Chapter 16 — You're the Nine-Tailed Fox Everyone Talks About!?
Naruto Uzumaki had already fallen asleep, but within his dream, his consciousness seemed to drift into a strange… dimly lit sewer.
"Where is this?"
Naruto looked around in confusion. The ground beneath his feet was damp, shallow water pooling everywhere, rippling slightly with each step he took. A faint, echoing sound lingered in the air, making the entire place feel eerily silent.
Then, as if sensing something, he lifted his head and looked forward…
Something was there.
Drawn by curiosity, he began walking toward it.
After a while, the narrow passage gradually widened, opening into a vast space. What appeared before him was a gigantic prison gate—nearly a hundred meters tall. Thick iron bars stretched upward endlessly, and at the center of the gate, a paper seal was firmly affixed, covered in strange markings.
Just as Naruto was staring at it in confusion—
A pair of crimson eyes suddenly snapped open!
"Waaah!!"
Naruto jumped in fright, losing his balance and falling backward straight into the water. He splashed loudly as he scrambled away, staring ahead in shock.
What the heck was that?!
Those were… eyes!?
"Heh heh heh… Who would've thought a brat like you could actually make it here?" A deep, sinister voice echoed out, accompanied by a chilling laugh.
From behind the gate, a massive figure slowly revealed itself. Nine enormous tails swayed behind it, and its sharp fangs glinted faintly in the darkness.
"Y-you… who are you?" Naruto asked, his voice trembling slightly.
"I am the one your kind fears above all else… the Nine-Tails, the being that brings terror to this world!" the creature declared, its voice filled with malice as a violent aura surged outward.
Naruto's face instantly paled.
"You're the Nine-Tailed Fox that attacked the village back then and was sealed by the Fourth Hokage!?" he exclaimed, eyes wide.
"That's right. It was me. Well? Are you afraid now? Terrified? Despairing?" the Nine-Tails sneered.
Naruto said nothing.
Silence fell.
One second… two seconds… three seconds…
Did this kid get scared stupid? the Nine-Tails wondered, narrowing its eyes.
"Uh… sorry, I zoned out for a second. What did you just say?" Naruto scratched his head and asked, as if only just snapping back to reality.
Nine-Tails: "..."
ROAR!!!
A thunderous roar exploded through the space, shaking the very walls. The force of it blasted Naruto backward, sending him tumbling through the air.
"Waaahhh!" Naruto flailed helplessly, spinning as he flew.
He crashed back into the shallow water with a loud splash, soaking himself completely. Slowly pushing himself up, he frowned in annoyance.
"What was that for? You just yelled at me without explaining anything. I already apologized!" he complained.
Nine-Tails: "..."
Speechless.
Facing this jinchūriki, the Nine-Tails could only feel an overwhelming sense of disbelief.
Why was this one so different?
Confirmed. This kid was an idiot.
"Brat, do you even know what kind of place this is?" the Nine-Tails asked, baring its teeth in a mocking grin.
Naruto froze, then blinked.
"Oh, right! What place is this? I remember falling asleep… so this is a dream?" he said, suddenly realizing.
The Nine-Tails nearly lost its patience.
Was this really the Fourth Hokage's son? The difference was absurd.
"This is your inner world—your sealing space," the Nine-Tails said flatly.
"Ohhh, so that's what it is!" Naruto exclaimed in surprise.
Judging by his expression, though, he clearly still didn't understand what that meant.
"Brat, come here and tear off that seal. Once you do, you'll gain power greater than even the Hokage's. With that strength, becoming Hokage will be easy…" the Nine-Tails tempted him, its voice lowering into a coaxing tone.
"Hmph, I'm not falling for that. If I tear that off, you'll definitely get out and start wrecking the village again. I'm not that dumb!" Naruto replied, folding his arms with a look that said you won't trick me.
So much for that approach.
The Nine-Tails felt a flicker of irritation, but it wasn't in a hurry. Breaking a seal like this was never something that happened overnight.
"By the way, I've always wondered… why did you attack the village in the first place?" Naruto asked suddenly.
The moment those words fell—
The Nine-Tails' expression twisted in fury.
"Because I hate all of you! I hate everyone in this world!" it roared, its voice filled with venom. "You're all hypocrites—disgusting vermin that make me sick!!"
Naruto was stunned.
He hadn't expected such a violent reaction from a single question.
This… was completely different from what he had imagined.
Both fell silent.
The vast sealing space returned to stillness, the only sound being the faint dripping of water.
"Come to think of it… why am I seeing you at all?" Naruto asked after a moment, still confused.
The Nine-Tails let out a low sneer.
"Because I am the one the Fourth Hokage sealed inside your body. Well? Surprised? The hero you admire so much is the very reason you've been rejected for the past twelve years… heh heh heh!"
Naruto's face turned pale instantly.
"That's not true!" he shouted, shaking his head violently. "The Fourth Hokage is the hero who saved the village! He's not like what you're saying at all!!"
"You're lying! I'm not listening to you!" Naruto yelled, his voice filled with denial.
"Can't accept it? But that is reality… brat. The Hokage you worship is the one responsible for everything…" the Nine-Tails said coldly, its sneer deepening.
"The Fourth Hokage is the root of it all."
...
Naruto's eyes snapped open.
The first thing he saw was a pair of pale, white eyes staring directly at him.
The two of them froze, wide-eyed, face to face.
Kaguya's beautiful face carried a trace of awkwardness. For a brief moment, she didn't know how to react.
"What's wrong with you?" she asked, pretending nothing had happened.
Naruto froze.
The Nine-Tails' words echoed in his mind again and again, that so-called truth pressing down on him until it was hard to breathe.
He didn't want to believe it.
He couldn't accept it.
That the Hokage he admired most… might be the reason he had been shunned and isolated for twelve years.
"I… no… it's nothing." Naruto hesitated, then shook his head.
Kaguya looked at him for a moment, slightly surprised, but said nothing more.
"By the way, Kaguya… what are you doing? You're crushing me…" Naruto said awkwardly.
Kaguya stiffened.
It was already morning. Taking advantage of the fact that Naruto hadn't woken up yet, she had intended to quietly absorb a bit of chakra…
But now she had been caught.
At that moment, her hands were braced on either side of Naruto's head, her long hair falling around them, her entire body pressed against his.
"Well… it seems my condition is acting up again," Kaguya said stiffly.
"Are you okay? If you need chakra, I can give you some!" Naruto replied seriously.
When it came to helping a friend, he never hesitated.
No matter the cost.
"I only need a little," Kaguya said, smiling faintly.
Then, before Naruto could react—
She lowered her head and bit into his neck.
"W-what—!"
A sharp pain shot through him, but at the same time, the chakra within his body began to flow outward, streaming continuously into Kaguya.
Inside the sealed space—
"That woman again? What the hell is she?" the Nine-Tails muttered, utterly speechless.
Was she seriously treating the mighty Nine-Tails like a chakra battery?
If it weren't sealed inside this brat, would it ever have to endure something like this?!
As the crimson chakra flowed out, Naruto's body recovered almost instantly. Not only that, his chakra continued to expand, growing stronger with each passing moment.
It was completely abnormal.
After only three such instances of being drained, the total amount of chakra within Naruto had already doubled.
And yet—
Naruto himself remained completely unaware.