Chapter 834: Chapter 835: Do You Want to Be Resurrected, Dear?

"Father and son?"

Only Sakura was surprised. She never could have imagined that Naruto, the perpetual dead-last, the orphan who had been discriminated against and looked down upon in the village, was actually the son of the Fourth Hokage.

Naruto himself hadn’t expected that he was the son of the Fourth Hokage, the great hero who had saved the village.

When most people learned this truth and looked back on how they had been treated, probably nine out of ten would want to destroy Konoha.

However, Naruto happened to be the one exception. After learning that his father was the Fourth Hokage, he didn’t feel resentful about his childhood. Instead, he was happy—happy to finally know who his father was, and even happier that he could still see him.

The father and son began talking like no one else was present. Ethan stood nearby, originally planning to leave, but when he turned his head, he saw Kurama on the other side of the bars staring at the father and son.

"I didn’t expect you to be so sentimental."

"What did you say, brat!"

The Nine-Tails, or Kurama.

"When Minato appeared, you didn’t roar or try to kill him right away. Instead, you quietly watched them talk, like you didn’t want to interrupt them?"

"I was just thinking..."

"Thinking?"

"Which would be better: killing the father in front of that brat, or killing the brat in front of that bastard."

Kurama said this through gritted teeth, baring a fierce grin. Its sharp teeth and terrifying expression made even Sakura, who was standing far away, feel uneasy.

The people of Konoha didn’t have a good impression of the Nine-Tails, so when it said that, their first instinct was to believe it might really do it.

But Ethan knew this giant fox only talked like a villain. It had never truly committed evil acts of its own will. The destruction it caused in Konoha had been under the control of the Sharingan.

"Alright..."

Kurama thought its words would make Ethan at least nervous or scared, but found that his reaction was incredibly indifferent, and his tone was downright casual.

"What kind of reaction is that?"

"A normal one."

"Shouldn’t you be worried about them?"

"Alright..."

"Can you stop brushing me off with that tone?"

"Alright..."

"I’m going to bite you to death!"

"Alright."

"..."

Kurama gripped the bars with its front paws, glaring fiercely at Ethan. "If it weren’t for this seal, I’d make you see just how terri... ble I am?"

Before it could finish, Kurama noticed that the gate in front of it had opened, as if it hadn’t been locked at all and would swing open with a light push.

Turning its head, it saw that Naruto, with Minato’s help, had undone the seal. Combined with the earlier removed paper tag, this meant the seal holding Kurama had been completely released.

It was now free. If it wanted, it could devour or kill Naruto and regain its freedom.

"I didn’t expect you to actually..."

Just as Kurama was about to say something harsh, it suddenly felt a sharp pain on its head. A tremendous force smashed its face into the ground.

In its peripheral vision, it saw that the young man had somehow conjured a massive wooden mallet and had used it to strike its head.

"You brat..."

Again, before it could finish, the mallet came down. Kurama found that not only did the mallet hit hard, it made its consciousness fuzzy for quite a while.

That wasn’t all. It also noticed that Ethan’s mallet appeared to be made using Wood Style, which triggered some very unpleasant memories.

"What is your relationship with Hashirama?"

"I have no relationship with him..."

Ethan turned to Minato and Naruto, who were both staring in disbelief.

"I’ll leave the rest to you. I believe you can convince this stubborn fox."

Ethan had full confidence in Naruto’s talk-no-jutsu. Kurama was all bark and no bite—easily swayed, with a soft heart. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Minato also had experience in ’subduing’ the Nine-Tails, though the one here was only a clone. Whether this clone had been dormant in Naruto all along, or had been summoned using the chakra embedded in Naruto as a medium...

Ethan guessed it was the latter. In the original story, Minato, when revived by Edo Tensei, had accurately recognized Naruto and shown familiarity with his chakra. That seemed to imply the real Minato possessed that memory.

Of course, it could also be that the memory returned to the main body after the clone dispersed, just like with Shadow Clones.

Even if this Minato didn’t have experience subduing the Nine-Tails, it didn’t matter. Just treat it as a family reunion.

"Oh... right, one more won’t hurt."

Ethan was about to leave when he suddenly thought of something. He gently patted Naruto’s shoulder, and then a mass of chakra slowly emerged from Naruto’s body and condensed into the form of a woman.

When Minato saw the woman’s appearance, he wasn’t surprised at all, only amazed that Ethan could even locate Kushina.

As for Naruto, he was still in shock. Until today, he had thought he was just an orphan who didn’t even know who his parents were. His plan for today was to have a dangerous (?) confrontation with the terrifying Nine-Tails to gain more power.

Instead, before even speaking to Kurama, he had been reunited with both his parents.

After bringing Kushina out, Ethan didn’t stay any longer and left the space to the family.

As he walked away, he had initially wanted to warn Kurama, but then he saw the fox sitting there obediently, watching the ’enemies’ who had sealed it, chatting like no one else was there.

If not for its massive size, it really looked like a family pet... What was with that doting gaze?

Kurama had witnessed almost all of Naruto’s growth. To it, Naruto was someone it had watched grow up. Seeing Naruto reunited with his family, Kurama couldn’t help but feel happy for him, and didn’t want to interrupt this fleeting reunion.

"Tsundere."

Seeing the Nine-Tails’ behavior, Ethan was even more certain that Naruto could tame it. Even Jiraiya and Kakashi, who were watching from afar, could see it clearly.

They never expected that the seemingly terrifying Nine-Tails actually had a kind heart.

"Compared to you, the Nine-Tails has been inside Naruto since he was very young, watching him grow and experiencing everything with him. Naruto is the only one who’s been with it all these years. Their relationship is not just that of jailer and prisoner. That’s why, whenever Naruto is in danger, the Nine-Tails willingly lends him power."

"Is that how it is? But the Nine-Tails’ power is too strong. Can Naruto’s body handle it?"

When Naruto used the Nine-Tails’ power, it damaged his body. That was why Jiraiya didn’t want Naruto to use it.

"You’re too wary of the Nine-Tails’ power, which has led to Naruto being unable to properly master or use it. That’s why it causes so much harm."

The reason for this problem was the wrong method. If used correctly, the Nine-Tails’ power wasn’t harmful. On the contrary, it offered immense benefits—increased defense, regeneration, and power.

However, more than Naruto gaining strength, Jiraiya and Kakashi were happy that he could see his parents.

"I never expected to see them again."

Both Jiraiya and Kakashi had deep ties to Minato. Normally, they would have pulled him aside to talk.

But this time, they didn’t want to interrupt. They all knew that these two couldn’t stay long.

Still, Minato came over on his own.

Kushina stayed by Naruto’s side as he negotiated with the big fox—perhaps to keep the Nine-Tails in check? Her sealing techniques could suppress it.

"Master Jiraiya, Kakashi, I really didn’t expect to see you again."

"I didn’t expect it either."

Jiraiya and Kakashi greeted Minato warmly, and Minato didn’t ignore the others. He looked around at the group, already knowing their identities from Naruto. These were Naruto’s companions.

"Thank you for taking care of Naruto all these years."

"Ah, you’re welcome."

Sakura was a bit shy, while Sasuke, dropping his usual aloof attitude, responded politely. When Minato turned to Ethan, he paused.

He had heard a lot about Ethan from Naruto. If he hadn’t just experienced Ethan’s power firsthand, it would’ve been hard to believe that such a genius had appeared in Konoha.

As a Hokage, he instinctively sensed that Ethan’s identity wasn’t simple, but with Jiraiya also present, he felt Ethan was trustworthy.

"You have something you want to ask, don’t you?"

Minato gave a bitter smile. "Even though I have many questions, there’s not much time left..." His chakra was running out, meaning he couldn’t stay much longer.

"You don’t need to worry about that. If you wish, resurrection is not difficult for me."

(To be continued.)