Talking the Nine-Tails into It

Late at night, Zhang Ming slipped into sleep once more, yet still found no peace. His childish face was drawn tight, as though twisted by some invisible force, his expression filled with pain and helplessness.

He was trapped in a nightmare, though it was not truly a nightmare. It was everything Uzumaki Naruto had experienced over the past four years. Yet that past, brimming with malice, was far more terrifying than any nightmare.

In that story, he was seen by the entire village as an alien, an ominous Demon Fox. At the same time, he endured the curses and bullying of the whole village. Everyone wanted him dead.

The village had once been peaceful and harmonious, but whenever he appeared, it became a silent battlefield. Naruto lived alone in some corner of the village. Though he suffered unimaginable malice, he bore little resentment in his heart. His face was always lit by an innocent smile, longing to be acknowledged by everyone in the village, longing to make true friends. Yet even so, those piercing sneers, curses, coldness, and savage stares still cut through his fragile heart like blades. It was as if he stood alone against the entire village, even though he too was one of its people. All he heard were their cruel, biting words, while his heart held nothing but endless loneliness and pain.

Zhang Ming passively accepted everything from Uzumaki Naruto's past. The surging malice drowned him like a tide, then buried him like mud and sand. The overwhelming suffocation left him unable to make a sound. He wanted to wake from this nightmare, but he could do nothing.

Four years of memories flashed through Zhang Ming's mind in an instant, leaving only profound malice and hatred engraved deep within his heart.

Zhang Ming opened his eyes again in the darkness. Traces of terror from the dream still lingered in his azure eyes, but they were soon replaced by towering malice and fury.

As the dream ended, he could feel that Uzumaki Naruto had now completely merged with him. Those four years of memories had let him experience Naruto's past firsthand. The immense hatred left him unable to calm down for a long time, yet a voice deep within him urged him to forgive them.

How laughable. Is this Asura's Chakra?

Even like this, he can calmly choose to forgive them?

If one repays resentment with kindness, then what repays kindness?

Those Konoha villagers, evil by nature, and those few immortal old parasites.

I will personally...

"Heh heh heh, finally awake, are you? Uzumaki Naruto!"

A mocking voice brimming with malice suddenly rang out in the empty space. Faintly, he could also hear droplets falling onto water, sending ripples spreading across the surface.

Zhang Ming felt a violent gust sweep past him, lifting his soft blond hair and scraping against his cheek.

He immediately looked up, only to find that he was no longer in the room where he had fallen asleep. Before him stood a pitch-black cage. Within it, a pair of enormous vertical pupils suddenly opened wide, blazing like fire. A gigantic fox's head appeared before him, while its body flickered in and out of view within the darkness.

This was the Sealing Space!

Only then did Zhang Ming realize that he was lying on a floor submerged in water. He slowly climbed to his feet, looked at the ground, then touched himself. Though his whole body had clearly been submerged moments ago, not only could he breathe, there was not a single wet mark on him. He bent down, scooped up a little water, and examined it carefully.

How amazing!

"Kid, you've got quite the nerve."

Seeing that this Little Blondie still had the mood to play with water after seeing him, the Nine-Tails was somewhat surprised.

It had no idea why this kid had suddenly appeared in the Sealing Space. When the other party had suddenly extracted Chakra earlier, it had given the Nine-Tails quite a fright. Then came that sudden eruption of malice and resentment. That utterly pure, wicked hatred had secretly shocked even the Nine-Tails, which was known as the embodiment of hatred.

It made the Nine-Tails feel that there was an opening to exploit.

The Nine-Tails' voice brought Zhang Ming back to his senses. The water in his hand spilled out, rippling across the surface, and he stared blankly at the enormous fox.

It didn't actually look that terrifying. Its cheeks even seemed a little chubby.

Was he scared already?

The Nine-Tails was somewhat surprised. It had thought the boy might bring it a little amusement. After all, it had spent far too long alone in this Sealing Space and inevitably felt somewhat lonely. But it had not expected him to still be just a child. It seemed it could only find its own amusement.

The gigantic fox grinned, revealing rows of sharp, bone-white fangs. Looking down at him with contempt in its eyes, it said, "Kid, won't you come a little closer?"

Looking at the giant fox's disdainful face, Zhang Ming was only slightly surprised. He had not expected to meet the Nine-Tails so early, when he should not have seen it until several years later. Was it because he had suddenly gained control of Chakra?

He remembered that the system had given him Chakra Control. In other words, as long as Chakra was inside his body, he could control it. Since the Nine-Tails was sealed within him, that meant he should also be able to control the Chakra leaking out from it. Perhaps that was why he had met the Nine-Tails ahead of time.

"Kurama, it really has been a long time."

Zhang Ming had perfectly fused with all of Uzumaki Naruto's memories. Even the memories Naruto himself could not recall in his subconscious had merged with him as well. Thus, he had already seen this giant fox at the moment of his birth, so calling it a long time was not wrong.

"Hm?"

The Nine-Tails, which had not heard its true name in hundreds of years, froze for a moment. But it quickly recovered. Its grin slowly faded, and its scarlet vertical pupils fixed tightly on the blond kid before it as it assumed a defensive posture.

"Kid, how do you know this old man's name?"

The smile on Zhang Ming's face deepened. Wanting to toy with it a little, he said, "I am Asura."

"Asura? Impossible!" The Nine-Tails' voice was filled with intense fury. It felt that the boy was playing it for a fool. Asura had died hundreds of years ago; no one could even find his grave.

"How does a little brat like you know that name?"

Zhang Ming rubbed his chin, a thoughtful look appearing on his face. How had Uzumaki Naruto learned that he was Asura's reincarnation in the original story again? He could not quite remember, so he simply stopped thinking about it.

"Uh—an old man with two horns on his head, a white robe, and three Circle Eyes told me. He said I was Asura's reincarnation."

"T-the Sage of Six Paths!" The Nine-Tails froze on the spot, motionless as though it had turned into a statue.

A long time later.

The Nine-Tails came back to its senses. Looking at Uzumaki Naruto standing obediently on the other side of the sealing gate, it asked uncertainly, "Are you really sure you're Asura's reincarnation?"

The Nine-Tails instinctively hoped it was false, because if it were true, it did not know how it should face Uzumaki Naruto.

Zhang Ming looked utterly unconcerned as he said, "I don't know whether I'm a reincarnation or not. I have no interest in that. I am myself."

The Nine-Tails' expression was complicated. To be honest, after Zhang Ming had mentioned Asura's name and described the Sage of Six Paths, it had already believed him somewhat.

"So, you came here because you want to use my Chakra?" the Nine-Tails asked in a complicated tone.

"Mm, more or less. But..."

The smile on Naruto's face grew even brighter, yet the Nine-Tails suddenly felt as though the Sealing Space had become darker.

"Nine-Tails, staying in the Sealing Space all this time must be pretty boring, right?"