"Aiden-bro… that big fox looks like it's crying…"
Hearing Naruto's words, Aiden turned to look.
The enormous body of the Nine-Tails was indeed trembling slightly, its pitiful, aggrieved appearance leaving Aiden momentarily at a loss for words.
No matter what—
it was still a tailed beast.
Getting beaten once and crying like this was honestly a bit too much.
"Can you at least have some tailed-beast dignity?"
"Stop crying already!"
Aiden snapped irritably.
Instead of stopping, the Nine-Tails cried even harder.
What had been quiet sobbing instantly turned into full-on wailing, the miserable howls making it sound like Aiden had committed some unforgivable crime.
Seeing this, Aiden hurriedly threatened,
"Still crying?!"
"Keep it up and I'll beat you again!"
The effect was immediate.
The Nine-Tails shut up at once—
though the look it gave Aiden was filled with deep resentment.
Seeing that the fox was completely mentally broken, Aiden lost interest in further testing.
He'd already verified everything he needed.
There was no need to keep bullying half of the Nine-Tails.
He could always test it properly once the other half was reunited.
As Aiden casually thought this through, the Nine-Tails suddenly felt a chill run through its fur.
Every hair stood on end.
A terrible premonition crept over it.
After "dealing with" the Nine-Tails, Aiden turned and prepared to leave the cage.
The Nine-Tails was instantly overjoyed—
so much so that it nearly cried again.
The little monster was finally leaving.
But just as Aiden was about to step past the bars, he suddenly stopped.
That pause nearly gave the Nine-Tails a heart attack.
"Oh, right."
"From now on, don't interfere with Naruto's training."
"Otherwise, I'll come beat you up every single day."
Hearing this, the Nine-Tails nodded frantically, terrified of responding even a second too late.
Satisfied, Aiden said nothing more and left the cage.
Meeting Naruto's look of pure admiration, Aiden suddenly remembered—
he'd been so busy beating up the Nine-Tails that he'd forgotten the real reason he came.
For Aiden, explaining everything in detail to Naruto was unnecessary.
After all, Naruto had a perfectly good "part-time worker" inside him.
Might as well put it to use.
"Naruto, see that seal on the cage?"
"Go tear it off."
"You'll get all the answers you want."
Naruto's eyes lit up.
With a pounding heart, he walked up to the seal.
Years of suffering made him desperate to know the truth.
Why, when he was human, did everyone call him a demon fox?
Why did everyone hate him?
Questions flooded his mind.
He reached out and tore at the seal.
Rip—
Just as the seal was halfway torn away—
a hand suddenly appeared out of thin air and stopped him.
The one who appeared was the Fourth Hokage—
Minato Namikaze.
"You don't need to remove all of it, Naruto."
Naruto stared at him in confusion.
Why was the Fourth Hokage here?
Minato immediately understood everything.
But he didn't explain right away.
After giving Naruto an apologetic smile, he said gently,
"Come with me, Naruto."
Naruto hesitated.
He looked at Minato—
then back at Aiden.
Only after Aiden nodded did Naruto follow Minato deeper into the sealing space.
As Minato turned to leave, he cast a meaningful glance at Aiden.
Even within the seal, the failsafe he'd left behind still observed the Nine-Tails' condition.
What had just happened—
Minato had seen it all.
He said nothing.
With the two gone, Aiden stared at the Nine-Tails inside the cage out of boredom.
The fox instantly tensed up, terrified Aiden might rush back in for another beating.
Inside the deeper sealing space—
because Aiden had arrived far earlier than the original timeline,
Minato wasn't alone.
Kushina Uzumaki's chakra hadn't faded yet either.
Before long, Naruto learned the truth from them—
and found out that the two before him were his parents.
He broke down completely.
A family of three, separated for so long, finally reunited within the sealing space.
No one knew how much time passed.
Eventually, Naruto and Minato emerged together.
Naruto's face was filled with joy.
Aiden could only think—
As expected of Minato Namikaze. A true little sun.
Noticing Aiden's gaze, Minato smiled.
"Then, Aiden… I'll leave Naruto to you from now on."
Aiden nodded.
Naruto was his subordinate now.
Of course he'd take responsibility.
After all—
it wouldn't do for the main character to handle everything personally.
That would cheapen things.
"Dad! I told you already—Aiden-bro is really, really amazing!"
"And I'll take good care of myself too!"
Seeing Naruto's earnest expression, Minato was momentarily speechless.
Guilt. Relief. Gratitude.
Too many emotions tangled together.
After a long pause, he smiled again—
warm and bright, like the sun.
"Of course."
"You're our son."
He reached out and rubbed Naruto's head gently.
At that point, Aiden finally spoke.
"Fourth Hokage, your chakra should still last a while, right?"
Minato paused, then sensed his current state.
"Yes."
"Compared to Kushina, I can last quite a long time."
"Good."
"Then you'll train Naruto from now on."
"The Nine-Tails won't interfere anymore."
"No problem, right?"
Minato had no objections.
From their conversation earlier, he already knew what Naruto had endured.
His heart was full of regret—
and this was the only way he could make up for it.
All he had left to give was his ninjutsu.
At least through training, he could accompany his son.
"Then it's settled."
"From now on, Naruto will come train with you at night."
"And Fourth Hokage—if you can replenish chakra, it should help your condition."
"How to do that… you'll have to figure out yourselves."
As Aiden finished speaking, Minato's gaze shifted to the Nine-Tails inside the cage.
After a moment of thought, he nodded.
He already had an idea.
With everything settled, Aiden and Naruto exited the inner world together.
Back in reality, Naruto looked noticeably brighter.
The gratitude he felt toward Aiden came straight from the heart.
Coupled with whatever Minato had said to him inside—
the moment they returned, Naruto bowed earnestly.
"Aiden-bro!"
"I'll work hard and train properly!"
"I'll catch up to you!"
As Naruto finished speaking, a familiar, pleasant sound echoed in Aiden's mind.
[Ding!]
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