"Well now, that's quite the punch. Looks like you've grown strong."
Minato gave a wry smile as he patted Naruto's head, showing no anger at his son's earlier aggression.
"I'm really sorry. Back then, the situation was critical. If we hadn't done what we did, the village would've been destroyed by Kurama. But still… I'm sorry. You must've suffered a lot."
He squatted down and gently wiped away Naruto's tears, his words filled with the warmth of a loving father.
For some reason, Naruto felt a deep warmth in Minato's comfort.
"Right, this isn't the time for all that—Fourth Hokage, are you here to stop me from releasing Kurama?"
Naruto suddenly remembered the state of the village and urgently asked.
"Yes. Kurama is extremely dangerous and can't be let out. But I've also seen the state Konoha is in, and unfortunately, I'm just residual chakra now… there's not much I can do."
Even from inside Naruto's body, Minato could observe the outside world. Feeling powerless, he sighed heavily.
"That's exactly why I have to release Kurama!"
Naruto said seriously.
"Aren't you afraid Kurama will destroy the village in revenge?"
Minato stared at Naruto intently.
"I am. But if I don't take this step, I won't be able to save Konoha, and I'll never truly understand Kurama. I want to know what's in his heart. I believe he's not completely evil."
Naruto's eyes were filled with unwavering determination.
"You little brat…"
Kurama looked at Naruto in disbelief. Even with the Fourth Hokage trying to stop him, Naruto still chose to trust him. What kind of idiot was this kid?
"Man, you really inherited your mother's stubbornness."
Minato chuckled and shook his head.
"Huh? You knew my mom?!"
Naruto gasped in shock.
"Of course I did. She was my wife."
Hearing this, Naruto's pupils widened, and his mouth slowly fell open.
"Go do what you believe is right… my son."
With that, Minato helped Naruto tear off the sealing tag, then looked toward Kurama.
"Come to think of it, I've been here so long and never really tried to understand you. In that regard, I'm not as good as Naruto. I'm sorry, Kurama. I leave the rest to you."
…
Konoha lay in ruins. After barely recovering from the C-Virus crisis, the village was once again devastated.
Giant monsters were trampling buildings, and smaller ones were everywhere, overrunning the village.
"It's over… everything's over..."
A jōnin stared blankly at the swarms of monsters before him, having completely lost the will to resist.
"Leaf Hurricane!"
Suddenly, Might Guy charged in and kicked away a whole group of monsters, already having opened six of the Eight Gates.
"Why aren't you standing up and fighting? You still have strength left!"
Guy yelled at the despairing shinobi.
"So what if I fight? Against monsters like that, what can we possibly do?"
The jōnin looked broken, glancing up at the colossal monsters towering over a hundred meters tall.
"No matter what kind of enemy it is, my youth will never end! It will only keep burning brighter!"
Guy showed no fear—or rather, even if he did, he refused to back down.
"Looks like we're the only ones left with any fight in us."
Kakashi stepped forward, battered and bloodied from battle.
"Didn't think I'd be dying alongside you."
He looked at Guy with a resigned smile.
"Heh, what's there to complain about when dying with a friend?"
Guy gave Kakashi a thumbs-up.
"None at all."
Kakashi shrugged, then readied his Raikiri.
"Let's give it our all till the very end!"
"Ohhh!"
The two of them charged toward the towering monsters. Even if hell lay ahead, there was no backing down!
FWOOOOOOOOOSH!!!
At that moment, a deafening roar tore through the battlefield.
A massive red energy ball appeared from nowhere, blasting through several hundred-meter-tall monsters before exploding into a cataclysmic blast behind the horde.
"Tch, and here I thought you'd be stronger. What a disappointment—wasted that big body for nothing."
Kurama's voice thundered across Konoha.
He descended from the sky, landing directly on top of a massive five-hundred-meter chameleon-like monster and crushing its head under his foot.
Not giving it any chance to resist, Kurama fired a Tailed Beast Bomb directly into its skull, reducing it to pulp.
"It's the Nine-Tails! What's going on?! Why is it here?!"
"Konoha's finished!"
The survivors, seeing Kurama, all screamed in despair, convinced it had come to destroy the village.
"Wait… is that Naruto on its head?!"
Kakashi spotted Naruto standing atop Kurama's head, radiating a powerful red chakra.
"Listen up, you monsters! Don't think no one can deal with you! As long as Kurama and I are here, Konoha won't fall!"
Naruto shouted at the monsters with commanding intensity.
"Tch. I never agreed to protect Konoha. I just find you creatures irritating."
Kurama sneered, then added:
"Aren't you afraid I'll destroy the village once I'm done with them?"
"Relax, I trust you won't. And if you do, I'll just drain your chakra. Don't forget, I can use your power however I want!"
Naruto grinned.
"You little liar. You're nothing like how you were in the seal. Two-faced brat."
Kurama snapped.
"Hehe, same to you! Let's go!"
"In the end, I'm the only one doing the heavy lifting!"
Grumbling, Kurama unleashed a sweeping tail attack, sending a swarm of approaching monsters flying.
"It's been ages since I stretched. Let's use you lot for a little warm-up!"
With that, Kurama grabbed the dead chameleon monster and used its massive corpse like a club, batting several giant monsters clean out of Konoha.
Then, he began smashing waves of smaller monsters without mercy.
"Hey! You're going to hit us too!"
Kakashi panicked at the rampage but had no idea how to stop it.
"Kakashi-sensei!"
Several Narutos appeared beside Kakashi—they were his Shadow Clones.
"Come with me! I already told Kurama to leave a safe zone!"
The clones quickly picked up the wounded and led Kakashi and Guy away.
"Naruto, what the heck is going on?!"
Kakashi shouted, still confused.
"Hehe, turns out the Nine-Tails isn't as bad as we thought."
Naruto's reply left Kakashi completely speechless.
(End of Chapter)
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