Chapter 67
On the training ground, that perfectly timed breeze carried away the last of Naruto and Sasuke's fatigue, yet it did not dissipate.
Instead, the wind swirled playfully around Naruto like a mischievous wind spirit, circling him lightly once.
It transformed into natural energy almost imperceptible to the naked eye and silently slipped into Naruto's body.
Passing through his cells and meridians, it finally reached the vicinity of the Eight Trigrams seal inside him.
The consciousness passed through the seal and entered the conscious seal space where Xuanming resided.
Naruto remained completely unaware.
Inside the seal space, the environment was as dim and oppressive as ever.
This was the inherent tone of the sealing technique—its nature dictated it.
After all, it was a special Uzumaki clan technique designed to seal massive creatures and malevolent spirits.
Xuanming's current understanding of the seal was still insufficient; he couldn't yet give it a major renovation.
This gentle breeze drifted lightly through the red prison gate and saw Xuanming's main body inside.
At this moment, the Nine-Tails was curled up in a mountain-like massive form, sleeping deeply within.
Each breath stirred powerful energy tides that disturbed even the clear wind.
Atop the Nine-Tails, the golden-haired, red-robed Xuanming sat cross-legged, performing the daily cultivation he always did.
Ever since the seal space recently gained a new roommate, the malevolent will had been restless, requiring even stricter self-control.
Even locked away, the malevolent thoughts couldn't tolerate others appearing in its domain.
Xuanming, however, was far more open-minded. Since the child had helped, he might as well help to the end—what harm was there in letting him stay?
These memories belonged to both Xuanming and the malevolent will simultaneously; only their ways of handling things differed.
The clear breeze transformed into cloud-mist before Xuanming, quickly gaining definition and taking human shape.
It was none other than Yuta—forgotten by Naruto and the others.
Having only recently learned to gather into human form, he was still somewhat unaccustomed; wisps of cloud-mist occasionally leaked from his edges.
"This time you stayed out longer than the previous few times."
Xuanming slowly opened his eyes, speaking in his usual calm tone as though chatting casually with the drifting Yuta beside him.
"Hehe."
Yuta let out a crisp laugh. His body happily spiraled through the air, circling Xuanming in delight.
"Big Fox! Big Fox! The outside world is so much fun yo!"
Although when he first woke up and discovered the terrifying Nine-Tails fox beside him, he had been especially frightened.
That overwhelming sense of life-level disparity, combined with the oppressive aura naturally radiating from the Nine-Tails,
had made him think he had entered some terrifying hell.
But once he recognized Xuanming beside him and understood that the Nine-Tails was Xuanming, the fear quickly vanished.
Xuanming placed no restrictions on Yuta's freedom—the Eight Trigrams seal wasn't meant to imprison him.
So as long as Yuta wished, he could slip out of this seal space at any time to see the outside world.
"Wandering around the village again?"
Xuanming asked lightly: "That little cloud chasing the butterfly today—that was you, wasn't it? Even Shikamaru noticed."
With his current ability to freely switch between living being and natural phenomenon forms,
unless a powerful shinobi deliberately searched, no one in the entire village of Konoha could detect his presence.
But if he exposed himself through careless behavior, there was nothing to be done.
"Eh? I got spotted?"
Yuta stuck out his tongue.
Even though his natural-phenomenon form lacked a physical body, abnormal behavior could still be noticed.
"I just thought the butterfly was flying so beautifully—I wanted to play with it for a while."
Immediately afterward, he excitedly reported his "patrol" results.
"I went to Ino's family flower shop and saw their flowers looking a little wilted, so I quietly turned into a rain cloud and watered all the pots thoroughly!" "And and, I followed Hinata home and saw her training so hard with her father—she almost cried several times. So pitiful. But that big uncle looks way nicer than Kiba's mom. Kiba's mom is really scary—when she scolds Kiba, even Akamaru trembles beside him!"
He chattered away, recounting everything he had seen about his friends' recent lives, one thing after another, to Xuanming.
His tone was filled with contentment.
After all, he could now freely appear near his companions.
Xuanming listened quietly until Yuta's voice gradually quieted, then spoke again.
"The longer you stay awake now, the greater the consumption—your current state is still unstable."
Yuta's body visibly paused; his spiraling speed slowed.
Of course he understood his own condition.
Every long outing required him to return and sleep for a while to stabilize his body.
Xuanming gazed at Yuta and finally asked the most core question.
"When do you plan to return their memories?"
The air in the consciousness space seemed to freeze in that moment.
Yuta didn't answer immediately.
His body returned to cloud-mist form, shifting into various shapes in the air—sometimes gathering, sometimes dispersing.
It was like he was conducting a silent contemplation.
After a long while, he spoke in an almost murmuring voice:
"Now… it's still too early yo."
"They've just returned to normal life. The village didn't blame them, their families didn't punish them."
"If they remember now—if they recall everything that happened before—it would affect their current peaceful life, right!"
A child's thinking was always so pure, yet carried a touch of innocent stubbornness.
"I don't want to break their peace yo."
Yuta's cloud-mist body rippled slightly.
"And… what if they can't accept me in my current form…"
He worried that his friends might look at his present appearance with fear.
Such concern was perfectly normal for a child who had gone from life to death to rebirth.
He would wait until his friends were a bit more mature before returning their memories.
Xuanming didn't refute his reasoning. He simply stated another fact calmly:
"Memory is never merely a burden."
"Making decisions for others on their behalf—even out of kindness—can ultimately turn that kindness into a shackle."
Just as he guided Naruto, Xuanming now began guiding Yuta's mindset.
"You should trust your friends more. Trust itself contains power."
Yuta fell silent.
He transformed into a small cloud and hovered quietly in front of Xuanming, no longer shifting shapes.
After a long pause, he responded.
"Big Fox, you know a lot, so what you say must be right. I'll… I'll keep it in mind."
He added softly: "But… I still want to wait a little longer. Just until they grow up a tiny bit more—a tiny bit is enough yo."
Seeing him like this, Xuanming said no more.
He understood better than anyone how free Yuta's current body truly was.
Even if Yuta went straight to Sarutobi Hiruzen right now and asked to join Konoha as a villager, it wasn't impossible.
If it failed, no matter—after all, as long as Yuta didn't want to be caught, hardly anyone could capture him under normal circumstances.
But by hiding his friends' memories, Yuta had also restricted his own courage to appear.
In any case, he would continue showing up around the village in weather form. Later, he could guide Yuta to bravely reveal his identity.
Time, perhaps, really was the best medicine.
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