The Nine-Tails was sealed, but it wasn't stupid. After being sealed, it had ample time to think.
The Fourth Hokage! The first commoner to ever rise to the rank of Hokage. He had taken office shortly after the end of the Third Shinobi World War. Renowned on the battlefield as the "Yellow Flash," he often secured victory through sheer speed, his Flying Thunder God Technique, wielded with godly skill, making his movements nearly impossible to track, like a bolt of lightning dancing across the chaos.
In the eyes of the Third Hokage, he was a gentle successor, a perfect grand-disciple who had inherited the Will of Fire. In the eyes of his master, Jiraiya, he was a talented apprentice with superb ninjutsu and outstanding combat sense. Villagers and even his enemies praised him. His smile was as bright and radiant as the sun. He was the perfect Hokage, the perfect father.
But what could not be ignored was that he was also a ninja—a ninja who had fought his way out of battlefields, his hands stained with blood. His gentleness and kindness were forever reserved for his own people.
The Nine-Tails understood that the various factions within Konoha were complex and intertwined. To become Hokage, the Fourth must have been meticulous and possessed a certain shrewdness. For Konoha, the Nine-Tails was an enemy, but also a weapon to deter other hidden villages. Rashly sealing it within an infant was not the Fourth's style. He would surely have laid down numerous contingencies. That was why the Nine-Tails had suggested Naruto try tearing the seal; at that moment, the contingencies left by the Fourth would be exposed. The Nine-Tails was very curious about what kind of backup plan that always-gentle Fourth Hokage would have placed within the seal.
"Judging by your answer, my parents must have been the ones who sealed you." Hearing the Nine-Tails' response, the suspicions in Naruto's heart were further confirmed.
"Correct. You can try to remove the seal. He definitely left a contingency. Perhaps you two can even meet," the Nine-Tails said with a mischievous grin.
But then, Naruto suddenly chuckled. "There aren't many Uzumaki in Konoha. To seal you would naturally require an extremely powerful sealing jutsu."
"The first Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was the First Hokage's wife, Uzumaki Mito. As the wife of the First Hokage, her sealing jutsu must have been powerful. I don't know about the second Nine-Tails Jinchuriki; I can't find any relevant information, and no one has told me."
"But I did notice," Naruto continued, looking at the Nine-Tails' now slightly dazed eyes, a smile playing on his lips as he went on, "that the beloved Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze's wife, was named Uzumaki Kushina."
"I've been wondering for a long time: there are no other people in Konoha with the surname Uzumaki. The only information I could find was about Uzumaki Kushina and Uzumaki Mito."
"The Uzumaki clan, with their powerful sealing jutsus, was annihilated, their nation destroyed, and Konoha supposedly took in the remaining survivors. Yet, as of now, I am the only living Uzumaki."
"The Fourth Hokage and his wife died on the night of the Nine-Tails' rampage, and the Nine-Tails was also suppressed there. No one knows if the Nine-Tails was killed or sealed, but from that day on, an infant regarded as the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox appeared in Konoha."
Speaking to this point, a playful look touched Naruto's lips. "He inherited the Uzumaki surname."
"What's even more interesting is that he has golden hair, just like the Fourth Hokage, and the same sunny appearance." Naruto gently swept his bangs upward and removed his glasses. For a moment, his appearance overlapped with the Fourth's.
"Hiss." The Nine-Tails gulped, looking at Naruto with even greater shock. A guess surfaced in its mind. No way. This brat couldn't have figured all this out on his own, could he? Impossible! This kid is way too smart!
Naruto put his glasses back on and said slowly, "Calculating carefully, I was born in the same year the Nine-Tails went on its rampage."
"I bear a striking resemblance to the Fourth Hokage and share the Uzumaki surname with his wife. How can there be so many coincidences in the world? When numerous coincidences converge, that is the truth."
"Rather than saying I've only now reached this conclusion, it's more accurate to say I'm only now beginning to accept this fact."
"Six years ago, during the Nine-Tails' Rampage, the Fourth Hokage died. At the same time, an infant appeared, sealing the Nine-Tails. If I'm not mistaken, they sealed you into my body before they died, hoping I would live on as the son of a hero, respected by the villagers."
"But why did I become the reviled Nine-Tailed Demon Fox?" Naruto continued to smile, as if narrating as a detached bystander. The calmer he appeared, the more the Nine-Tails felt a chill.
"Ahem, brat, don't talk while smiling like that. It's a bit creepy," the Nine-Tails gulped, feeling its fur stand on end.
"If I'm not mistaken, Konoha's leadership distorted the truth, making me bear the villagers' malice so they could control me." A sarcastic curve appeared on Naruto's lips as he turned to the Nine-Tails. "The Will of Fire: old leaves turn into flames, inspiring and warming the younger generation. But now, the new leaves have become life-extending herbs for the rotten and withered, the entire great tree serving those few decaying leaves."
"The son of a hero became a tool for politicians to manipulate hearts, and further reduced to a street rat everyone wants to beat."
"Tell me, if the ever-gentle and benevolent Fourth Hokage knew this truth, would he turn to darkness?"
The Nine-Tails was stunned, its shock even more profound. It clearly hadn't expected Naruto to have already deduced the truth. In its long existence, it had seen many exceptionally talented people, but apart from that one freak who had manhandled it like an infant, it hadn't really taken anyone else seriously. Yet, at this moment, it actually felt a sense of admiration for Naruto.
It then burst into laughter. "Now that you put it that way, I'm really looking forward to it!" Thinking of the expression the usually gentle Fourth might make upon learning of Naruto's situation, the Nine-Tails felt an urge to roll on the ground and laugh heartily. "Fun! This is great fun! Brat, why don't you give it a try?" the Nine-Tails urged incessantly.
"I happen to have many questions for him." Naruto stood up, a sharp glint in his otherwise calm eyes, and reached for the seal strip.
Towards the Fourth Hokage, his biological father, Naruto felt no affection, perhaps even some resentment. To become Hokage of Konoha, one needed a certain level of intelligence. In a high position, what mattered wasn't just strength, but also political acumen. Konoha's power structure was complex; as the standard-bearer, the most important thing was to balance the various factions and strategize effectively. But the Fourth Hokage had been as naive as a child. He underestimated human nature, underestimated the Third, and foolishly sealed the Nine-Tails without taking precautions against the Third. Logically, being in the position of Hokage, he should have understood Konoha's darkness. Yet, he had still miscalculated, and the price was Naruto's dark childhood and his current precarious existence, like walking on thin ice.
How could this make Naruto feel any fondness for a father he had never met?
Thus, Naruto reached for the seal strip without hesitation.
The instant his hand touched the seal, a large, warm hand pressed down on his. Golden chakra, warm as sunlight, illuminated the entire space, reflecting in the Nine-Tails' complicated gaze.
"Minato, so you really did have a contingency."
As the Nine-Tails murmured, a handsome man with blond hair and blue eyes, wearing the white Hokage's formal robe, appeared beside Naruto. He was known as the "Little Sun," his smile as radiant as sunlight. He was also the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, deeply loved and respected by the villagers.
But no matter how high his reputation, in Naruto's eyes, he was an incompetent father.
"Naruto," Minato said, looking at the boy who so closely resembled him, his expression complex. "You've grown up."