Konoha: Naruto of Sekiro

Unlike Minato Namikaze, Kushina Uzumaki, being in a deeper layer of the seal, couldn't observe the changes in the outside world through it.

Thus, she was completely unaware of the current situation.

After listening to their explanation, Kushina Uzumaki nodded and curiously glanced at the large fox behind them. She had never imagined that the Nine-Tails could coexist peacefully with humans.

In her time, the Nine-Tails was a walking natural disaster, and she was the human meant to restrain that calamity.

"His face really resembles mine, but his hair is like Minato's." However, compared to the Nine-Tails, she was more interested in observing her child.

"He truly is a combination of the Yellow Flash and the Bloody Habanero," she chuckled.

"But his personality is completely different from ours," Minato recalled the earlier scene and also smiled.

"Does Naruto have a girlfriend?" Kushina Uzumaki asked with a smile.

Naruto's expression soured. Why this question again? "Um, I'm not an adult yet."

He didn't tell his mother about defecting from the village. A reunion was supposed to be a joyous occasion; why bring up worries?

"Is that so?" Kushina paused. "Naruto, how old are you?"

"Almost fourteen," Naruto said, trying to sort out the jumbled timeline.

"Already that big…" Kushina Uzumaki's expression was filled with emotion. "It seems you've been eating well every day. You've grown into a handsome young man."

"Handsome?" Naruto touched his own expressionless face. He always felt that word didn't quite apply to him.

"Can you tell me about your experiences over the years?" Kushina Uzumaki asked.

She was quite curious about her son's upbringing.

"Of course…"

Naruto recounted the fortunate events of his years, the friends he had made, the delicious food he had eaten, the beautiful sights he had seen, and the interesting encounters he'd had, one by one.

Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki sat beside him, quietly listening to their child's life story.

Regarding their child's tendency to report only the good and not the bad, they felt both a sense of helplessness and even greater relief.

How could Naruto, growing up as a Jinchuriki, not encounter setbacks? But they were more relieved—relieved that their child had grown up, become sensible, and had his own ideals, his own way of navigating the world, his own principles.

The dim mental space became a place for the family to confide in each other, listen to each other, and understand each other.

Inside the tavern.

Jiraiya, who was drinking sake and shooting the breeze with his three disciples, suddenly froze. It wasn't just him; Hyuga Wada and Nara Kugi beside him, as well as Nagato Uzumaki, also paused.

"What's wrong?" Yahiko asked, seeing his teacher suddenly go silent.

"…It's nothing." Jiraiya laughed it off. The Nine-Tails' chakra had only flashed for an instant, yet it had put him on alert.

Kushina is still in Konoha.

So, what's with this Nine-Tails chakra?

"I need to use the restroom," Hyuga Wada said, standing up with an apologetic smile.

"Me too," Nagato also stood up.

The banquet continued, but for Jiraiya and his two subordinates, there was a sense that their minds were elsewhere, not truly on the drinks.

Every meeting is always a prelude to the next parting.

And Naruto's parting with Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki was timed by their continuously fading chakra.

Naruto had tried to share his chakra with them, but for Minato and Kushina, who had lost their physical bodies, this chakra could not stop their dissipation.

Farewell arrived quietly.

"…Naruto, you have to eat more vegetables, not just meat." Feeling her chakra body gradually dispersing, Kushina Uzumaki's voice couldn't help but carry a hint of a sob.

"Eat well and grow up healthy; remember to take a hot bath every day; make friends—it doesn't matter if you don't have many, just a few trustworthy ones are enough; even though Mom wasn't very good at it, you have to study ninjutsu hard…"

"But, even if you don't do well, don't get discouraged; respect your teachers and seniors…"

"And there's one very important thing, the Three Prohibitions for Ninja—"

"First, don't borrow money carelessly. Make sure to keep your mission payments safe."

"You can only drink alcohol when you're twenty, which is seven years from now. Drinking is bad for your health, so do it in moderation." "And then there's the most crucial of the three prohibitions—women. Mom is a woman, so I don't quite understand…"

"In short, this world has men and women. Sooner or later, you'll become interested in women. Just be careful not to get entangled with strange ones. Remember to find a woman as wonderful as your mother…"

"Also, speaking of the three prohibitions… be very careful of Jiraiya-sensei…" As she spoke, Kushina Uzumaki couldn't help but sniffle.

"Naruto, you'll encounter many more heartaches and painful things in the future. You must firmly maintain your sense of self, and have dreams…"

"And then, put those dreams into practice. Have confidence in yourself…"

"And… and… and…"

"There are so many more things I want to tell you, and I want to stay by your side forever…"

"I love you…"

Kushina Uzumaki wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. "I'm sorry, Minato, I've been doing all the talking…"

"It's okay." Minato pulled her into his embrace and looked at his son. "Naruto, what Dad has to say is the same as your talkative mom, you know…"

"The New Year is almost here. Let me give you a New Year's gift in advance."

He smiled.

"I will, Dad, Mom…" For some reason, Naruto's voice also became inexplicably choked.

"I'll eat properly, take a hot bath every day, and eat both vegetables and meat…"

Amidst his promises, Kushina Uzumaki and Minato slowly dissipated in the final afterglow of their chakra.

At the same time, a vast amount of ninjutsu and sealing jutsu memories surged into his mind like water from a spring.

Naruto understood. This was his father's New Year's gift, a New Year's gift thirteen years overdue…

Outside, in the cave.

Naruto opened his eyes and gently wiped the tears from the corners. He waited until his turbulent emotions had calmed down.

He created a shadow clone and took out the calligraphy brush and special ink he carried with him—both essential for writing sealing formulas.

Handing the brush and ink to the shadow clone, his original body sat quietly cross-legged.

The key to the Eight Trigrams Seal had been mentioned in the memories he just received.

It was much as he had guessed: the key was indeed entrusted to Jiraiya-sensei, via a Mount Myoboku contract toad.

Currently, he and Jiraiya-sensei were not in the same world, so retrieving the key from him wasn't realistic.

However, it didn't matter. Like a door key, it could be replicated.

In his memories, his father had already told him how to write the unsealing formula.

Dense tadpole script was arranged in the order of the eight trigrams. To write out all the formulas, the shadow clone even had to expand the area of the cave.

As the shadow clone finished the last stroke.

Naruto formed hand seals. The tadpole script on the ground and on his torso seemed to come alive, frantically surging towards the Eight Trigrams Seal on his abdomen.

Once the 'key' had completely vanished, Naruto gathered Four Symbols chakra on his right fingertips, pressed it precisely onto the Eight Trigrams Seal, and twisted it clockwise.

The Eight Trigrams Seal, symbolizing his Jinchuriki status, slowly faded away.

In his mental space.

The 'lock' in the middle of the cage bars slowly opened as Naruto twisted…

Boom!

Freed from the seal's restraint, Kurama's immense chakra instantly filled the entire mental space. The bars on either side were violently blown open by the pressure.

But the main culprit behind all this, Kurama, still lay lazily on the ground.

"You're really not leaving?" Naruto walked up to him and asked.

"Mere humans, how long can they live? This old fox wants to rest for a few years, what's wrong with that?" Kurama huffed.

"Stay as long as you like." Naruto didn't expose his bluff, smiling faintly.