A Fox Lived Inside My Body

After dinner,

Teacher and student walked out of the ramen shop.

Naruto walked ahead, his face full of contentment after eating and drinking his fill, while Iruka followed behind with a somewhat complicated expression.

Iruka looked complicatedly at Naruto ahead of him. He truly had not expected Naruto to eat so much—he had eaten ten huge bowls of ramen before he was full. In the end, Iruka, who had not brought enough money, had to put the meal on credit at the ramen shop.

No wonder he was such a big guy.

Still, Iruka had not come away empty-handed.

During that brief meal, Iruka had gotten to know Naruto a little better. His favorability toward Naruto had increased by 1.

Their conversation had not covered too many topics. Since Naruto was still a child, Iruka had specifically brought up the subject of friends in light of Naruto's circumstances.

When it came to friends, Naruto was clearly eager to talk. He said that his dream was to make lots of friends, to make the entirety of Konoha his friends. After that, he wanted to leave Konoha and make even more friends.

What a simple yet grand dream.

Iruka had immediately told him that this was not a dream that could be achieved easily, so Naruto had to keep walking down this path and not give up halfway.

Naruto naturally responded with a serious nod.

Iruka and Naruto's first private meeting ended on that pleasant note, with both of them having gained something from it.

After parting ways with Iruka, Naruto headed to the Back Mountain to continue tempering his body.

Over the past year, Naruto had actually completed the first round of tempering for his outer skin during the first six months, then moved on to the deeper Muscle Tissue.

Counting it up,

He had already tempered his Muscle Tissue for six months.

His progress was impressive. In just a few more days, Naruto would be able to complete the tempering of his muscles.

According to the system, once he had finished tempering his muscles, only the final stage of Foundation Establishment would remain: bathing in the Five Spirit Sacred Blood to strengthen his internal organs and achieve a complete transformation.

By then,

His physical qualities would undergo a clear leap.

Bang! Bang! Bang...

Wooden sticks as thick as arms struck his wheat-colored skin, producing dull thuds. After a year of body tempering, Naruto had become thick-skinned and tough.

The force also had to be increased accordingly for the tempering to remain effective.

Yet what surprised Naruto was that his body was not visibly rough or calloused. On the contrary, it appeared lustrous, and felt so silky smooth to the touch that it made one's heart itch.

The system had specifically explained this to him.

"This is a Mahayana Body Tempering method, the ultimate path toward immortality and sanctifying the flesh. Its tempering techniques and ancestral medicinal formula have been refined over countless years until they reached perfection."

"Unlike Lesser Vehicle Body Tempering methods, it will not make your skin worsen the more you train, nor will it dull your mind. Constant body tempering may even leave behind hidden ailments, cause cursed red hair to grow, and bring misfortune in old age."

"Our Hardening method, however, can make your physique imposing, your skin as smooth as jade, and fill you with supreme charm."

"Simply put, the more you train, the more handsome you become."

Naruto did not care too much about whether he became handsome. What he cared about was that this method could bring him many good friends.

Bang! Bang! Bang...

"Breathe... in..."

Breathing was also especially important during body tempering. The system had specifically taught Naruto a breathing method, instructing him to coordinate it with his body tempering.

During the process, Naruto discovered that when he used the breathing method, he could sense the state of his muscles as they were tempered. That state was alive, and it could be controlled through effort.

It was easy to imagine that body tempering was meant to awaken the body's potential, increase its vitality, and ultimately enable one to use the mind to control every muscle in the body.

It was not simply about turning muscles into dead flesh in order to become more resistant to blows.

After completing a full round of body tempering, Naruto stopped and prepared to apply Ointment so his body could absorb its medicinal properties and improve his physical condition.

But just then,

"Naruto."

A voice rang out in his mind. It was not the system's voice.

"Naruto."

"Could another system have appeared inside me?"

Naruto thought.

But soon, Naruto's consciousness seemed to be pulled by a mysterious force, spinning around. When he regained his senses, he found himself standing before a massive iron gate with railings. A talisman bearing the character "Seal" was pasted upon it.

Beyond the gate, through the dim light, Naruto could vaguely make out the phantom of an enormous orange-red beast, towering like a mountain and lying prone on the ground. Its narrow, lantern-sized eyes stared coldly at him.

"Were you the one calling me?"

Naruto looked at the giant beast and asked.

"Yes, Naruto. I was the one calling you." The beast tried its best to make its expression appear friendly.

It had not actually wanted to call this human brat, but for some reason, it had recently discovered that the seal was becoming stronger and stronger. It had once been able to release Chakra and sense a tiny bit of the outside world, but now its range only extended beyond the iron gate.

It did not know why.

But it was not stupid.

This human brat had definitely done something.

"Where is this?" Naruto asked as he looked around.

"This is inside your body, Naruto," the giant beast answered.

"My body... My body..." Naruto staggered. Upon hearing the beast's words, he seemed to vaguely understand something. His eyes reddened as he demanded of the beast,

"You're the Nine-Tails Demon Fox, the Nine-Tails Demon Fox that killed the Fourth Hokage?"

"That's right. I am Nine-Tails."

The giant beast nodded, rose to its feet, and slowly approached Naruto. Its nine enormous tails swayed behind it as it lowered its head to look at him.

"The Fourth Hokage was not killed by me, but he died because of me. Before his death, he sealed me inside your body."

Nine-Tails explained.

Naruto did not listen to any of Nine-Tails's explanations. All he could think of was how those children had not wanted to play with him, how the adults' gazes toward him had been filled with disgust,

And how they had even called him a Nine-Tails monster.

Was it all because of this? Looking at the Nine-Tails Demon Fox looming over him, Naruto suddenly understood many things.

"System, a Nine-Tails Fox lives inside my body. Why didn't you tell me?"

Naruto called out to the system in his heart. He felt that with the system's vast abilities, it should have long since understood the condition of his body.

"Why should I? It's just a tiny Nine-Tails Demon Fox. Don't you see, Naruto? As your body grows stronger, the seal strengthens as well. Once you complete Foundation Establishment, it will be trapped inside your body for ten thousand years without ever getting out."

The system spoke disdainfully.

"Hey,"

Nine-Tails saw the human brat before it suddenly lower his head and fall silent. Thinking that Naruto had been frightened by its identity, Nine-Tails hurriedly urged him.

Hearing Nine-Tails call out, Naruto raised his head, opened his eyes wide, and said seriously, one word at a time,

"Listen."

"My name isn't 'hey.' My name is Naruto Uzumaki."

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