[Good deeds are rewarded] [The Host won Summoning: Rabbit Family in the lottery. Those adorable little things are sure to heal your wicked soul.] [With a prize this good, why not turn back and mend your ways already!]
As soon as the system reward arrived,
Naruto completed the Summoning Contract.
Though, apart from eating grass, they probably weren't good for much.
Still, a prize was a prize. He'd take it.
Poof!
The smoke cleared.
Five rabbits appeared beneath Naruto's bed.
The two large rabbits were the parents, and the three little ones were probably their children.
They all showed off their big front teeth as soon as they appeared.
Their eyes were a fiery red, and their fur was pure white.
"They look pretty cute."
Naruto reached out to pet the little rabbits.
But in a flash,
the smallest rabbit suddenly grew to over a meter tall. It still looked just as cute, but somehow, something seemed off.
He touched it again.
Whoosh!
It grew to two and a half meters!
This wouldn't do.
The room wasn't that tall. If it kept growing, it would break through the roof!
Naruto hadn't expected the Rabbit Family to be so formidable.
The bigger they got, the more muscular they became!
"Damn system, what's the deal with this Rabbit Family?"
[Reporting to the Host] [The Rabbit Family lives on a remote Northern Island, in waters also frequented by the Giant Turtle. To survive, they evolved the ability to grow to a maximum of eighteen meters, with exceptionally powerful bodies and a talent for Boxing Taijutsu.] [Has the Host changed his mind?]
"I want to know what happens when all the rewards on the lottery wheel are gone."
Naruto saw that only a few "Better luck next time" spaces remained on the Goodwill Points lottery wheel.
[Once all the rewards in the Golden Prize Pool have been claimed, the Epic Prize Pool will unlock.]
"So those three 'Better luck next time' spaces on the Goodwill Points wheel are just there to wear down a good person?"
Naruto had seen that the worst reward on the Punishment Points wheel was "Try again."
[Good things come to those who wait, Host.]
"Good people are supposed to just take it on the chin? System, you really are a bastard!"
Naruto turned and entered the Sealing Space to continue training.
Kurama saw Naruto talking to himself again.
He found the boy's oddness even more baffling.
He watched him curiously for a moment.
Naruto was completely absorbed in his training.
"Kurama."
Naruto suddenly opened his eyes.
"If you could see the light of day again, what kind of world would you want to see?"
Hm?
Kurama wasn't going to answer, but he wondered:
Is this kid talking to me?
What kind of world?
Ever since that old Sage of Six Paths died, hasn't the world always been in turmoil?
The fighting has gone on for who knows how many years without end.
It went from the Sage's sons fighting each other, to the Sengoku era, and then to the Five Great Ninja Villages Era.
The Ninja Villages have fought countless wars, leaving untold numbers dead and wounded.
And Kurama, like the other Tailed Beasts, had long since become a tool of the various Ninja Villages.
Just like Naruto, he was a tool whose fate had been decided for him.
What was the boy planning?
Kurama stared at Naruto from the darkness.
Lately, Naruto kept learning all sorts of new techniques, and his strength was growing at an astonishing rate.
But Kurama felt he was far from content with the status quo.
"Kurama, you can hear me, can't you?"
"I've gotten stronger again, while you're still locked away in here."
"Are you still yourself when you're only half of who you were? When your good and evil sides are split apart, are you still you?"
"Or should I call you..."
Naruto sat cross-legged on the water.
Every word made Kurama's eyes widen, and his body tremble involuntarily.
"Ku-ra-ma!"
The trembling sounded like thousands of chains rattling.
Kurama rushed to the bars, thrusting his claws out as if to reach Naruto.
Impossible.
That name, long questioned by the world—or rather, unknown to everyone—
how could it suddenly come from Naruto Uzumaki's mouth?
Kurama's first reaction was anger. He bared his teeth and snarled.
No one was allowed to call him Kurama except that naive old Sage of Six Paths!
Kurama believed that the old man was the only family the Tailed Beasts had!
As the furious Kurama met Naruto's mischievous gaze,
another realization struck him, belatedly.
Naruto had been orphaned the moment he was born.
How could he know what Minato Namikaze and Kushina had done?
The fact that Kurama had been split in half was a secret among secrets!
All these years, Kurama had known everything Naruto did, and he'd never heard anyone tell Naruto about it.
Besides, by the time the Third Hokage arrived at the scene, Kurama had already been sealed again!
Could Minato Namikaze and Kushina have done something?
Had they sealed their memories and techniques somewhere inside Naruto's body without Kurama noticing?
The Uzumaki Clan had mastered powerful, secret Sealing Techniques for generations, through both their bloodline and their secret teachings.
And Minato Namikaze was a once-in-a-generation genius who could memorize any technique at a glance.
If the two of them had left Naruto a treasure of that magnitude before they died, it wasn't impossible!
Kurama could only wonder:
If that's true, then everything began to change the day Naruto's talent awakened and he started mastering new techniques at an incredible pace!
Was it the fire of revenge?
Back then, someone from the Uchiha Clan had controlled Kurama with genjutsu, but he knew the undeniable truth: he had killed Kushina.
But even Minato and Kushina didn't know Kurama's real name!
"Kurama!"
Naruto met his gaze.
"Tailed Beasts can understand human speech. They can even communicate directly. You don't have to say a word if you don't want to. Do as you please!"
"But I have to tell you! From here on, I'm walking my own path of ninja practice. Soon, I'll start using your chakra!"
Lately, Naruto had been trying to awaken the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Techniques.
That would let him unleash greater power and use more of Kurama's chakra.
The Uzumaki Clan was famous for its powerful bloodline.
Naruto had every chance of mastering Adamantine Sealing Chains through his bloodline!
Kurama had noticed it, too.
The same kind of chakra control Kushina had once displayed was beginning to take shape.
"This world has been chaotic for too long. There are too many lunatics and madmen. I'm going to change all of it!"
"Kurama! Why not help me train?"
Naruto's negative emotions swelled without limit.
His evil side, like the sea, engulfed him and dragged him toward the depths.
[Warning!] [Please stop Blackening, Host!]
Kurama stared at Naruto in shock. Was the kid going crazy?
The Golden Flash took shape from chakra above the water.
Minato Namikaze stood quietly behind Naruto and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't lose yourself, Naruto."
"Good and evil can sometimes be separated by a single thought. Come to your senses!"
It was a failsafe left in the seal,
meant to save Naruto if he was on the verge of losing himself.
As soon as Minato Namikaze appeared, Kurama breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed the kid wouldn't go astray after all!
"Ah!"
"Lose myself?"
"Who? Me?"
Naruto turned around, his eyes perfectly clear.
How could evil possibly consume him?
"Weren't you just drowning in hatred?"
Minato Namikaze was stunned. What was going on? Was there something wrong with the failsafe in the seal?
"You've got it wrong. I just accidentally let my true feelings out completely."
Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
Accidentally?
Kurama didn't believe him for a second!
There was something seriously wrong with Naruto!
"Is that so?"
Minato Namikaze could tell Naruto really hadn't been consumed by darkness, but it seemed that he'd released all that darkness of his own accord!
What should I do?
This isn't how I imagined things would go before I died!
Minato Namikaze swallowed nervously. He saw Kurama behind the bars looking just as awkward.
"As long as I'm evil itself, darkness can't consume me."
Naruto spread his hands and spoke frankly.
"Long story short, there's something I need to ask you to do!"
Naruto addressed Minato Namikaze seriously.