Naruto: The Nine-Tails' Legacy

Konoha Village.

Inside Naruto's room.

Kakashi, Sasuke, and Hinata had already grown accustomed to the sight and efficiently stepped aside.

Meanwhile, Karin and Mei—who had just been brought over—were staring at Naruto in utter shock after he removed his hand from their shoulders.

"There's actually a ninjutsu like this?"

"Karin being surprised is one thing, but Mei-nee, you've seen it plenty of times already on the ship."

Naruto tilted his head in confusion.

"I originally thought you could only use it on yourself."

Mei clicked her tongue in amazement.

"A space-time ninjutsu capable of transporting other people over such a long distance should theoretically consume an enormous amount of chakra."

"But you make it look effortless."

"Does it really take that much?"

Naruto blinked.

Karin secretly sensed Naruto's chakra again.

It was still incredibly abundant.

She could hardly detect any reduction at all.

And during their conversations, she had already learned that Naruto's surname was Uzumaki and that they belonged to the same clan.

Still, compared to Naruto, the person she cared about more was the one who had saved her.

Sasuke.

"Alright, we've saved ourselves some travel time."

Kakashi cut off Naruto's opportunity to accidentally show off.

"We still have to head to the Land of Wind."

Then he looked toward Mei and Karin.

"But before that, you two need to come with me to meet the Hokage."

"As for you three, consider this an intermission."

"I'll contact Naruto when it's time to leave again."

"Kakashi-sensei..."

"Why do I have to be the messenger?"

Naruto complained.

"Because it's convenient."

Kakashi answered without hesitation.

Throughout the journey, the convenience of the Flying Thunder God Technique had been displayed in full.

Unfortunately, although Minato had once tried teaching him, Kakashi simply lacked the talent to master it.

After speaking, Kakashi led Mei and Karin toward the Hokage Building.

After all, both situations were significant.

One involved Mei Terumī—the Hidden Mist's most prominent elite jōnin—wanting to join Konoha.

(Her actual objective being to assassinate the Mizukage.)

The other involved a surviving member of the Uzumaki Clan stranded in the Land of Grass and a Kusagakure plot to ambush and assassinate Konoha shinobi.

Both were matters Konoha needed to treat seriously on both diplomatic and internal levels.

Especially Mei.

After confirming with her multiple times that she wasn't joking, Kakashi had finally given up trying to dissuade her.

Strictly speaking, a ninja joining another village—even from an allied nation—was still considered desertion.

Since Mei's real goal was essentially to make life difficult for the Mizukage, Kakashi needed to explain the situation clearly to the Hokage.

As for Karin—

She looked completely lost.

As she was being led away, she kept glancing back every few steps toward Sasuke.

Unfortunately for her, Sasuke wasn't paying attention at all.

"So, Hinata, Sasuke."

"What are you two planning to do?"

"We'll probably leave again soon."

"I'll train to pass the time."

"Really?"

"Then how about we go watch a movie together?"

Naruto grinned.

"I've been dying to find out what kind of movie those guys made. It was popular enough for someone to put a five-million-ryō bounty on me!"

"Hinata, you want to see it too, right?"

"Mm, I do."

"I have absolutely no interest whatsoever."

Sasuke rejected the idea instantly.

By now, they finally knew whose head the five-million-ryō bounty from the Akatsuki encounter referred to.

Naruto.

And unlike the other ninja bounties, his bounty existed because of a movie.

The footage Hinata had recorded in the Land of Snow had become the most memorable scene in the hit film The Adventures of Princess Fūun.

Naruto had become the mysterious "Prince of Fūun" who appeared briefly yet dramatically saved the day.

Naturally, Naruto was incredibly curious.

He also spent quite a while complaining about the director who hadn't paid him any acting fees.

And so—

Despite Sasuke's firm refusal—

The three of them still ended up going to the theater together.

The movie remained extremely popular.

Even now, the theater was nearly full.

The visuals were undeniably spectacular.

Most of the scenes had been filmed in real locations and on a massive scale.

Combined with a bit of artistic editing, the result was a genuine cinematic masterpiece.

And then...

"Hinata, listen to me!"

"I never hugged or kissed that princess lady!"

"The movie literally shows it."

"That's not me!"

"One look at the height difference and you can tell it's a stunt double!"

"I was framed! That director set me up!"

"Your Transformation Jutsu is pretty good."

"Who knows?"

"It was all editing!"

"You were there!"

"I—"

"Some scenes showed only the two of you."

"Shut up, Sasuke!"

The moment they exited the theater, Naruto immediately started desperately explaining his innocence to Hinata.

Meanwhile, Sasuke calmly continued adding fuel to the fire.

For perhaps the first time in his life, Sasuke found teasing Naruto genuinely entertaining.

Naruto regretted suggesting the movie more and more with every passing second.

Especially during those particularly dramatic scenes.

He had practically frozen in horror.

"Naruto-kun."

"You don't need to explain."

Hinata finally spoke.

"I filmed most of your scenes myself."

"I won't misunderstand."

Although she'd been so shocked during the movie that she'd briefly activated her Byakugan and started desperately trying to remember events that had never happened—

She quickly figured things out.

After all, she'd been watching Naruto the entire time back then.

She knew better than anyone that he had remained completely oblivious to Koyuki Kazahana's feelings.

"I was actually thinking about why someone would place a bounty on you."

"My guess is that it's probably from one of the princess's obsessive fans."

"Her previous movies weren't like this at all..."

"...So that's what you were thinking about."

Naruto let out a long breath.

"You scared me."

As long as Hinata hadn't misunderstood, everything was fine.

Otherwise he honestly had no idea what he'd do.

Then he shot a glare at Sasuke for all the trouble he'd caused.

Unfortunately, Sasuke had already vanished.

Hinata recalled the sequel script Kakashi had once mentioned.

Could the change in tone be because of the upcoming film?

I think it was called... Icha Icha Paradise.

Kakashi-sensei reads it all the time...

That night.

Since there were many matters requiring attention, Kakashi didn't immediately summon them for another mission.

For once, the three of them returned home for a proper night's sleep.

Well—

Naruto wasn't exactly returning home after a long absence.

He came back every few days anyway.

"Let's go."

Kurama's voice sounded.

Naruto activated Flying Thunder God once more and arrived at the marker he had left in the Land of Whirlpools.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Several clones appeared.

One remained standing still.

Moments later, Naruto felt his connection to that clone begin to change.

"Alright."

"Kurama-dono's method is certainly unusual."

"But it won't last forever."

"We should hurry, Naruto."

The clone experimentally moved its body.

Then smiled.

At that moment, the chakra inside the clone was being controlled by Minato.

Traveling together with his father filled Naruto with happiness.

The two chatted continuously along the way.

"I've never actually visited the Land of Whirlpools much myself."

"But Kushina mentioned the general layout before."

"It should be around here..."

Following the guidance of the clone controlled by his father, Naruto eventually arrived at the ruins of Uzushiogakure.

Everywhere he looked—

Ruin.

Decay.

"So this... is a village destroyed by war?"

For Naruto, this was the first time he had witnessed a place truly devastated by conflict.

The weeds were taller than half his body.

Roads had vanished beneath nature's reclamation.

Nothing remained of the bustling village it once had been.

The few surviving structures radiated sorrow and helplessness.

After searching for quite some time, they finally found what they were looking for.

The Uzumaki Clan Shrine.

Even within Uzushiogakure, it had once been a highly secretive location.

It wasn't exactly intact, but compared to the rest of the village, it had survived relatively well.

Entering the shrine, Naruto immediately noticed a wall covered in masks.

"Found it!"

"Just as I thought!"

"It wasn't only the shrine in Konoha that kept them."

"There's a Shinigami Mask here too!"

"Then somewhere nearby..."

"The scroll containing the Dead Demon Consuming Seal must still exist!"

The clone controlled by Minato stepped forward excitedly.

Hope filled his expression.

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