134. You guy...

Recalling the suffering he had endured over the years because of the Nine-Tails, Naruto felt a deep sense of empathy for himself. The more he spoke, the angrier he became, and he began to vent at the Nine-Tails:

"You think everyone wants your power? I don't care for it at all! Thanks to you, I've suffered so much! Do you even know how embarrassing it is for a fox-like guy who doesn't even have to take exams to fail the graduation test twice in a row!"

"Don't you get too arrogant... you brat!"

The Nine-Tails, which had always projected the image of a terrifying beast, had no patience. Having a brat point a finger at it and express such disdain hurt its pride—this was the first time anyone had ever looked down on its power.

The Nine-Tails stood up and roared:

"I am the Nine-Tails! A being that brings disaster and destruction! You wet-behind-the-ears brat, do you even understand how strong my power is? Indra and Madara Uchiha both begged me to help them, and even that guy Hashirama Senju only locked me up because he feared my power... You foolish brat, I'm going to tear you to shreds!"

"..."

Naruto, having been sprayed in the face by the Nine-Tails' saliva, felt a vein throbbing in his temple.

To be honest, Naruto hadn't been in a good mood when he first entered, and the Nine-Tails' insufferably arrogant attitude was just too infuriating.

Forget it.

There was no one here to monitor him anyway, so why bother hiding anything?

He was going to blow up at it.

"Get lost, you stinking fox!"

Naruto raised both middle fingers: "Let's see how you like a Grasp of the Undying combined with a War Stomp! Come here! You stupid idiot!"

?!

For the first time in its fox life, the Nine-Tails was so insulted by a human that it was momentarily stunned.

This wasn't right, was it?

Humans who could beat it would just attack, and humans who couldn't would speak politely no matter how much it cursed them... No, wait, did I just get cursed at with profanity?!

"What did you say, you brat?!"

The Nine-Tails slammed its massive claws against the bars, causing the water to churn. "If you've got the guts, open the gate for me!"

"If you've got the guts, come out yourself!"

"If you've got the guts, open the gate!"

"Didn't you say you were so powerful? How come you can't even open a gate and only know how to bark like a dog? Or are you just a coward who's afraid to come out? If you're scared, just say so. I'll definitely mock you for it, you stinking fox!"

"I... I am... I'm going to eat you! Roar--!!"

Having been a shut-in for decades, the Nine-Tails had never had a verbal confrontation like this; its linguistic skills and psychological defenses were ultimately too simple. Running out of words, it became completely enraged. Violent chakra threatened to break through the cage, and the entire sealing space trembled, but Naruto stood motionless before the storm, making crazy faces at the furious Nine-Tails.

Neither the human nor the fox noticed that deep within the bars, a hidden mass of chakra flickered slightly due to the Nine-Tails' outburst. However, since the Nine-Tails couldn't break through the cage in the end, this mass of chakra returned to silence.

About half an hour later.

Finally exhausted from the argument, both the human and the fox lay on the water, chests heaving. Naruto shakily raised his middle finger again: "So, can you stop interfering with my chakra flow? Otherwise, I'm coming in here to curse you every single day."

"You damn brat..." The Nine-Tails, learning on the fly, bared its teeth: "I have never interfered with your chakra flow, okay? You idiot."

"Huh?"

The Nine-Tails continued to explain: "The person who... sealed me inside you used two Four Symbols Seal to form an Eight Trigrams Seal, using it to convert the chakra leaking from the gaps of the Four Symbols Seal into your own chakra... I have never interfered with your chakra flow; it's just that you're too weak to control the chakra I leak out!"

Hearing this, Naruto's eyes widened slowly. He suddenly realized he might have been making assumptions.

Although he knew the general plot from the cinema, because the videos in the cinema refreshed randomly, he didn't know every detail by heart.

However, he was very confident about the Nine-Tails' personality. This proud fox wouldn't bother lying; if it had done something, it would likely just admit it with a sinister laugh.

So... he really had been making assumptions.

--A valuable lesson.

Naruto sat up, looked up, and said to the Nine-Tails very candidly:

"Thank you."

?

The Nine-Tails was bewildered.

Buddy, did you get cursed stupid by me? Why are you suddenly saying thank you?

It swore that in the thousands of years since the Sage of Six Paths died, it had never had as many questions as it did today, nor had it experienced so many "firsts."

First time being called by its name by a human.

First time having its power looked down upon.

First time being insulted by a jinchuriki.

First time being thanked by a human.

"I guess I was wrong. I'm sorry, I misunderstood you." Without a hint of embarrassment, Naruto followed up with a generous apology.

Oh, and that was another first: a human apologizing to it.

The Nine-Tails widened its eyes as it watched the brat below lie back down, a complex light flickering within its gaze.

Naruto did not notice this, however; he was busy sorting through his logic.

"So, my poor chakra control isn't a deliberate influence from the Nine-Tails, but more likely a lack of innate talent on my part?"

"That's a possibility... but in a world that emphasizes bloodline theory, both my parents were ninjas highly skilled in chakra control. Did I somehow end up with a negative times a negative resulting in a positive, leaving me with no talent for it?"

"Perhaps there's another possibility... compared to such a massive volume of chakra (the Uzumaki bloodline combined with the Nine-Tails' chakra conversion), my previous spiritual energy was too weak. Trying to control the flow of chakra was like a child wielding a giant hammer or a small horse pulling a heavy cart; of course, I couldn't control it well... I'll verify this once I get out."

"After all, now that I am... hm?"

Just as Naruto was deep in thought, a sudden feeling of relief—or rather, a sensation emanating from his spirit—interrupted his train of thought.

"What's going on?"

Naruto stood up, feeling strange. His entire body felt as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted, becoming incredibly light. Not only that, but the natural circulation of chakra within his body was instinctively accelerating, transforming from a dripping faucet into a steady stream, increasing several times over out of thin air!

Naruto looked at the Nine-Tails in astonishment. By now, the Nine-Tails had already turned its head away, its back to Naruto, as if it had fallen asleep.

However, the entire sealing space had undergone a drastic change. The puddle of water beneath Naruto's feet was no longer blood-red but had become clear. The pungent, fishy scent that had permeated the air had vanished—even the mottled marks on the bars were slowly fading, beginning to smooth out.

A sudden flash of insight struck him, and Naruto finally understood.

These changes were all because the Nine-Tails had retracted its chakra.

In the story, when he was training for the Wind Style: Rasenshuriken, Kakashi told him that his chakra was four times his own, but if he weren't suppressing the Nine-Tails, his chakra would be a hundred times greater.

In other words, over ninety percent of his chakra was actually being fixed and used solely for the purpose of suppressing the Nine-Tails.

But this portion of chakra was actually divided into different uses: one part was used to maintain the existence of the sealing formula, while the other was used to repair it.

After all, with a personality as unruly as the Nine-Tails, how could it possibly stay obediently in the seal and accept its fate? In the story, whenever his spirit wavered, it took the opportunity to break out several times, which showed that it had never given up on corroding the seal.

The previous blood-water, the stench, and the dried bloodstains on the pillars were all manifestations of the Nine-Tails' chakra leaking out.

But now that the Nine-Tails had retracted its chakra, the portion of his chakra used to repair the seal had been liberated, naturally leading to the feeling of his body being unburdened and his chakra increasing out of thin air.

"Hajimari, you guy..."

Naruto looked at the Nine-Tails, moved.

Although he didn't know what had gotten into the Nine-Tails to make it suddenly change its tune, it didn't stop him from wanting to reach through the bars and pet its fur—

"So cute."

"Don't touch me! Roar!"

The Nine-Tails, which had been feigning sleep, couldn't hold back anymore. It recoiled, turned its head, and bared its fangs:

"Get lost, you brat! Don't push your luck!"