Konoha Hospital.
It was already early morning.
Inside a spacious hospital room, Naruto Uzumaki lay unconscious on a hospital bed. Translucent tubes were connected to various points across his body, while a medical monitor nearby displayed erratic waveforms and constantly fluctuating data.
Four medical-nin, dressed in white coats, stood watch over the instruments.
At the bedside, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, remained silent, surrounded by a protective ring of ANBU.
No one spoke.
The atmosphere was suffocatingly heavy.
An entire night had passed, yet Naruto still had not regained consciousness.
From the moment the incident ended, Hiruzen and his men had remained here without rest.
Aside from those present in this room, no one in the village knew what had happened the previous night.
"Hokage-sama," the lead medical-nin reported, stepping forward,
"the jinchūriki's body shows no abnormalities."
"In fact," he continued carefully,
"his physical condition is remarkably healthy. Based on our data, the sudden withdrawal of tailed beast chakra placed him in a state of extreme mental exhaustion."
Hiruzen's bloodshot eyes narrowed.
"Are you giving me a hypothesis," he asked coldly,
"or a definitive conclusion?"
He had spent the entire previous day buried in documents, followed by a sleepless night dealing with Naruto's situation. The strain was showing.
Logically, after receiving a sealing technique, Naruto should not have remained unconscious for this long.
That fact alone placed immense pressure on the aging Hokage.
A new day had already begun. He needed to return to the Hokage's Office to manage urgent affairs.
He could not afford uncertainty.
"The data doesn't lie," the medical-nin replied, straightening his posture.
"Hokage-sama, there is no threat to the jinchūriki's life. We have monitored his physical parameters since birth and will continue close observation."
"…Fine," Hiruzen said curtly.
"That's all we can do for now."
Though dissatisfied, he had no better option.
He glanced at the wall clock, remained silent for a moment, then cast one last long look at Naruto's unmoving face before turning away.
"Let's go."
The ANBU followed him out.
The room fell silent once more.
The four medical-nin finished tidying their equipment, performed a final check, gently pulled the blanket over Naruto, and exited.
Beep… beep…
Only the rhythmic hum of the machines remained.
Then—
Naruto's eyes snapped open.
They were clear, focused, and utterly cold.
A sharp, calculating smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.
"Naruto, are you alright?"
Namikaze Minato's concerned voice echoed in his mind.
"I'm fine, Father," Naruto replied calmly.
"Don't worry."
After a brief pause, Naruto closed his eyes again and shifted his consciousness into the sealed space.
Kurama was already waiting.
Its massive eyes narrowed as it growled:
"Naruto, something's wrong. Just now, I tried pushing chakra past the seal—but it was completely scrambled."
"That's the Five Elements Seal (Gogyō Fūin)," Naruto said as he stepped through the iron gate.
"It's one of the sealing techniques you taught me, Father."
"It can be broken using chakra of the five elements: wind, lightning, fire, earth, and water."
"But right now," Naruto continued evenly,
"I only possess Wind Release and Fire Release chakra."
"WHAT?!"
Kurama's fur bristled as he slammed a paw into the ground.
"Then what the hell are we supposed to do?!"
Already imprisoned by an absurdly powerful seal—
and now the Third Hokage had layered another restriction on top of it?
The sheer audacity was infuriating.
Minato stepped forward, voice calm but strained.
"Kurama, Naruto can still undo it eventually. Once a ninja reaches a certain level, they can train additional chakra natures. Even if he can't remove it now, he can—"
BANG!
Kurama smashed its paw against the iron gate.
"Hmph! Fourth Hokage, don't play innocent."
"Don't tell me you didn't understand what the Third Hokage was really trying to do."
Minato's expression darkened.
He had constructed a carefully balanced even-numbered Eight Trigrams Seal (Hakke Fūin Shiki).
By layering an odd-numbered Five Elements Seal on top of it, Hiruzen had deliberately disrupted that balance.
Minato's seal allowed Nine-Tails chakra to leak out in controlled amounts, converting it into chakra Naruto could safely use.
But now?
The new seal interfered not only with Kurama's chakra—but with Naruto's own chakra circulation as well.
The intent was unmistakable.
If Naruto hadn't already torn off the sealing tag, discovered Minato's presence, and reached a fragile truce with Kurama, the chances of ever undoing the Five Elements Seal would have been nearly zero.
Minato had once planned to guide Naruto toward Jiraiya for help—
But now, a bitter realization struck him.
Jiraiya might very well act on Hiruzen's behalf.
As for anyone else who could be trusted?
Minato could think of no one.
The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth.
What a cruel joke…
The Fourth Hokage and Kushina sacrificed everything for the village.
They sealed the Nine-Tails into their son, believing he would be honored as a hero.
Instead, he was cursed as a monster.
And now, Hiruzen is even sabotaging his growth in secret.
Naruto raised his fist toward Kurama.
"Kurama, don't panic," he said calmly.
"It's not that bad—yet."
Kurama blinked, then bumped Naruto's fist with his paw.
After a brief silence, it let out a low chuckle.
"Heh… I forgot."
"You still have that option."
Minato stared at them in confusion.
"Naruto," he asked,
"what did you mean by 'it's not that bad'?"
"Exactly what it sounds like," Naruto replied quietly.
"Under the right conditions, this situation can actually work to my advantage."
"You've noticed it too, Father," Naruto continued.
"From the moment I was born, the high-ranking officials—led by the Third Hokage—have treated me as a strategic asset, not a child."
Minato's fists clenched.
"But they can't discard me," Naruto said coldly.
"Because I'm one of the key pillars maintaining the balance of power among the Five Great Nations."
"So what do they do?"
"They watch me. Constantly."
"You could even say they're cultivating me—slowly shaping me into a weapon."
Images of Gaara's childhood flashed through Naruto's mind.
"They observe me. Then they assign people—'friends'—to influence my behavior."
"To test my personality."
"To see whether I'm controllable."
"Everything is orchestrated."
"And even if I never become a 'perfect' weapon, they'll still ensure I remain under control."
Minato's face went pale.
Naruto's words exposed a truth he didn't want to face.
"So, Father," Naruto asked quietly,
"does this pattern feel familiar to you?"
"NO!"
Minato shouted.
"Your mother and I—our love was never part of some scheme!"
Even Kurama flinched, jaws parting in shock.
As someone who had witnessed Minato and Kushina Uzumaki's bond firsthand, Kurama found the implication unbearable.
Naruto's gaze remained steady.
"According to your memories, Father, you're right—it wasn't planned."
"But even so…"
"they still got the outcome they wanted, didn't they?"
Minato closed his eyes in pain.
He had once been Hokage.
He understood political machinery all too well.
Naruto didn't comfort him.
There was no point.
"Now it's my turn."
Naruto turned toward Kurama, eyes burning with resolve.
"Unlike my mother, I won't simply go along with their expectations."
"If they believe I'm ignorant,"
"and they're so desperate to control me…"
"Then let them stand at the edge of the unknown—
and keep poking it—"
"…until something bites back."
With that, Naruto withdrew his consciousness from the sealed space—
—and entered the Mirror World, reviewing all available puppet combat data.
His next destination was already decided.
The boy the Third Hokage had so carefully "arranged" to be his friend:
Nara Shikamaru.
(End of Chapter)
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