Landlord and Tenant

Landlord and Tenant

Naruto casually found a spot outside the cage and sat down, looking at the giant fox across from him.

After being teased a few times, the majestic Nine-Tails turned away with an unhappy look on his face. It did not quite match Naruto's impression of him.

Still, happiness obeyed the conservation of energy—having transferred from the Nine-Tails' face to his own.

The negative emotions stirred up by the Nine-Tails earlier had also settled considerably.

Humans were social creatures, after all. More unbearable than others' malice was loneliness.

As he gazed at the Nine-Tails' beautiful, enormous tail, Naruto pondered how to leave the Sealing Space while searching through his memories for information about the Nine-Tails.

The Nine-Tails was no ordinary tailed beast. It possessed the most Chakra and was the strongest among the Nine Great Tailed Beasts. It could naturally sense an enemy's malice, an ability somewhat similar to his Favorability System.

Even in the wild, the Nine-Tails' strength was already close to that of a Super Kage.

He was also an incredible support. Once he and his Jinchuriki were in sync, he could grant the Jinchuriki Nine-Tails Mode, giving them strength beyond the Five Kage.

Even in Boruto, the Nine-Tails could burn himself away to temporarily grant his Jinchuriki power comparable to an Otsutsuki.

It could be said that without the Nine-Tails' cheat-like assistance, the original Naruto might have stood shoulder to shoulder with the Fourth Hokage, but he would never have reached the pinnacle.

And if he wanted to live freely and comfortably in the ninja world in the future, he would need the Nine-Tails' help as well.

As Naruto was thinking this, he suddenly felt a pulling force. He instinctively frowned, and then his consciousness left the Sealing Space against his will.

Apparently, entering the Sealing Space consumed mental energy, and he could not stay there for too long.

Sensing Naruto's departure, the Nine-Tails turned around and looked at the place where Naruto had vanished, deep in thought.

Although this Jinchuriki was merely a brat, he was different from Mito and Kushina. Naruto radiated a great deal of malice, yet there was pitifully little of it directed at him.

He had clearly never told Naruto the truth about that night, nor that he was the chief culprit behind everything Naruto had suffered in his life so far.

So, was this brat naturally fond of tailed beasts, or was the malice of those humans outside even greater than his own?

With a quiet snort, the Nine-Tails lay down and closed his eyes again. Imprisoned for decades, he looked forward to seeing something change. Perhaps Naruto would prove interesting.

Back in the outside world, Naruto stretched after his consciousness returned to reality and began tidying up the room.

Recalling his first meeting with the Nine-Tails, a faint smile appeared on Naruto's face. Now that he could communicate with the Nine-Tails, he had another way to relieve his boredom.

Over the next month, aside from eating, drinking, sleeping, and answering nature's call, Naruto would enter the Sealing Space to visit the Nine-Tails whenever he had recovered enough mental energy.

The Nine-Tails went from cold and silent at first to gradually becoming somewhat impatient. Looking at the brat before him, who was not even as big as one of his claws, he could not help saying, "Brat, don't you have anything else to do? You come running to me every single day for no reason."

Naruto looked utterly unconcerned. "Preventing prisoners from escaping is the job of a jailer like me, isn't it? I have to keep a close eye on you and make sure you do not get the chance to break out."

The Nine-Tails ground his claws together. "I recall you saying before that we were landlord and tenant?"

"That was what I thought before. Then I gave it some more thought, and you cannot afford the rent anyway, so we might as well go back to being jailer and prisoner. Besides, I have nothing else to do."

Seemingly realizing he had let something slip, Naruto hurriedly covered his mouth.

The Nine-Tails rolled his eyes. "That's right. You haven't gone out for a month. Those ninjas outside have locked you up. Such is the fate of being this old man's container."

Naruto glanced at the Nine-Tails and put his hands on his hips. "My confinement is temporary, but who knows when you'll be able to get out of my body? Compared to you, I'm still much freer. I even have the books the Third Hokage sent me."

"Is that so?"

The Nine-Tails questioned him, looking at Naruto with ill intent.

Naruto fell silent as he searched for words, preparing to retort, but a knock at the door from the outside interrupted his thoughts. He quickly rose from the sofa.

When he opened the door, it was the familiar old Third Hokage again. This time, the Third Hokage was not wearing his Hokage Robe, having changed into casual clothes that made him seem more approachable.

The Third Hokage asked with a smile, "Little Naruto, how have you been lately?"

"Grandpa Third Hokage, I no longer have to worry about food or clothes. I also do not get treated like a monster for going outside whenever I want, and I can learn about this world through books. I'm already living very well."

"If possible, I hope I can keep living like this forever."

From a child's perspective, there was nothing wrong with Naruto's answer. Yet it was not the answer the Third Hokage wanted to hear. A Jinchuriki had to grow through experience, not stay cooped up at home forever.

The village would need the Jinchuriki's vital combat strength in the future as well.

After pondering for a moment, the Third Hokage said, "Naruto, staying at home may be nice, but you should still see the outside world. You ought to go out more often."

"They'll treat me like a monster. I'm not afraid of being treated like one, but it would cause trouble for you, Grandpa Third Hokage. Forget it."

Naruto put on an attitude of complete resignation.

The Third Hokage frowned. "I have already issued an order throughout the village forbidding them from spreading rumors that you are the Demon Fox. You will not be treated as the Demon Fox."

Naruto said indifferently, "All right, I'll listen to you, Grandpa Third Hokage. But if they curse at me to my face again, I'll make them regret it."

The Third Hokage appeared pleased on the surface, though inwardly he was somewhat worried. After leaving behind Naruto's living expenses for the month, he departed.

After the Third Hokage left, Naruto had just put the money into his pocket when the Nine-Tails' voice rang out. "Brat, you always call him 'old Third Hokage' in private. Why is it 'Grandpa' this and 'Grandpa' that whenever you see the Third Hokage? What a sweet mouth you have."

As he spoke, the Nine-Tails mimicked Naruto's tone and called out "Grandpa" several times, only replacing "Third Hokage" with himself.

Naruto looked at the Nine-Tails' clumsy imitation, his expression darkening slightly. Then he said, "When you live under someone else's roof, you have to bow your head. If you had learned that lesson back then, Big Fox, you would not have ended up sealed inside me and become my tenant."

The Nine-Tails immediately fell silent and curled back up in the corner of the cage, shutting himself off.

Because of the seal, he could not physically teach Naruto a lesson. His negative emotions did not work either, and he could not win an argument against Naruto.

Every time, Naruto could precisely strike at his sore spots, while he was powerless to fight back and could only rage impotently.

Seeing the Nine-Tails shut himself off, Naruto laughed happily, and his heart filled with a little anticipation for the future.