The suddenly appearing hand abruptly pulled Naruto back a step, away from the Seal gate.
Naruto was caught off guard, his body leaning back slightly, his gaze clearly catching the extremely conspicuous words on the Fourth Hokage's robe behind the person in front of him—Fourth Hokage.
"Heh... who do we have here," just as the Fourth Hokage appeared, Kurama, who had long anticipated his arrival, immediately spoke in a sarcastic tone.
"Isn't this the 'great hero' who was 'noble' enough to sacrifice his own son to protect Konoha?"
It seemed that even though Kurama had fully accepted Naruto, he still held no goodwill towards the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, who had once split him in two, and harbored deep resentment.
Hearing Kurama's merciless taunt, Minato Namikaze turned his head and looked at the giant beast in the cage.
"Kurama, you don't seem surprised at all to see me here.
However, I personally never wanted to see you again.
But I didn't expect you to have bewitched Naruto so quickly, making him take such a dangerous action."
"Bewitch? Dangerous?"
Kurama let out a burst of laughter as if he had heard the biggest joke, slamming his paw on the cage.
"Who are you putting on this self-righteous act for? Do you know that the person you were supposed to protect, after your 'heroic' sacrifice, lived a life a hundred times harder than your meager imagination could ever conceive!"
Minato was very surprised; he couldn't detect the slightest anger of a foiled plan due to being "bewitched" in Kurama's roar.
Instead, the voice was filled with a personal mockery and long-held resentment directed at him?
"This old man remembers all those grand words you spoke before you died clearly! You said you 'trusted your son'? Don't flatter yourself!"
"What you did then was shove a bomb into the swaddling clothes of your newborn infant! And then you contentedly wiped your hands and died! What right do you have now to stand here and dictate?"
It seemed Kurama's grievances against Minato Namikaze were far more numerous and profound than Naruto had imagined.
Although the Fourth Hokage was known for his composure, being so mercilessly rebuked by Kurama face-to-face, especially with words that directly hit his deepest pain and struggles, his expression couldn't help but turn somewhat grim, his lips tightly pursed.
However, Minato Namikaze knew his time here was limited, and he didn't want to waste this brief and precious reunion time on endless arguments with Kurama.
Ignoring Kurama's sarcasm, he redirected his gaze back to the blonde young man in front of him.
When his eyes fell upon Naruto's face, which bore a seven or eight-tenths resemblance to his own, yet appeared younger and more vibrant, the gravity and sharpness in his eyes instantly melted away like ice and snow.
His voice also became much softer.
"It's been a long time... You... have become an excellent Ninja, Naruto."
[Ding!]
[Congratulations Host: You have established a bond level 7 (max) with the original character "Minato Namikaze"!]
[Points gained: 2450 points!]
"Hmm, a long time... no, I should say, it's our first formal meeting, Dad."
Naruto looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar gentle and handsome face in front of him, hesitated for a moment, but still uttered that address.
Although his heart was far from as calm as his exterior, he clearly stated the relationship between them.
Minato's prepared explanation of his identity and opening remarks suddenly got stuck in his throat.
Naruto... he actually knows who I am?
"Did the Sandaime tell you everything?" Minato subconsciously speculated, a hint of worry in his tone.
"However, if your identity is revealed, I'm afraid many dangers from outside the village will befall you..."
He paused, and then, with an almost imperceptible caution and apprehension, he softly asked a question.
"By the way... how have you been... all these years?" As a father, he had missed his son's entire growth, and this guilt made his inquiry seem especially cautious.
Although Naruto maintained his composure on the surface, his heart was completely blank about how to interact with this father he had never met but was connected to by Bloodline, feeling a bit at a loss.
He forced a smile, trying to downplay the situation.
"These years, I've been doing very well, made many friends..."
"That's what's happened to this kid recently!"
Suddenly, Kurama's voice rang out again, unceremoniously interrupting Naruto's attempt to gloss over the truth.
"When he was little, it wasn't like that at all! Almost every Konoha villager hated your son! He would be pointed at behind his back for no reason, verbally abused to his face, ostracized and isolated by everyone! He couldn't even go to a shop to buy something to eat without being roughly driven out like a fly!"
Minato noticed that Kurama's many fiery statements, besides his personal resentment towards him, also contained an extremely clear indignation for the injustice Naruto had suffered?
"Everything was just as you 'envisioned' it," Kurama's tone was full of sarcasm, "You successfully Sealed this old man, leaving this power in Konoha.
You knew a Jinchuriki was destined to endure the fear and rejection of the world, so you 'trusted' your child to 'endure' all of it... And this kid, he indeed did 'as you wished'."
"Tch... thinking about it really annoys me."
Kurama clicked his tongue, his tone complex, "Your son is far more outstanding than you imagined.
However, his growth owes nothing to you, because you never accompanied him for even a single day!"
"Kurama, don't be so harsh on Dad." Naruto finally spoke, his tone soothing his partner, "Although I do have a little resentment about those childhood experiences... but, if I think about it carefully, if Dad hadn't done that back then, you and I wouldn't have met, and it would have been impossible for us to become friends as we are now."
He said, turning to Kurama, a determined smile on his face, and then raised his fist again towards the giant fox.
And Kurama, looking at Naruto's unclouded smile and outstretched fist, let out a helpless snort from his throat, a "I can't do anything with you" expression on his face, and solemnly extended his huge fist, gently touching Naruto's tiny fist once again.
"Naruto... what exactly is this..." Minato completely understood; the situation before him was completely different from what he had expected—his son being bewitched by a Tailed Beast and in danger!
Is this really the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, filled with hatred and a desire for destruction? Minato Namikaze had lived two lives, and this was the first time he had seen such a... almost "gentle" expression on Kurama's face, and even heard his laughter?
"Hmph, Fourth Hokage!" Kurama retracted his fist, looking down at Minato, his tone still carrying an undisguised comparison, "Your son is ten thousand times stronger than you, and more!
He endured loneliness you couldn't even imagine, yet from it, he learned understanding and tolerance.
He faced malice from almost the entire world, yet he would still choose to save everyone without hesitation when danger struck—including those who had once hurt him!"
It seemed Kurama's attitude towards the Fourth Hokage wouldn't improve at all.
Naruto, meanwhile, helplessly lowered his fist and turned to his father, whose face was filled with shock and confusion.
"Dad, I don't resent you for Sealing Kurama inside me back then.
On the contrary, I am genuinely happy that because of it, I could meet Kurama and eventually become important friends with him."
"As for what happened all these years... it's a long story, let me tell you slowly."
Although his heart was still full of questions—why wasn't even his own son surprised to see his deceased father?
But looking at Naruto's calm, mature demeanor, and his incredible harmony with Kurama, Minato needed to understand everything anew.
He nodded, ready to listen to his son's story from all the years he hadn't been a part of.
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