"Lord Third…"
Inside Naruto's inner world, Minato Namikaze wore a complicated expression.
He understood Hiruzen's intentions.
He understood what the Third Hokage—who had already retired once, only to be forced back into the position—truly desired.
What Hiruzen wanted to maintain was balance and stability.
The balance between the Five Great Nations.
The stability within Konoha itself.
Just like the policies established by the previous Hokage.
Although during Minato's ti as Hokage, Hiruzen had fully supported his reforms and changes within the village, after Minato's death, the elderly Hiruzen who reluctantly resud the title of Hokage…
Had already lost the aggressive ambition to push forward.
As soone who had once served as Hokage himself, Minato completely understood Hiruzen's thoughts and actions.
But…
The sacrificed party in all this was Naruto.
The only child he and Kushina had left behind.
"Looks like you understand it too."
Kurama's voice sounded at the perfect mont, carrying faint ridicule.
"The orphan Naruto was hidden away at first, and after leaving the orphanage, it was Hiruzen secretly taking care of him—but only to that extent."
Kurama's massive tail swayed slightly.
"He's not stupid enough to treat Naruto as this old man himself like the other fools in the village do, but he also never properly concealed Naruto's identity."
"He should've grown up enjoying the treatnt due to a hero's son… no, forget that."
Kurama corrected himself.
"As the vessel who sealed the Nine-Tails since birth, he was already a hero to begin with."
"..."
Contrary to Kurama's expectations, Minato didn't explode in anger.
Instead, he looked at Kurama with a strangely relieved expression.
That gaze made Kurama uncomfortable.
He bared his teeth slightly.
"What?"
"I'm just relieved."
Minato smiled gently.
"Relieved that Naruto has you. A companion willing to stand up for him like this."
"And you said it yourself… in the future, he'll have countless companions."
"That's enough. Shut up already, Minato."
Kurama clearly wasn't used to this kind of sentintal conversation and snorted coldly.
"I've already told you this much. You know what to do next, right?"
Red chakra flickered within Minato's blue eyes.
The power belonging uniquely to the Nine-Tails surged around him with overwhelming force.
"As long as this old man remains sealed, I can't freely use my power."
Kurama lazily lay back down again, looking utterly drained.
"And it also interferes with Naruto's own chakra. So this old man plans to suppress my chakra as much as possible."
"In that case, Naruto's own chakra potential will continue increasing. Soone needs to guide him—teach him how to use that power and grow stronger."
"Kushina's Uzumaki bloodline…"
Minato imdiately understood.
The chakra Kurama referred to was Naruto's natural chakra reserve—the enormous vitality and chakra inherited from the Uzumaki clan, which would continue growing as Naruto matured.
"The Naruto from before… the forr Naruto… no, the future Naruto… wait, that's not right either…"
Kurama frowned awkwardly, clearly unable to find an appropriate description.
Minato imdiately nodded in understanding and seriously suggested:
"How about 'the future Naruto from the past'? Or since he's already the Seventh Hokage and the strongest in the shinobi world, we could call him 'Famous Naruto'?"
Kurama stared at him speechlessly.
Then he simply ignored Minato's naturally airheaded comnt and continued speaking.
"Anyway, because that Naruto didn't reconcile with this old man early on, his developnt of his own power was insufficient."
"And this old man doesn't really understand those things either. Minato, I already told you what kind of enemies Naruto will face."
As he spoke, Kurama slowly rose to his feet.
The massive body of the Nine-Tails stood towering before Minato, radiating an aura so ancient and powerful that even the Fourth Hokage felt shaken.
This was the Nine-Tails that had existed since the era of the Sage of Six Paths.
"This ti…"
Kurama's crimson eyes narrowed fiercely.
"This old man won't let those bastards strut around in front of Naruto ever again!"
For the first ti in his life, Minato found himself thinking sothing he had never considered before—
Perhaps the shinobi world had never truly understood the Tailed Beasts.
Maybe humanity had simply been too arrogant.
Perhaps the true rulers of this land…
Were not necessarily humans at all.
The snowfall intensified as the night deepened.
After Naruto happily finished eating the grilled fish, Hiruzen escorted him back ho.
Only after the light inside Naruto's room went dark did the Third Hokage finally withdraw his gaze.
The warm smile on his face disappeared instantly.
Without turning around, he spoke toward the shadows of the night.
"From today onward, no one in the Anbu is permitted to approach Naruto."
Within the shadow beneath a streetlamp, a Konoha Anbu wearing a strange mask silently appeared behind him.
The Anbu seed surprised, but remained quiet while waiting for further instructions.
"From here on, I'll arrange for others to interact with Naruto."
Hiruzen's eyes beca sharp and profound.
"The Anbu… seem to have been tainted too deeply by darkness."
"If we want Naruto to beco a Jinchūriki capable of protecting the village, then what he needs is genuine emotional connection…"
After a brief pause, Hiruzen continued:
"Notify Shikaku. Tomorrow, have him bring the current list of young instructors and Chūnin within the Academy."
"Yes."
After acknowledging the order, the Anbu vanished once again.
Inside the room, Naruto was already overwheld with sleepiness after rely yawning once.
Half-awake, he hurriedly changed into his pajamas before collapsing onto the bed and imdiately falling into deep sleep the mont his head touched the pillow.
Inside the ntal world—
"Naruto's asleep. Are you ready?"
Kurama opened his eyes.
After withdrawing most of his power, he had been constantly monitoring Naruto's condition while watching Minato, who sat nearby in ditation.
The crimson chakra cloak that had once surrounded Minato—ford from Kurama's chakra—had completely vanished now.
Having fully mastered the portion of chakra Kurama gave him, Minato turned toward the fox.
"I'm ready anyti."
Then he added curiously:
"By the way, according to your plan, if I teach Naruto techniques while he's dreaming, how much will he rember after waking up?"
"That depends on his talent."
Kurama answered uncertainly.
"Usually, rembering about half is already pretty good."
"But like this old man said before, to avoid outsiders noticing anything strange, Naruto won't realize he's dreaming inside the illusion I create. So he can't properly communicate with you the way he normally would."
Kurama suddenly smirked.
"Thinking about it now, this is pretty funny. Back then, this old man only used this thod to repeatedly force Naruto to relive painful mories and drown in loneliness."
"So honestly, I've got no clue how effective this'll be in practice."
"It might even have less than twenty percent effectiveness."
"Twenty percent…"
Minato rested his chin on one hand and thought for a mont.
Then he smiled confidently.
"That's more than enough."
Kurama looked at him curiously.
"So what are you planning to teach him first?"
Minato's answer completely caught Kurama off guard.
Without the slightest hesitation, he replied:
"Fūinjutsu."
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