Chapter 223: It Was All Kurama's Doing
This was the unexpected consequence that occurred at the very end of the Reincarnation Seal.
During the final step of the sealing process…
Not only was the immense Dragon Vein chakra sealed into Izumi’s body…
A considerable portion also flowed into Kushina and Naruto, who were likewise inside the sealing formation.
Strictly speaking…
It wasn’t entirely unexpected.
The possibility of this happening had always existed with Dragon Vein chakra.
Minato had already taken it into account while designing the seal.
After all…
Izumi had previously explained that the newborn Uchiha children had all developed varying degrees of compatibility with Dragon Vein chakra simply because they had been born under its influence.
Some of the children hadn’t even been born there.
Yet as they grew…
Their bodies had still gradually adapted to the Dragon Vein’s chakra.
Because of this…
Minato concluded that after running rampant for several years…
And after being guided continuously by the Reincarnation Seal for over half a month…
The Dragon Vein chakra would likely cause Naruto’s body to develop the same kind of affinity.
It would inevitably affect him to some degree.
Of course…
Given Naruto’s own enormous chakra reserves…
That influence should have been negligible.
At least…
That was how it was supposed to be.
No one had anticipated…
That this affinity would attract such an overwhelming amount of Dragon Vein chakra.
Even the contingency Minato had prepared proved insufficient.
The Dragon Vein chakra poured in like a flood bursting through a broken dam.
In the end…
Even Minato had to help Kushina and Naruto shoulder part of the burden…
Only to be affected by the endless influx himself.
While observing the seal…
Minato couldn’t shake a strange feeling.
It wasn’t that the Dragon Vein chakra was merely influencing Naruto’s body…
Rather…
Naruto’s body itself seemed to have thrown its doors wide open…
Actively welcoming the Dragon Vein chakra inside.
Because of that strange attraction…
Small amounts of Dragon Vein chakra continuously entered Naruto’s body throughout the sealing process…
Eventually resonating with Kushina’s chakra as well.
Whenever the amount of chakra exceeded what a body could safely contain…
There was a very real risk of complete collapse.
For Naruto…
That wasn’t a problem.
His own chakra reserves were so absurdly vast…
That even several dozen times more chakra wouldn’t matter.
But Kushina and Minato were different.
In their current state…
They simply couldn’t accommodate that much foreign chakra.
Put simply…
It was like suffering from indigestion.
Fortunately…
Kurama was still there.
At present…
Minato and Kushina continued existing by relying upon Kurama’s chakra.
As long as the Dragon Vein chakra couldn’t break through Kurama’s protection…
It didn’t matter how much flowed in.
In fact…
The influx wasn’t a bad thing at all.
It was much like when Kurama had once used his own chakra to restore Minato after he returned from the night of the Uchiha Massacre.
Kurama’s chakra enveloped the lingering consciousness contained within Kushina’s chakra.
As a result…
The Dragon Vein chakra that arrived afterward could only function as an energy source.
It continuously strengthened Kushina’s chakra.
One could even say…
The longer this process continued…
The stronger that portion of Kushina’s chakra would become.
Likewise…
The Eight Trigrams Seal, which Izumi’s Mangekyō Sharingan had restored back into Minato’s original chakra…
Was also affected by the Dragon Vein chakra.
As Minato absorbed that chakra…
He entered the same state as Kushina.
Throughout the Reincarnation Seal…
The Dragon Vein chakra had continuously nourished both Minato’s and Kushina’s chakra…
Making them stronger and stronger.
Originally…
Everything should have ended safely.
However…
At the very instant the sealing process concluded…
An unimaginably massive surge of Dragon Vein chakra rushed in all at once.
The torrent overwhelmed Minato’s and Kushina’s consciousness…
Sending both of them into a deep sleep.
Naturally…
Naruto became worried immediately.
But Kurama told him not to concern himself.
Instead…
He ordered Naruto to get some sleep as well.
Because…
In essence…
They had simply become too full.
Sleeping was the natural result.
Of course…
Kurama’s explanation was completely accurate.
After all…
This entire situation had happened because of him.
He had expected this outcome from the beginning.
Kurama shifted his gaze back toward the tiny strand of Dragon Vein chakra pinched between his claws.
This small fragment had acted as a guide…
Leading the rest of the Dragon Vein chakra toward Naruto.
He muttered thoughtfully,
“…Dragon Vein chakra…”
“As expected…”
“It’s not merely this planet’s own power.”
“It’s also chakra left behind after the Divine Tree once influenced this world.”
“…Though…”
“The results are even better than I expected.”
“If this continues…”
“That portion of Kushina’s and Minato’s chakra…”
“May truly develop self-awareness…”
“And become independent lifeforms.”
Kurama was intimately familiar with this phenomenon.
No soul was required.
Once chakra developed consciousness separate from its original owner…
It could become an entirely new living being.
Something exactly like this had happened before.
The Ten-Tails…
And the Tailed Beasts.
From Shukaku to Kurama…
Every Tailed Beast was originally nothing more than a mass of chakra split from the Ten-Tails.
After the Sage of Six Paths became the Ten-Tails’ jinchūriki…
He influenced its chakra.
When he later divided it…
He granted each Tailed Beast its own independent consciousness.
“…Still…”
“We were different.”
Kurama continued.
“They won’t have their memories divided apart like we did.”
“So even if they awaken independent consciousness…”
“Kushina and Minato will most likely still believe they’re the real Kushina and Minato.”
While thinking this…
Kurama glanced toward Naruto.
Although Naruto was likewise surrounded by Dragon Vein chakra…
His situation differed completely from his parents’.
Naruto was simply asleep because he was exhausted.
After all…
Throughout Kushina’s lengthy sealing process…
The one continuously supplying chakra…
Had been Naruto himself.
To achieve the result before him…
Kurama had spent the past half month…
Working very hard…
At doing absolutely nothing.
Otherwise…
If both he and Naruto had supplied chakra together…
Even another month of continuous sealing probably wouldn’t have exhausted Naruto.
“I wonder…”
Kurama sighed.
“When Minato or Kushina eventually ‘revive’ as chakra lifeforms…”
“Will Naruto be able to accept it…?”
Originally…
Kurama’s plan had always been to restore Minato and Kushina in the most normal way possible.
But now…
Things had changed.
“…Forget it.”
“Since the seal has already been removed…”
“It simply happened a little earlier than planned.”
“I can’t delay any longer.”
“It’s time…”
“For me to begin my own plan.”
“…Mm.”
‘Naruto’ slowly opened his eyes.
Looking up at the unfamiliar ceiling…
He stretched lazily, as though he had just woken from a refreshing nap.
The next moment…
He formed a hand seal.
One of the most familiar techniques imaginable.
Shadow Clone Jutsu.
A single shadow clone appeared beside the bed.
Then…
‘Naruto’ lay back down.
Before long…
The sound of gentle snoring filled the room once again.
The shadow clone blinked.
Its expression subtly changed.
Looking toward the sleeping Naruto…
A trace of indulgent affection flashed across its face.
Then it disappeared.
“…The original body gave me a little too much chakra.”
“I didn’t control it well enough.”
“But just to be safe…”
“Naruto probably won’t notice that I borrowed one of his shadow clones.”
That’s right.
This shadow clone was now under Kurama’s control.
Closing his eyes…
He briefly sensed his surroundings.
Then…
His figure vanished.
Flying Thunder God Technique!
The next instant…
He appeared once more amidst the endless ruins buried beneath yellow sands.
Looking down at the Flying Thunder God formula Naruto had casually left on the ground…
Kurama clicked his tongue.
“…This technique really suits me.”
“No hand seals required.”
“Fortunately…”
“I brought enough chakra.”
“Otherwise…”
“Using Flying Thunder God across such a distance…”
“The shadow clone might’ve dispersed the moment it arrived.”
“And if the clone disappeared…”
“It might wake Naruto.”
“That would’ve ruined this perfect opportunity.”
He looked up into the sky.
The enormous pillar of Dragon Vein light that had once dominated the horizon was now gone.
Even so…
Its direction was still easy to identify.
Thanks to the Reincarnation Seal…
The overflowing Dragon Vein chakra now existed solely within the Tsukuyomi Barrier sealed inside Izumi.
What remained beneath Rōran…
Was the calm…
Stable…
Original Dragon Vein chakra.
Standing before the Dragon Vein seal…
Kurama peered through the pitch-black shaft.
He could clearly sense the immense Dragon Vein chakra sleeping quietly below.
“…Excellent.”
“We’ll begin here.”
“…Though…”
“To be safe…”
“First…”
“I should practice using human fingers to form hand seals.”
“Tch.”
“And I’d better change my appearance.”
“Wouldn’t do to have anyone recognize me.”
Kurama looked down at the shadow clone’s hands…
Muttering to himself as he began preparing for the next phase of his plan.