In Naruto's dim and watery subconscious, the atmosphere felt a little different that night.
After all the excitement and exhaustion from the Chunin Exams and the unexpected meeting with Jiraiya, Naruto now sat cross-legged in front of the giant bars that imprisoned Hana, the Kyuubi who now had the form of a captivating fox woman.
"Naruto-kun," Hana's voice sounded gentle, yet there was an unusual seriousness to it.
She looked intently at Naruto, and the blond boy's figure was clearly reflected in her blood-red pupils.
"After all we've been through, after everything I've talked to you about... do you truly trust me completely?"
Naruto looked back without hesitation.
"Of course, I trust you, Hana-neechan! More than anyone!" he replied with sincere confidence, a wide smile etched on his face.
"You've always been there for me, giving me advice, and helping me get stronger. Why wouldn't I trust you?"
Hana smiled faintly at Naruto's answer, but she shook her head slowly.
"Don't jump to conclusions too quickly, my prince. Think carefully. I am... the Kyuubi, the monster that once destroyed the village and is feared by everyone. Are you sure you trust me so easily without any doubt?"
Naruto fell silent for a moment, pondering Hana's words.
He knew the Kyuubi's reputation.
He knew how the villagers hated him because that monster was inside him.
But the Hana-neechan he knew... was different.
Hana, seeing the fleeting doubt on Naruto's face, changed her position.
She now lay on her side in front of the barred cell door, one hand supporting her head, her face now as close as possible to Naruto from behind the bars.
Her blue kimono was slightly agape, revealing her smooth shoulder.
"Alright, let's set that aside for a moment. Tell me, Naruto-kun, with complete honesty... why do you want to become Hokage so badly?"
Hearing that question, Naruto's eyes immediately lit up.
The drowsiness and fatigue that had been slightly clinging to him seemed to vanish instantly.
"That's obvious, Hana-neechan!" he exclaimed enthusiastically.
"I want to become Hokage so I can be acknowledged by everyone in this village! I want them all to see me, Uzumaki Naruto, and acknowledge my existence!"
At that moment, in Hana's eyes, Naruto seemed to stand under the brightest spotlight.
His entire body radiated an aura of conviction and determination so strong it felt dazzling.
Even Hana (with Kurama's memories), who had witnessed various ambitions and desires over thousands of years, was slightly surprised and fascinated by the purity and strength of conviction radiating from the boy before her.
Hana looked at Naruto, whose face shone with the glory of a future hero.
A strange and warm joy spread through her heart.
"Why... why do you crave everyone's acknowledgment so much, Naruto-kun?" she asked again, her voice now softer, trying to understand more deeply.
The question made Naruto pause for a moment.
His wide smile faded slightly, replaced by a more introspective expression.
However, a second later, he laughed again, a laugh that sounded a little bitter but also full of hope.
"Because... well, because it seems no one really liked my existence since I was little, Hana-neechan. They always looked at me strangely, whispering behind my back."
He looked down for a moment.
"Even though now there's Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, Grandpa Hokage, Ero-sennin, Sasuke, Sakura-chan, and you... but... I still want everyone in this village, without exception, to accept my existence as I am."
Naruto, a child hated and shunned by almost everyone in his village since he was very young, just because of something he didn't even understand at first.
Except for Kakashi and Jiraiya, whom he had recently met, who seemed to have never truly hated or feared Naruto as an individual, no one else had truly accepted Naruto for who he was since he was little.
Iruka-sensei, Sasuke, Sakura, Shikamaru, and his other classmates, they all only began to accept Naruto as a comrade, a ninja, not as the vessel of the demon fox, after they interacted and got to know him better.
As for the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, he never actually hated Naruto. However, in his eyes, Naruto was more often seen as the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, Uzumaki Naruto, an 'asset' or 'potential threat' to the village, rather than just the innocent Genin Uzumaki Naruto from Konoha who longed for affection.
In this regard, Tsunade, who would become the Fifth Hokage, would truly be the opposite, seeing Naruto more as a child and the successor of the Will of Fire.
Hana slowly lifted her head, her gaze now fixed on the large seal paper with intricate writing stuck to the giant prison door, emitting a strong yet oppressive aura. A mysterious smile etched itself on her lips.
'Minato Namikaze,' Hana thought to herself, as if speaking directly to the Fourth Hokage's spirit.
'I know you can feel and perhaps see what's happening inside this sealed space and also in the outside world. I also know that even if you saw all the suffering and loneliness your son has experienced, you probably would never regret your initial choice to make him a Jinchuriki to save the village.
'That is a Hokage's sacrifice.'
'But look at Naruto before you now, Minato.'
'Have you ever thought about what your expression will be when you finally face him directly? Have you found the right words to explain all this to Kushina, the woman you loved so much and who also loved your son dearly?'
A faint smirk appeared on Hana's face.
'I... I'm really looking forward to that 'heartwarming' family reunion scene happening later. It will surely be very... interesting.'
Hana looked back at Naruto, her smile now looking slightly mischievous.
"Kid," she said in a secretive tone, "there's something very interesting I want to tell you. Something that might change your perspective on many things."
"Eh? Something interesting? What is it, Hana-neechan?"
Naruto asked in confusion, his curiosity immediately piqued.
"It's about this seal,"
Hana pointed to the large seal sticker on the prison door.
"Inside this seal, it's not just me who's trapped. There are also remnants of your father's and mother's chakra intentionally left here."
Naruto's eyes suddenly widened, his breath caught.
"Wh-what... what do you mean, Hana-neechan?"
Hana smiled.
"When you someday try to release this seal to draw out more of my power, or perhaps when you're in a desperate situation, your father's chakra will appear first. Its purpose is to repair this seal and reseal me if I try to take over your body."
She then pointed to herself again with her thumb.
"And then, if this seal is truly about to be completely undone, or when you truly need final help, with my full appearance, the chakra left by your mother will also appear. And believe me, Naruto-kun, your mother's chakra is much stronger and more 'talkative' than your father's."
Hana chuckled.
"Not only can you reminisce about the brief past with her, but you can also talk all night long with her about your parents' past, about the Uzumaki clan, and maybe... about yourself."
Naruto's eyes were now truly wide, as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard.
His mouth was slightly open, he wanted to say something, but not a single sound managed to escape his throat.
Father... Mother... Those two words felt so distant, so foreign, yet also so longed for by Naruto.
Perhaps since he was old enough to understand the meaning of a family until this very moment, he had never truly expected the possibility of meeting the two people who had given him life.
He had indeed become wise faster than other children his age due to the harshness of life, so he knew very well how important and precious those two figures were, more so than his other friends.
Maybe... maybe only Sasuke could slightly understand his feelings right now.
The one who never had it from the beginning, and the one who once had it but then had it cruelly destroyed by the person he trusted most.
"Is-is that true... Hana-neechan? I-I... I can meet them?"
Even Naruto himself didn't realize how much his voice trembled and how hoarse it was at that moment.
A great hope welled up in his chest, mixed with disbelief.
"Of course, it's true, my prince."
Hana smirked gently and nodded.
"Besides, your father's chakra was designed to sense everything happening in the outside world and also inside this sealed space, so he definitely knows your current condition and also our conversation right now. As for your mother, to keep her remaining chakra intact and strong, she can't feel anything until the second seal is truly about to be undone and my power threatens you."
Naruto's expression still looked slightly confused, his face pale. This information was truly too shocking and too much for him to digest in an instant.
"My father... and my mother... who... who are they really, Hana-neechan?" he asked in a low voice.
"I've told you before that the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, was the one who sealed me into you, so you should have been able to guess who your father is, right?"
Hana said gently.
"And as for your mother… she was an incredibly great, strong, and very talkative woman, just like you. Her name was Kushina, Uzumaki Kushina… she was the Kyuubi's Jinchuriki before you, Naruto-kun."
Naruto fell silent.
Uzumaki Kushina... So his mother an Uzumaki.
And a Kyuubi Jinchuriki... just like him too.
He wasn't completely stupid.
From Hana's previous stories, when Hana mentioned she had a Jinchuriki after the First Hokage's wife, then about the Kyuubi's attack on the day of his birth, and how the Fourth Hokage sealed the Kyuubi into a newborn baby... Naruto could actually vaguely guess the truth.
But hearing it directly from Hana, it still felt shocking and made his heart churn.
Seeing Naruto still silent, digesting all the new information, Hana spoke again,
"Naruto-kun, if you want, you can try tearing off just a little bit of that seal paper now."
She pointed towards the seal on the barred door.
"But not too much, okay? Just a little bit, maybe around... well, don't let more than fifty percent of my power out. Your current body is still not strong enough to safely contain more Kyuubi chakra. Maybe... maybe in about another year, after you've trained harder and your body is more mature, then I'll feel you're strong enough to receive more chakra from me without endangering yourself."
Hana smiled reassuringly.
"I know you miss your parents very much, Naruto-kun. But be patient a little longer. At least wait another year until your body is more ready. I promise, you will definitely be able to meet both of them, even if it might only be for a short while."
Naruto looked at the seal, then at Hana.
There was a heavy consideration in his eyes.
Meeting his father and mother... that was his biggest dream.
However, what truly surprised Hana was Naruto's next answer.
"I... I do miss Father and Mother very much, Hana-neechan,"
Naruto said softly, his eyes now looking straight at Hana with an unreadable gaze.
"But... my main reason for wanting to release a bit of that seal now... isn't just because of them."
He paused for a moment.
"It's because... I can't bear to see you continuously trapped alone in a dark and narrow place like this, Hana-neechan. You've helped me so much. I want... at least for you to be a little freer."
Hana was stunned.
She was truly speechless.
Naruto's sincere words... were like an arrow piercing right through her heart.
After receiving Kurama's memories, she remembered the thousands of years she was trapped, hated, and feared; this was the first time someone worried about her, wanted to free her not to exploit her power, but because... of pity? Because they cared?
An overwhelming emotion washed over Hana.
Her blazing red eyes felt hot.
However, before tears could form, her acute fangirl side suddenly took over with full force.
'AAAAAAAHHHH! MY PRIIIINCE! YOU ARE SO KIND! SO SINCERE! SO PERFECT!'
Hana shrieked internally, her facial expression changing drastically. Her eyes sparkled madly, a wide, obsessed smile etched on her lips, and a tiny droplet of saliva almost dripped again.
"TEAR IT NOW, NARUTO-KUN! TEAR THAT DAMN SEAL AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE! LET ME OUT AND HUG YOU! KISS YOU! GIVE YOU ALL MY LOVE!"
The touching and heartfelt atmosphere that had just been created was suddenly shattered into pieces.
Naruto, who had been feeling a little proud of his decision, now looked at Hana with a pale and slightly horrified face.
He even rethought whether his decision to tear the seal was the right choice when he saw Hana, who now looked like a fanatical worshipper ready to pounce on him at any moment.
Naruto's face immediately flushed with embarrassment again.
'Wh-why... why is her reaction like this again, dattebayo…'
Naruto lamented inwardly, feeling a little regretful for what he had just said.