[Yamato: Medium Bullying Value.]
[As someone who inherited the First Hokage's Wood Release kekkei genkai, Yamato failed to inherit the First Hokage's bond-type spirit and instead somehow inherited the Uchiha clan's furry-loving tendencies.]
[Even possessing Wood Release wasn't enough for Yamato. He also wanted to invoke Uzumaki Mito's legacy and claim his beloved Nine-Tails.]
[However, Yamato once accidentally discovered Uzumaki Mito enjoying one of Konoha's local "specialties." He secretly followed her afterward, intending to eliminate his romantic rival, only to discover that the other person was Kakashi.]
[To make Yamato keep the secret, Kakashi offered him one favor. Yamato refused.]
[Unfortunately, that refusal exposed the fact that Yamato wasn't a bond-type shinobi and had failed to inherit the First Hokage's true will. Kakashi immediately turned the situation around and blackmailed him instead.]
[If Kakashi reported the truth to Danzō, Danzō would undoubtedly dispatch four enormously imposing specialists to "correct" Yamato's distorted ideology.]
[With no other choice, Yamato and Kakashi ended up mutually restraining one another, each holding the other's secret. Thus began their tangled relationship of fate.]
[However, Yamato copied the Uchiha's furry-loving tendencies without inheriting their natural kindness. He did inherit something from the First Hokage after all—his willingness to use any means necessary.]
[Yamato secretly leaked the fact that Kakashi had once performed under the alias Doll Boy. As a result, Kakashi was forced back into his old line of work and had to continue entertaining elderly women just to keep the secret contained.]
[Yamato then deliberately allowed this information to reach Uzumaki Mito. Believing Kakashi had never truly changed, Mito severed all ties with him.]
[But Yamato still wasn't finished.]
[To completely destroy Kakashi, he quietly encouraged the villagers to bully Kakashi's father, the White Fang of Konoha, eventually driving Sakumo to his death.]
[Yamato planned to exploit Kakashi's vulnerable state, approach him while he was emotionally shattered, and gradually drag him into depravity.]
[Unfortunately, right at that moment, Danzō ordered Yamato to assassinate the Third Hokage.]
[If Yamato refused, Danzō would have reason to question his loyalty. But if he accepted, Yamato's peaceful life would be shattered and he would lose his chance to continue approaching Kakashi.]
[With no alternative, Yamato accepted the mission.]
[Yet during the assassination attempt, the naturally wicked Yamato pretended to be moved by the Third Hokage's words and switched sides at lightning speed.]
[After transferring from Root's darkness into the Third Hokage's direct command and becoming Kakashi's colleague, Yamato had no choice but to suppress his true nature and work hard at pretending to be a normal person.]
[He could only watch helplessly as Uzumaki Mito passed the jinchūriki legacy onward.]
[Today, Yamato received reports from concerned villagers that Uzumaki Naruto, the Nine-Tails jinchūriki, had gone insane.]
[That news finally broke Yamato's restraint.]
[This was the perfect opportunity. No matter what, he intended to use it to obtain the Nine-Tails!]
[Recommended punishment: Enter Sage Mode and permanently destroy Yamato's vulnerable area.]
"Whoa."
Naruto stared at the enormous wall of text.
"That's a lot of information."
Makoto's profile had been short and simple, but the moment Naruto encountered Yamato, the system suddenly dumped an entire biography on him.
Still, the more Naruto thought about it, the more impressed he became.
This ability was incredible.
He wouldn't even need to keep sneaking into the archives anymore.
The information in the archives might be false, incomplete, or deliberately altered, but anything displayed by the system had to be reliable.
'Captain Yamato…'
Naruto stared at him through the wooden bars.
'I never knew you and Kakashi-sensei had this kind of relationship in this world.'
Then Naruto began thinking.
There had to be a reason the mission specifically recommended using Sage Mode to break out of the Four-Pillar Prison.
Naruto could obviously escape using Nine-Tails Chakra Mode too.
Wood Release might naturally suppress Tailed Beast chakra, but the sheer difference in power was too great for Yamato to restrain him.
Well—
Naruto wasn't technically a perfect jinchūriki.
He was the Tailed Beast itself.
Either way, his stats were far beyond anything Yamato's Wood Release could suppress.
So why insist on Sage Mode?
The answer was obvious.
It was to keep Yamato from enjoying himself.
Yamato had been obsessed with the Nine-Tails for years, enduring humiliation and pretending to be a decent person all for the sake of one day obtaining it.
If Naruto used Nine-Tails chakra against him, wouldn't that be giving Yamato exactly what he wanted?
That logic made perfect sense.
Which was precisely why Naruto decided not to listen to the system.
Naruto had always believed that people should be changed through love, understanding, and compassion.
How could he use such a cruel method?
If Naruto transformed into his Nine-Tails form and earned Yamato's affection, wouldn't that bring them closer together and give Yamato a chance to understand him, reform, and return to the right path?
More importantly—
Naruto also needed to reconcile this world's Yamato and Kakashi.
He remembered what Kakashi had told him before he entered Engraved Tsukuyomi.
This illusionary world wasn't merely a game.
It was also supposed to train Naruto's ability to handle difficult situations, giving him valuable experience for the day he eventually became Hokage.
And wasn't helping Kakashi and Yamato repair their broken relationship exactly the kind of complicated problem a future Hokage should know how to solve?
Naruto suddenly felt the enormous weight of responsibility on his shoulders.
He took a deep breath.
Golden Nine-Tails chakra erupted around him.
Fox ears appeared.
Tails unfurled.
Naruto transformed once again into his fox-like feminine form.
Yamato's eyes widened.
His entire body trembled.
Even the hand seal maintaining the Four-Pillar Prison shook for an instant, causing the wooden structure itself to wobble.
Naruto immediately seized the opening.
One golden chakra claw smashed straight through the prison.
Another wrapped around Yamato and lifted him into the air.
"So this is…"
Yamato closed his eyes.
"The power of the Nine-Tails…"
"Ah…"
He stopped struggling altogether and simply enjoyed the sensation.
Naruto said nothing.
Still holding Yamato in the giant golden fox claw, he sprinted straight toward Kakashi's house.
…
Kakashi was exhausted.
He had only just survived Neji's attempt to use him in the scheme against Naruto, Orochimaru's coercion into helping with the Konoha Restoration Plan, and Kushina's subsequent investigation into the conspiracy.
Physically and mentally drained, Kakashi had absolutely no desire to participate in another chaotic gathering anytime soon.
Nor did he dare openly test Kushina's authority again so soon.
Unfortunately, without those usual outlets for his emotions, Kakashi had begun sinking into depression.
At that moment, he wished more than anything that the Sage of Six Paths would descend from heaven and bestow upon him one enormous muscular man.
"Kakashi-sensei!"
Naruto's cheerful voice suddenly came from outside.
"Open up! I brought you a present!"
"?"
Kakashi opened the door.
There stood fox-like Naruto—
Holding Yamato in one giant golden chakra claw.
Kakashi stared.
"What exactly is this?"
"Captain Yamato got drunk because he was miserable and finally opened his heart to me."
Naruto spoke with complete sincerity.
"He admitted that he's actually been in love with you for years, Kakashi-sensei."
"He just never had the courage to confess."
Kakashi's visible eye widened.
Naruto, having witnessed far too much absurdity inside Engraved Tsukuyomi, could now fabricate nonsense without even pausing.
"He also said he couldn't bring himself to betray his original dream."
Naruto continued solemnly.
"He's always had feelings for the Nine-Tails too, so he's been suppressing his feelings for you all this time because he didn't want to betray that attachment."
Kakashi swallowed.
"And now?"
"No!"
Yamato immediately began struggling.
"He's lying! Kakashi, order Naruto to let me go right now!"
Then Yamato hesitated.
"Wait, no. Don't let me go. I mean—"
His words dissolved as another wave of Nine-Tails chakra surrounded him.
Yamato's expression immediately softened again.
"…Ah."
Kakashi nodded thoughtfully.
"Looks like Yamato really is drunk."
"He's already talking complete nonsense."
"Kakashi-sensei."
Naruto lowered Yamato toward him.
"I'll leave Captain Yamato with you."
Then Naruto reached out and patted Kakashi on the shoulder.
Scarlet Nine-Tails chakra immediately flared around Kakashi's body.
Yamato's expression changed dramatically.
Naruto wasn't planning to—