Hello, Kurama

Night.

Hise had just come back from his date with Yugao Uzuki when he spotted three little ones sprawled on the floor like corpses.

"Food, I want food... food..."

Naruto kept mumbling.

"Uh, did you three not eat?"

"Mm."

Hinata nodded.

"Why?"

"Your cooking tastes better and gives us more nutrients. Didn't you tell us to get more nutrients?"

Sasuke tilted his head as he answered.

Hise: "So you've been waiting for me this whole time?"

The three of them nodded.

"All right, I'll make you some noodles."

"Whew, I'm stuffed."

"Okay, you three should go to bed too."

The three of them: "Okay."

Half an hour later.

Looking at the three little ones fast asleep, Hise smiled.

Then he activated his Mangekyō Sharingan and sent his consciousness into Naruto's sealed space.

He walked through the dim corridor, splashing through the water as he headed toward the place where the Nine-Tails was sealed. Before long, he found the Nine-Tails, crouched in the shadows with a murderous glint in its eyes.

"Heh heh heh. We meet again."

"Hmph! Brat! I'll tear you to pieces!"

The Nine-Tails charged at him, but the bars stopped it, leaving it to rage helplessly.

"Hahahaha, let me introduce myself. My name is Uchiha Hise, grandson of Madara Uchiha."

Madara!!!

At the sound of the name that filled it with fear, anger, and helplessness, the Nine-Tails fell silent. Its crimson eyes fixed on Hise, as if trying to see right through him.

The Nine-Tails could also see that man's features in Hise's face. It shuddered.

If there was anyone the Nine-Tails feared and hated most, it was undoubtedly Madara Uchiha.

He had controlled it with the Sharingan and fought Hashirama Senju. After that, it had been sealed away, deprived of freedom and kept under restraint.

If not for Madara Uchiha, Hashirama Senju would never have learned how terrifying the Tailed Beasts' power was. He wouldn't have gone on to capture them and use them as tools to balance the strength of the ninja villages.

"Roar!"

"Brat! I'll kill you!"

"You accursed descendant of Madara Uchiha!"

Hise smiled, activated his Mangekyō, and cast a genjutsu on the Nine-Tails. It slowly calmed down.

Once Hise released the genjutsu, the Nine-Tails growled to express its fury.

This brat was just like that terrifying man, Madara Uchiha. He could control it—and with far greater ease than Madara.

"Damn brat, if I weren't..."

"Sealed with half your power? It makes no difference, Nine-Tails. No, Kurama. I didn't come here to argue with you today. I came to negotiate."

"Oh?"

He could control me so easily, yet he wanted to negotiate? Was he just pretending it was easy, when it had actually cost him a great deal?

No! There was another possibility! In that case... the initiative was mine.

"Heh. This must have something to do with that brat, my Jinchūriki. Heh, don't even dream of it!"

"I'm not dreaming, Nine-Tails. No! Kurama."

Nine-Tails: !!!

"Brat! How do you know my name? Tell me!"

"I know the other Tailed Beasts' names too: Shukaku of the One-Tails, Matatabi of the Two-Tails, Isobu of the Three-Tails... Gyuki of the Eight-Tails, and Kurama of the Nine-Tails."

"I just want you to behave yourself a little. Naruto's old enough to start molding chakra and learning ninjutsu, so don't interfere with him. I have a way to make things less boring for you."

"Once Naruto has grown strong enough, we'll undo the seal. I'm sure the two of you will become good friends."

"Heh. Who'd want to be friends with humans? I'm the strongest Tailed Beast. Why would I bow to humans?!"

Though the thought of having something to keep it from getting bored was tempting, who could guarantee he wasn't lying? It knew all too well how cunning and greedy humans could be.

"This is the Art of Differentiation. It lets you separate some of your chakra and form a smaller clone. You can put part or all of your consciousness into the clone. You can have Naruto use your chakra to create one for you, so it can move around outside. But the clone won't be very strong. It might not even be able to beat an ordinary person."

"If you use it inside the sealed space, you can make one yourself. I've also left you this, so it'll be more convenient to watch things through your clone. You won't be so bored in here anymore."

After saying that, he took out a large screen, along with some other equipment.

It was a television that could receive signals from many different dimensions. It could play anime and movies he'd watched—or never watched—in his previous life.

There were also some game cartridges. Once inserted, they let you play all sorts of games.

And finally... there was a vending machine stocked with all kinds of snacks and drinks. Hise had asked the system to modify it. By feeding chakra into the machine, you could get snacks and drinks. The machine would store the Nine-Tails' chakra, then send it to Naruto later.

After Hise explained how it all worked, Kurama, unwilling to take his word for it, gave it a try. It quickly formed a clone. Then it tried everything Hise had mentioned and... and... got hooked.

It couldn't help it. Who knew how many years had passed since it had last experienced anything so interesting? And after being sealed away, it hadn't even had the freedom to do as it pleased.

"Item: Environment Transformation."

The sealed space quickly began to change. The ground beneath Kurama turned into a lush green meadow, while seven- or eight-meter-tall trees sprang up elsewhere.

A house of about a hundred square meters appeared as well, with a soft sofa and a large bed inside.

The entire dim sealed space grew bright.

"All right, are you satisfied now?"

The Nine-Tails was silent for a moment.

It liked its new surroundings and looked forward to all the fun these interesting things might bring. But it wasn't stupid.

No one gave something for nothing. What sort of benefit did the other guy expect to get out of it? Was he really doing it for that child? Was that even possible?

"Didn't I tell you? It's for that child."

Nine-Tails: "..."

You think I believe that?

"Maybe you don't believe me, but that really is the reason. Perhaps you should use that tiny gap in the seal to send out some chakra and sense Naruto's body carefully. You'll find a surprise for sure. His surname is Uzumaki, after all."

With that, Hise left the sealed space, leaving the Nine-Tails utterly bewildered.

If the Nine-Tails had been the type to crack jokes, it would have said, "You can't just tell half a story. That's half a brother short."

The Nine-Tails couldn't figure it out. What did being an Uzumaki have to do with anything? Weren't they just good at suppressing Tailed Beasts? All right, they were very good at it, but what did that have to do with a surprise?

Curious, it used its chakra to examine Naruto's body, proceeding with great caution.

It's not that I'm afraid of that brat. He gave me so much, that's all, and helped me escape my tedious life.

It sensed around for a while, but found nothing.

Was he lying to me? I'll try again!

It looked more carefully and finally sensed a familiar presence. That was... that was... who was it again?

It feels like the chakra of someone I know.

Emmm, it doesn't feel like someone from this era.

Wait, the Uzumaki surname? A familiar presence?

Could he be Ashura's reincarnation?

How is that possible?!

If he is, how did that brat named Hise know?