"I guess I should take things from the top so you actually understand," William suggested. "Hmmm… Oh, I know! Okay, your dad didn't leave you empty-handed; his chakra's actually inside of your seal."
Naruto gestured toward his belly, wondering what that meant.
This really wasn't easy for William to explain. "I can't explain it right now, but I can take you to him."
Naruto's eyes lit up with excitement. "Really? How're ya gonna do that?"
"Yep, but it won't be easy… We have to enter your inner world. Ugh... I mean your subconscious. Ugh, crap! I mean your seal!"
Naruto's excitement turned into confusion again. While he knew he had a seal on him, he'd never been told what it was exactly. But one thing was certain: he believed William, and he wanted to meet his father.
"Just let me know when you're ready," William said.
"I'm ready! Whatever it is you're gonna do, I trust you!"
Smiling, William reached out and touched Naruto's forehead. A pulse of chakra flowed between them, and in an instant, their minds were transported to a new realm.
The two soon stood in a dark corridor that was slightly flooded. Water dripped from the ceiling, creating a haunting atmosphere.
"Where are we?" Naruto asked, feeling something off.
"We're inside your seal… Most people don't know what this place is called, but I like to think of it as your subconscious."
"Most people?" Naruto repeated. "Ya mean, others know about this, too?"
"Ugh! Never mind that! All that's important to know is that this is where the Nine-Tails is."
Naruto's eyes widened upon seeing the many open hallways. Instinctively knew which one the fox was in.
As he took the lead, the two turned a corner. William could feel something unbearable. It wasn't long until they reached the end of the corridor and a massive caged door made of metal. There was also a large paper tag on it that read the word 'Seal'.
Behind it, they could hear a low growl, a sound that sent shivers down their spines.
The sight that greeted them next was terrifying: a giant beast with audaciously sharp teeth and a menacing glare accentuated by slitted, fiery red eyes.
"This is it," William said, gulping.
But when he looked at Naruto, the boy was frozen in place. This was understandable since this was the creature that had caused so much pain and suffering in Naruto's childhood. This was also the monster that had killed his parents.
William tried to assure him, but that sinister chakra radiating from the cage made William feel uneasy. To think there were those that could withstand being in its presence.
"Come closer, kids," the Nine-Tails' deep, rumbling voice said, shaking William's bones. "I won't bite… much."
The comment made sweat trickle down William's neck as he felt like he was drowning in sea of negativity.
"Will?" Naruto said, nudging him. Then he shook his shoulder vigorously. "Hey! Wake up!"
That snapped his senses back in place as he stammered before blinking rapidly to shake off the daze. "Oh, sorry!"
The Nine-Tails growled, "Even with my power restrained, you can barely stand in my presence. The both of you are truly worth nothing."
William's face flushed from having not been prepared for how little this creature valued him.
"Don't you dare talk to my cousin that way!" Naruto spoke up with confidence.
When William heard Naruto defend him, a sense of hope broke through his nervousness. "Y… Yeah! What he said, Kurama!"
The silence slammed like a closing door. This was the first time in a long time anyone uttered the beasts' real name, and it made its eyes narrow to slits as it gave William an intense stare.
"How do you know my name, brat?!"
William had to think fast. "It's… it's because Naruto here is special." Then he glanced at the boy, who was still processing this info. "And we're gonna free you one day!"
"We are?!" Naruto asked, feeling dumbfounded.
The Nine-Tails erupted in a roar of laughter as the sound bounced off the walls and shook the chamber's very foundation.
"You think you can free me?!" it asked. "You may know my name, but you don't realize that I am the most powerful creature you've had the pleasure of laying eyes on, trapped by a mere seal I intend to break myself! And the moment I do, I'll eat you both alive!"
Naruto's face flushed with anger as he stepped forward, fists raised. "I dunno know who you think you are, fox, but you can just stay in that cage forever if you're gonna keep talking down like that to us!"
The Nine-Tails, taken aback, bristled in fury. "Sniveling brats! You think you can dictate terms to me when all you do is mope around, pretending to be a ninja!"
"Stop it!" William suddenly cut in, raising his hands in an attempt to defuse the confrontation. "Listen, you two, that's not why we're here."
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked. He was initially defensive but then looked from William to the Nine-Tails and back. "You said you were going to introduce me to my dad!"
At the mention of Minato, the Nine-Tails fell silent, momentarily intrigued by the shift in focus.
William leaned in, bending close to Naruto's ear to whisper, "See that seal on the cage?"
"Yeah."
"When you touch it and try to rip it out, your father will come. Think you can do that while controlling your emotion?"
"I can do that!"
The Nine-Tails watched as Naruto soon bounded toward the seal. Then, without hesitating, he touched the paper affixed on the gate and tried to rip it out.
Smack!
"That's far enough!" a new figure's voice commanded.
When the two landed, a familiarity of recognition rushed through Naruto's veins.
It was Minato, the Minato Namikaze, standing there in his signature Hokage cloak and spiky blond hair. A tranquil aura surrounded him, contrasting sharply with the drama just moments before.
Naruto's voice trembled with a mix of shock and disbelief. "D… Dad…?"
Before Minato responded to his son, he turned to the beast's cage and said, "I didn't want to see you again, Nine-Tails." The beasts' features were one of malice as Minato turned back with a smile. "But I'm glad my son recognizes me."
With anger, Naruto drew back his fist and punched Minato squarely in the gut.
Bang!
"Why did you seal the Nine-Tails inside your own son?!" he screamed.
William, who had seen this scene several times, was still astounded.
Minato staggered back, hurt but still smiling. He gathered himself after the theatrics and said, "Not quite the lively greeting I was expecting."
Naruto wasn't amused. His expression turned serious and intense as he asked, "Do you know what my life has been like because of that?! People hated me, and I was alone for so long! Everyone treated me like some kind of monster!"
"I understand…" Minato replied with a calm tone. He could see the hurt in his son's eyes and the burden of loneliness that had weighed on him. "How old are you now?"
"I'm turning thirteen soon," Naruto whimpered as tears filled his face.
"Thirteen? You've grown so much."
Their tender moment was shattered as the Nine-Tails raged, "Don't think I'll let you off so easily, fourth Hokage! Come here so I can kill you!"
Minato's expression flipped from one of affection to one of contempt. In an unflinching tone, he said, "Guess I'll stay here then."
With only a look, he redirected the flow of chakra around them, and pulled Naruto, William, and himself into a different realm within his son's subconscious.
The dark corridor had turned into a bright expanse, a dreamlike landscape.
William had seen this place plenty of times before. The air was shimmering softly, tinted in hues of blue and white just like he remembered. Everything also felt lighter.
Minato's expression softened as his eyes turned to his son.
"I owe you an apology, Naruto," he began with sincerity in his voice. "For all the pain I put you through."
Naruto, still simmering with emotions, crossed his arms stubbornly but made no effort to pull away. "You made my life miserable…"
"And that I regret." Clearly Minato was undeterred by his son's defiance. "But I need you to know that I did it to protect you. It was the only way I could think of to safeguard the village… and you."
The conversation allowed a glimpse of vulnerability to surface, fueling an already charged atmosphere.
It was at that moment that Minato turned his attention to William, asking, "And who is this?"
"I'm Will, sir. It's short for William." His tone was one of respect for the legendary Kate. "I'm also an Uzumaki, too, and Naruto's cousin."
"An Uzumaki?" Minato smiled, slightly surprised. "It's good to see that my son has someone he can still call family after everything that's happened to him."
Naruto looked at William with a smile that broke through his earlier anger. "Will's helped fill that void I felt without you."
While it was somewhat of a verbal attack on Minato, William's cheeks flared a soft shade of red. It felt good to be acknowledged by both Naruto and Minato in this way.
"I'm glad," Minato responded with a genuine smile.
William's heart wanted to beam, but in that suspended moment, Minato pressed that there was something important he wanted to tell his son. This caused William to remember why they came here in the first place.
"It's about the Masked Man, right?" he said, stepping forward.
Minato was surprised as he asked, "How did you know about that?"
So William explained how he had discovered the truth, a lie about how he had pieced together the clues from various reports both inside and outside the Leaf Village. He even went as far as revealing who the man behind the mask was: Obito Uchiha.
Upon hearing that, it only took Minato seconds to accept the idea that his own student had become a vigilante. Moreover, he was impressed by William's deduction skills.
"Obito's being manipulated by the real Madara Uchiha, you say?" Minato asked after hearing the whole plot. "If that's the case, then those two will stop at nothing to achieve this goal of theirs."
Naruto was doing his best to follow. He had never heard of any of these two figures, let alone understood where his own story was going. But at least he now understood that it was truly Obito that caused the death of his parents.
"We have to stop them," he said with determination.
"You two must be careful," agreed Minato. "The real Madara was strong enough to go against the first Hokage, and he's built up many allies after dying."
William and Naruto looked at each other with strengthened resolves. It's then that they revealed to Minato another adversary: Arthur Bennett.
Of course, this version of Minato wouldn't know anything about Arthur. It was only chakra that timed itself to manifest should Naruto's seal ever come close to breaking. Afterwards, it would disappear and never be seen again.
After hearing of Arthur's cruelty, Minato compared him to the closest defect he knew: Orochimaru.
"We'll stop all of them," Naruto said with the same attitude.
Minato smiled and replied, "I know you will. My son has the strength and courage to overcome any obstacle. That's how I would have raised him."
The statement bloomed something in Naruto's heart.
Minato stood in silence, knowing that the weight of the world rested on their shoulders. The battle against Madara, Obito, and Arthur would surely be long and arduous, but he was also pleased upon seeing how far his son had come.