Chapter 833: Chapter 834: Father and Son Reunited

There was no need to continue the conversation at this point.

Everything that needed to be asked had already been asked, and Ethan had answered. Continuing would yield nothing new and might even provoke him, so there was no reason to keep going.

Jiraiya suddenly seemed to think of something and looked Ethan over again.

"Speaking of which, your real age must be quite high, right?"

Regardless of whether Ethan was a god or an existence even stronger than the Sage of Six Paths, since he was disguised as a child, his true age definitely wasn’t just in the teens.

As for transforming into a child, Jiraiya didn’t find that strange at all.

Even Tsunade had a way to make herself look like a child, so for Ethan to possess an even more miraculous transformation ability was entirely reasonable.

"If you want to ask for my specific age, I can’t give you an answer."

He had stopped counting a long time ago. But piecing everything together, it would certainly be a large number.

"Because I haven’t calculated my age in a long time. After all, it’s meaningless to me."

"So, as a mature man, what do you think of Tsunade?"

"???"

Ethan was caught off guard, then rubbed his chin and looked over Tsunade, making her feel completely uncomfortable.

"I prefer the type like Kurenai."

"Hmm..." Jiraiya nodded with a serious expression. "Indeed, a mature male."

"..."

The conversation ended there. The only change was that Jiraiya suffered some minor injuries.

As for Ethan? After answering Jiraiya’s questions, he vanished. He could guess what would happen next. While it might be fun to watch from the sidelines, it could end up involving him, so he chose to avoid it.

Returning home, he slept for a while. Before noon, Naruto came to wake him up.

This time, he had bought a courtyard house that was neither too big nor too small. The nearby residents were all Konoha’s elite, making it a high-end residential area.

Walking from the road in front of his home to the deeper parts of the district, it wouldn’t take long to reach the Hyuga clan’s main compound.

The Nara, Akimichi, and Inuzuka clans also lived in this area.

Ethan was a Hokage Advisor after all, and his status was clear. He couldn’t live in a run-down place. If he weren’t living alone and found large houses troublesome, he could’ve been direct neighbors with the Hyuga clan.

"What’s the matter?"

After washing up and getting dressed, it was already noon by the time he finished his routine.

Naruto had been full of energy at first, but now looked a bit down. His stomach was rumbling, clearly hungry.

"I wanted to ask you for special training, but can we eat first?"

"Alright, let’s eat first."

"Alright! Let’s go eat ramen!"

"Ramen again... fine."

As they strolled toward Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto asked about how Sasuke had trained over the past two years and how he became so strong.

"Building a foundation, and learning techniques that suit oneself."

"That’s it?"

"That’s it."

Sasuke had trained with Ethan for two years, and in summary, it was that simple. If Naruto hadn’t left with Jiraiya and had stayed in Konoha to train, Ethan would have given him similar training.

Back then, Naruto’s foundation was very poor. Although he had worked hard, he had only barely reached a passing level.

Fortunately, Jiraiya understood the importance of fundamentals and had drilled the basics into Naruto for the past two years. So now, Naruto’s foundation was decent. What he truly lacked was training in techniques suited to him.

What techniques suited Naruto? Anyone who had watched Naruto would know: Rasengan.

Aside from Rasengan? His biggest asset was cheating.

Naruto’s greatest "cheat" was the Nine-Tails inside him. In critical moments, he would borrow power from the Nine-Tails, which helped him overcome countless crises.

Depending on the evolution of their relationship, this power had different stages and modes.

Later in the story, Naruto reached an understanding with the Nine-Tails and became a perfect Jinchuriki, fighting in the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.

Aside from the Sage of Six Paths Mode, which he gained as a gift, the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode was theoretically the strongest power Naruto could currently access.

And the method to obtain this power was simple: become friends with the Nine-Tails. Once they became friends, the Nine-Tails would let Naruto use his power without reservation.

Compared to learning Wind Release techniques or developing the Rasenshuriken, this was undoubtedly the most suitable path for Naruto right now. His strength would undergo a complete transformation.

When Ethan shared this plan, Kakashi and Jiraiya, who had come to observe, both opposed it.

"It’s too dangerous."

"Where’s the danger?"

"The Nine-Tails’ power..."

"Is it stronger than the Sage of Six Paths?"

Jiraiya was left speechless. Ethan had never considered the Sage of Six Paths as anything special, so how could he care about the Nine-Tails?

Last night, Jiraiya had heard many secrets from Ethan, including the origin of the nine Tailed Beasts, their relationship with the Sage of Six Paths, and even recalled the First Hokage’s legendary feat of beating up all nine Tailed Beasts, capturing them, tying them up at Konoha’s gate, and then distributing two to each of the major villages, like giving away shuriken.

Every time he thought about that, Jiraiya felt like the current generation had truly shamed their ancestors.

No one else knew what Jiraiya was thinking. Kakashi had intended to say something, but was stopped by him.

"Forget it. If you’re worried, why don’t you all come and see for yourselves?"

"Huh?"

Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura hadn’t even reacted when they suddenly felt a wave of dizziness. By the time they came to their senses, the environment around them had completely changed.

"This is...?"

A dark place, like a dungeon. In front of them were huge iron bars with a paper tag stuck to them, bearing the character ’Seal’.

"This is inside Naruto. It can barely be considered a part of his mental world."

When Sasuke heard this, he was suddenly stunned. He remembered the scene Ethan had shown him before: in his own mental world, there was a dark corner, where a completely black version of himself was wrapped in white snakes.

That was what Orochimaru had left behind in his body. Ethan had told him that if he wanted to truly become strong, he had to reclaim the part of his mental world that Orochimaru had invaded and eliminate the intruder.

If he could do that, not only would his strength increase again, but his mental state would also mature. Only then would his potential be fully unleashed.

Naruto’s situation was similar. The difference was that what he held was far more terrifying.

"That thing... is behind those iron bars?"

Sasuke had known about Naruto’s situation for a long time. Even Sakura knew now. During the mission to rescue Gaara, she had learned about Tailed Beasts and Jinchuriki.

"That terrifying being called a Tailed Beast is sealed in there?"

Everyone understood what Sakura meant. Naruto might act carefree, but he wasn’t stupid. After looking around at the place he’d seen several times, he turned to Ethan.

"The choice is yours. I’m just pointing out the path. Whether you take it or not..."

He gestured toward the bars, signaling Naruto to make the decision himself.

"You said I can become friends with the Nine-Tails?"

Naruto looked into the distance. Ethan had told him before that the Nine-Tails wasn’t some mindless monster, but a highly intelligent creature that could be reasoned with.

"If you can sign a contract with the toads of Mount Myoboku and become friends with them, why not with the Nine-Tails?"

It wasn’t Naruto who refuted him, but Sakura.

"But the Nine-Tails caused a huge disaster..."

"The giant snakes Orochimaru summoned also caused massive destruction to Konoha, but to Orochimaru, they were just tools." Ethan then pointed at Naruto. "If Naruto summoned giant toads to attack Konoha, wouldn’t the destruction be just as bad as what the Nine-Tails caused?"

This simple and direct reasoning finally made Naruto decide. He firmly walked toward the bars and reached out his hand toward the seal tag.

"You’ve made your decision."

Ethan watched as Naruto removed the seal. He immediately used Body Flicker Technique to block the man who suddenly appeared and tried to grab Naruto.

"!"

"?"

Jiraiya and Kakashi were shocked to see this person appear. Sakura and Sasuke were more curious about who he was. It wasn’t until they saw the words "Fourth Hokage" on his cloak that it clicked.

"The Fourth Hokage?"

"Minato?"

"Sensei?"

Minato had been looking at Ethan, surprised that he was caught. Upon hearing the voices, he turned around and saw several familiar faces.

"Jiraiya-sensei? Kakashi? You’re all here too?"

He was sure this was Naruto’s inner world. Why were there so many people?

Then he looked at the younger group nearby, and at Naruto, who stood there looking confused, clearly not understanding what was going on.

"Did I... misunderstand the situation?"

"A little..."

Ethan let go of Minato’s arm. "Right now, Naruto is actively trying to approach the Nine-Tails, not the Nine-Tails trying to break the seal and devour Naruto. So, the safety mechanism you left in the seal might not be necessary."

Then he looked at Naruto again. "But this is a good opportunity for you two to talk."

(To be continued.)

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