Naruto: The Nine-Tails' Legacy

Watching Kushina and Minato hold each other for what felt like forever...

Even Kurama couldn't help yawning.

He lazily thumped the ground with one of his tails.

Thud.

Neither Minato nor Kushina reacted.

Seeing that the two were still embracing...

Kurama finally lost his patience.

"Hey."

"That's enough already."

"You'll have plenty of time to stay together later."

"Naruto's been urging us from outside for ages."

The couple quickly separated.

After exchanging one last gentle look...

They put away their tenderness and returned to serious expressions.

Both of them were veteran shinobi.

They naturally understood what took priority.

Kushina, in particular, was overflowing with excitement.

The chakra Kurama had just given her did more than preserve her existence, just as it had for Minato.

It also contained condensed memories of everything that had happened during this time.

The principle was similar to a Shadow Clone returning its experiences.

Kurama had prepared it in advance.

Because of that...

Kushina now understood the current situation.

Outside...

Naruto and Sasuke were helping the exhausted Izumi catch her breath.

It was obvious now that Izumi had downplayed the strain of her Mangekyō ability.

After using Chihi, she was breathing heavily.

Maintaining that power clearly consumed an enormous amount of stamina.

"...Is..."

"...that enough?"

Izumi looked at Naruto hopefully.

Naruto nodded reassuringly.

After confirming that she had merely overexerted herself...

He asked Sasuke to look after her.

Then...

He closed his eyes and focused inward once again.

Kurama glanced at Minato and Kushina, whose emotions had finally settled.

Without any more delay...

He expertly pulled Naruto's consciousness into his inner world.

Looking around at the scenery...

Naruto blinked.

The pure white space from before had completely disappeared.

Instead...

Everything now looked almost identical to the outside world.

But his attention was immediately captured...

By the crimson-haired woman standing beside Minato.

Warm.

Gentle.

Comforting.

Those were the first feelings that surfaced within Naruto.

She resembled him ever so slightly.

Standing beside his father...

She looked perfectly at home.

Radiating an overwhelming sense of familiarity.

Although he had prepared himself...

Actually seeing her still overwhelmed him.

"...Naruto."

Kushina gazed at him with moist eyes.

Though this was their very first meeting...

She softly called her son's name.

"...Mom!"

Without the slightest hesitation...

Naruto threw himself into her embrace.

"I've always..."

"I've always wanted to meet you!"

Kushina hugged him tightly.

"...Me too."

"I've always wanted to meet you..."

"...Naruto."

Watching mother and son embrace...

Minato smiled happily.

Then he suddenly noticed something.

"...Naruto?"

"If your consciousness is here..."

"...then who's outside?"

"Since your family's having their reunion, I won't interrupt."

"But Naruto..."

"Watch carefully."

"I told you before."

"Once the seal was undone..."

"I'd personally demonstrate it for you."

Outside...

"Naruto" suddenly curled his lips into a disdainful grin.

He looked toward Sasuke.

"Hey."

"You two Uchiha br... kids."

"Ready?"

Sasuke immediately sensed something strange about Naruto's tone.

He frowned.

Didn't he say his mother was going to help?

...Could his mother actually have this kind of personality?

"What exactly do we need to prepare?"

"Hm?"

"Didn't I explain it already?"

"Tch."

"As expected of the Uchiha..."

"Hopeless."

"Anyway..."

"We're using Sasuke first."

"We'll seal this miniature Tsukiyomi barrier..."

"...together with part of the Dragon Vein's chakra..."

"...into your body."

"That'll verify whether the Reincarnation Seal works."

"If everything succeeds..."

"Then we'll deal with the gigantic one outside."

"It's that simple."

Faced with "Naruto's" impatient tone...

Sasuke swallowed the questions he had wanted to ask.

...It's Naruto's mother.

She probably won't do anything reckless... right?

"Then..."

Izumi, still resting on the ground, had just begun to speak.

She was interrupted again.

"Nothing for you to do."

"Rest."

"...O-Okay."

Sasuke respectfully bowed.

"I'm counting on you..."

"...Auntie."

The moment he heard that title...

Kurama's expression became indescribably strange.

Still...

He had no intention of explaining anything.

He simply prepared to begin.

"Kurama!"

"Don't mess around!"

Naruto's voice exploded inside the inner world.

"Shut up."

"Just watch."

"It's something this small."

"You think I can't handle it?"

Kurama sounded supremely confident.

Even Naruto and Minato were momentarily stunned by his certainty.

...Had they really underestimated him?

Could Kurama actually perform the Reincarnation Seal flawlessly?

Only Kushina, still unfamiliar with Kurama...

Continued hugging Naruto while absentmindedly rubbing his hair.

Kurama activated the Reincarnation Seal.

A jet-black sealing formula spread across Sasuke's abdomen.

As if responding to the technique...

The wandering Dragon Vein chakra surrounding them began gathering toward both Kurama and Sasuke.

Seeing the smooth activation...

Minato couldn't help murmuring,

"...Perhaps Lord Kurama wasn't speaking out of pride after all."

"Now that the seal is gone..."

"He really can..."

Then...

The next second...

Watching "Naruto's" painfully slow hand seals...

Minato fell completely silent.

"...Tch."

"So..."

"How do these hand seals go again?"

"I almost never use anything this complicated."

"Aren't techniques supposed to work with one clap of the hands?"

"Using human hands is such a hassle..."

"...Ah."

"Damn."

"I messed it up again."

"Hey."

"If you're feeling uncomfortable..."

"Say something earlier."

"The chakra's already started entering your body."

"What are you glaring at me for?"

"You want me to poke those eyes out or..."

"Kurama!"

"Stop messing around!"

Naruto nearly exploded.

Listening to those utterly unreliable remarks...

While watching the seal continue operating...

He desperately wanted to stop Kurama.

The instant that thought crossed his mind...

His consciousness shifted.

The next moment...

He had switched places with Kurama.

Looking down...

He saw his own fingers nearly tangled together from the awkward hand seals.

Across from him...

Sasuke wore an expression filled with suspicion.

Naruto let out a long sigh of relief.

...At least you had enough self-awareness to switch back.

Kurama snorted from inside.

"Hmph."

"I didn't switch."

"Once the seal was removed..."

"Our powers became shared."

"The previous relationship..."

"Where I could suppress your consciousness..."

"...no longer exists."

"This body's original owner is you."

"So naturally..."

"You can reclaim control whenever you want."

Back inside the inner world...

Kurama calmly explained.

Minato immediately noticed something important.

Shared power...

However...

He wisely chose not to expose Kurama.

After all...

If Kurama lost face now...

He would almost certainly insist on taking control again.

Kurama finished his explanation...

Then quietly fell silent.

His entire body radiated an unmistakable aura.

One that both Minato and Kushina understood perfectly.

"Don't bring this up."

After both of them looked away...

Kurama narrowed his eyes.

Then...

He secretly opened one of his paws.

Resting in it...

Was a portion of Dragon Vein chakra.

It had been sealed away...

And quietly smuggled into the inner world by Kurama.

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