Chapter 3: Meeting Minato Namikaze
The Nine-Tailed was somewhat surprised to hear Naruto's words, and also felt that Naruto had no ill will toward him, let alone emotions like hatred or fear.
The Nine-Tailed lay on the ground listlessly. After glancing at Naruto, he said, "Get lost!"
"Don't be so cold! Let's have a chat, okay?"
"This old man doesn't want to chat with you! Get out!"
Naruto smiled and shook his head, looking up to see the seal stuck on the large bars.
Naruto suddenly remembered that there was some of Minato Namikaze's Chakra and a sliver of Minato Namikaze's consciousness within the seal. This opportunity to become stronger was right before his eyes!
Naruto stepped forward and looked at the seal, his mouth twitching slightly as he muttered to himself, "This is too high! I can't reach it!"
The Nine-Tailed's ears were quite sharp, and he heard Naruto's muttering.
"Brat, are you going to tear off that seal?"
Naruto nodded and said, "Yeah! I see that it's a bit cramped in there for you. If I tear off that seal and open the gate, you should be able to live a bit more comfortably."
The Nine-Tailed didn't care what Naruto was thinking; as long as the seal could be torn open, he could get out. Once out, life would surely be comfortable!
With a wicked grin on his face, the Nine-Tailed let out a chuckling sound from his throat and said, "Alright! Do you want me to help you up there?"
Naruto nodded and said, "It would be best if you could help me."
The Nine-Tailed didn't know what Naruto was thinking; he didn't act like a little kid at all. But the Nine-Tailed didn't think too much about it and used some Chakra to lift Naruto up to the seal.
Seeing that he could reach the seal, Naruto happily reached out. Just as he had pulled it halfway off, his hand was caught.
"Naruto, you can't! This seal must not be torn off!"
Seeing Minato Namikaze, the Nine-Tailed let out a roar.
"Minato Namikaze!"
This was followed by roar after roar from the Nine-Tailed.
Minato Namikaze used some unknown method; with a slight lift of his hand, the Nine-Tailed's roars could no longer be heard.
Naruto completely ignored the Nine-Tailed's roars and didn't care what Minato Namikaze had done. He looked at Minato Namikaze with a smile and said, "Oh? Why can't it be torn off? The big fox's living space is so small, it must be uncomfortable. Isn't it better to let him out?"
"Naruto, the Nine-Tailed harbors hatred toward humans, and his power is too great. He is far too dangerous for the Village..."
Minato Namikaze's words were interrupted by Naruto before he could finish.
"Since you knew he was so dangerous, why did you seal him inside my body? Didn't you consider whether I would be in danger?"
"Naruto! You're still young, don't be bewitched by the Nine-Tailed, the Nine-Tailed...!"
Minato Namikaze's words were again cut off halfway by Naruto.
"What about him? He hasn't hurt me! But the people in the Village you care so much about now see me as a Demon Fox. They beat and scold me whenever they see me. They won't even sell me things when I have money. Every time I buy food, it's about to expire or spoiled, and even then, I have to pay a high price. In comparison, I think the Nine-Tailed... he's very good."
After Naruto finished speaking, Minato Namikazestared blankly at him. Even the Nine-Tailed, who had been roaring, quieted down and stared blankly at Naruto.
Naruto smiled, turned to the Nine-Tailed, and said, "You should be able to see my situation outside, right? Why don't you let him see what you've seen, let him see what kind of life I'm living."
The Nine-Tailed gave a sinister smile, nodded, and said, "Fine! Let's see if he dares to look."
After saying that, the Nine-Tailed clenched his fist and extended it next to the bars, waiting for Minato Namikaze to bump fists.
Naruto looked at Minato Namikaze with a calm smile and said, "Do you dare to look?"
Minato Namikaze didn't know what Naruto was thinking, let alone what kind of understanding the Nine-Tailed and Naruto had reached, but he still walked up to the Nine-Tailed.
Just as Minato Namikaze was about to bump fists, he looked up at the Nine-Tailed and said, "I don't know how you've bewitched Naruto, but I believe in my teacher Jiraiya, and I believe even more in my son Naruto. He is the child of prophecy my teacher spoke of."
Seeing Minato Namikaze still talking nonsense, Naruto sneered and said, "I don't care about any prophecy. Just accept the memories of my growth first!"
Minato Namikaze glanced at Naruto, then stared intently at the fist the Nine-Tailed had extended. After hesitating for a long while, Minato Namikazeclenched his own fist and bumped it against the Nine-Tailed's.
Immediately, images from after Naruto's birth began to unfold in Minato Namikaze's mind.
It's unknown how many images Minato Namikazesaw. Naruto, who should have been the son of a hero and enjoyed everyone's respect and care, had been reduced to a Demon Fox that everyone despised.
It wasn't that Minato Namikaze didn't know what kind of situation Naruto would face after becoming a Jinchuriki; because of this, he had hoped Narutowould win the villagers' respect and kind treatment as the son of a hero.
But Hiruzen Sarutobi had not only embezzled the property, house, and Ninjutsu that he and Kushina Uzumaki had left for Naruto, but he had also hidden the truth, letting Naruto bear all the hatred and malice of the Village.
The more Minato Namikaze saw, the more distorted his expression became, causing his Chakra to become unstable and his body to grow increasingly translucent.
Seeing Minato Namikaze's state, Naruto said, "This is the Village you care so much about. These are the scenes of how they treated your son! Well? Are you satisfied?"
Hearing Naruto's voice, Minato Namikaze said with a dejected expression, "It shouldn't be like this. There must be some misunderstanding."
"Misunderstanding? You call this a misunderstanding? I wonder if you saw the environment I live in? Doesn't the environment I live in... explain everything?"
Perhaps Naruto had provoked Minato Namikazetoo much, as the Chakra on Minato Namikaze's body became more and more unstable.
Seeing this, Naruto thought to himself that it was bad; he had provoked him a bit too much.
Naruto quickly said to Minato Namikaze, "If you want me to be abused to death like this, you can dissipate right now."
Minato Namikaze also became nervous upon hearing Naruto's words. He quickly controlled his Chakra, looked at Naruto, and asked, "Do you really hate the Village?"
"I don't know!"
Naruto wasn't lying about this. He had been in Naruto's body for less than ten hours. To say he felt hatred—not really! To say he didn't—well, with Naruto's previous memories, he really didn't have much goodwill toward it.
Who knows what Minato Namikaze imagined, but he lowered his head and said, "I understand! You probably want my cultivation insights, right?"
Naruto nodded and said, "That's right! I have no power to protect myself right now. Just before I came here, two groups of people wearing masks were fighting outside my room. Who do you think they were?"
Hearing Naruto's words, Minato Namikaze stared intently at Naruto, likely guessing what was going on.
Minato Namikaze stared at Naruto for a long time before saying, "I know the people in the Villagehave done many things to wrong you, but I still hope you can forgive them. You might still be too young to understand what I'm saying, but I will give you time to grow."