Chapter 101: Mother?
The next morning, sunlight filtered through the leaves. Naruto stood before the True Waterfall, a victorious smile on his face.
After a strenuous effort, he had finally passed the test.
He slowly stood up, gently wiping the lingering moisture from the corners of his eyes. He turned to Renji. "He gave me a hug when he left!"
Hearing this, Renji's mind involuntarily conjured that weak, talkative version of himself. A complex emotion welled up, and the faint smile on his lips receded.
Just then, a loud shout came: "It's too early to be happy now!"
Killer Bee walked over, hands on his hips, looking at Naruto with a serious expression. Although he was genuinely happy, he wouldn't admit it.
"Next, I'll let you try to control the Nine-Tails' power!"
Naruto remembered what Renji had said and nodded vigorously.
Bee raised his voice. "From now on, I am your master! Kid, you'd better be prepared, or you'll lose your life!"
Bee walked towards the waterfall, humming a strange melody, and beckoned. "Come in with me!"
He stepped forward and passed directly through the waterfall. Renji and Naruto followed.
"Wow!" Naruto's eyes widened.
Before them was an extremely spacious area, like a giant underground palace. The entire interior of the small mountain seemed to have been hollowed out.
"This is amazing!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Alright, let's fight the Nine-Tails here," Bee said.
They walked along a long corridor flanked by golden, headless Buddha statues, adding a solemn atmosphere. Finally, Bee reached a great door.
As he slowly pushed it open, a dreamlike, vibrant world appeared. The colors inside were dazzling, like soft, clashing clouds of cotton candy, creating an atmosphere that instantly lifted one's mood.
"Alright, Naruto, go in and sit down. Close your eyes and concentrate, just like before," Bee instructed.
"Oh... will this really allow me to see the Tailed Beast?" Naruto asked, but he obeyed, finding a spot to sit.
He suddenly opened his eyes. "But, in the past, I could communicate with the Nine-Tails through my inner self."
Bee gazed at him indifferently. "Every Jinchuriki can do that. This space is different, understand?"
He refocused. "Naruto, what kind of sealing jutsu sealed the Nine-Tails inside you?"
Renji replied, "It's the Four Symbols Seal."
Bee's eyes widened. "The Four Symbols Seal? That's incredible! It's much stronger than the Iron Armor Seal I've mastered!"
He paused. "So, is there a key to unlock this seal?"
Renji also turned to Naruto.
Naruto instantly recalled the scene from Mount Myōboku. The strange frog held the key his father, Minato, had prepared. 'The frog already gave me the key.'
Naruto nodded.
"Now, let me teach you how to fight the Nine-Tails!" Bee extended his clenched fist. Naruto unhesitatingly met it with his own.
The two closed their eyes.
"Naruto, once you enter your consciousness, first greet the Nine-Tails, then immediately release that seal," Bee's low voice reached his ears.
Naruto slowly opened his eyes again, finding himself inside the sealing space. Before him stood an enormous iron gate. Behind it, in the endless darkness, a faint crimson light flickered.
Just then, Naruto's voice reached Bee's ears. "The Nine-Tails said..."
He paused, hesitant.
"What did it say?" Bee pressed.
Naruto took a deep breath. "It said it wants Renji to come over, and you're not allowed to step in..."
Bee instantly froze. '...'
'What the heck? I'm being excluded?'
He turned to look at Renji, only to see the other person smiling faintly at him.
"Alright, then you do as I just said," Bee composed himself and said to Renji.
Renji sat cross-legged opposite Naruto. He also extended his fist, gently pressing it against Naruto's.
In an instant, a powerful spiritual force enveloped them, and Renji was drawn into the mysterious space.
In this space, both Naruto and the Nine-Tailed appeared.
"Yo!" Naruto looked at the massive Nine-Tailed, but his heart no longer held the deep fear of the past.
'As Renji said, what stands before me isn't something evil, but merely another pitiable victim.'
Naruto's gaze met the Nine-Tailed's malevolent eyes, and he teased, "Why are your eyes still so fierce?"
The Nine-Tailed disdainfully rolled its huge eyes, not wanting to bother with this brat.
Naruto turned to Renji. "Renji, don't be afraid!"
Renji: '...'
'Where did I show fear?'
The Nine-Tailed's attention was drawn to Renji. Renji wore a faint smile, his eyes as calm as water.
The Nine-Tailed felt surprised. 'This human is strange.'
When ordinary people first saw it, they felt disgust, hatred, or terror. Or they put on a condescending facade, like Madara.
But this person had not a single ripple of emotion. He looked at it as if it were an ordinary stranger, which inexplicably made the Nine-Tailed uncomfortable.
Rip—
The seal on the giant iron gate was easily torn off by Naruto.
Immediately, the heavy, blood-red iron gate slowly opened.
An incomparably powerful gust of wind roared forth, fiercely impacting their bodies.
The Nine-Tailed, confined behind the gate, could no longer suppress its anger. It wished it could immediately rush forward and savagely beat up this presumptuous brat.
'He opened the gate himself! How can I let go of such a perfect opportunity?'
The Nine-Tailed charged out like a flash of lightning, its sharp claws striking fiercely at Naruto.
The claws tore through Naruto's body, but there was no blood; his figure dissolved into a puff of white smoke.
At the same moment, a dazzling white light illuminated. Naruto appeared above the Nine-Tailed's head. "Sage Art: Super Great Ball Rasengan!"
The Rasengan emitted an extremely powerful energy ripple.
The Nine-Tailed showed no fear, swiftly swinging two thick tails, blocking the attack.
With a loud 'bang', the Rasengan collided violently, unleashing an earth-shattering shockwave.
The terrifyingly powerful Rasengan failed to inflict any damage.
At the same time, a deep purple sphere began to condense in the Nine-Tailed's mouth, compressing, its color growing deeper.
Before it was fully formed, Naruto sensed the overwhelming power.
Renji remembered he had come in to help.
In an instant, the sealing space grew intensely cold. The water surface was covered with a thick layer of frost.
Next, an astonishingly massive ice dragon roared out.
This dragon, crackling with dazzling lightning, opened its gaping maw and pounced fiercely at the Nine-Tailed, locking onto it.
At the same time, its four powerful giant claws firmly pressed the Nine-Tailed onto the cold, hard ground, making it impossible for it to break free.
"Naruto!" Renji shouted, his hands not stopping, continuously injecting chakra.
Another equally huge ice dragon condensed. The two majestic dragons coiled on either side of the Nine-Tailed's body, trapping it.
Naruto's chakra began to rapidly condense into a giant claw. The claw grabbed one of the Nine-Tailed's tails.
Red chakra was continuously pulled into Naruto's body.
The Nine-Tailed stopped struggling, its vertical pupils filled with malice. "Even if I give you my chakra, you won't be able to use it!"
Along with the chakra, the Nine-Tailed's monstrous hatred flowed into Naruto's body.
His pupils dilated. Intense malice assaulted his brain. His clear pupils were slowly being eroded.
The malice was like a black torrent, impacting the last line of defense in his heart.
"No one will acknowledge you!"
"Nine-Tailed monster!"
"Get out!"
"Don't come into my shop!"
These voices echoed in his ears, intertwining into an impenetrable net. The cold stares and discrimination he had suffered surged back.
He was a child, standing alone in the bustling crowd, as if he were a plague.
'Why? Why did they hate him so much?'
A very familiar voice suddenly entered his ears. "Naruto."
These two simple words possessed infinite magic, instantly drawing his attention.
A familiar figure appeared in his previously pitch-black vision.
A pair of warm, strong hands gently held his, and a warm current flowed into his heart.
...
At the same time, in the real world, Renji's slender hands quietly rested on Naruto's shoulders.
The body heat from another person, like the warm sun in winter, instantly dispelled the gloom in Naruto's heart.
...
"Have you forgotten what I said last night?"
That familiar voice echoed again. Naruto looked closely, and the shadow in the darkness gradually became clear.
It was Renji!
Yes, he had not forgotten. He had not been alone.
The black mist that had enveloped Naruto's eyes dissipated. In its place was the unwavering light that shone from his sapphire eyes.
"I haven't forgotten!" His voice was firm.
How could he forget? Renji had promised he would always be with him.
"Disappear for me!"
Accompanying this angry shout, the obsessions that had haunted him for years slowly dissipated like smoke.
"Impossible!" The Nine-Tailed let out an unwilling roar.
It widened its eyes, looking at Naruto in disbelief. "How could you have no hatred..."
The Nine-Tailed's struggles became more intense.
However, at this moment, a sudden change occurred.
Countless golden chains suddenly shot out from Naruto's body, like nimble golden snakes, coiling around the Nine-Tailed's limbs and tail.
With a few muffled thuds, the Nine-Tailed was instantly pinned to the ground, unable to move.
In an instant, a soft golden light rippled before them, gradually covering the entire sealing space.
Renji was already within Naruto's consciousness, so when Naruto's consciousness entered another space, he naturally followed.
They stood side by side, and opposite them stood a woman, as if she had been waiting.
This woman had fiery red hair that fell smoothly to her calves. On her beautiful face, there was a unique expression that was both gentle and curious.
"Mother?" Naruto stared and asked.
Uzumaki Kushina.
Naruto ran to her and Kushina caught him in a firm embrace, laughing through a shaky breath. "You've grown so much, Naruto."
Golden chains shimmered and tightened around the Nine-Tails in the distance. Kushina glanced that way and smiled. "This is my chakra. I left it inside the seal so we could meet when you tried to take the Nine-Tails' power. I don't have much time."
Her eyes softened as she cupped Naruto's face. "Listen—eat well, don't stay up too late, bathe every day, don't be picky, make good friends, beware of weird adults… and chase a dream that's yours, dattebane."
Naruto's throat worked. "Mom…"
Kushina looked to Renji and bowed her head slightly. "Thank you for standing with him—and for seeing what I, as a Jinchuriki, once missed."
She turned back to her son. "Naruto… end the cycle between Jinchuriki and the Tailed Beasts. Not by force—by understanding. You can do it."
Tears gathered at the corners of Naruto's eyes. "Will… will I see you again?"
Kushina smiled, bright and sure. "I'll always be here." She touched a hand to his chest. "And here."
The glow around her began to fade. "Thank you," she whispered, voice warm. "For making me a mother. For making Minato a father. For being born."
"I— I'm glad I was," Naruto said, voice breaking. "I'm glad you were my mom."
Kushina pulled him into one last hug. "I love you."
"I love you too," Naruto breathed.
Naruto closed his eyes, feeling his mother's warmth. Until her embrace completely vanished.
But the warmth did not disappear.
Naruto reached out and hugged Renji. Tears fell onto Renji's shoulder.
...
Naruto and Renji sat quietly in front of Killer Bee, their eyelids trembling.
Bee knew they were about to open their eyes.
They slowly opened their eyes at the same time.
Bee gazed at them and excitedly said, "Haha, it seems this attempt was successful!"
Naruto took a deep breath. "Uncle Killer Bee, the Nine-Tailed's chakra is now properly placed inside my body."
Just then, Naruto suddenly activated the chakra.
In an instant, his entire body was tightly enveloped in a dazzling golden light, intensely bright yet warm.
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