"!!!"
The instant their fists touched, an immense, indescribable torrent of information surged into Naruto's consciousness like a breached river, accompanied by vast Chakra!
He felt it clearly—it was everything Kurama had experienced over a thousand years! In that life so long it was suffocating, perhaps it had initially held even the faintest hope for humanity.
But what followed was cruel exploitation time and again, merciless betrayal... Over those thousand years, almost all that remained were bleak memories steeped in pain and disappointment.
Kurama's consciousness followed the Chakra connection and sank into the depths of Naruto's memories. Scenes began flashing through its mind one after another like a revolving lantern—at first, they were all things it had personally experienced or witnessed: fierce battles fought alongside Naruto, as well as the ordinary yet warm moments they had shared in daily life.
It already knew all of this.
Except for one fragment—Naruto using a Shadow Clone to create a mysterious figure wearing a Fox Mask and a black robe...
That appearance looked somewhat familiar...
When they had been on a mission in the Land of Waves, hadn't someone dressed exactly like that suddenly appeared and taken those two enemies away...? Kurama suddenly realized. So that had been this brat in disguise?!
It had never paid attention to the human conflicts beyond the seal. As for this "mysterious organization leader" persona Naruto had created, which had later sparked endless speculation among various factions, Kurama could only snark inwardly.
This brat sure knows how to put on a mysterious act.
Then the memories shifted to Naruto's childhood. Though it had already learned the general details from Satsuki's accusations, seeing those scenes of exclusion, discrimination, and isolation vividly unfold from a first-person perspective still made Kurama's heart ache.
*I... saw the pain I indirectly caused