Please Stop Blackening, Host!

[Good Deeds, Good Recompense]

[The host has drawn Summoning: Rabbit Family. These adorable creatures will surely heal your wicked soul!]

[With such a great prize, why not turn back from the path of evil!]

As soon as the system's reward arrived.

Naruto casually completed the summoning contract.

Although it seemed unlikely to be useful for anything other than eating grass.

It was a prize, after all, so why not take it.

Whoosh!

The smoke cleared.

Five rabbits appeared under Naruto's bed.

The two large rabbits were the parents, and the three small ones were presumably their children.

They bared their large front teeth the moment they appeared.

Their eyes were blood-red and fiery, and their fur was entirely snow-white.

"They look very cute."

Naruto reached out to pet the little rabbits.

But with a swish.

The smallest rabbit instantly grew to over a meter tall. It still looked cute, but something felt off.

He touched it again.

Shua!

It grew to two and a half meters!

This wouldn't do.

The room wasn't that tall, and if it kept growing, it would break through the roof!

Naruto hadn't expected the rabbit family to be so fierce.

The bigger they got, the more muscular they became!

"You damn system, what's going on with this rabbit family?"

[Reporting to the host]

[The Rabbit Family lives on a very distant Northern Island, which is also a sea area where Giant Turtles appear. To survive, the Rabbit Family evolved the ability to grow up to eighteen meters tall, possessing extremely powerful physiques and specializing in Boxing Taijutsu.]

[Has the host had a change of heart?]

"I want to know what happens if the prize wheel is completely emptied?"

Naruto saw that only a few "Thank You For Your Patronage" remained on the Goodwill Points prize wheel.

[Once all rewards in the Golden Prize Pool have been cleared, the Epic Prize Pool will be activated.]

"So these three 'Thank You For Your Patronage' on the Goodwill Points are just to wear down a good person?"

Naruto saw that the worst reward on the Punishment Points was "Try Again."

[Good things come to those who wait, host.]

"Good people should just suffer in silence? You're a real piece of work, System!"

Naruto turned and entered the Sealing Space to continue his cultivation.

The Nine-Tails saw Naruto talking to himself again.

It was even more perplexed by the child's strangeness.

It merely glanced over curiously.

It found Naruto completely absorbed in his own cultivation.

"Nine-Tails."

Naruto suddenly opened his eyes.

"If you could see the light of day again, what kind of world would you want to see?"

Hmm?

The Nine-Tails would certainly not answer, but it thought to itself.

Is this kid talking to me?

What kind of world?

Ever since the Sage of Six Paths died, hasn't this world been in constant turmoil?

They had been fighting for who knows how many years without end.

From the Sage of Six Paths' sons to the Warring States period, and then to the Five Great Ninja Villages Era.

Countless lives were lost in the endless wars between Ninja Villages.

Like the other Tailed Beasts, the Nine-Tails had long since become a tool for the major Ninja Villages.

Naruto was no different; he was a tool destined by fate.

What was he planning?

The Nine-Tails lay in the darkness, staring intently at Naruto.

Recently, Naruto had been learning all sorts of ninjutsu, and his strength was skyrocketing at an astonishing rate.

Yet, the Nine-Tails felt that Naruto was far from satisfied with the status quo.

"Nine-Tails, you can hear me, right?"

"I've grown stronger again, while you remain imprisoned inside."

"Are you still yourself when you're only half? With your good and evil split in two, do you still possess a self?"

"Or perhaps, I should call you by your name."

Naruto sat cross-legged on the surface of the water.

Every word made the Nine-Tails' eyes widen, its body trembling involuntarily.

"Ku-ra-ma!"

The vibrating sound felt like a thousand chains.

The Nine-Tails lunged toward the bars, its sharp claws reaching out as if trying to tear Naruto apart.

How could this be?

This name, which had long been questioned by the world—no, a name that no one knew.

How could it suddenly come out of the mouth of Naruto Uzumaki!

The Nine-Tails' first reaction was fury; it bared its teeth and let out an angry growl.

Except for that naive old man, the Sage of Six Paths, no one was allowed to call him by the name Kurama!

The Nine-Tails believed that only that old man was family to all the Tailed Beasts!

As the furious Nine-Tails locked eyes with the smirking Naruto.

A realization that made it feel slow-witted surged into its heart.

Naruto's parents had both died the moment he was born.

How could he possibly know what Minato Namikaze and Kushina had done!

The fact that only half of the Nine-Tails remained was a secret among secrets!

For all these years, the Nine-Tails had known everything Naruto had done, and it had never heard anyone tell him these things.

Furthermore, by the time the Third Hokage arrived at the scene back then, the Nine-Tails had already been sealed away once more!

Could it be the work of Minato Namikaze and Kushina?

Had they sealed the past and these ninjutsu somewhere inside Naruto's body without it ever noticing?

The Uzumaki Clan had mastered powerful and mysterious sealing techniques for generations, both through their bloodline and secret traditions.

Minato Namikaze was an unparalleled genius ninja who could memorize any ninjutsu at a glance.

If the two of them had left such a treasure for Naruto Uzumaki before they died, it was not impossible!

The Nine-Tails could only wonder.

If that were truly the case, then everything had begun to change from the day Naruto's talent awakened and he started rapidly mastering new ninjutsu!

Was it the fire of revenge?

Back then, the Nine-Tails had been controlled by a member of the Uchiha Clan using genjutsu, but it understood the undeniable fact that it had killed Kushina.

But even Minato and his wife didn't know the Nine-Tails' true name!

"Kurama!"

Naruto met its gaze.

"Tailed Beasts can understand human language and can even communicate directly. You can choose not to say a word, that's up to you!"

"But I must tell you! What follows will be the path of practicing my own Ninja Way, and soon, I will begin to use your chakra!"

Naruto had been trying to awaken the sealing techniques of the Uzumaki Clan recently.

He intended to use them to unleash greater power and tap into more of the Nine-Tails' chakra.

The Uzumaki Clan was famous for their formidable bloodline.

Naruto definitely had the potential to master the Adamantine Sealing Chains through his bloodline!

In fact, the Nine-Tails had already sensed it.

That specific way of manipulating chakra, reminiscent of Kushina, was beginning to take shape.

"This world has been in chaos for too long, and there are too many lunatics and madmen. I am going to change all of this!"

"Kurama! Why won't you help me train!"

Naruto's negative emotions expanded infinitely.

The evil side drowned Naruto like seawater, dragging him toward the ocean floor.

[Warning!]

[Host, please cease the corruption process!]

The Nine-Tails looked at Naruto in astonishment; was this brat going insane?

The Golden Flash condensed from chakra upon the water's surface.

Minato Namikaze stood silently behind Naruto, a hand resting gently on his shoulder.

"Do not lose yourself, Naruto."

"Good and evil are sometimes separated by a single thought. Wake up!"

A contingency left within the seal.

It was meant to be used to save Naruto should he ever lose himself.

As soon as Minato Namikaze appeared, the Nine-Tails breathed a sigh of relief.

It seemed this brat wouldn't go astray after all!

"Ah!"

"Lose myself?"

"Who? Me?"

Naruto turned around, his eyes perfectly clear.

How could he possibly be swallowed by evil?

"Weren't you just overwhelmed by hatred?"

Minato Namikaze was stunned. What was going on? Was there a problem with the seal's contingency?

"You misunderstood. I just accidentally released my inner self completely."

Naruto scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed.

Accidentally?

The Nine-Tails didn't believe it for a second!

This brat Naruto was ridiculously wicked!

"Is that so?"

Minato Namikaze sensed that Naruto truly hadn't been swallowed by the darkness, but it seemed as though Naruto had released all that darkness himself!

What now?

Things were not going as he had envisioned before his death!

Minato Namikaze swallowed hard, noticing the Nine-Tails behind the gate also looking awkward.

"As long as I am the embodiment of evil itself, I cannot be swallowed by darkness."

Naruto spread his hands and said honestly.

"Long story short, I have a favor to ask of you!"

Naruto said to Minato Namikaze earnestly.