Naruto: The Nine-Tails' Legacy

Late at night.

Most people remained deep within their dreams.

Yet Naruto, unlike usual, didn't change into pajamas and happily sleep while enjoying his father's guidance inside dreams.

Instead, he sat fully prepared inside his room with his eyes closed, quietly calming his breathing.

"It's about time."

The moment Kurama spoke, Naruto opened his eyes.

Flying Thunder God.

His figure vanished soundlessly from the room.

Then—

The instant he reappeared, his head slammed directly into something hard.

A coffin lid.

Inside the cramped, pitch-black space, Naruto could only awkwardly press himself against the corpse beneath him while desperately suppressing his discomfort.

Even with prior mental preparation, Naruto internally screamed that this experience was unbearable.

After all—

Almost nobody would ever want the experience of squeezing into a buried coffin face-to-face with a corpse.

That's right.

Naruto had directly teleported into Uchiha Shisui's coffin using Flying Thunder God.

Thankfully, Konoha hadn't cheaped out on the coffin size.

Otherwise, this scene would've become even more ridiculous.

"No breathing."

"No heartbeat."

"No corpse smell…"

Naruto paused.

"Wait, why isn't there even a corpse smell?"

"Is it because of the coffin material…?"

That's not the important part here.

After replying toward Kurama internally, Naruto continued checking for any remaining signs of life.

Nothing.

Then he shifted toward examining the body from the perspective of sealing techniques.

"There's a seal inside the heart."

"It's an incredibly powerful sealing technique."

"Although it already activated and lost effectiveness, judging from the overall structure…"

Naruto slowly frowned.

"This seal probably existed specifically to control life and death directly."

Simultaneously observing everything, Minato also quietly analyzed the corpse.

Then he had Kurama inspect it through chakra and emotional sensing as well.

After confirming everything possible—

Naruto immediately used Flying Thunder God once more and returned directly to his room.

"Haaaa…"

The instant he landed on his bed, Naruto let out an enormous sigh of relief.

That inspection nearly suffocated him.

Then he quickly calmed himself and entered his inner world again.

"So?"

The moment Naruto saw Kurama and Minato, he immediately asked anxiously.

For Naruto—

Although he only learned about Shisui today, based on the Third Hokage's description and the records he read, Naruto genuinely respected him deeply.

Thus, if such a hero's corpse were still being used for some hidden conspiracy after death—

Or if the man himself had been part of some greater deception—

That was something the current Naruto absolutely could not forgive.

"He's genuinely dead."

Minato gently shook his head.

"Kurama-sama also confirmed from both chakra and emotional traces."

"Sorry for making you do something so unpleasant, Naruto."

"Good…"

Naruto visibly relaxed.

"Then it's fine…"

Then immediately afterward he hurriedly added:

"I'm going to shower now! See you later!"

With that, Naruto vanished from the inner world entirely.

Clearly—

Even though he acted brave, climbing into a coffin together with a corpse still affected him somewhat.

Ever since mastering Fox Sage Mode, Naruto had already become extremely proficient at entering and leaving his inner world freely.

"Then it seems this Uchiha Shisui really didn't hide anything after all."

Kurama lazily lowered himself back down within the seal.

"I didn't sense any hostility toward the Shadow Clone this old man controlled that night either."

Yet instead of responding, Minato remained deep in thought.

"Something still bothering you?"

Kurama narrowed one eye.

"That seal."

Minato slowly raised his head toward Kurama.

"The complexity of that seal exceeds even my understanding."

"It's unfortunate the heart was already destroyed and the seal already activated."

"Otherwise, I might've been able to deduce its full purpose."

"I've been wondering…"

Minato's expression became serious.

"Did Akatsuki place this kind of seal upon every member?"

"If so, then how exactly did Shisui manage to rescue the Mizukage while under that kind of life-and-death control?"

"Kurama-sama…"

Minato quietly continued.

"In the previous timeline, did you ever witness other Akatsuki members dying in similar ways?"

"... Other Akatsuki members?"

Kurama fell silent.

A long while later, the fox finally answered:

"No."

"The Akatsuki members Naruto encountered in the previous timeline mostly died in direct combat…"

"Or willingly sacrificed themselves."

"There was one who died because of a trap…"

"But Naruto never actually met him personally."

"So we'll need encounters with additional Akatsuki members before confirming anything further."

Minato quietly muttered.

Then suddenly clapped his hands together.

"If only Kushina were here."

"She taught me Uzumaki sealing techniques, but when it comes to understanding the actual theory behind seals, she was far more knowledgeable."

"If she were here…"

"She might genuinely deduce the true purpose of this seal."

"Oh, come on."

Kurama immediately snorted.

"This old man already knows what you're implying."

"Isn't this perfect timing?"

Then Kurama lazily flicked his tails.

"Wasn't Naruto supposed to search for Jiraiya eventually anyway?"

"If he really finds that old fool, then we can release this old man's seal…"

"And let Kushina's chakra emerge too."

"Yes…"

Minato smiled gently.

"I truly hope so."

Kurama merely twitched his ears.

At this point, he had already grown completely accustomed to Minato's behavior.

After all—

Perhaps nobody in this world understood Minato and Kushina's relationship better than Kurama himself.

Peaceful and pleasant days always passed quickly.

Several days later—

Deep into the night—

Konoha lay utterly silent beneath the darkness.

Aside from occasional moths fluttering around street lamps, almost no living thing remained active throughout the village.

Meanwhile—

Inside Uchiha Shisui's coffin, which had only recently been visited—

The destroyed heart inside the corpse…

Suddenly twitched.

Then—

Like time itself reversed—

The seal that should've gradually faded suddenly restored itself to its unactivated state.

Chains of sealing formula once again wrapped tightly around the heart.

Uchiha Shisui slowly opened his eyes.

His scarlet Sharingan radiated eerie crimson light.

Yet simultaneously—

One of those eyes gradually lost its color.

Turning completely pale white.

The forbidden Uchiha technique—

Izanagi.

"Not good!"

Shisui suddenly awakened in panic as though escaping from a nightmare.

Yet before he could react—

Half his body was instantly engulfed by black substance leaking directly from the heart seal.

"Unexpected."

A terrifying voice echoed inside Shisui's mind.

"The moment Izanagi rewrote reality, the seal loosened briefly."

"But it's meaningless."

"After what happened with that man before, I already calculated exactly how long it would take for you to awaken after the seal activated."

The black substance completely covered half of Shisui's body.

"You are already my puppet, Uchiha Shisui."

"Quietly fulfill the mission I assigned to you."

"Then forget my existence."

"This…"

"Is your own true will."

The voice gradually became colder.

"Soon…"

"You will personally witness Konoha…"

"And the entire ninja world…"

"Reduced to nothing."

The black substance slowly retreated.

And Uchiha Shisui's consciousness once again fell completely under control.

No resistance.

No further thought.

He merely waited silently—

Just like the "true desire" forced into his mind moments earlier.

He didn't even notice why his body strangely felt as though something heavy had pressed against it earlier.

And naturally—

He also failed to notice—

The Flying Thunder God marker quietly resting near his heel.

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