Chapter 182: Flashback Part 1

Disclaimer:

Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto.

I own nothing but the original characters I create.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author notes-

Chapter 182: Flashback Part 1

Six months before Naruto's arrival in Konoha...

They were camping in the northern part of the Land of Hot Springs, near the border with the Land of Sound, where Orochimaru had built his hidden village.

Although they weren't close to any of his bases, this area was considered a safe spot.

As usual, Jiraiya had wandered off to the nearest village to "gather intel," leaving Naruto to guard the camp and monitor any potential movement along the border.

But at the moment, Naruto couldn't focus on the camp. His attention was consumed by a more urgent matter.

The Kyūbi had awakened...and it was furious.

Inside his mindscape, the enormous fox roared and thrashed against the bars of its metaphorical cage.

"What are you doing to me?!" it bellowed, its voice echoing with rage.

Naruto's mental projection stood before the beast, calm despite the volatile situation.

For the past year and a half, Naruto had been siphoning the Kyūbi's chakra to make it his own. But this process had inadvertently caused some damage to the seal that restrained the beast.

He had studied enough fūinjutsu to know he couldn't repair the damage... the seal was crafted with a forbidden technique far beyond his current knowledge.

This meant one thing, the Kyūbi's reckless thrashing could shatter the weakened seal, allowing it to escape its confinement.

'I have no choice but to absorb what's left of it...all at once,' Naruto thought, watching the beast's violent tantrum.

"Let me out!" the Kyūbi snarled. "I'll kill you! You lied to me!"

"Of course, I lied to you," Naruto replied coolly. "You're a demon."

The Kyūbi narrowed its eyes, its gaze shifting to the paper seal on the cage. It growled low. "This… it feels weaker now…"

"Tsk… it noticed." Naruto clicked his tongue. He no longer had the option of putting the beast back to sleep. His only choice was to absorb the remaining chakra and hope his body could handle the enormous influx of energy.

For months, Naruto had been preparing to advance to the Core Formation stage. He had already reached the peak of the Qi Refining stage, and his plan had been to carefully condense his liquid chakra pool into a solid core over the next three to four months.

But now, he would have to do it in mere hours.

"Hah! The seal is weakening!" the Kyūbi roared with glee. "I'll break this thing and kill you now!"

Naruto stepped closer to the cage, glaring at the beast.

"No, you won't."

He raised his hand, focusing his energy.

"Cosmic Assimilation—Abs—"

A sudden flash of light erupted from the seal, interrupting him mid-incantation.

"Did it break already?!" Naruto exclaimed, startled.

"No. I'll make sure that doesn't happen."

Naruto froze. He didn't startle easily, but hearing an unknown voice inside his mindscape was more than enough to catch him off guard.

"Who's…?" His words trailed off as the light dimmed.

Standing before the seal was a man with spiky blond hair and a confident air about him. He placed a hand on the seal, which seemed to regain some of its lost strength.

"No! What are you doing here?!" the Kyūbi roared in rage, its voice shaking the entire mindscape.

Naruto's eyes widened in recognition. He had seen this man's face countless times, as it was etched into the mountainside of Konoha.

"Minato Namikaze… the Fourth Hokage," Naruto muttered.

The man turned to him and smiled warmly.

"You can call me Dad, if you want," Minato said, his tone light.

Naruto stared at him, processing the unexpected turn of events. His mind projection had evolved over time, now closely resembling his current physical appearance. Minato showed no sign of noticing anything unusual about his "son."

"How are you here?" Naruto asked warily. He couldn't help but wonder if Minato had left part of his soul within the seal. That would be a complication Naruto wasn't eager to deal with.

"Haha! I can understand why you're surprised to see your dead old man here," Minato said, scratching the back of his head. He gestured to the seal. "When I created this, I left a copy of my memories and chakra inside it. If the seal ever got close to breaking, my projection would activate to stabilize it."

Naruto nodded slowly. That explanation made sense, and he felt relieved that his first assumption had been wrong. A memory-based projection was far less troublesome than a lingering soul. The chakra stored in the seal will just run out and then this manifestation will disappear.

"Memories and chakra… clever," Naruto admitted. "So, can you fix the seal completely?"

Minato puffed out his chest proudly. "That's what I'm here for! Now, leave this to your old man and—"

He stopped abruptly, his expression shifting as he studied the seal.

"Wait a moment…"

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked, his tone cautious.

Minato turned to him, his eyes filled with concern.

"Naruto… what did you do to the seal?"

"What do you mean? I never touched it," Naruto replied. "I don't even know what forbidden technique you used to create it. It's beyond my current level."

Minato pointed to parts of the seal. "The seal isn't broken… it's disappearing."

"Disappearing?" Naruto echoed.

"Yes, look here." Minato gestured to an empty section of the scroll. "There were symbols here...and here." He pointed to another section. "And these symbols are only half-visible. It's no wonder the seal is failing. It's like… it's being consumed."

"Oh…" Naruto suddenly realized his mistake. His absorption technique had worked too well. He hadn't just taken half the Kyūbi's chakra...he'd also drained the seal itself.

Minato's expression darkened, and he spoke the words Naruto least wanted to hear. "I'm sorry, but… I can't fix this."

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