Miniature Kurama

"Tianxiang, I'm heading in. You can go back now!"

Standing at the school gate, Senju Fujima spoke to Tenka Uzumaki.

"Young master, Madam said I have to wait until you go inside before I can leave."

Tenka Uzumaki wasn't willing to go. She stood where she was, ready to watch Senju Fujima walk inside.

"Mm, all right!"

"Then I'm going in. You can head back on your own."

Senju Fujima nodded, then turned and walked inside, waving at her.

"I just wanted to look at you a little longer, even if it was only for a moment."

Tenka Uzumaki watched Senju Fujima go inside and murmured to herself.

Only after Senju Fujima disappeared from sight did Tenka Uzumaki reluctantly head back to the Senju Clan grounds.

"Phew, another boring day. And I still have to sit through class. This is so boring."

After Senju Fujima returned to school, he recalled his Wood Clone and sat down at his desk, bored out of his mind.

"Hmph, brat, what are you doing here again?"

Back in the damp sewer, Senju Fujima appeared once more and quietly sat atop Kurama's head. Kurama didn't mind. A different light flickered in his eyes, though he merely snorted.

"I'm bored, so I came to chat with you."

Senju Fujima found the most comfortable spot and lay down, speaking casually.

"Yeah, well, I don't need your company."

Kurama curled his lip in disdain.

"Is that so?"

"I thought you might miss me!"

"Guess you don't miss me at all, huh? Heh."

Hearing Kurama's words, Senju Fujima smiled faintly.

"Kurama, do you want to get out?"

Senju Fujima then gazed at the dark ceiling and asked calmly.

"Hm?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're thinking of letting me out? You know you'll meet a horrible end if you do."

Hearing Senju Fujima, Kurama paused. A glimmer of excitement flashed in his eyes, but quickly faded.

When Senju Fujima had cut off his limbs last time, he had sealed off the Sealing Space. Kurama hadn't seen anything outside, so he didn't know what kind of body Senju Fujima had.

"Heh, of course I'm not sending your real body out. Can't you split yourself?"

"Wouldn't splitting off a little Kurama be better than staying cooped up in here all day?"

Senju Fujima sat up and looked at Kurama with a grin.

"Split myself?"

Kurama hadn't expected Senju Fujima to have that idea. He could indeed split himself, and the part that split off would retain his thoughts.

It seemed like a pretty good solution—certainly better than spending every day in this lousy place.

"That could work, but I'd still need to put most of my soul into it."

Kurama was tempted. If Senju Fujima was willing to let him out, he could turn some of his chakra into a body of his own and put most of his soul into it. That would let him be free.

"Heh!"

"That sounds pretty good, doesn't it?"

"If you want to get out, this is a good way to do it, right?"

Senju Fujima smiled faintly at Kurama. If Kurama wanted to get out, this was indeed a good way.

"Hmph."

"You'd be this nice to me?"

Kurama looked at Senju Fujima and snorted.

"We're friends, aren't we?"

"Heh!"

Senju Fujima instantly appeared in front of Kurama. Standing on the damp ground, he gazed at Kurama with sincerity.

"Friends? Are we?"

Hearing Senju Fujima's words, Kurama paused. A glint flashed in his eyes, and the corners of his mouth curled up.

Ding! The host's choice has been acknowledged, and the mission is complete. Reward: Become a Perfect Jinchuriki and unlock all Nine-Tails modes. Additional reward: one special bonus.

Ding! Congratulations, host! You have received a special reward: Mind's Eye of the Kagura unlocked.

The moment the system sensed that Kurama truly regarded Senju Fujima as a friend, it issued the reward for the previous Divine Choice. It also unlocked the Mind's Eye of the Kagura for him.

"Yo, the Mind's Eye of the Kagura? That's pretty good. If I remember right, it can detect chakra within a ten-kilometer radius. It's practically a divine tool."

"It's a lot like the spiritual sense in those cultivation novels, and its range is pretty impressive."

As soon as Senju Fujima heard the system's notification, the method for activating the Mind's Eye of the Kagura appeared in his mind. He could also communicate with Kurama mind to mind and activate Kurama Mode, which surprised him.

"Kurama, gather your chakra now. Then I'll open the seal and let that portion of your chakra out."

Senju Fujima looked at Kurama and told him to separate some chakra so he could release it.

"Mm."

For some reason, Kurama now felt differently about Senju Fujima. He thought of him as a kid worthy of trust and had gradually come to regard him as a good friend.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

Kurama's chakra poured out, and a miniature Kurama appeared before Senju Fujima. It looked like Kurama as a child, but was more than ten times smaller than he'd been at his tiniest. He was now the size of a plush toy—about as big as two palms.

"Soul Split."

Kurama split his soul in two, then sent the larger portion straight into the miniature Kurama. The little fox instantly came to life.

"All right, you can open the seal. I'll go out on my own."

Kurama soon finished everything. The little Kurama and the larger Kurama looked at Senju Fujima and spoke in unison.

"Heh! You're pretty cute, aren't you?"

"I never expected Kurama to be so cute and adorable as a kid. Haha!"

Senju Fujima couldn't help laughing at the miniature Kurama, who was only about as big as two palms.

"Hmph, I'm mighty, not cute."

A flash of anger crossed Kurama's eyes as he pouted at Senju Fujima.

"Haha, right, right. Mighty. Very mighty."

Seeing Kurama refuse to admit it, Senju Fujima hurriedly laughed.

"Four Symbols Reversal: Release!"

Senju Fujima appeared outside the seal and stuck all five fingers through it, turning them ninety degrees counterclockwise.

"Crack, crack, crack!"

The seal soon opened a gap, and the little Kurama slipped through it.

"Heh! Kurama, we're heading out."

Senju Fujima saw the little Kurama beside him, then looked at the larger Kurama still inside the seal. He closed the seal, waved at him, and spoke.

"Hmph."

Kurama curled his lip, then lay down and fell into a deep sleep. With most of his soul gone, the larger Kurama would also fall asleep.

Whenever Senju Fujima wanted to use his power, however, he would wake up on his own.

"Heh! The air outside is so fresh. That lousy seal of yours was filthy."

After getting out, Kurama spread his forelegs to embrace the air, his nine adorable little tails swaying freely. A long-missed look shone in his eyes.

"Heh, it's nice out here, isn't it?"

"But don't go running off. Actually, I'd better put a technique on you."

"That way, if someone grabs you, I can come rescue you right away."

Senju Fujima smiled at Kurama perched on his shoulder. Then he tapped Kurama's belly with his right hand and placed a Flying Thunder God mark on him, just in case.

"Hmph, you think someone could capture me? You really underestimate me."

"If I hadn't been summoned by someone out of nowhere, who could've captured me?"

"Your father and that Madara Uchiha are really strong, I admit. Wood Release and the Sharingan are natural counters to me."

"But if anyone else thinks they can capture me, they can forget it."

Kurama was clearly displeased by what Senju Fujima had said. He put his forepaws on his hips, lifted his head, and spoke.

"Haha, Kurama, that adorably ugly look of yours is killing me! Haha!"

This was the first time Senju Fujima had seen Kurama like this, and he burst out laughing.

"I'm ugly? You dare call me ugly?"

"Take this!"

Hearing Senju Fujima call him adorably ugly, Kurama leaped at him and swiped a claw toward him. He hated being called ugly.

"Smack!"

Kurama was fast, but Senju Fujima was faster. In an instant, he reached out and caught Kurama's paw.

"Heh, Kurama, don't forget—I'm one of the people who can counter you, too. Haha!"

"Even at full strength, you couldn't beat me. And now? Forget about it!"

Senju Fujima held Kurama in his hand and grinned.

"Hmph, let go of me!"

"You win. Just you wait—when I get the chance, I'll beat you up and finally vent my anger!"

Held in Senju Fujima's hand, Kurama snorted and shouted.

"Haha!"

"Wait, that sounds familiar. Why does it?"

Seeing Kurama get the worst of it, Senju Fujima laughed. A moment later, he suddenly realized Kurama's words sounded familiar, as if he'd heard them somewhere before, and paused.

The system muttered under its breath, "Isn't that exactly what you said to me earlier? You forgot already? You really don't have much of a brain."

"Wow, what an adorable pet! I love it!"

"So cute—adorable beyond words! Fujima, can I play with it?"

"It's so soft, Fujima! Can I pet it?"

"That pet is so cute—so tiny and adorable!"

Kurama and Senju Fujima had completely forgotten they were in class. Now they were chatting away without a care, ignoring all their classmates.

"Uh...!"

Senju Fujima suddenly heard a bunch of girls around him. He paused, then turned to look. The girls in his class were all gazing at Kurama in his hands with stars in their eyes, as if they absolutely adored him.

"Senju Fujima, you're disrupting class. Get out of the classroom. Now!"

Their teacher was furious. Senju Fujima might be the young clan head of the Senju Clan, but once he was at school, he was under the teacher's authority. To him, there were only students—no ranks.

Seeing Senju Fujima playing with a pet so brazenly in class, the teacher shouted at him, his face flushed red. He looked just like Iruka scolding Naruto.

"Ahaha!"

"Um, sorry, Teacher Irudi. I forgot. Heh!"

"I'll head out now and let you continue your class. Please don't be mad, okay?"

Seeing that Irudi seemed angry, Senju Fujima hurriedly laughed and headed out, Kurama in hand.

He wasn't afraid of Irudi. He was just worried Irudi would complain to Mito Uzumaki, and then he'd be in trouble. It was better not to offend his teacher, or he'd be the one to suffer.

"Fujima..."

Shizuka Uchiha watched Senju Fujima with concern. Seeing the teacher scold him, she wanted to go out with him too. She murmured his name.

As Senju Fujima left, he winked at Shizuka Uchiha and walked out with a smile. She lowered her head shyly, her cheeks turning pink.