Infinite Anime [276-277] (Patreon)

Chapter 276: A Family Reunited

The setting sun shone behind the man and woman, stretching their shadows long. Warm reds blended into tranquil blacks, extending forward like a silent tide of love washing in.

Naruto froze for a moment. For as long as he could remember, no one had ever looked at him with such eyes, and he had never seen a woman so beautiful radiate such maternal warmth.

He didn't know the woman, but he recognized the man walking a step behind her. That face—he'd seen it on the Hokage Rock countless times, and after learning of his own parentage, he often imagined what the man truly looked like.

A sudden surge of happiness enveloped Naruto. Facing the red light of the sunset, his pupils took on a warm hue, and hot tears rolled down.

Naruto's lips trembled open, but no sound came out. Before he could speak, the red-haired woman had already wrapped him in a hug.

"Naruto, Naruto, my little Naruto…"

The woman's voice was excited and quivering. She paid no attention to the setting and held Naruto tightly, refusing to let go.

Sasuke, who had just been sparring, was a bit stunned by the scene. In other parts of the training ground, Kimimaro and the others paused their practice and looked over curiously.

Namikaze Minato came to his wife and son, slowly crouched down, and placed a hand on each of their shoulders. A warm, sunny smile rested on his face. For a moment, he didn't know what to say—he only listened to Kushina's constant murmuring.

Naruto rested his small chin on Kushina's shoulder, feeling the warmth of the blond man's large hand. His tears flowed without stopping.

He looked toward Gusion as he approached. "Big Brother Gusion…"

"Naruto, these are your parents."

Gusion confirmed the guess in Naruto's heart. "Don't blame me for profaning them. I had your teacher use the Impure World Reincarnation to bring them back from the Pure Land. I thought you might want to see them."

Minato looked up at Gusion. "In this case, I really do have to thank the Second Hokage for inventing a forbidden jutsu…"

He helped Kushina stand. "Don't just keep hugging Naruto. He's an excellent ninja now—his friends are all watching."

But Kushina didn't care. As she stood, she simply picked Naruto up. He wasn't even six yet and quite small, so being held by his mom didn't look that out of place.

"Hmph, as if I need you to tell me. I'm going to make up for all the years I couldn't hold him!"

Kushina shot Minato a glare. Minato shrank back, too chastened to speak—his standing at home was clear enough.

"Mom… are you really my mom?"

Naruto was excited but also embarrassed, because in front of Sasuke and the others, being held like that felt like a public execution.

"Yes, Naruto, I'm your mom…"

Uzumaki Kushina spoke, but confusion stirred in her heart. Something felt off. Their home had plenty of photos of her and Minato—there was even a commemorative album from when she was pregnant.

Even if they never had a chance to take a family photo of the three of them, with so many pictures at home, how could Naruto not recognize her and Minato?
After all, they were dead, and being summoned through Edo Tensei preserved their appearance from life; time wouldn't have changed how they looked.

Gusion noticed the Fourth's puzzled look and said, "Naruto only found out who his parents were a few days ago. You can ask him yourselves about the details."

Before Minato could speak, Kushina, face turning serious, questioned Naruto in detail. With Naruto's guileless answers, her expression grew darker and darker.

She turned to her embarrassed husband. "Is this the Konoha we died to protect? What has that old Third been doing!?"

"Kushina, don't get worked up… There might be more to it…"

Minato tried to explain on the Third's behalf, but the more he spoke, the quieter he became. It didn't add up.

He was a smart man, which made it easier to see the truth. The Third likely thought letting the villagers vent their anger while keeping Naruto under ideological control would serve the village.

He despised such behavior, and when it involved his own son, it made him furious. But the Third had shown him kindness, and as the Fourth Hokage, he felt obligated to consider the village's perspective.

Now he could see Naruto's resentment toward Konoha. It was a real mess. As a father and the Fourth Hokage, was he supposed to clean up the Third's mess?

He wanted to reason with Naruto, but seeing Kushina's expression, he realized that even before worrying whether Naruto would listen, his wife would probably beat him up first.

He sighed inwardly. This would be hard. He could only let things take their course and see how Naruto felt when he grew older.

Gusion had given them a chance to reunite as a family. Whatever Gusion's motives, Minato felt grateful. He set aside calculations for now and wanted to savor the joy of reunion.

Because of Naruto's parents' arrival, training ended early that day. Sasuke smugly remarked that someone Naruto's age still burrowing into his mother's arms was shameless.

Naruto burned with embarrassed anger. After the initial excitement of meeting his parents, he forced himself to separate from Kushina despite his longing. He declared he was a ninja now and asked his mom not to underestimate him.

That evening, even Orochimaru rarely left his lab to eat with everyone in the dining hall.

By the way, the one cooking was actually Kabuto… who turned out to be quite good at it.

Since his infiltration plan in Sunagakure was exposed, he wasn't going anywhere for the time being. He spent his days assisting Orochimaru's research and taking care of the children's daily needs.

"I roughly understand the situation. Gusion-kun, you said Akatsuki plans to collect the Tailed Beasts, with Naruto among their targets. Only a few years remain. What should we do?"

Minato spoke. He and Kushina sat with Gusion and the others, while Naruto sat with the kids' table.

That afternoon, while Kushina fussed over Naruto, Minato discussed the current state of the ninja world with Gusion. He realized now was not the time to dwell on Gusion shaking up Konoha to elevate the Uchiha; the priority was their son's survival.

Akatsuki's threat was no joke. But even with careful instruction from the two of them and Orochimaru, it would be impossible to turn a child like Naruto into a powerhouse capable of holding his own within a few years.

"That doesn't need to worry you too much. We can buy a few more years amid the coming storms. Akatsuki isn't necessarily completely uncontrollable."

Gusion spoke around a bite of sushi Kabuto had made.

"Oh? Gusion-kun, rather than how you plan to deal with the organization, I'm more curious why you're opposing Pain."

Orochimaru asked with interest.

"Opposing Pain?"

Gusion shook his head. "I have no issue with him. Honestly, I find his dream of collecting the nine Tailed Beasts to deter the Five Great Nations and halt war quite plausible. When did I say I wanted to fight Pain?"

Orochimaru was even more confused now, and Minato and Kushina also looked at Gusion warily.

"Gusion-kun, if you don't oppose Akatsuki, how do we protect Naruto and keep the Nine-Tails safe?"

Orochimaru grew more curious.

"Compared to Akatsuki, you'll find there are even greater threats in the future. Pain's ideals aren't so twisted as to be incomprehensible. If the Jinchuriki weren't related to us, wouldn't you want to see a world without war?"

Gusion set down his fork. "You're all famous figures in the ninja world. Surely you're not naïve enough to say that peace achieved through deterrence isn't peace?"

Minato and Kushina fell silent. Orochimaru merely smiled. "So, Gusion-kun, you want to help Akatsuki achieve their goal?"

"For the time being, yes. But the Nine-Tails can't be given to them—at least not all of it. And whether we give it, and when we give it, has to be on our terms."

Gusion's explanation was twisty, but they understood. Minato still held the other half of the Nine-Tails' chakra within him. Handing that part over wouldn't affect Naruto.

As long as they still held the Nine-Tails, they had a measure of initiative—and a potential bargaining chip for future negotiations.

"In any case, the ninja world runs deep. For example, Minato, you probably never imagined that the masked man who attacked Konoha… was Obito, right?"

Gusion didn't want to dig too deep. If he spoiled everything, he'd lose his edge as a pioneer with superior intel, and it would feel too off.

"Obito!?"

Minato leaped to his feet. "Impossible. Obito isn't like that. How could he possibly be the one who got me and Kushina killed!"

Gusion shrugged. "Because he's scum."

"Minato, calm down."

Kushina frowned and looked at Gusion. "Do you have proof? I remember that kid—sunny and cheerful."

As their teacher's wife, she treated Minato's three students well. She even hosted them on weekends. Of course she knew Obito.

"Proof? Sasuke's brother already proved it in combat. If you don't believe it, I'll kill the masked man and bring you his head."

Gusion continued, "As for me, I don't care who he is. He made a move on me and ambushed me once. I won't rest until I cut him down. So I wanted to ask Minato about space-time ninjutsu."

"You want to learn space-time ninjutsu?"

Minato looked at Gusion in surprise, then made a strange face. "Space-time jutsu is complicated. When you were in Konoha, didn't you hate theory-heavy ninjutsu the most?"

"Not to learn it—just to understand the principles better, so it's easier to cut him down."

Gusion explained. He had Konoha's compendium of forbidden jutsu, but learning them one by one would take too long. For space-time, it was better to consult a master.

"In that case, I'll teach you tomorrow. But I still don't believe the masked man is Obito."

Minato seemed confident in his student's character, convinced Obito was upright and decent.

…

"Argh… Failed again. I can't even manage the Clone Technique. Am I really my parents' kid?"

Naruto collapsed onto the ground, exhausted. He had drained his chakra practicing ninjutsu.

Kushina frowned as she checked him. She had reinforced his seal with fūinjutsu just yesterday. By all rights, his chakra control should have improved. Yet he still struggled to cast ninjutsu.

"Hey, Nine-Tails, you remember me, right? Not willing to cooperate with my son?"

Kushina spoke to the Nine-Tails within Naruto with a secret technique. The Nine-Tails ignored her, making her fume.

She knew its temperament, though—ornery and hard to handle. In the past, she relied on advanced sealing to suppress it and never managed to borrow its power.

"What are you looking at? Get over here and do something."

Kushina got even angrier seeing Minato smiling on the side. "As if you can order the Nine-Tails around."

Minato really wanted to say he could borrow a bit. Since he and the Nine-Tails were sealed together in the Shinigami's belly, they had communicated in that special realm. As the Fourth, the Nine-Tails didn't look down on him too much. With the right attitude, it would "tip" him a little chakra.

Gusion wandered over and frowned. "Don't tell me you still haven't sorted out the Nine-Tails problem?"

Kushina rolled her eyes beautifully, as if to say, If you can, be my guest.

Chapter 277: The Nine-Tails Got Smaller

"I'll give it a try."

Gusion walked to Naruto's side. He realized the Nine-Tails issue was truly troublesome.

Unlike Sasuke, whose problem was complacency in Konoha, Naruto had learned virtually nothing at the academy. Not because he was stupid, but because the Nine-Tails kept messing with him.

It didn't just refuse to lend chakra—during jutsu casting, it actively disrupted his chakra flow. Gusion figured it needed a lesson.

"What do you know about Jinchuriki? Don't you dare hurt Naruto."

Seeing Naruto gearing up to push himself, Kushina spoke warily.

"I don't know Jinchuriki. I've only cut down a few."

Gusion said. He'd try taking the Nine-Tails down a peg.

He sat cross-legged, placing one hand on Naruto's belly as the boy watched in puzzlement.

He knew plenty of sealing techniques from the forbidden scrolls, but he hadn't learned any. His Mangekyo was with Orochimaru for an upgrade, so he didn't have ocular power to subdue the Nine-Tails. But he had other ways to enter Naruto's inner world.

In terms of soul and spirit, the Shinigami system was quite developed. Using a technique akin to communing with a Zanpakuto, Gusion entered Naruto's mental realm.

Seeing the dark red chamber and the massive iron bars, Gusion knew he'd made it. Guided by him, Naruto entered inner sight as well, standing beside Gusion in bewilderment.

"Whoa—what a huge fox!"

Childish excitement took Naruto as he saw the enormous fox dozing behind the bars.

The Nine-Tails cracked one eye open. "Brat, stop shouting. You're disturbing my sleep."

"Calm as ever, huh, Nine-Tails."

Gusion approached the bars, observing the colossus. His scouting skill showed only a row of question marks. As a being of pure chakra, its spiritual parameters were clearly high.

The Nine-Tails may have high stats, yet Mangekyo ocular power can still restrain it.

Gusion, though weaker on paper, had a Clear-Heart lineage that granted immunity to many genjutsu.

"Don't think that smashing Konoha makes you invincible. Among the strong I've seen, you're nothing."

The Nine-Tails yawned and stood, looming over Gusion.

Once it rose, its massive form cast a shadow that made little Naruto tremble in fear, his initial excitement gone.

"Naruto, don't be scared. It's just a big fox. Honestly, it looks kind of cute."

Gusion patted Naruto's head. The words enraged the Nine-Tails.

"Cute!? You dare say that to me, brat? I'll eat you!"

It looked furious, but there was little killing intent in its eyes.

"Let's talk. I won't ask you to help Naruto or lend him chakra. Just stop disrupting him when he casts jutsu."

Gusion tried to negotiate.

"Or what?"

The Nine-Tails mocked.

Gusion sighed. "I knew you'd be stubborn. I'm not great at soft persuasion. Fortunately, I know other ways to negotiate."

He stepped up to the bars. Since Mazuko was essentially a soul-related Zanpakuto, it could manifest here.

Gusion's spirit body could link with his body's equipment, and effects would trigger on damage. He decided to make the Nine-Tails a bit more agreeable.

Under the fox's wary gaze, Gusion slashed. A vertical blade-wave slipped between the bars. A spray of chakra-blood burst forth.

Not only that, the red chakra traced along Mazuko into Gusion, then became a thread leading to the Devourer ring on his body outside.

"Brat! What did you do to me!?"

The Nine-Tails was livid—not just because it was wounded, but because Gusion somehow siphoned off its chakra.

A drop in the ocean for it, but seeing the smile on this man's face, it had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, Gusion didn't explain. He kept slashing, using to draw the Nine-Tails to the bars. A massive suction formed outside the seal, rapidly devouring its energy.

Outside, the Devourer ring on Gusion's finger trembled as if in bliss.

It seemed almost sentient, conveying one thought: "More. More!"

Gusion obliged, ruthlessly absorbing the Nine-Tails' energy. After about half an hour, the fox's curses dwindled, and even its voice sounded less deep.

Having fed, Gusion mused that he didn't need to chase other Tailed Beasts. The Nine-Tails alone was enough to max out his Devourer's growth.

It had surpassed Epic and was now only 10% away from Dark-Gold. Considering how quickly the Nine-Tails recovered, a few more sips might push it to Dark-Gold.

For now, though, the Nine-Tails in front of him… had become tiny.

Because this wasn't the open world but a sealed state, the Nine-Tails' chakra wasn't truly infinite. Gusion's ring, dredging the pond to catch all the fish, had shrunk it.

What appeared before Gusion and Naruto was a small fox only a few meters long—fluffy and, frankly, a bit adorably dumb-looking.

"Brat! How dare you do this to me! When I get out, I'll eat you!"

The mini Nine-Tails was furious, but without that massive body, its voice had gone higher and its bluster sounded… cute, like a little fox yapping.

"Wow, what a cute fox! So this is the Nine-Tails inside me? Everyone calls it a demon fox, but it doesn't look that bad to me."

Naruto peered at the small Nine-Tails by the bars, excited.

Gusion's mouth twitched. Did he not hear it say it would eat me?

He ignored the detail. If Naruto could befriend the Nine-Tails, so much the better—he'd be able to manage his chakra even when Gusion wasn't around.

"Brat, stay away from me, and don't call me cute!"

The Nine-Tails was fuming. It had lived for ages, its name shaking the ninja world. People feared it. Aside from being judged like this when it first formed by that old Six Paths geezer, when had any ordinary ninja said such a thing—
and a young child at that? It felt utterly humiliated.

And yet… for no reason, it felt something it couldn't quite name.

"If you want to eat me, that'll be hard. But if you want to beat me, I can give you a chance."

Gusion grinned down at it. "If you team up with Naruto and defeat me, doesn't that count as a win?"

"Hmph. Don't take me for a fool. I won't help that brat."

"Then there's nothing I can do. If you keep causing trouble after you recover, I'll just come educate you from time to time."

Gusion's helpless tone only made the Nine-Tails seethe more.

Having finished, he led Naruto out of the inner world. As they left, Naruto waved. "Little fox, don't cause trouble, okay?"

Silence returned to the sealed realm, the Nine-Tails' cold snort the only sound.

Back in reality, Gusion felt Minato and Kushina's gazes. "It's handled. The Nine-Tails won't interfere for now. If there's a problem later, we'll deal with it then."

He'd played the bad cop, giving Naruto the chance to play the good cop later.

The Nine-Tails was rebellious, not masochistic. After this, it should behave for quite a while. Being drained by the Devourer ring was one thing—more importantly, it would want to avoid that shameful "tiny Nine-Tails" form.

"That easy?"

Kushina spoke skeptically. She placed a hand on Naruto's belly to sense the Nine-Tails' chakra—and found it had become faint, almost imperceptible.

"That easy…"

Gusion was about to explain what had happened inside when a ninja cat burst out of the woods, sprinting to him. It was a common Uchiha summoning beast.

He took the scroll from its mouth, glanced at it, and stood. "Stay here in the Land of Fields and train Naruto. I have to go out."

The message was from Uchiha Fugaku: the Five Kage Summit had preliminarily approved a plan against Akatsuki. They were forming a joint ninja force to purge Akatsuki in the Land of Rain.

No doubt, the exposure of Rain's location was the Explorers' handiwork. The Five Great Villages had made up their minds and would send their strongest to attack Akatsuki. If Gusion didn't go, he'd miss a lot.

Nagato hadn't pressed him this month, probably because Obito hadn't shown, so Nagato hadn't been able to fulfill his promise and thus hadn't urged Gusion to come.

Gusion informed Orochimaru, then set off west to meet Nagato and discuss dealing with Obito.

…

Land of Iron, in a secluded mountain forest. Space warped, and a figure tumbled onto the grass.

Obito propped up his upper body. Oh—he only had an upper body left.

A month ago, he had nearly died at Gusion's hands. But after returning to his pocket dimension, he managed to pull through thanks to the First Hokage cells' incredible vitality.

To his humiliation, they say a good ninja doesn't fall for the same trick twice. Yet he'd been caught in Itachi's Tsukuyomi again.

What made it worse was that, inside Tsukuyomi, he saw the same content as last time…

At least he didn't need a change of pants this time—because his third leg was gone, too.

Once things calmed down in Konoha, he found a chance to escape, wound his way around, and finally reached this rendezvous in the Land of Iron.

"Zetsu!"

Obito was in a foul mood and took it out on Zetsu. "Did you bring my legs?"

Zetsu emerged from the side. Alongside the combined Black-and-White Zetsu was another white Zetsu with a blank face.

"Don't be so angry. It's just legs. I'll attach them now."

Zetsu tried to soothe him, which only made Obito more upset.

"Is it just legs… I…"

He wanted to say his third leg was gone, too. No matter how skilled White Zetsu was at grafting, that couldn't replace what was lost.

He swallowed the words. It wasn't useful anyway. Once Infinite Tsukuyomi created a new world, he could live there with Rin.

As Zetsu examined his wounds and pondered how to patch him up with White Zetsu, he reported, "We have a bigger problem than your injuries. Nagato doesn't trust us anymore."

"Because of Gusion?"

Obito frowned. He hated Gusion. Without that walking disaster of a man, things would be going smoothly in Akatsuki.

He still couldn't figure out why Uchiha Itachi had turned into Rin's appearance in Tsukuyomi. It was as if he were collaborating with Gusion, predicting Obito's attack and setting him up.

"Who else? That guy's slick with words. Nagato meant to hold him accountable, but he flipped it, dumping all the blame on you."

Zetsu laid it out. "Now Nagato doesn't even trust me. He told me to report to Rain, and I didn't dare go. I think he wants to get rid of me, too."

Obito felt a headache coming on. He wasn't truly Uchiha Madara. Without Nagato and Akatsuki, how could he stir up the ninja world?

"No good news at all?"

"There is. The Five Great Nations are preparing to attack the Land of Rain. We can make use of this."

Zetsu gave a chilling smile.

"Oh?"

Obito's eyes lit up. Maybe he still had a chance to turn the tables.