Late at night, in Konoha.
Yami stepped out of his house looking refreshed.
Anko, who had finally removed a burden from her heart, had gone wild. Especially that tongue longer than a snake's… it really gave Yami a unique experience.
Among all the women in the family, Anko's personality was the most special.
Originally, Yami hadn't had any bad intentions toward her and only treated her like a female version of Naruto. Who would've thought that she was the one with bad intentions? With meat delivered to the door, how could he not take a bite?
But…
Every time he had a "deep communication" with Anko, Yami always felt a strange illusion, like it was his own buddy giving him a good time. That alone made it a unique experience.
In any case, it was quite exciting.
Besides the one who's always crazy in bed, Anko was easily the most fun.
Stretching his back and enjoying the cool night breeze, Yami entered Sage Mode again.
When he activated Sage Mode during the day, he had sensed something interesting. So before going to find Naruto, he decided to investigate the uninvited guests in the village.
Several Wood Clones shot out from behind him, each rushing to different locations in Konoha. Soon, sounds of movement could be heard in those places, drawing the attention of the Anbu.
But when the Anbu arrived and saw that it was the Hokage, they looked confused for a while.
It wasn't until several white humanoid monsters were captured that they realized what Yami was doing.
One Anbu from the Third Division couldn't help but ask, "Lord Yami, what are these things?"
There was an interesting trend in the village. Those directly under Yami's command called him "Lord Yami," while regular subordinates called him "Lord Hokage."
From the way they addressed him, you could tell how close someone was to him.
"A creature called White Zetsu."
Yami didn't kill them but instead sealed them using a sealing technique. He then explained to the surrounding ninja, "They use a technique called the Mayfly Technique, which even the Byakugan cannot detect."
Everyone present was shocked.
In their understanding, the Byakugan was the strongest perception jutsu. If even it couldn't detect these things, then what kind of monsters were they?
"Don't worry about it. I'll regularly check the village for more of these monsters."
With that, Yami left, leaving behind a group of dumbfounded ninja.
White Zetsu's combat power was negligible, but their research value was immense. They weren't just perfect Impure World Reincarnation sacrifices—they were essentially diluted versions of Hashirama cells. In fact, they were even closer to the essence of chakra than ordinary shinobi.
Yami had never found any White Zetsu in Konoha before, but this time he finally caught some suitable test subjects.
After collecting his spoils, Yami was in a great mood as he arrived at Naruto's house and knocked on the door.
Two seconds later, it opened. Naruto stood there with an excited face and quickly made way. "Yami-nii, you're finally here!"
Since returning, Naruto had been anxiously waiting for Yami to show up. Every minute felt like torture.
"There was a spy in the village just now. That's what held me up."
"Huh? Did you catch him?"
"Of course I did. If I hadn't, would I be standing here?"
Yami entered the room, closed the door, and gestured for Naruto to lie down on the bed.
Naruto obediently laid down but still asked, "Yami-nii, how are you going to let me see the Fourth Hokage? Don't tell me it's in a dream or something!"
"There's a portion of the Fourth's chakra sealed in your seal space. Once the seal is unlocked to a certain degree, he'll appear—either to stop the Nine Tails from going berserk, or to meet the grown-up you."
Naruto was stunned.
So that's how it was?
Then he let out a sarcastic laugh. "He really did his duty for this village. Even after dying, he was still thinking about it."
Yami shrugged. "Whatever he really thought, you can ask him yourself. Now, lift your shirt."
Naruto followed the instruction, a shy expression on his face.
A vein throbbed on Yami's forehead. He punched Naruto on the head. "Save that face for Sasuke. Don't disgust me."
"Gather chakra. Now."
"What? I was just trying to lighten the mood. Yami-nii, you really have no sense of humor."
Naruto mumbled but still followed orders. Soon, a complex sealing formula appeared on his belly.
Yami didn't act immediately. Instead, he examined the Eight Trigrams Seal, which was formed by two Four Symbols Seals.
In sealing techniques, Namikaze Minato was undoubtedly a genius.
A single Four Symbols Seal could already control the Nine Tails, but Naruto's body couldn't bear that much chakra back then.
So Minato added a reversed Four Symbols Seal, slightly opening the main seal and letting some of the Nine Tails' chakra leak out and mix with Naruto's own.
Once it became Naruto's chakra, it in turn strengthened the seal.
It was like having the Nine Tails fight itself.
He really was a perfect shinobi, with flawless ninjutsu knowledge and intellect.
The only issue was… he died before reaching his full potential.
After memorizing the structure and hidden tricks of the Eight Trigrams Seal, Yami finally began the procedure.
His chakra entered Naruto's body. Naruto felt dizzy and soon closed his eyes. A scarlet flash appeared in Yami's eyes.
The next second, the world spun.
When vision returned, he had entered a strange, dark space.
A massive red gate divided the area. The ground was damp, like a sewer.
Naruto wasn't unfamiliar with this space, but it was his first time seeing someone else enter. When he saw Yami, he was shocked.
"This foul chakra… damn Wood Style brat…"
A brutal, violent voice echoed through the space. At the far end of the gate, a pair of blood-red vertical eyes lit up.
The Nine Tails' terrifying fox face appeared before the two of them.
Naruto instinctively took a few steps back.
Yami looked up at the Nine Tails, grinned, and began forming hand seals. "Stinky fox, haven't brushed your teeth all these years? Your breath stinks."
Puff—
"Owww—!"
The Nine Tails' eyes widened, bloodshot, as he let out a pained wail. A thick wooden root had slammed into one of his vital spots.
"Despicable... Senju brat…"
"So strong…"
Naruto stared at the wooden stick behind the Nine Tails in awe. He also wanted to learn Wood Release. That way, he could use it to make the fox pay rent properly.
"I'm not here for you today. Behave."
After the warning, Yami dispersed the technique and pressed his hand against Naruto's stomach once more.
The complex seal began to melt like ink, and the space became unstable. The Nine Tails looked at Yami in horror.
Was he going to undo the seal?
Naruto looked around nervously, searching for a figure—but saw no one.
Until the ink finally spread across the ground.
A yellow flash suddenly rushed straight at Yami.
Yami leaned back slightly, dodged the sudden attack, then raised his hand and punched, sending the figure flying to the ground, where it revealed a human form.
The man had spiky yellow hair and wore a Hokage's cloak. He stared at Yami cautiously.
Naruto stared in disbelief. The resemblance to the Hokage Rock was unmistakable.
The Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato!
Yami retracted his arm from Naruto and was about to greet him when a roar came from behind.
"*,#@#¥%^t¥@#,££}@#@{R#...%!"
With Minato and his family tree as the center, the Nine Tails unleashed a string of foul curses like crazy, venting decades of rage. The kinds of words he used made Yami's eyes widen.
People in this world were usually more civilized. He hadn't heard anything this foul in years.
Minato's serious face turned embarrassed. He scratched his head awkwardly, and Naruto could finally see where he got that trait from.
"…Looks like we can't continue unless he calms down."
Yami raised his right hand and said softly, "Sleep Deeply."
A kanji for "seat" appeared on his palm, and a large number of wooden bindings emerged from the seal, firmly restraining the Nine Tails. His eyelids grew heavier until he finally fell into slumber.
Minato watched the scene in surprise.
Had someone in the village awakened Wood Release again?
And from the looks of it, this person got along well with Naruto. But then… why unseal?
A number of doubts swirled in Minato's mind, but he still lowered his guard.
After dealing with the Nine Tails, Yami turned around and introduced himself. "I'm Shimura Yami, Naruto's teacher and the Fifth Hokage of the village.
I unsealed the seal today because I promised Naruto he could meet you. I also have something I want to discuss with you."
"Fifth Hokage?"
Minato was shocked.
He looked back and forth between Naruto and Yami. "You don't look much older than Naruto, right?"
Yami noticed the confusion and explained, "I've only been Hokage for less than a year.
After your death, the Third Hokage returned to the position and served for another twelve years.
He was recently killed by Orochimaru."
"Alright. If there's anything you want to know, talk with Naruto."
With that, Yami disappeared into the darkness, leaving the space to them.
Minato looked at Naruto, who had remained silent the entire time. A warm smile, bright like sunlight, appeared on his face. "Naruto, I finally get to see how you've grown up.
You're just as I imagined."
Naruto lowered his head. Minato couldn't see his expression. He was just surprised that Naruto wasn't excited or overjoyed at the reunion.
Finally, after a long silence, Naruto spoke with a hoarse voice.
"Fourth Hokage… Are you my father?"
Minato smiled and nodded. "Looks like the Third told you everything. You've been living well these past years, right?"
Seeing that Naruto knew his identity and had the Fifth Hokage as his teacher, Minato naturally assumed Naruto had lived the life he deserved.
"So that's how it is…"
Naruto smiled, raised his head, and walked toward Minato. Minato smiled too, spreading his arms to give his son a big hug.
Until—
Bang!
In Minato's astonished gaze, Naruto punched him square in the gut.
It was a full-power punch, not held back at all. Minato's body bent like a shrimp.
Yami, hidden in the shadows, clapped his hands happily.
Alright, Naruto. I knew you were a filial child.
Keep going. Don't stop.
(To be continued.)
***
For every 200 PS = 1 extra chapter. Support me on P/treon to read 30+ advanced chapters: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves
(Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)