This power... has far surpassed his peak during his lifetime...
Minato Namikaze gazed at his son, who was enveloped in brilliant golden light and exuded an aura as vast as the sea, feeling an unprecedented shock in his heart.
Among all the opponents he had ever seen, whether it was the mysterious Masked Man who controlled everything on the night of the Nine-Tailed, or other renowned Kage-level powerhouses, even he himself, who had experienced countless battles and was known as the "yellow flash," had never felt such a pure and powerful aura, as if facing a rising sun.
In the inner world of the Seal space, Naruto had reached such an astonishing height!
Recalling that before the Konoha Destruction Plan began, Naruto had vaguely worried whether the butterfly effect would make the Senju Hashirama revived by Orochimaru's Edo Tensei even stronger, but now, there was absolutely no need to worry about it!
At the same time, the last huge stone in Minato's heart completely fell.
The bond between Kurama and Naruto was real, and their mutual understanding was definitely not an act.
His son... He didn't need his guidance, had no confusion he needed to answer, and didn't even have a single word of complaint about him, his negligent father... He had become so mature, so powerful.
But... what was the price behind this maturity that surpassed his age?
Thinking of this, Minato felt waves of sadness and guilt surge into his heart.
He didn't know how to make up for his absence of more than ten years, nor how to repay this heavy debt.
Moreover, according to this situation... his remaining Chakra and consciousness were probably reaching their limit soon... Time was running out.
He subconsciously wanted to reach out and pat his son's head like a normal father, giving him encouragement and praise.
But his arm lifted halfway, then froze.
But did he... truly have that right?
Time was almost up... Finally, what should he say to Naruto?
"Thank you... Naruto, forgive me, your unqualified father."
"You truly make me incredibly proud.
And your mother... When I return to the other side, I will definitely tell Kushina your story, exactly as it happened."
Minato imagined in his mind that Naruto, enveloped in golden Chakra, slowly turned his head, his beast-like vertical pupils looking at Minato, seeing the guilt, reluctance, and deep affection intertwined on his handsome face.
"Dad..." Naruto said softly, "Can I... call you that?"
Hearing this call, Minato actually felt a strange tension, he nodded vigorously, his throat a little tight.
He carefully scrutinized Naruto's face, and on that overly young face, he found not a trace of resentment or hatred, only calmness and understanding.
"That night..." Naruto continued, "When the culprit made his move, Mom was still very weak from just giving birth... It was you who desperately protected me, who was still a baby, right?"
Kurama, watching this tender scene of father and son conversing, although it most likely knew Naruto would eventually forgive his father, still felt very annoyed, letting out a heavy snort from its nose, turning its head away, too lazy to watch this sappy scene.
"The Fourth Hokage sacrificed himself to protect the Village, and his newborn son..." Naruto looked at his father, his tone firm, "...It can also be said that way."
Minato listened blankly to his son's words, his heart churning with unspeakable emotions.
"You protected me when I was just born, and you entrusted the hope for the future, along with Kurama, to me."
"How nauseating."
Kurama, with its paws crossed, interjected sarcastically in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, trying to disrupt the overly sentimental atmosphere.
But Naruto just smiled helplessly, ignoring his partner's complaint, and continued to speak to his father,
"Without it, there would be no me today.
Kurama and I started accompanying each other when I was little, from initial confrontation to later understanding, eventually becoming important partners who fight side-by-side like this now."
"We both... are actually lonely," his gaze swept over Kurama, then returned to his father, "That's why we can better understand each other's pain and longing.
It was you, with this Seal, who brought me a unique family member with whom I could rely on."
He took a deep breath and spoke his final words.
"So, thank you, Dad.
Thank you for believing in me, thank you for entrusting it to me."
"...Mm, I see..."
Minato's calm words carried an uncontrollable tremor.
He finally no longer hesitated, stepped forward, reached out, and gently, lovingly stroked the golden hair of his son, who was slightly shorter than himself.
On that gentle and handsome face, a shimmering "tear" condensed from pure Chakra and strong emotion slowly slid down his cheek.
Kurama did not interrupt again this time, it just stood with its arms crossed, quietly watching this somewhat sappy scene.
Perhaps, Naruto's words just now about "family" and "partners" also had some impact on it.
------------------------
I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right nobut who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/TripleCrown
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"