"You—you are…?"
The Minato couple of this world widened their eyes in disbelief. That terrifying Nine Tails had just been taken down with a single punch by the man before them?
Yet Naruto didn't stop there—he grabbed this world's Kushina's hand and began pouring Yang-natured chakra into her body, along with part of his own life force.
Minato had countless questions about this sudden intruder, especially since he was holding his wife's hand. But when he saw the color slowly returning to Kushina's pale face, he swallowed back his words.
It was obvious even to the untrained eye—Naruto was treating her wounds.
And the more Minato looked at Naruto's face, the more familiar it seemed… though he couldn't quite place where he'd seen it before.
The healing continued until Kushina's condition finally stabilized somewhat.
"You—"
Just as Minato began to speak, Naruto cut him off.
"Now's not the time for words."
"What I've done can only temporarily preserve her life. But the loss of vitality can't be stopped forever."
Naruto pointed toward the nearby Nine Tails, lying on the ground with rolled-back eyes, tongue lolling out, a massive panda-like bruise around one eye, and bubbles foaming from its mouth.
"If you don't reseal that thing quickly, your wife will still die before long from the loss of her life force."
When a Tailed Beast is ripped out, it doesn't just take the jinchūriki's vitality with it—it leaves behind a gaping wound. If it isn't closed, death is only a matter of time.
Unless someone has the same overwhelming life force as Naruto, enough to heal even such a gash, or unless someone is willing to use a forbidden sacrificial technique to trade their life one-for-one—otherwise, the best method is simply to reseal the beast.
The Minato couple exchanged glances. Their original plan had been to seal the Nine Tails inside their son, so that he could live on as both the Fourth Hokage's child and as the hero who bore the Nine Tails. But that had been under the assumption that Kushina couldn't possibly reseal the beast herself.
"I think that way of doing things is a bit unfair. Rather than making that choice for him, deciding his entire future path in life, why not let him choose for himself when he grows up?"
"What kind of road he walks, what kind of person he becomes—that's not something parents should interfere with too much."
The couple looked at each other again, shock flashing in their eyes.
'How does he know what we were just thinking?'
'Could it be mind reading?'
'Or maybe…'
"I don't know anything like that," Naruto shook his head, interrupting their spiraling thoughts. "Sometimes I can just… see into people's hearts."
With Naruto's help, this world's Nine Tails was soon drawn back into Kushina's body. As the Eight Trigrams Seal closed, it signified the sealing was complete.
"Don't bother asking me who I am. I won't answer. How you choose to see me—that's none of my concern."
Naruto hadn't bothered to hide his appearance when he came here. Even though he wore the cloak of Akatsuki, his face—so strikingly similar to the young Fourth Hokage—was impossible to disguise.
There was something else Naruto had always kept buried deep within his heart. He had once said that he remembered everything from the moment of his birth.
Because he was a transmigrator.
The time he crossed over just so happened to be that night—the Night of the Nine Tails.
And far too much had happened on that night.
Even as someone with foreknowledge of the entire story, Naruto was still just a transmigrator, not a god. There were limits, things even knowing the plot couldn't change.
Like how, as a newborn, he had been powerless to stop the Nine Tails as it raged above him, forced to watch helplessly as his parents sacrificed themselves before his very eyes.
He couldn't even stand up.
Was it the Nine Tails who killed the Minato couple? Yes. But did Naruto truly hate the Nine Tails? He didn't know how to answer.
The one who orchestrated everything was Obito. And besides—even without the Nine Tails striking the final blow, Kushina wouldn't have survived long in that condition. As for Minato… with his strength, no one in the ninja world could have killed him then unless he chose to die. He died out of love, out of resolve.
In truth, Kurama had regretted his actions long ago.
Careful observers would notice: originally, Kurama's claws were long, sharp, and deadly, weapons in themselves. On the Night of the Nine Tails, a single claw had pierced straight through Minato and Kushina.
But as time passed and Naruto grew, as their bond deepened, Kurama's claws slowly dulled. The deadly edges wore down, his talons shortening more and more.
He would never admit it, but Naruto knew—that was Kurama's way of expressing his apology. That was his kind of gentleness.
That night had always been like a thorn lodged deep in Naruto's heart.
Not being able to save his parents—this was his one true regret.
Just like Sasori, who even in his thirties could never untangle the knot in his heart about his parents—such wounds linger forever.
If left unresolved, such obsessions could consume someone, dragging them into darkness.
For martial artists who trained in life force, there was indeed a concept of falling into the "demonic path." Not only that—there were true "demon clans" as well. Tien Shinhan, before meeting Master Roshi, had nearly strayed into such a path. Piccolo Daimaō outright called himself part of a demon lineage.
And now, though Naruto hadn't saved his real parents, in saving these two… he had at least healed that regret a little.
Naruto ignored the thoughtful looks Minato and Kushina gave him, and instead turned his gaze toward the small figure lying upon the sealing altar.
"I only want him to grow up with loving parents by his side, to live a healthy, happy life."
"In the future, he'll have many good friends—Uchiha, Hyūga, comrades from every great clan of Konoha."
"He won't be picky with food, he'll eat plenty and grow strong. He'll bathe every day, he won't stay up too late, he'll get good sleep. He'll study hard—both in his schoolwork and ninjutsu. And even if he struggles sometimes, even if he's not good at everything, he won't need to lose heart."
"You'll guide him. You'll always be there with him."
Naruto rambled on and on, almost to himself.
"You can do all that, right? With you by his side, he should be able to grow up much better."
"You are…" Kushina, still weak from resealing the beast, tried to speak. But Minato gently rested his hand on her shoulder and shook his head.
Turning to Naruto, Minato gave him a bright, sunlit smile.
"Of course."
"Then it's a promise."
This Minato had lived through more than his counterpart in Naruto's own world—he had even experienced the Dragon Vein incident.
Having accomplished what he came for, Naruto prepared to leave. This wasn't his destination. Before vanishing, he spoke one last time to the couple:
"Oh, one more thing. Believe it or not, today's events had nothing to do with the Uchiha of Konoha."
"They too desire peace. They too want to be acknowledged."
"They are part of the village—founding members of Konoha itself. You can't let the actions of a single man condemn their entire clan to unfair treatment."
"If you treat them with honesty, you'll gain even more in return."
If Minato could resolve the Uchiha matter, then in the future he would earn four invaluable allies:
Uchiha Shisui.
Uchiha Itachi.
Uchiha Fugaku.
Uchiha Sasuke.
With those four at his side, forget just Konoha—they could resolve nearly every problem in the shinobi world.
"Well then… goodbye."
Naruto bowed deeply to the couple. In the next instant, he was gone.
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