False World, the Beaten-Up Nine-Tails

Over a decade ago, Uzumaki Menma had come here from a blue planet.

He had thought he had become the protagonist of the Naruto World, but after calming down, he discovered all sorts of inconsistencies.

The Fourth Hokage was Haruno Cho; Minato Namikaze and his wife were alive; the Fifth Hokage was a flat-chested girl with Glasses; and there was that willful, overbearing Hinata Young Lady...

The many differences made Menma realize that the place he had arrived in might merely be an illusionary world created by Limited Tsukuyomi or Infinite Tsukuyomi.

Even so, it had not really mattered. He could still live well there.

But after becoming aware of "reality," he discovered many inconsistencies he had never noticed before.

There was no God Tree in this world, no Otsutsuki, not even a past or future. Everyone was like actors playing their roles according to a script.

It was lifeless and utterly boring!

A leaf before one's eyes, trapped in one's ways!

Only Uzumaki Menma knew the truth.

"This world is bound to perish!"

Menma said that there were worlds beyond this world, and a universe beyond it. This world was "false"; only by leaving it could one reach "reality."

But when people heard him, they only thought he was a lunatic, a madman, and kept their distance from him.

After that, Menma fell silent.

He hid that secret deep within his heart.

The intense nausea and sense of wrongness, caught between "illusion" and "reality," plagued him for eighteen years.

Other than a certain willful person, he had never felt any sense of belonging in that world.

He became Hokage and used Leaf Village's resources to obtain the Crimson Moon Book for himself.

It turned out that the Tsukuyomi World was merely a byproduct that existed through the Real World. The entire world had formed around this Crimson Moon Book, amounting to no more than a page or two written within it.

After understanding everything, an even stronger sense of detachment filled Menma's body. It was as though the whole world despised and targeted him.

However...

Although an accident had occurred while breaking through the passage between "illusion" and "reality," causing his body to collapse and dissipate...

At least, in the end, he had escaped that "cage."

What was more, he had obtained the Crimson Moon Book in his hand, which could "turn illusion into reality."

Uzumaki Menma withdrew from his drifting thoughts and looked sternly at Naruto. "Looking at you, I doubt I can get anything important out of you. Listen while I explain."

"We're still in the Sealing Space inside your body, and this foolish big fox..."

Menma pointed at the Nine-Tails beside him. "Its name is Kurama. It is your tenant, and it is also the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox that makes those people turn pale at the mention of foxes."

Naruto's little mouth fell slightly open as he carefully looked the Nine-Tails up and down.

Hadn't those people said that the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox was incredibly vicious and violent, that it ate children and drank human blood every day?

But this one...

No matter how he looked at it, it was just a big fox that loved eating and hated working!

The Nine-Tails clutched an oversized bag of chips and shouted impatiently, "Hey, hey, hey! What does this have to do with me? It's not like I wanted to stay inside this brat's body!"

Uzumaki Menma ignored the fox and let it howl and yell beside him.

Heh. Kurama's mouth was the toughest thing on its entire body.

"Don't doubt it. This big fox is the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox the other villagers speak of."

"But aside from its appearance, it's clearly an emotional creature just like us. And it doesn't seem as scary as everyone else says." Naruto scratched his head.

This brat...

Being acknowledged by a human child for the first time, the Nine-Tails awkwardly swished its tail.

Faced with Naruto's confusion, Menma laughed. "Naruto, I'm truly glad you can think that way."

"But wait until I'm finished before making your judgment."

Uzumaki Menma waved a hand, and a small stool appeared on the ground.

After signaling Little Naruto to sit down, he began recounting the First Hokage Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha's persecution of the Nine-Tails, as well as the five great villages' division of the nine Tailed Beasts.

"Kurama had originally lived alone in its own territory, leading a free and peaceful life. But later, humans regarded it as a terrifying monster rather than a living being with emotions. At the same time, they feared and coveted its power..."

"Hmph!!"

The Nine-Tails had no interest in hearing this. It snorted and turned its head away.

Logically speaking, with its temperament, it would never allow someone to recount its embarrassing history right in front of it.

But unfortunately...

Back during the Nine-Tails Incident, while it had been helplessly raging after being sealed inside Naruto's body...

This detestable fellow had suddenly appeared and called out its true name.

The moment the Nine-Tails looked down and saw Menma, its fur had instantly stood on end.

In every sense of the phrase.

It lowered itself like a beast, arched its back, flared its fur, and raised its nine tails high behind it.

Its eyes widened, its pupils constricted, and a deep, threatening growl rumbled from its throat.

"Who is this guy? How did he suddenly appear here?!"

A beast's sharp instincts continuously warned the Nine-Tails.

Danger! Danger!!

The person before it constantly gave off a "scent" called danger.

But that could only make the invincible Lord Kurama cautious. It could not make it show weakness.

The Nine-Tails swiftly mixed and compressed Yin and Yang in an 2:8 ratio inside its mouth, forming an ultra-dense miniature Tailed Beast Ball.

Just as it was about to enjoy the despairing expression on that damned brat's face...

Uzumaki Menma grinned and extended a finger.

A pitch-black sphere, surrounded by a halo like a Star Ring, condensed on his fingertip.

The Nine-Tails' smile froze on its face, and its expression gradually fell apart.

"Have a taste of this—Small Spiral Wheel Ugra!"

Menma directly tossed the sphere in his hand into the Nine-Tails' mouth.

A Golden Chain extended from behind him and bound the Nine-Tails' fox mouth shut.

Boom! Pfft!

Then, with a muffled boom from its belly, the Nine-Tails went from one fox to a "ball" of fox.

Its remarkably resilient Chakra body instantly swelled into a huge sphere. White smoke sprayed from several holes in its body, making it resemble a boiling kettle.

Remembering Menma's persecution and beatings, remembering the broken expression it had worn while its eyes rolled back, the Nine-Tails bared its teeth in irritation.

If not for that disgusting Adamantine Sealing Chains, how could it possibly have been unable to resist at all?

Although, although that Spiraling Ring had been powerful, Lord Kurama was no weakling either!

I have to find a chance to beat this brat up, or he'll really think I'm made of clay!

Just as the Nine-Tails secretly made up its mind...

"Kurama possesses the greatest amount of Chakra and is the strongest among the nine Tailed Beasts."

At those words, the Nine-Tails jolted, and its pair of fox ears instantly stood straight up.

Rare, far too rare! This guy was actually praising me?!

Catching sight of Little Naruto's admiring gaze from the corner of its eye, the Nine-Tails gave a proud huff.

Its face wore an aloof expression of complete indifference, but its tails behind it were practically sticking up into the sky.

This guy did have good taste.

When it got the chance, it had to let that damned Stinky Raccoon Dog hear this.

One tail could never compare to nine tails!