Talking with Kurama

After watching Itachi leave, Uchiha Kei let out a long breath.

He had known this day would come sooner or later.

Luckily, his ability to bluff was top-notch. Otherwise, it really would have been hard to explain.

In the anime, Itachi was known as "Itachi the God." That wasn't just because of his tragic life, but also because of his strength and intelligence.

It wasn't like you could fool him with a simple "genius," after all.

"Kei! Kei!"

Outside, someone's loud shouts interrupted his thoughts.

Uchiha Kei sighed and leisurely stepped out.

"Hey, Naruto. How'd you find me here?"

Naruto rushed over, looking excited, grabbed his hand, and dragged him outside.

"Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing?"

Uchiha Kei froze. In that brief moment, both his feet left the ground.

"..."

Without chakra, he really was weaker than Naruto.

After all, he was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Even sealed, his physical strength far exceeded that of an ordinary person!

Soon, the two of them arrived at the little grove they often visited.

Uchiha Kei took a moment to recover from being lifted off the ground. "Naruto!"

"Sorry, sorry."

Naruto pressed his hands together, his face full of remorse.

"Something's changed about me, but I don't know who to tell. I ran into Big Brother Itachi, and he said you were back, so I came looking for you right away."

Uchiha Kei wasn't really angry. Hearing this, he examined Naruto.

His face showed no external injuries.

His body looked the same as usual.

His chakra...

Forget it. That didn't belong to Naruto right now.

After looking him over for a while without finding anything wrong, Uchiha Kei felt puzzled.

"What's changed? I don't see anything."

"There is! I'll show you."

Naruto hurriedly sat down cross-legged, then suddenly remembered something and got back up.

"You'd better stay farther away, so I don't hurt you by accident."

Uchiha Kei almost laughed.

He was a man with the Rinnegan now!

And the chakra of a Jonin flowed through him, surging powerfully!

Hurt by accident?

Not a chance.

"Go ahead and show me. You don't need to worry about me."

Naruto hesitated, but when he saw Uchiha Kei's confident expression, he sat back down cross-legged.

"It really is pretty strong. Be careful."

Naruto was still a little worried.

"Sure."

Uchiha Kei gave a masterful wave of his hand, displaying his kingly aura to the fullest.

Naruto relaxed. He closed his eyes and sank into meditation.

Gradually, a savage, violent aura began to rise from him.

Wisps of crimson "chakra" spread from his body. The six whisker marks on his cheeks grew thicker and longer.

Uchiha Kei's expression tightened. A bad feeling welled up inside him.

"Naruto..."

Uchiha Kei hurried forward, trying to call Naruto back to his senses.

Just then, the crimson "chakra" suddenly surged, and an immense force slammed into him.

"Holy crap!"

The Mangekyo appeared at once, and a mass of silvery-white bones enclosed him tightly.

Even so, he could barely withstand the force of the crimson "chakra." His body was flung away like a rag doll.

"Boom!"

With Naruto at its center, every tree and patch of grass within a ten-meter radius was torn out by the roots and sent flying in all directions.

After rolling across the ground several times, Uchiha Kei dispelled Susanoo and stared at Naruto, still enveloped in crimson "chakra," his mind full of uncertainty.

This power was absolutely beyond what Naruto could wield at this point!

Naruto, sitting cross-legged, was in no better shape. His face twisted in an extreme grimace, as though he were resisting something.

Around him, the crimson "chakra" swirled like liquid, forming bubble after bubble, each brimming with a terrifying, bestial force.

Uchiha Kei examined him closely.

According to the story, the Nine-Tails' power should have first run wild during the fight at the Valley of the End, after Uchiha Sasuke defected.

Back then, Naruto hadn't yet developed much physical strength, so the Nine-Tails' power wasn't that strong either. Uchiha Sasuke, in his Cursed Seal state, had beaten him down.

Although Uchiha Kei didn't know how strong Uchiha Sasuke was in his Cursed Seal state, he should have been at most somewhere between Genin and Chunin.

But the power Naruto was unleashing now could crush a Chunin outright!

There was something sinister about this power.

Unless he'd been provoked by a Sharingan with at least Three Tomoe...

Suddenly, a figure appeared in Uchiha Kei's mind.

The Uchiha weren't the only ones with the Sharingan.

There was another fellow who loved stirring up trouble...

And he had the Sharingan too!

"Roar!"

Naruto had already half-transformed into a beast. He shifted from sitting cross-legged to crouching on all fours, crimson "chakra" churning around him.

His red eyes fixed intently on Uchiha Kei.

Cold, murderous, bloodthirsty!

"Naruto, can you hear me?"

Uchiha Kei asked softly.

"Roar! Roar! Roar!"

A thunderous roar was his only answer. His black-and-red form lunged forward.

"Damn it!"

Uchiha Kei cursed under his breath and swiftly formed Hand Seals.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

With chakra at the Jonin level, the Fireball Jutsu had also risen several tiers.

A thin stream of fire shot from his mouth, then expanded three meters away into an enormous fireball ten meters in diameter.

"Boom!"

The enormous fireball collided with Naruto. The resulting shockwave kicked up the dust from the ground, creating a scene straight out of hell.

For a moment, the enormous fireball and Naruto were locked in a stalemate.

"Roar!"

The beastlike Naruto was frantic, growling incessantly. His body suddenly doubled in size, and a tail made entirely of crimson chakra appeared!

"Whoosh!"

The sound of something slicing through the air rang out. Naruto's form burst through the fireball in an instant and appeared before Uchiha Kei in the space of a breath.

"Shhk!"

His claws shot out, piercing Uchiha Kei's chest and emerging from his back.

"Naruto..."

Uchiha Kei called softly, paying no mind to the wound that went straight through his chest.

"Roar... Roar..."

The transformed Naruto froze. Seeing Uchiha Kei's injury, his red-and-black face showed a struggle.

Pain, despair, bloodlust, mercilessness!

One contradictory emotion after another surfaced.

"Kei... Kei..."

Naruto's mouth moved, and tears streamed down his face without his realizing it.

Now!

The pierced figure went "poof" and turned into a log. The real Uchiha Kei appeared beside him.

"Look at me!"

The Mangekyo, shaped like a sword, snapped open.

Naruto turned his head instinctively and met his gaze.

Everything fell silent.

The crimson chakra stopped churning.

The ferocious Naruto went still, too.

Uchiha Kei beside him also froze in place.

It was as if nothing had happened.

When Uchiha Kei opened his eyes again, he was standing before an enormous cage.

A pitch-black iron gate stood silently before him, with crimson bubbles drifting everywhere.

An ancient-looking seal was etched into the gate.

"Little Uchiha brat!"

A huge fox's head suddenly shot through the bars, its eyes filled with savagery.

"Hey, how are you, Kurama?"

Uchiha Kei wasn't surprised at all. Instead, he casually greeted the Nine-Tails.

"Brat, how do you know my name?"

Kurama froze.

No one had called him by that name in many years.

"I know a lot of things."

Uchiha Kei curled his lip.

Kurama stared at him suspiciously.

The fact that this brat could enter the seal meant he had the Mangekyo.

Against an Uchiha with the Mangekyo, Kurama had no ability to fight back.

"I'm here to negotiate with you."

"Negotiate? You think you're worthy!"

Having no ability to fight back didn't mean Kurama would simply give in.

He was a tsundere of ten thousand years, and he wasn't called that for nothing.

"Stop making that fierce, menacing face, you tsundere."

"Brat! What nonsense are you spouting?"

Kurama was starting to lose his temper, and the crimson chakra began to churn once more.