Chapter 637 The Ultimate Fantasy

According to biology, most animals in the natural world have a particular season when certain instincts become especially active.

You could call it their season of rebellion.

After all, even foxes have been known to cry, “Great Chu shall rise! Chen Sheng shall be king!”

That might sound like a completely pointless observation, but it was actually connected to an extremely important principle.

Outside this particular season, most animals had no interest in such worldly distractions. Their minds remained calm and undisturbed, almost as though they were permanently enjoying the state Naruto sought when entering Sage Mode.

Humans, however, were different.

Three hundred and sixty-five days a year, humans were ready to start a rebellion at any moment.

And that explained a fundamental difference within the shinobi world.

Animals were naturally suited to gathering natural energy and using senjutsu, whereas humans needed to rely on Naruto’s special shortcut to calm their minds enough to enter Sage Mode, even temporarily.

Everyone knew that Namikaze Minato had once admitted he wasn’t particularly good at senjutsu.

The Minato of Engraved Tsukuyomi was no different.

But why would someone as talented and hardworking as Minato struggle with it?

The answer was simple.

Because Namikaze Minato was the most human of all humans.

Ordinary people might be capable of entering that restless state throughout the year, but Minato was even more impressive.

He was permanently stuck in it.

In Minato’s eyes, everyone he encountered resembled an NPC in a game, complete with one particularly suspicious interaction option.

And so, when Naruto struck him with Magnet Release: Rasengan and implanted Orochimaru’s Gecko Seal, Minato felt as though someone had clamped a cursed restraint around him.

The pain was unbearable.

“Don’t worry, Teacher Minato. We only want the Nine-Tails inside you.”

Obito hurried forward.

“And stop screaming! Keep making that much noise and you’ll attract that lunatic!”

He grabbed a foul-smelling sock from the ground—whose owner it was, nobody knew—and stuffed it into Minato’s mouth.

“Mmm! MMMM!”

Minato continued struggling frantically.

Obito, however, was beginning to sense that something was wrong.

From what he knew of his former teacher, Minato shouldn’t be reacting like this.

Minato had always been naturally questionable. He had tried practically everything, and his determination and endurance ought to have been extraordinary.

So why did he look as though he was being tortured beyond his limits?

Was it because of Naruto’s seal?

“Naruto, what exactly did you do to him? Look at the state you’ve put Teacher Minato in!”

“Huh?”

“Don’t just say ‘huh’! Hurry up and remove it! At this rate, he’ll die before we can even extract the Nine-Tails!”

Obito was genuinely getting anxious.

Minato had begun convulsing, and foam was already gathering around his mouth.

“Oh. Right!”

Naruto hurried forward and began fumbling around to undo the seal on his father.

As for precisely how he managed to remove it—

well, anyone familiar with that particular incident Boruto had caused while living with Naruto, the one Neji happened to witness, could probably imagine the general situation.

“Phew…”

Minato finally breathed a sigh of relief.

His entire body went limp, leaving him sprawled on the ground like a puddle of mud.

First, Orochimaru’s laxative had nearly destroyed him.

Then, despite being on the verge of collapse, he had somehow forced himself to lure Naruto into the Kamui dimension.

And after finally getting inside, he’d immediately been subjected to another round of suffering.

Even someone made of iron couldn’t endure that much.

At this point, there was hardly any need to seal his chakra.

Nobody had to worry about him resisting.

“Pfft!”

Just as Naruto finished removing the seal, Obito seized the opportunity to bite his own tongue and spit out a mouthful of blood.

“Uncle Obito?!”

Naruto immediately turned toward him in alarm.

“What happened?”

“After I helped you escape earlier, Isshiki caught me and put me through another round of torture.”

Obito spoke weakly, looking as though he might collapse at any moment.

“My body can’t hold on much longer. Unless… unless I can obtain the power of a Tailed Beast, I’m afraid I won’t survive.”

His objective was straightforward.

He wanted to trick Naruto into handing over Shukaku’s chakra.

“Oh! Then that’s perfect!”

Naruto immediately brightened.

“Let’s hurry up and extract the Nine-Tails from Dad!”

“I can’t…”

Obito shook his head.

“Extracting the Nine-Tails requires hand seals and a proper ninjutsu. I’m already too weak to perform it.”

“Then I guess the only solution is for me to transfer Shukaku into you!”

Having been led exactly where Obito wanted him, Naruto arrived at the only remaining option.

“If I give you Shukaku’s chakra voluntarily, you won’t need to perform any hand seals!”

Obito could hardly have asked for a better response.

Naruto walked behind him, placed a hand against his back, and began transferring Shukaku’s chakra into his body.

Meanwhile, Minato had finally recovered enough to speak.

“Obito…”

He looked at his former student with an expression of disbelief.

“How could it be you? Why would it be you?”

Learning that Obito was actually the legendary masked do-gooder of the shinobi world was something Minato found almost impossible to accept.

Obito had clearly been the sort of little monster who would ride old ladies across the street instead of helping them cross safely.

How could someone like that have transformed into such a famously kindhearted man?

And more importantly—

why had Obito uninstalled Minato’s precious QQ in the first place?

“Teacher Minato, what happened back then was actually a misunderstanding…”

Obito proceeded to explain everything.

The Great Toad Sage had prophesied that Minato would die.

Obito, desperate to prevent that fate, had mistakenly believed that removing Minato’s QQ would extend his lifespan.

The whole incident had been the result of his misguided attempt to save his teacher.

“What?! I was going to die?”

Minato’s expression changed dramatically.

“Obito, you did all that… to save me?”

He had never imagined that the person responsible for taking away his QQ had actually been trying to protect his life.

In an instant, the resentment he had carried for so many years vanished.

Truthfully, Minato had stopped caring about the original incident a long time ago.

Losing his QQ had forced him to discover entirely new sources of enjoyment.

In a sense, that incident had made him the person he was today.

His desire for revenge had become little more than an obsession carried over from the past.

Now that he understood the truth, even that obsession disappeared.

“If you were only trying to save me, then we can just forget—”

“No. We can’t forget it.”

Minato was moved.

“Obito… I’ve already forgiven you. Haven’t you forgiven yourself?”

As expected!

Obito was no longer that troublesome little demon child from the past.

He really had become the masked man renowned throughout the shinobi world for his kindness.

“It’s not about forgiveness, Teacher Minato.”

Obito shook his head solemnly.

“I’ve only just realized how wrong I was.”

“Removing your QQ wasn’t a permanent solution. It merely extended your lifespan a little.”

“And when Naruto placed that Gecko Seal on you just now, I finally understood the truth.”

“Removing your QQ can’t solve every problem.”

“Teacher Minato, your life is still in danger!”

Minato stared at him.

Obito continued in an earnest voice.

“Fortunately, Teacher Minato, there’s another reason we tricked you into entering the Kamui dimension.”

“We’re going to extract the Nine-Tails from your body.”

“Every time a Tailed Beast is extracted in this world, the jinchūriki gains another chance at life.”

“If we repeat the process, you’ll be able to accumulate additional opportunities for resurrection.”

“And with your cautious personality, Teacher Minato, nine extra lives should be more than enough to ensure your survival!”

Minato went silent.

“So… that was your plan?”

Then another realization struck him.

“Wait. Does that mean there was never any Dark Naruto?”

“No, Dark Naruto really did exist.”

Obito shook his head.

“He also genuinely killed the villagers of Konoha. He even killed Gaara, Sunagakure’s jinchūriki.”

“Then…”

Minato turned toward Naruto.

“Does that mean Naruto defeated his dark side and regained control of his body?”

His expression immediately became proud.

“Naruto, you really are amazing! As expected of my son!”

“Uh… I guess.”

Naruto scratched his head awkwardly.

He had absolutely no desire to revisit that particular experience.

“In that case, later we can—”

Minato suddenly interrupted himself.

“Wait! Obito, since you’ve become the famous masked hero of the shinobi world, could you help me with one more thing?”

“Hm?”

Obito looked at him.

Minato gestured toward the two unconscious jinchūriki he had brought into the dimension.

“Those two over there are Rōshi and Han.”

“They suffered terribly from the diarrhea earlier. Their hemorrhoids have ruptured, they’re bleeding badly, and they’re practically at death’s door!”

“Only by extracting their Tailed Beasts and giving them additional chances at resurrection can we save their lives!”

Minato looked at Obito pleadingly.

“Obito, could you bear a little more of the burden?”

“Please accept the Four-Tails and Five-Tails as well!”

“…”

Obito was completely dumbfounded.

Holy shit.

Was something this wonderful actually happening?

Someone was begging him to take their Tailed Beasts away?

If only things were this easy in the real shinobi world!