Minato's voice trembled with excitement. "Naruto, this thing… it cannot be called something as simple as Rasengan. It feels like it deserves a name like Spiral Super Black Rending"
"This is the Great Spiral Calamity."
Naruto's calm voice cut him off, denying his father the chance to christen it. He remembered clearly. In the movie Road to Ninja, Uzumaki Menma had thrown one of these at Konoha. A single strike, and the village had been leveled as if by Nagato's Shinra Tensei.
Minato faltered, then smiled bitterly. "All right. Your name fits well."
Kurama leaned down, crimson eyes burning as he asked, "Naruto, how much chakra did you pour into that thing? Its essence is nearly identical to my Tailed Beast Ball."
Naruto closed his eyes, sensing carefully. "About two-thirds of my chakra."
Kurama's pupils widened in surprise, then his mouth split into a grin. "Hah. Little brat, when you grow up, your chakra will rival even Hashirama Senju's. Maybe even surpass it. I know your clan well. Uzumaki Mito, my first jinchūriki, had chakra that nearly matched his."
Naruto nodded. In his past life, fans often joked online: Hashirama and Naruto's kind had chakra measured in tons. Chakra-ton. Everyone else had only grams. Chakra-gram.
The prime example? Kakashi.
In battle, Kakashi barely dared to use Raikiri more than a few times before running dry. Then he fell back on weak earth techniques just to keep up appearances. Compare that to Gaara. In the anime, Gaara once claimed his chakra was nearly gone. Then, a breath later, he buried his enemy in Desert Funeral with enough sand to crush mountains.
Naruto raised the black sphere in his palm. "So… what should I do with this?"
Minato hesitated, glancing at Kurama, then quickly looking away.
"Hey!" Kurama suddenly barked, baring his fangs. "Fourth Hokage, I sense your nasty thoughts. What are you plotting?"
Minato flushed. He had forgotten. Within the seal, Kurama could sense malice. And worse, the chakra he used now was supplied by the fox. What he had been thinking was simple: if Kurama helped create this weapon, then Kurama should be the one to handle it.
Naruto's eyes flickered. "Father. Kurama. You both said the seal was unbreakable, right?"
Kurama lifted his massive head but said nothing.
Minato's brows knit. He understood Naruto's idea. "Naruto… the Rasengan cannot be thrown. And if a chakra sphere of this level explodes against the gate, the backlash on your spirit could be catastrophic."
Kurama interrupted smoothly. "Naruto. Link with my chakra. Use a chakra hand to grab it. Then toss it outside the gate. That way, the blast won't touch you."
Minato's eyes lit up. "Yes, that could work. Different from what I was thinking, but"
Kurama's glare snapped toward him. "And just what were you thinking, Fourth Hokage?"
Naruto ignored them. The plan was good. When he had first formed a bond with Kurama, golden chakra had cloaked him, shaping hands of light. He had tested them. They could grasp anything within the seal, though never beyond the gate. Crossing that threshold stripped him of the fox's chakra, leaving him drained.
Even Minato had been baffled. His seal was designed to channel Kurama's chakra into his son. Why did it snatch it away when Naruto stepped through? To this day, he could not explain it.
Naruto smiled faintly. "Thank you, Kurama." Then he strode to the gate and spoke in a low voice. "Rasengan cannot be thrown."
He raised the black sphere. "But this can."
"Wait, Naruto!" Minato's cry was drowned out as his son thrust his hand through the gate and hurled the Great Spiral Calamity outward.
In the same breath, Naruto seized his father and pulled him to Kurama's claws. "Please, Kurama."
The fox scoffed, but as the orb tumbled toward the ground outside, its tails snapped shut, curling around its body like a fortress. Both father and son vanished beneath its massive paws.
The world split apart.
The Great Spiral Calamity detonated before it even landed. A shriek of power tore the seal space, a sun bursting inside the darkness. Waves of annihilation rolled outward, the entire seal trembling as if reality itself were cracking.
Wrapped in Kurama's cocoon, Naruto and Minato could feel the quake in their bones.
At last, the storm faded. Kurama released them, peering toward the gate. Disappointment flickered in his eyes.
Minato gasped. "The seal… it's cracked?"
Kurama's ears pricked. "What did you say?"
Naruto pressed his senses against it, Uzumaki sealing arts flowing through his mind. His father was right. The seal bore hairline fractures.
He remembered once asking Minato if he could unlock it himself. His father had said no. A key was needed, one unique to the one who set the seal. Even if Naruto knew the Eight Trigrams Seal, his key would never fit.
As for the Reaper Death Seal, Minato had never spoken a word. Naruto knew why. To undo it required a sacrifice. Orochimaru had once shown the loophole, sacrificing a body not his own.
Naruto lowered his hand. His choice was clear. He held his fist out to Kurama. The fox's paw met it with a solid thud. Golden flames of chakra wrapped around Naruto, and he stepped beyond the gate.
Instantly, the cloak began to gutter and vanish. His body weakened.
But then it steadied.
The golden glow shifted to red. Crimson chakra surged, wrapping him in a translucent shroud. Two tails flickered behind him. Fox ears rose on his head.
Naruto's voice was cold. "Strange. This chakra… it tugs at my emotions."
Minato's eyes lit up. "Yes! Just like when Kushina used it. My seal works after all"
Kurama's voice cut him like a blade. "Do not celebrate yet, Fourth Hokage. Look closely. Naruto has begun to transform."
Minato froze. Kurama was right. This was the cloak of a jinchūriki, the beast's chakra manifesting as armor. Kushina had shown it before, fierce and terrifying.
Kurama's lips curved in a cruel grin. "Too late. The watchers outside your boy's house have already run to the Hokage. By now, Sarutobi is on his way."
Minato's face darkened. Soon, the Hokage would come. Soon, everything would be seen.
"Quickly, Naruto! Come back inside. Let Kurama take the chakra. I will reinforce the seal!"
At the word reinforce, Kurama's eyes flared blood-red. Its voice dripped venom. "Dare to tighten my chains again, and you will never taste my chakra again."
Naruto looked down at his hands, crimson light flowing between his fingers. Then he raised his gaze. His voice was level, without warmth.
"Father. You say Sarutobi is not a bad man. You tell me not to be afraid. But even as a child, I already know the truth."
His eyes sharpened, a killing frost in their depths.
"Villains are not frightening."
"The ones you should fear most… are those who pretend to be kind."
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