Naruto: The Nine-Tails' Legacy Chapter 3: A Storm Approaches

Beside a snow-covered lamp post, little Naruto slowly opened his eyes and instinctively finished the words he had failed to say earlier.

"You are… huh?"

He looked around at the familiar surroundings, scratching his small head in confusion.

After a long pause, he lowered his head suspiciously to look at his perfectly intact clothes and the red scarf still wrapped snugly around his neck. Then he muttered groggily:

"Was that… a dream?"

There were no towering iron bars before him.

No gigantic monster fox behind them.

Only the familiar streets around him.

The dream had felt unbelievably real, as though it had truly happened right in front of him. And unlike ordinary dreams, he rembered every detail clearly.

Still, he was only a child. He simply assud he had accidentally fallen asleep beside the lamp post. Getting to his feet, he prepared to head ho when he suddenly noticed sothing strange.

"Huh? That's weird. It's snowing today, but I'm not cold at all."

Naruto rubbed his hands together. The redness and numbness from the freezing cold that usually plagued him every day were completely gone. Instead, his entire body felt comfortably warm.

The sensation made him grin happily.

Only then did he rember why he had been here in the first place—

He had just escorted that strange white-eyed little girl ho earlier. Had he really fallen asleep on the roadside after walking only a little farther?

Looks like my body's too weak…

Maybe tomorrow I should eat sothing good…

Ah, right. I don't have money.

Maybe I can find sothing outside to eat…

Naruto wandered off while thinking to himself, completely unaware that not far behind him, a Konoha ninja wearing a forehead protector silently revealed himself from the shadows.

Looking bored, the ninja flipped open a notebook and began writing:

"...Target remained motionless for three minutes. During that period, abnormal chakra fluctuations were detected. Reasonable suspicion: contact with the Hyūga clan residence caused psychological disparity. Suggest providing limited supplies to increase goodwill…"

After hastily jotting down a few lines, the Konoha ninja snapped the notebook shut and vanished with a Body Flicker Technique, leaving not even footprints behind.

A flawless tailing operation.

Unfortunately for him, every movent had been completely observed by two pairs of eyes.

"So? This is the kind of treatnt your son Naruto receives in the village, Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze."

Kurama lay lazily on the ground, yawning as he looked at Minato's darkened expression beyond the bars.

"Oh, and if you can still count, your son is only three years old right now."

"Everything you've shown could simply be an illusion designed to provoke into releasing you… That's what I should be thinking."

Minato stood silently for a mont before slowly exhaling.

"But I can't deceive myself. Everything you said is probably true."

"Lying is a human specialty. This old man has no interest in such pointless hypocrisy."

Kurama responded indifferently.

Minato's blue eyes glanced over his own body. Vast amounts of Kurama's chakra surged around him endlessly.

Although it was still the sa sinister crimson chakra he rembered, it no longer carried the overwhelming malice and violent hatred Kushina's seal once constantly suppressed.

"After all, this old man is still sealed. I can only share this much power."

As though reading Minato's thoughts, Kurama continued calmly,

"But for your current state, this amount of chakra is enough to preserve your soul for a very long ti."

"Why?"

Minato asked quietly.

"Hmph."

Kurama didn't answer directly.

Instead, mories surfaced in his mind.

That tiny lonely figure living by himself within the village.

That boy who had done absolutely nothing wrong, yet was t only with cold stares from everyone around him.

That child who had been repeatedly used by others simply because they wanted to control the Nine-Tails…

Naruto, who only learned the truth of his own birth after saving everything.

He shouldn't have had to live like that.

"This old man doesn't know how to teach soone ninjutsu. Isn't it better for you to teach your own son yourself?"

Kurama gave a dismissive excuse.

Although Minato could tell there were deeper reasons behind Kurama's actions, there was nothing he could do if the fox refused to explain.

And just as Kurama had said, being able to remain here like this—watching Naruto, even personally guiding his growth—was already a result Minato could accept.

Especially for soone who had died early carrying endless guilt.

"Then why didn't you let Naruto truly remove the seal?" Minato changed the subject.

"Not yet."

This ti, Kurama answered directly. A trace of vigilance appeared within his massive fox eyes.

"If the seal is broken now, Naruto won't be able to control this old man's chakra. And once my chakra is detected… the person who attacked you before will act again."

Kurama's voice lowered slightly.

"And Konoha as it currently is… can't really help us."

"The masked man? Uchiha Madara?"

Minato's expression turned grave.

"No. Madara is already dead. The one behind everything was your student—Uchiha Obito."

Kurama's words crashed into Minato's heart like thunder.

Even in his wildest dreams, he never imagined he would hear Obito's na here.

"That's impossible!"

"Hmph. Don't rush. This old man will tell you everything."

Kurama looked at Minato and knew the Fourth Hokage was still wary of him.

But Kurama didn't care.

Although he had no idea why he had been reborn during this era, rely recalling the threat of the Ōtsutsuki clan still sent chills through even a Tailed Beast who had lived for ages.

Yet compared to fear, Kurama felt sothing stronger—

Defiance.

So what if they were the Ōtsutsuki clan?

Together with Naruto, he had already defeated a godlike being such as Isshiki Ōtsutsuki once before. Back then, their enemies had lurked in the shadows.

But now that fate had given them another chance…

He could change everything.

He would crush even the entire Ōtsutsuki clan beneath his feet.

anwhile, inside the Hokage's office in Konoha—

"I understand. Good work."

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, listened to the report while slowly taking a long drag from his pipe. A trace of relief appeared on his aged face.

"A child's jealousy or envy is still a form of negative emotion. It rely caused a slight leak of the Nine-Tails' chakra. There's no need to make a fuss over it."

"Yes."

The Konoha ninja who had previously tailed Naruto stood respectfully before the Hokage. Upon hearing Hiruzen's response, he showed no objections.

"Then I'll return and continue the mission—"

"Oh, no need to rush."

The Third Hokage rose from his chair and waved a hand with a smile.

"You won't need to continue that mission anymore. Go get so rest. I'm going out for so air."

With that, Hiruzen slowly walked out of the office with his hands behind his back, leaving only the Chūnin standing there alone.

After a long silence, the Konoha Chūnin let out a sigh and pulled the notebook from his clothes before passing it backward.

A hand stretched out from the darkness and accepted it.

Then a faint sigh echoed through the room.

"Hiruzen has already noticed your identity. Return to Root. You no longer need to concern yourself with the Nine-Tails."

"Yes."

The Chūnin's response remained just as brief and emotionless.

The night gradually deepened.

And the brightly lit Hokage's office finally fell into complete darkness after its occupants departed.

Read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon -> [email protected]/AiraTales7

(change @-> a)