Days Spent with a Fox

At night, after saying goodbye to Satsuki, Naruto returned home. After keeping busy for quite a while, he sat on his bed and let his consciousness sink into the Sealing Space.

In the damp, chilly Sealing Space, Kurama's enormous body was curled up behind the iron bars. Naruto walked over with a grin and raised a hand in greeting. "Kurama, I'm here to chat with you again!"

Kurama merely lifted an eyelid slightly before closing it again, too lazy even to swish his tail.

Naruto did not mind Kurama's coldness at all. Instead, he moved closer. "What's wrong, Kurama? Did something happen? You look like you're in a bad mood."

After a moment of silence, Kurama spoke. His deep voice echoed through the Sealing Space. "...Kid, stay away from that other kid who was with you today."

The other kid? He meant Satsuki... Naruto immediately understood why. Kurama's hatred for the Uchiha ran deep. After all, the reason it had been sealed away was Uchiha Madara, who had controlled Kurama and made it fight the First Hokage.

But staying away from Satsuki was impossible. That girl was currently his biggest "sponsor" when it came to bond points, and her favorability was unexpectedly easy to raise.

He had gained two levels in a row that afternoon, causing his system points to soar. Still, he had to find a way to coax—no, persuade—the proud tsundere fox before him.

"Stay away from the other kid? You mean Satsuki? Why? She's obviously really likable, isn't she?"

Kurama's tails swished irritably. "Why so many questions? If I tell you to stay away, then stay away!"

"...Kurama, don't tell me you're jealous?" Naruto covered his mouth. "I couldn't tell. So you care about me that much."

"What?!" Kurama abruptly raised its head. "Don't get full of yourself, brat! How could I possibly be jealous?!" It bared its teeth furiously, all nine tails standing on end as though its fur had exploded.

"Haha, I was just joking~ Don't get so worked up, don't get so worked up~" Naruto hurriedly waved his hands to calm it down, watching Kurama lie back down in a huff.

Once the big fox had calmed down somewhat, Naruto spoke again. "Big Fox, I really never thought someone would tell me to stay away from someone else..."

"What's so strange about that?"

Naruto looked straight into Kurama's eyes. "Maybe because... in the village, everyone tells their own children to stay away from me."

Kurama's tails suddenly froze in midair for an instant. After a long silence, Naruto smiled. "Sorry, Kurama, but I can't agree to that condition."

He patted his chest. "Because she's my first friend! It's the first time I've ever made a friend!"

Kurama turned its face away and stopped looking at Naruto. Of course it knew why this child had been isolated by the entire village—the reason was itself, the "calamity" sealed inside Naruto. And now, was it going to make this child cut ties with his only friend too?

Though it had not fully trusted Naruto yet, Kurama convinced itself with its own lofty pride. Hmph, forget it. She was just an Uchiha brat without even a Sharingan. It would treat this as... a little charity for the kid.

Before long, Naruto's lively voice rang out again. "Oh, right, Kurama! Today, I'm continuing that story! Last time, I got to the part where Xiao Huohuo was at the auction..."

Naruto animatedly recounted his adapted version of Battle Through the Heavens. Though Kurama still had its back to Naruto, its perked ears and occasionally swaying tail revealed that it was actually listening very intently.

The night had grown late. In the Sealing Space, Naruto stretched lazily, a satisfied smile on his face. "Alright, Kurama, it's already very late. I had fun chatting with you, but I'm going back to sleep."

Kurama's ears twitched involuntarily. He was leaving already? It actually wanted to hear another chapter of the story, but as proud as it was, how could it possibly ask the brat to stay? Wouldn't that be admitting it was fascinated by the story?

"If you're leaving, then hurry up and go." Kurama turned its head away, pretending to be indifferent.

Just then, Naruto mysteriously pulled something from his clothes. "Oh, right, this is for you. I spent a long time figuring out how to bring it in here, so accept it gratefully~"

"What? Brat, I don't need—" Kurama impatiently turned around, but its words came to an abrupt halt.

Naruto was carefully pushing a book through the gap between the iron bars. In a spiritual world like the Sealing Space, which was composed entirely of Chakra, materializing a physical object required incredibly precise Chakra control!

On the cover of the book were neatly written words: "Battle Through the Heavens, Volume 1." The pages inside were filled with content Naruto had copied out stroke by stroke. Though the handwriting was childish, it was very neat, and some parts even had cute little illustrations.

For a moment, Kurama did not know what to say.

Naruto scratched his head awkwardly. "Sorry, but I can't stay here with you all the time. You can't do anything while you're here alone, so it must be boring, right?" He pointed at the book. "If you get bored, you can read this to pass the time."

Naruto watched Kurama carefully curl the book up with its tail, and the corners of his mouth rose unconsciously. Looks like my research wasn't for nothing...

Why could objects from the real world be brought into this spiritual space? The principle was actually simple—half of Chakra itself was the materialization of Spiritual Energy, and from a certain perspective, the Sealing Space was a reflection of Naruto's inner world.

After wrapping the book in Chakra in the real world and memorizing its form and structure, he could perfectly reconstruct it with Chakra in the Sealing Space, like creating an item version of a Shadow Clone. Of course, such a copy was still fundamentally made of Chakra. If it were food, it would not even have any flavor.

Kurama lowered its head and stared at the book in its claws, its eyes flickering slightly. This was the first gift it had ever received... The last time it had felt such pure kindness was when that old man, the Sage of Six Paths, was still around.

Suddenly, under Naruto's surprised gaze, Kurama's enormous body gradually shrank until it was only as large as a big dog. It opened the book with its front paws and actually began reading.

Kurama could control the size of its body? Naruto's eyes widened. A body made entirely of Chakra really was convenient...

Noticing Naruto's burning gaze, the miniature Kurama looked up. "Hey, brat, what kind of look is that?"

That gaze held a peculiar longing—the urge to touch something adorable when one saw it. The little Kurama was now fluffy, and its ears even twitched from time to time. Naruto forcibly suppressed the urge to give it a good rub and coughed lightly.

"Nothing... Oh, right, do you like this gift?" He deliberately changed the subject, his blue eyes shining with anticipation. "I spent a long time figuring out how to bring the book in here."

Kurama had been about to say something habitually tsundere, but it suddenly paused when it saw Naruto's expectant gaze. This kid... was only three years old. It realized that the child before it sincerely wanted to make it happy, and had even developed this Chakra application technique on his own.

After a long silence, Kurama awkwardly turned its face away. "...Hmph, it's not bad. I'll reluctantly accept it." It gently turned a page with its claw, then added, "But don't get carried away."

Seeing Kurama's words contradict its feelings, Naruto could not help laughing. "Yes, yes, yes~ Then I'm going back to sleep first! See you tomorrow, Kurama~"

Before leaving the Sealing Space, he looked back one last time—the little Kurama was already completely absorbed in the story, its fluffy tail unconsciously swaying gently and sweeping a fan-shaped trail across the damp ground.

Ding!

Congratulations, Host: You have formed a bond with original character "Kurama" (Level 2)

Reward: 400 points obtained!