"Minato Namikaze, have you really seen my true form?"
"Kushina should know better than you—I can take on a human shape, both male and female. All those years you were running around the battlefield... it was me who kept her company."
"Kushina... maybe Minato's already realized something was off about me. Otherwise, why would he seal half of me along with his soul inside the belly of the Shinigami? After all this time spent together, don't you think our souls have already become… intimately acquainted?"
The Nine-Tails was doing his best to sow discord and play the third wheel. This was all from some manipulative tricks he'd picked up last-minute—he never imagined he'd get a chance to use them so quickly.
Kushina's face turned beet red. Her whole body felt off. She knew better than anyone what kind of being the Nine-Tails was.
However… Minato hesitated, just a little. After all, Kushina had been the jinchūriki. She had the most contact with the Nine-Tails—if anyone knew what it looked like, it was her.
Naruto stepped forward to testify: the Nine-Tails could take on human form. That instantly cast doubt on Kushina's flat denial.
Minato didn't want to doubt his wife, and he certainly didn't want to believe the Nine-Tails' nonsense, but… a small thorn had still lodged itself in his heart.
Kushina's notorious temper flared on the spot. Chains from her Adamantine Sealing Chains lashed out, ready to drag the Nine-Tails up and give him a thrashing—but just then, Naruto leapt in front of him.
"Don't hurt my mom!"
It was a sweltering day, yet Kushina broke out in a cold sweat. Her whole body trembled, hands and feet freezing.
"Naruto… what are you saying? You mean you want to stop the Nine-Tails from hurting me, right? That's what you meant… right?"
Behind Naruto, the Nine-Tails grinned mockingly. Minato couldn't stay calm either.
"Naruto, don't be deceived by the Nine-Tails. I am your father. Kushina is your mother."
A flicker of hesitation crossed Naruto's face.
"Ever since I can remember, I never knew who my parents were. Everyone in Konoha called me the demon fox. And while you both feel… familiar, I think I've come to accept the Nine-Tails as my real mother."
He'd never met his parents, not even once—not in his entire life. But the Nine-Tails had been there, day and night. For Naruto, it wasn't even a choice.
The Nine-Tails chuckled darkly. Naruto was a boy who craved recognition, who longed for love. And the Nine-Tails had won him over long ago. Minato and Kushina were too late.
The Fourth Hokage and Kushina froze where they stood.
Just what kind of life had Naruto endured in the village? How had Hiruzen looked after him? Where were Jiraiya-sensei and Kakashi?
A thousand questions flashed through their minds. Minato had once imagined what it would be like to meet his son in the afterlife—but the reality couldn't have been further from his hopes.
Then the Nine-Tails stoked the fire further.
"I am Naruto's mother. That's a fact. The moment Kushina became my jinchūriki, our lives were bound together. We are two sides of the same coin. Whatever she senses from the outside world, I feel too—including… bearing a child."
Kushina was petrified.
"That's impossible! I sealed you off!"
The Nine-Tails looked at her like she was mentally impaired.
"Your entire body is saturated with my chakra. A temporary block means nothing. Once the chakra cycle resets, I know everything. Just like you and Minato are now perceiving this world through residual chakra… it's the same principle."
The logic was unshakable, and Kushina didn't even know how to respond. There was even a hint of embarrassment in her eyes.
The Nine-Tails, on the other hand, was shameless.
"I'm not human. Your intimate affairs don't mean anything to me. I've lived for over a thousand years—do you really think I haven't seen it all? But I will say this—Minato's body may be fit, but when it comes to this, that, and those, he's a far cry from Hashirama Senju..."
"Enough!!" Kushina roared, cutting off the beast's filthy talk. Minato stood to the side, awkward and at a complete loss.
The Nine-Tails flicked his tails nonchalantly.
"What's the big deal? When you decided to get married and have a child, you should've considered these consequences. Why are you acting so prim and proper now?"
"Hashirama and Mito were way more upfront than you two. The three of us always got along splendidly. Especially Hashirama—with his Wood Clone Technique, he brought us all kinds of joy. Kushina, surely Mito hinted at this before she transferred me to you? You just didn't get it…"
So that's what Granny Mito meant back then!?
Kushina was thrown into internal chaos.
...
Because of the Nine-Tails' relentless provocation, Minato and Kushina wasted too much time. Before they could properly speak to Naruto, their chakra was about to run out.
Minato wanted to urge Naruto not to hate the village—to learn forgiveness, to be kind, and to aim for the title of Hokage. Not because Minato was some bleeding-heart idealist, but because he believed Naruto was too weak and isolated to fight the entire village head-on.
Forgiveness was the optimal choice. Once he rose to power and had the legal right to punish others—then he could do whatever he wanted.
Minato's words were nearly a clear message.
But Naruto, the clueless blockhead, just didn't get it.
He didn't get it!
Minato and Kushina looked at him with eyes full of love and reluctance. And then… they vanished, unwilling but helpless.
Naruto fell into deep thought.
"Mom… do you think I should forgive the people in this village?"
The Nine-Tails said calmly, "That decision is yours to make. If they're worth forgiving, then forgive them. But first—go find the Third Hokage. Tell him to publicly reveal your identity. And demand that every single person who's bullied you apologize in front of everyone. If they can't even apologize, how can they expect the victim to forgive?"
Naruto's mind snapped back into focus.
"That's right! I'm the victim. Why should I be the one feeling conflicted? The ones who should be struggling are the perpetrators!"
With encouragement from his Nine-Tails Mom, Naruto marched confidently toward the Hokage's office. He was going to find the Third—and fight for his rightful dignity!
...
At that moment, chaos was erupting in Konoha. Naruto and the Nine-Tails' antics had only worsened the turmoil.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Itachi was quietly transferring his assets. If conflict broke out between his clan and the village, he planned to flee alone—no one else included.
Uchiha Fugaku was busy contemplating the next step. Konoha's waters had turned muddy—it was the perfect time to fish in them. If the Uchiha wanted to seize power, they had to get rid of the Hokage faction that inherited Tobirama Senju's ideology!
Fugaku had already drafted a beheading plan targeting Sarutobi Hiruzen.
But before he could put it into motion… the unexpected happened.
The Nine-Tails went berserk!
No one knew what Naruto and the Third Hokage had discussed in that office—but what was certain was that the conversation collapsed, ending in explosive conflict.
The Uchiha's eyes gleamed.
What an opportunity!
Last time the Nine-Tails ran wild, the Fourth sacrificed himself. This time, maybe it was the Third's turn to go…
With a flurry of orders, the Uchiha clan began to move.
Then something even more unexpected occurred.
The unsealed Nine-Tails didn't go on a rampage.
Instead—he used the Shadow Clone Technique to split into countless handsome men and beautiful women, entangling Konoha's ninja while passionately revealing all sorts of scandalous "secrets" that were unfit for public ears.
Amid the chaotic crowd, Uchiha Itachi rubbed his temples and decisively slipped away. He had a hunch that things were only going to get worse.
And as it turned out, Itachi's hunch was spot on.
Konoha had become like a sieve—full of holes. Spies from all factions quickly leaked the village's secrets.
In just three days, the tabloid-level gossip about the Nine-Tails had spread throughout the entire shinobi world, expanding like wildfire.
The news was so outrageous that the Third Tsuchikage nearly threw out his back in shock. Others, unable to resist their imaginations, started drawing wild conclusions.
So... Tailed Beasts actually participate in the reproduction process of their jinchūriki?
Can anyone step forward to verify this?
Oh, right—aside from the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki in Konoha, other villages' jinchūriki almost never marry or have children. And the Tailed Beasts can secretly communicate with one another... With them matching their stories like this, it's even harder to explain away.
Faced with a completely trashed reputation and endless scandalous rumors, Konoha showed no reaction whatsoever.
Because... the village was already broken beyond repair.
First, the Third Hokage had fought with the Nine-Tails, then was ambushed by an unknown shinobi and fell into a deep coma—on the verge of death.
Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado had disappeared during the Nine-Tails' rampage, with no bodies found—dead or alive. In truth, they had been ambushed and utterly obliterated by the dishonorable sneak attack of Uchiha Fugaku. Among the higher-ups, only the widely disliked Shimura Danzō remained.
The Uchiha, together with the Hyūga clan, staged a political coup, forcing other clans to take sides. Root was powerless to suppress the increasingly unhinged Uchiha Fugaku and could only stall for time, hoping for Hiruzen Sarutobi to recover.
The situation had reached a stalemate.
As for the Nine-Tails and Naruto—the ones who stirred this hornet's nest—they had long since fled. The Nine-Tails was currently goading Naruto into finding someone who could use Edo Tensei. He had to let Senju Hashirama see what the shinobi world had become—a carnival of gossip and chaos!
...
Kakuzu and Getsushoku had both returned to the Akatsuki headquarters.
Kakuzu remained the same greedy mercenary he'd always been, but Getsushoku seemed... different. Now barely sober from his madness, he began questioning himself.
"My memories... something's wrong with them."
"Am I really a transmigrator?"
"Why do I remember having a Sign-In System...?"
Just as Getsushoku had this thought, the shadow behind him wriggled slightly. The next second, his expression froze—and when he came back to his senses, he had once again become the Getsushoku who loathed the shinobi world.
When the intel about Konoha's turmoil reached Akatsuki, Getsushoku simply saw it as a perfect opportunity.
"It's getting cold. Time for Konoha to go bankrupt!"
Wait, no—that's not right.
"It's time to start the next great shinobi war!"
Even though the major shinobi villages were still recovering from the last war and not at all ready for another, as long as Getsushoku willed it, it would happen.
With the system capable of exchanging for iconic jutsu from any village, he could impersonate shinobi from other nations, pillaging and slaughtering across the land. He wasn't afraid of the war not breaking out. And even if the villages all wanted peace? Well, that wouldn't stop him either. He'd just keep killing—he could play the role of a proper shit-stirrer.
Konoha was a juicy piece of meat—everyone wanted a bite.
Konoha prided itself on peace only because it had already claimed the richest lands in the shinobi world through force. Peace served them well. Those who profited from the current state of things naturally wanted to maintain it. It was the dissatisfied who sought change.
Getsushoku's proposal to the Akatsuki was gradually gaining traction.
Meanwhile, the Nine-Tails was still urging Naruto to find someone who could use Edo Tensei to resurrect Senju Hashirama.
Whether Hashirama was a naïve idealist or a deceptive mastermind, few could say for sure. But Getsushoku, as a transmigrator, had his own sharp opinions.
Hashirama was full of contradictions—he didn't seem at all like a great man who could usher in a new era. If anything, he was more like a glorified enforcer.
The world is full of injustice and outrage every day. There are always people ready to speak out and correct wrongs—but how many dare to be the first to step forward, instead of just echoing someone else?
Most people are used to staying silent, waiting for someone else to go first. If that person succeeds, they'll hop on the bandwagon and enjoy the rewards. If that person fails, they'll sneer and say, "I knew it wouldn't work."
"Being the first in the world" isn't easy at all.
Senju Hashirama might have a long list of flaws, but he was the pioneer—the one who forged the path. Everyone who came after merely extended and patched up what he had started. No matter how great their accomplishments, they were still dancing on the shoulders of a giant.
In the end, the village system Hashirama created didn't bring lasting peace.
As for the idea of permanent peace—Getsushoku, despite being a transmigrator, didn't have any particular insight to offer. Though many transmigrator protagonists in Naruto fanfics loved to claim that "unifying the world will bring peace," he didn't buy it.
The reasoning was simple: there's no way to guarantee something that has never been proven.
Even back on Earth, there had never been a case of true global unification. So how could anyone shamelessly claim that unification would lead to peace?
"Peace" and "happiness" aren't the same thing. Long-lasting peace inevitably leads to rigid social classes. In a world where superhuman powers exist, that rigidity sets in even faster. Under those conditions, for some people, chaos and conflict are the only ladders left to climb.
Look at Namikaze Minato. If not for war, Kushina would never have come to Konoha, and he'd never have had the chance to become the Fourth Hokage. No matter how talented he was, being born a commoner meant he would've never even seen the Flying Thunder God Technique. His potential would've stayed hidden, and he might not have become a jōnin until middle age—if at all.