,
Next heir of the Hamura clan. Director of Technology at Hamura Industries. Eldest adoptive sibling to Naruto. I am also the youngest medical apprentice and soon-to-be youngest medical ninja in the village."]
Kushina blinked.
"That is a lot of titles," she said, almost offended on Naruto's behalf.
Minato watched the cadence, the lack of haste.
"He's a medical apprentice!" Minato said.
Ryu: ["I would prefer if you did not bully my little brother, Mr 9... and definitely do not try what you did just a moment ago."]
The Nine-Tails laughed, the sound pushing against the corridor.
Nine-Tails: ["You are mad,
I see no fear in you at all. Not even trace amounts. Something is wrong with your head, kid."]
Ryu: ["That's actually an interesting question,
Lipoid proteinosis disease. It is caused by a single mutation in the ECM1 gene found on chromosome one. It causes a calcification of the amygdala, leading to impaired recognition of danger cues, a loss of consequence assessment, and an absence of normal fear responses in the face of danger."]
Minato's eyes narrowed. "He is definitely a medical apprentice... and very clever... He is buying time by chatting with Fox... "
Ryu: ["But... I don't have this syndrome,
My amygdala is perfectly functional. My lack of fear is just... a lack of fear. Simply put, you don't scare me."]
Nine-Tails: ["If that is the case,
then come near me."]
A paw flashed through the bars and stopped an inch from Ryu's face. Ryu did not blink.
Ryu: ["You are stupid,
This is a mental plane. My physical body isn't here. I understand well that nothing is going to happen to me except for mental and chakra backlash. And I genuinely doubt you can manage even that, considering my high-functioning mind."]
Minato's jaw tightened. "He is... he is purposefully making him angry. But he is no fool; he calculated the safe distance exactly. For a kid, he is very impressive."
Nine-Tails: ["I have never seen a kid like you,
Are you even a kid?"]
Kushina's voice went flat. "He is definitely a half Uzumaki... I can feel it in my heart."
Minato replied, "And I can feel it in my eyes. Just look at his half-red hair. Either it's a current fashion statement among young ninjas, or he is part Uzumaki."
Nine-Tails: ["If you're so confident, then step inside the cage.
I will put fear inside you. Let's see what kind of backlash you are going to get. Just come inside if you think nothing is going to happen."]
Ryu moved forward. The bars parted around Ryu.
Kushina whispered tightly, "Look, Minato. …"
"He is crazy," Minato said.
Ryu crossed the threshold.
Ryu: ["I am in your turf now, like you asked,
Now what?"]
Nine-Tails: ["Impressive,"]
Ryu: ["Thanks... I wish I could say the same, but you disappoint me, honestly,"]
Kushina's shoulders tightened.
Minato's gaze sharpened. "I don't know what he is planning but atlease he got Naruto out."
The Nine-Tails threw its weight at him. Ryu moved in flashes, never retreating, always returning closer. The beast adapted. So did he.
Nine-Tails: ["You are an insect,
A fragile, ridiculous little insect that I could crush between two fingers. An ant."]
Ryu: ["Have you never heard the story of the ant and the elephant?"]
Ryu: ["Your size makes you a bigger target,
That is all it does."]
Nine-Tails: ["Just because you know you are not real here, do not grow overconfident,
In the real world, I would have eaten you whole."]
Ryu: ["Whole,
Like you ate the Kinkaku and Ginkaku brothers whole?"]
Ryu: ["Were they tasty?
I mean, did you throw them up, or did you poop them out? Can a chakra lifeform even poop, Mr 9?"]
Kushina stared at the sheer audacity.
Minato's voice stayed clipped. "He knows how to make people mad."
The roar that followed shook the water. Tails hammered down; Ryu flickered aside; the next strike arrived before the ripples settled.
Minato recognised the jutsu. "That was [Lightning Style: Body Flicker], but it is very crude and still not at the level of Raikage's."
Ryu: ["Mr 9,
You have to be better than that if you want to crush me."]
Then Ryu's tone turned cold.
Ryu: ["I want to ask you something,
Do you regret it? Killing Naruto's parents. Making him an orphan."]
Kushina's breath caught hard.
Minato looked straight ahead and did not blink.
Ryu: ["All his hardships started with you,
If you had not done what you did the night he was born, he would still have a family. He would have a mother and a father."]
The anger Ryu was showing touched their hearts and souls, whatever fraction of it was in them right now.
The Nine-Tails refused to answer with words. It answered with more force, trying to close every angle at once. Ryu slipped what gaps remained and kept talking anyway.
Nine-Tails: ["Stop buzzing around like a fly,"]
Ryu: ["Do you ever imagine it?
What his life would have looked like? The ordinary version of it? The version where his life is full of happiness?
Well. Compared to what it became."]
Ryu: ["You do imagine it,
His life would have been better. You know that."]
Nine-Tails: ["You know nothing!"]
Ryu: ["Ohh, I understand perfectly,
I understand that you are blamed for things you haven't done, like attacking the village. And I understand you are locked up in a cage with no fault of your own... for the first two Jinchurikis, at least."]
Minato's gaze narrowed. "He's doing something… the air… it's genjutsu using chakra waves in the air."
Ryu: ["First Hokage, they told you that your power is too great to let you be free,
He said it was to prevent you from being used as a weapon of mass destruction. But where was the First Hokage's cage? He, too, possessed the ability to cause massive destruction?
The man who built the prison never once considered that the rules he wrote for you should apply to himself."]
Minato said quietly, "Wow… I thought I was a genius…"
The mindscape buckled.
A genjutsu built from the Nine-Tails' own history slammed into place. Wood pinned tails to the black water.
Hashirama (illusion): ["Wood Style Nativity of a World of Trees,"]
A blue giant's grip closed on what the wood missed. A silhouette stepped forward in the false light, and the Nine-Tails went rigid.
Madara (illusion): ["You are only a piece of yourself,
You, Biju, are simply a servant to those with ocular powers...Obey me."]
Kushina went still.
While the Nine-Tails failed to grasp the strategy of utilising a genjutsu of his worst enemies, Minato did.
Nine-Tails: ["How is this possible?!"]
Rage detonated outward. The genjutsu tore apart in a single concussive wave of red.
Kushina's voice dropped. "He's absorbing the chakra."
Minato nodded once. "He was counting on it... he was absorbing chakra from the moment he appeared."
Ryu: ["You threw away your reasoning in anger just now and believed what you saw was real,
Just like you threw it away four years ago when you tried to kill a newborn Naruto."]
Ryu: ["With age comes wisdom,
But even after existing for millennia, you are still controlled by rage."]
Ryu: ["Naruto is maybe the kindest soul ever born,"]
Kushina didn't blink. Just cried hearing that for her baby boy.
Ryu: ["And you tried to kill that innocent boy,"]
Then Ryu vanished, [Lightning Style: Body Flicker] eating the distance in a single violent skip, [Senju-Style Chakra Impulse] loading into his fist mid-flight, and reappeared beside the Nine-Tails' face, level with its enormous jaw, and struck.
Kushina covered her mouth not to cry any further from the overflowing mixture of love and anger Ryu had unleashed on the face of Nine-tails.
Minato's eyes stayed on the boy.
Minato thought, "Who is this child?"
A/N:
I know this chapter had repetitive elements, but I needed to show the fight from the POV of Naruto's parents.
On the plus side, I made this chapter really big to offset the repetitive word count.
At first I thought I would include this in the previous chapters, but then I had this idea.
I don't know how many readers liked it, but it is already done. It is what it is.
Thank you,
Cash, Marco, Codesavage, Hugh Jass, El Gordo, Zarassa van Cresh, Nova Gamer555, David Jenkins, Carlos Barker, Auzzo, Some guy, Dalton Harris, Toyo, McCallister Wilson, Timothy cordelle, Mason Erickson, Eymi Lopez, อวิรุธ อนุรัตน์, Vernan Stapleton, Monkey D. Murda, R3vo
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