The ground shook for only a second, but beneath Konoha, something had changed. [The ancient chamber remained silent after the impact, dust slowly falling from the ceiling as the crack across the stone continued to spread.] The thing behind the seal didn't move. It simply watched. Then another crack appeared, followed by another, until the silence was broken by the faint sound of something breathing. The voices that had been speaking moments earlier were gone. Only that breathing remained.
Above the chamber, nobody in Konoha seemed to notice what had happened.
Nobody except Minato.
[He stopped halfway down the street.] Naruto looked up at him.
"What's wrong?"
Minato didn't answer immediately. He could feel it, a faint vibration beneath his feet, so weak that an ordinary shinobi might have ignored it. But Minato had spent years studying the strange event that had taken the Nine-Tails away, and he knew that feeling. Something was happening beneath the village.
"Naruto, stay close to me."
Naruto nodded.
They continued walking, but Minato's attention remained focused on the ground. A few moments later, a messenger shinobi appeared at the end of the street.
"Hokage-sama!"
Minato turned.
The shinobi stopped in front of him.
"We've detected an unusual chakra fluctuation."
Minato's expression hardened.
"Where?"
"Near the old underground storage area."
Hiruzen had already arrived behind them.
"How strong?"
"Not strong enough to identify."
Minato looked at Naruto.
"Take him home."
The messenger nodded, but Naruto immediately interrupted.
"I'm coming with you."
Minato looked down at him.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because this isn't something you need to worry about."
Naruto frowned.
"But something happened to me too."
Minato's eyes narrowed slightly.
"What do you mean?"
Naruto froze. For a moment, he considered telling him about the Nine-Tails, but then he remembered the voice.
He's found you.
Naruto looked away.
"Nothing."
Minato studied him. He knew Naruto was hiding something, but before he could ask again, another tremor passed through the ground. This time, everyone felt it. People in the street stopped moving, windows rattled, and a few roof tiles fell.
Naruto looked down.
"What was that?"
Minato's expression changed.
"Take him home."
The messenger grabbed Naruto's shoulder.
"Come on."
Naruto resisted.
"But, "
"Naruto."
Minato's voice was firm.
"Go."
[Naruto stared at his father for several seconds before finally nodding.] He walked away with the messenger, but kept looking back. Minato waited until Naruto was out of sight before turning toward Hiruzen.
"Something is underneath us."
Hiruzen nodded.
"I know."
Deep below the village, the ancient seal cracked again.
This time, something moved.
[Two long fingers pressed against the stone from the other side.] The seal resisted, and a low growl echoed through the chamber. The fingers disappeared, leaving the chamber silent once more.
Then a single eye opened in the darkness.
It wasn't the eye of the Nine-Tails.
It wasn't human either.
It watched the cracked seal.
And whispered,
"Not yet."
Naruto arrived home several minutes later. [Kushina was waiting near the entrance and immediately noticed his expression.]
"What happened?"
Naruto shrugged.
"Nothing."
Kushina sighed.
"That's the third time today you've said that."
Naruto walked past her.
"I'm tired."
She followed him.
"Naruto."
He stopped.
Kushina looked at him carefully.
"Your father told me to keep you here."
Naruto turned around.
"Why?"
"He didn't say."
Naruto looked toward the window. The strange feeling returned. Someone was watching him, but this time, the feeling wasn't coming from outside.
It was coming from below.
[Naruto slowly looked at the floor.]
Kushina noticed.
"What are you looking at?"
"Nothing."
She frowned.
"Naruto..."
Before she could finish, Naruto suddenly felt the same warmth in his palm. [He grabbed his hand.] The black symbol appeared beneath his skin again.
Kushina's expression immediately changed.
"Naruto."
He looked up.
"Mom?"
She grabbed his wrist.
"Where did you get that?"
"I don't know."
"When did it appear?"
"Today."
Kushina stared at the mark. She had never seen it before, but something about it felt familiar. Not because she recognized the symbol itself, but because she recognized the chakra surrounding it.
Her face slowly lost its color.
"Naruto..."
"What?"
Kushina stepped backward.
"Nothing."
She forced herself to smile.
"Go to your room."
"But, "
"Now."
Naruto stared at her. He had never seen his mother look like that before. He slowly walked upstairs.
Kushina waited until he disappeared.
Then her expression became serious.
She immediately left the house.
At the same time, Minato and Hiruzen reached the underground storage area. [Several shinobi were already waiting beside a damaged stone wall.] One of them pointed toward the floor.
"The vibration came from here."
Minato crouched and placed his hand against the ground.
Nothing.
Then he felt it.
A pulse.
Weak.
Ancient.
And strangely familiar.
Minato's eyes widened.
"This chakra..."
Hiruzen looked at him.
"You recognize it?"
"No."
Minato slowly stood.
"But I've felt something similar before."
"The Nine-Tails?"
Minato shook his head.
"Not exactly."
Suddenly, a voice echoed through the corridor.
"Minato."
Everyone froze.
Minato immediately turned.
Nobody was there.
Hiruzen looked around.
"Who said that?"
The voice came again.
"Minato Namikaze."
This time, everyone heard it. A shinobi drew his weapon.
"Show yourself!"
Silence.
Then a faint laugh echoed through the corridor.
Minato's expression became cold.
"Who are you?"
The voice answered:
"Someone who remembers the night you forgot."
Minato froze.
Hiruzen stared at him.
"What does that mean?"
Minato didn't answer. His mind returned to that night, the Nine-Tails, the masked man, the distortion, and the moment everything disappeared.
There had been something else.
Something he couldn't remember clearly.
The voice spoke again.
"You've been searching for the Nine-Tails for years."
Minato clenched his fist.
"Where is it?"
A pause.
Then:
"Closer than you think."
The chakra vanished.
The corridor became silent.
Minato immediately looked at Hiruzen.
"We're leaving."
"Why?"
"Because this place isn't the source."
Hiruzen frowned.
"Then what is?"
Minato looked upward.
His face had become pale.
"Naruto."
Back at the Uzumaki residence, Kushina stood alone in the kitchen, staring at the door. Then she heard a soft sound from upstairs.
She immediately moved.
[Naruto's bedroom door was slightly open.]
She pushed it.
The room was empty.
Her eyes widened.
"Naruto?"
No answer.
The window was open.
Kushina rushed toward it.
Outside, Naruto stood on the rooftop.
He wasn't moving.
"Kushina?"
She turned.
Minato stood behind her.
"Where's Naruto?"
She pointed toward the roof.
"He went outside."
Minato looked at Naruto.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
[The boy stood completely still, staring at the village below.]
Minato jumped onto the rooftop.
"Naruto."
Naruto didn't respond.
He slowly raised his hand.
The black symbol was glowing.
And beneath Konoha, something answered.
A deep pulse traveled through the ground.
Naruto's eyes suddenly changed.
For one brief moment, they weren't blue anymore.
They were red.
Nine red tails appeared behind him.
Then vanished.
Minato's eyes widened.
Kushina stopped breathing.
Naruto blinked.
His eyes returned to normal.
He looked at his parents.
"Mom?"
He looked at Minato.
"Dad?"
Neither of them answered.
Because behind Naruto, for just a fraction of a second, a shadow had appeared.
A shadow with nine tails.
And it was smiling.
End of Chapter 6