The banks of the Naka River.
"Naruto… remember this. Mom will always love you."
After whispering those words, Minato Namikaze turned around to face the massive fox behind him. All hesitation vanished from his eyes, leaving only resolve.
"Nine-Tails—Reaper Death Seal!"
He was staking everything on this moment, determined to leave his child one final safeguard.
"Sealing me again?!"
Kurama was furious—truly furious.
Decades ago, that man had complained about its power being too great, then casually lifted it with one hand and sealed it away. After that, without it even doing anything, it had been sealed inside a red-haired woman.
And now, after finally breaking free, it was about to be shoved back again?
Then what was the point of all this chaos?!
Its emotions boiled over.
Nine massive crimson tails began smashing down wildly, venting its rage.
Boom!
Boom—boom—boom!
The ground split apart as grotesque, fiery-red chakra burst outward like living flames. One enormous tail slammed down without warning.
But as a spectral figure wielding a blade manifested, all the chaos was cleanly split in two.
No matter how unwilling it was, the Nine-Tails could only be torn apart.
Half of it was sealed into the tiny body of Naruto.
When the battle finally ended, Minato and Kushina collapsed on opposite sides.
Between their outstretched hands lay a naked, blond-haired infant.
On his cheeks, three faint whisker marks could be seen.
Looking at his child, a smile finally appeared on Minato's face.
Joy. Relief. Hope. Regret. Heartache.
Gathering the last of his strength, he leaned close to the baby's ear and whispered, "Actually… your dad… loves you too, Naruto."
"With the Nine-Tails inside you, even without your mother and father, the others in the village won't dare go too far."
"And with the Third Hokage, Lord Jiraiya, and that kid from the Hatake family… it should be enough to protect you."
"Naruto… please don't blame us…"
...
Beneath the burning clouds of chakra, the Four Red Yang Formation let out a dying hum.
The blood-red barrier sealed the entire basin into a hemispherical prison. Countless dense sealing formulas flowed across its surface, occasionally spitting out sparks.
Pshhh.
Solid rock melted into honeycomb-like holes with ease.
Terrifying power.
"The Third Hokage has given the order! No one is allowed to approach!"
Outside the formation, an ANBU jōnin wearing a dog-faced mask stood with blade drawn.
The tip of his sword stopped the footsteps of three members of the Genma squad.
Genma Shiranui spat out the senbon from his mouth and frowned. "Look carefully. We're the Fourth Hokage's personal guards."
The ANBU ninja merely shook his head and continued blocking their way.
The Fourth Hokage was dead.
Now, the Third Hokage's word was absolute.
Whoosh—
Fifty meters behind them, a white cloak embroidered with the words Fourth Hokage fluttered violently in the night wind.
But the dazzling golden hair beneath it had already lost its light.
Tap.
Behind a charred tree stump, Uchiha Kai crouched low.
The Nine-Tails had been absurdly tough—it had taken until now to be fully sealed.
Kai turned his gaze toward the three-man guard squad, his eyes slowly sharpening.
Before him floated multicolored points of light that only he could see—traits belonging to others.
Above Genma Shiranui's head pulsed a rare purple glow.
[Flying Thunder Formation (Incomplete) — Purple: Formed by three users. Allows teleportation to a marked location. Limited to three uses per day.]
"So it's… a castrated version of the Flying Thunder God Technique."
Behind the tree stump, Kai's chubby cheeks puffed slightly.
Like a cautious night owl, he pressed himself against the shadows and moved silently.
Along the way, seven ANBU corpses lay scattered across the cracked ground, crushed to death by the rampaging fox tails.
One of them, wearing a respirator identical to Hanzo of the Salamander's, lay especially close.
Residual Nine-Tails chakra still clung faintly to the armor on his shoulder.
A corpse?
Kai's heart stirred.
He glanced toward the formation—four ANBU were stationed there, none paying attention to this side.
He lightly licked the corner of his lips. After three measured breaths, he decisively stopped moving.
He'd never looted a corpse before.
Best to practice first.
The next second, he flattened himself into the stump's shadow and stretched out his hand.
The moment his fingertips touched the first corpse, an icy system prompt detonated in his mind.
[Contact with elite chūnin corpse detected!]
[Plundering Common Trait: Agile Physique (White) — Slightly improves coordination (stackable).]
[Stacking complete. Congratulations, host has obtained Uncommon Trait (Green): Light as a Swallow.]
[Light as a Swallow: Flexibility increased by 50%. Movement speed increased by 50%.]
A tingling sensation shot up his spine to the back of his neck, then spread rapidly to his limbs.
Kai felt his leg muscles tighten and solidify, his arms growing noticeably lighter. For a moment, he truly felt as if he could take flight.
It upgraded.
Two identical white traits had fused—just like that.
"So this is looting?" he muttered. "No wonder people get addicted."
He licked his now-dry lips and reached for another corpse.
This one dropped a green trait.
[Contact with elite chūnin corpse detected!]
[Plundering Uncommon Trait: Dynamic Vision (Green) — Visual tracking enhanced; capable of following fast-moving targets (stackable).]
The instant the green light merged into his body, Kai felt heat bloom behind his eyes.
Moments later, the surrounding night seemed to slow—just slightly.
He could even make out the lip movements of the Hokage guard squad arguing in the distance.
"This one's good."
He took a deep breath, then crouched slightly and tested the ground with a push.
Whoosh.
Tap.
His two-and-a-half-year-old body leapt over two meters in a single step, landing without even kicking up dust.
Meanwhile, the ANBU remained outside the barrier, still locked onto the three guards.
No one noticed that, in a dark corner, a Uchiha toddler was quietly looting corpses.
Zzzzt!
When Kai touched the fifth masked, charred body, something went wrong.
The corpse suddenly grabbed his wrist.
A rasping "hrrk, hrrk" sound came from its crushed throat.
"The hell—Naruto has zombies too?!"
Without hesitation, Kai twisted and snapped the brittle arm.
Only then did he realize it was residual Lightning Release chakra causing a reflexive spasm.
He immediately lowered his body and curled up deep within the shadows.
Completely still.
"Hm?"
At the same time, the nearby ANBU heard the faint noise.
They glanced over casually, saw only fallen comrades, and lost interest.
Only Genma Shiranui frowned and looked more closely.
"What is it, Captain?" Raido Namiashi scratched his head, gripping his long blade.
"Ah—nothing. Probably imagined it."
Genma shook his head and spat out his senbon.
Whoosh!
Pshhk!
The senbon flew into the darkness—no response.
He shook his head and turned away.
Three breaths later, Kai finally exhaled slowly, his eyes gleaming.
"This trait… how is this any different from turning invisible?"
"Standing right in front of you and you still can't see me—how is this any different from a J-20 stealth fighter?"
That scare also killed his urge to keep looting.
He turned toward the increasingly dim Four Red Yang Formation and moved around to the other side.
It was late.
If he didn't enter now, the barrier would collapse.
Ten seconds later, on the far side of the formation.
Bathed in moonlight, Kai activated Body of Light.
A faint golden glow spread across his body, rendering him slightly translucent.
Then—without alerting anyone at all—
He walked straight into the barrier.