"Hmph."
Kurama let out an ambiguous snort from its nose, its massive head lowering further until it was almost level with the newly opened hole. Its sharp gaze pierced through, locking onto Naruto.
"You... I've actually wanted to ask for a long time."
Its voice lowered, losing its usual frenzy and gaining a touch of investigative solemnity.
"You mentioned it before, and now you say... 'the back-up plan left by the Fourth Hokage couple.' What exactly is it? Does the Chakra of those two still remain in this Seal in some form?"
Naruto nodded, his expression becoming serious.
Maintaining the stability of the Seal's opening, he explained, "Yeah. They cleverly integrated a portion of their Chakra consciousness into the core of this Eight Trigrams Sealing Style."
"Under normal circumstances, it won't appear. Only when the Seal faces an extreme impact, or... when the Tailed Beast Chakra in my body goes out of control to a certain dangerous critical point, will their Chakra consciousness be triggered and temporarily manifest."
These two strands of Chakra had seen everything since his birth, and they might not necessarily approve of him.
Before finding a way to gain their trust, Naruto didn't plan to directly undo the Seal to release the Fourth Hokage couple's Chakra.
Because Naruto really wanted to see if the two of them still had any Sealing Techniques he hadn't learned, or ideas for developing Sealing Techniques and the like.
"...If it's Kushina..."
"I can try... using my Chakra to 'nurture' and 'anchor' that remaining consciousness of hers."
This proposal made Naruto's eyes widen instantly, his face full of shock and disbelief.
Kurama continued in that low voice, its tone complex: "Kushina... she was my previous Jinchuriki."
"There was a long period of confrontation between us."
"My Chakra existed within her body for a long time, having the most direct contact and intertwining with her Chakra and vitality."
"This 'connection'... even after her death, even if only a small remnant of Chakra consciousness remains, my Chakra might be able to act as a kind of 'nourishment' and'stabilization,' delaying its dissipation, or even... making its state more stable."
It paused for a moment, turning its gaze aside as if unwilling to look directly at the fire of hope that might ignite in Naruto's eyes, its voice carrying an unquestionable boundary:
"However, as for Minato... it might not work. Minato wasn't my Jinchuriki. I can try, but I can't make any guarantees."
If human Chakra is defined as A and Tailed Beast Chakra as B, then the Chakra of a Tailed Beast Jinchuriki is AB.
B can inject Chakra into AB, but cannot directly inject Chakra into A. However, AB can inject Chakra into both A and B.
Now Minato was A, Kushina was AB, and the Nine-Tailed was B. The Nine-Tailed couldn't guarantee it could preserve Minato's Chakra.
He could teach this method to Naruto, but he always had a strange feeling that Naruto didn't seem to respect the Fourth very much.
Or rather, he didn't have much respect for any of the Hokage.
"It's okay, just do your best."
Naruto waved his hand.
Regarding Minato and Kushina, Naruto's feelings were complex.
Because in his heart, he always felt that he wasn't the original Naruto.
But he really wanted to learn Kushina's Sealing Techniques knowledge. Although there was a better solution, he couldn't exactly dig up Uzumaki Mito's grave and use Edo Tensei to bring the old lady back, right?
After coming out of the consciousness space, Naruto began practicing Sealing Techniques.
During the day, he practiced Chakra nature transformation while learning new Ninjutsu; at night, he practiced Sealing Techniques.
It couldn't be helped; those high-and-mighty alien poodles simply didn't care about Ninjutsu.
However, Sealing Techniques were definitely the most broken thing in the Naruto world.
Whether you were a local or an alien, you couldn't be immune to Sealing Techniques.
I don't care about this or that—take my Sealing Techniques!
Later, he would also need to find Uchiha Hikari, who was sealed by the Senju and Sarutobi together. Her eyes were also quite powerful.
Those lunatics from the Uchiha used the Transcription Seal to transplant other ocular techniques into her, giving her eyes many different abilities.
Uchiha Hikari's ocular techniques included: Kagutsuchi, Tsukuyomi, Amaterasu, Engraved Tsukuyomi (the activation method is similar to the Infinite Tsukuyomi, a mass genjutsu that projects the Sharingan onto the moon), Yachihoko, and Susanoo.
Honestly, in terms of Sharingan abilities alone, there was probably no one with more than her.
He didn't know if the Hokage Building's database had them or not.
The Naruto from the Seventh Hokage era in the Ultimate Ninja Storm plot had found a scroll about her.
Everything could be obtained during the Chunin Exams.
If the Hokage Building didn't have it, once the Third died, he could definitely visit the Sarutobi Clan's territory and the original Senju Clan's territory.
"I have not yet reached my prime; when I do, there will be changes."
It was time.
The time to soar high was approaching.
Early the next morning.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the curtains, casting warm golden spots of light in the room.
Naruto opened his eyes and was wide awake almost instantly. He felt more invigorated than ever before, his mind as clear as if it had been washed by a mountain spring, and his body surging with abundant vitality. Even his breathing felt smoother and more powerful than usual.
He sat up, ruffled his bright blonde hair, and felt the smooth and full flow of Chakra within his body.
"Is it because of yesterday..."
With a slight thought, his consciousness sank into his body for a moment.
Sure enough, although the newly opened "window" on the Seal Gate had automatically shrunk and stabilized into a finer Chakra flow channel after he left the consciousness space, the effect was already apparent.
Kurama's massive Chakra was leaking out in a more stable manner, thread by thread, engaging in a deeper level of Fusion and circulation with his own Chakra, subtly nourishing his mind and body.
"This feels great!"
Naruto grinned and clenched his fist.
He hopped out of bed and finished washing up.
When he walked into the living room, as expected, he didn't see Inoichi Yamanaka.
"Uncle Inoichi must have worked overtime all night and just crashed in the lounge."
Naruto went to the refrigerator, peeled off yesterday's note, and then wrote a new one that said "Training," sticking it in the original spot.
He decided to head over to the Yamanaka Clan's place first today to see if Ino, Hinata, or Hanabi were free.
Having done this, Naruto patted Dahuang, who was lying on the cushion next to the sofa. The dog had already pricked up its ears upon hearing his movement and was watching him with bright black eyes.
"Let's go, Dahuang."
He bent down and picked up Dahuang.
"We're going out today. I'll pick out a comfortable new bed for you while we're at it. You can't just keep sleeping by the sofa!"
"Woof~ Awoo~"
Dahuang wagged its tail excitedly, gave a short bark, and rubbed its wet nose against Naruto's chin.
Naruto smiled and placed it steadily on one of his shoulders.
The morning streets of Konoha were already bustling.
With Dahuang perched on his shoulder, Naruto walked with a light step, debating whether to go to the bun shop first or straight to the flower shop. Suddenly, a vibrant shout rang out from behind him:
"Big Brother Naruto!"
Naruto turned to look and saw three small figures running toward him.
Running at the very front was the Third Hokage's grandson, Konohamaru. His face was filled with excitement and the look of someone who had found their leader.
Following closely behind him were his little sidekicks, Moegi and Ise Udon.