Farewell, Nine-Tails

"Drip, drip, drip!"

The sound of dripping water slowly woke Naruto.

Naruto had once again arrived in the somewhat familiar sewers.

"Seriously? I can end up here just from sleeping?"

Naruto's consciousness had returned to the space inside his body—the sealing space where the Nine-Tails was imprisoned.

"Naruto, come here!" The Nine-Tails' voice came from afar, calling Naruto over.

"Fine, I'm coming! Who's afraid of who?" Naruto was utterly fearless. With all those seals on it, the Nine-Tails couldn't do anything to him. Besides, he had Heavenly Mouth and knew the plot.

If I can't talk the Nine-Tails into submission, then I'm not Naruto Uzumaki!

Following the flowing water through the sewers, Naruto returned to the Nine-Tails' seal.

The Nine-Tails was lying in the sewer, its eyes still closed, looking utterly disdainful. Yet the slight swaying of its nine tails behind it revealed that its mood was far from calm.

Sensing Naruto's arrival, the Nine-Tails said, "You came."

"I came," Naruto replied.

"But you shouldn't have come," the Nine-Tails continued.

"But I came anyway." Naruto wasn't intimidated by the Nine-Tails in the slightest.

After that exchange of jokes, the Nine-Tails opened its eyes. Its vertical fox pupils stared intently at Naruto as the aura of a tailed beast slowly pressed down on him.

Looks like the Nine-Tails wanted to give me a show of force first?

Naruto smiled faintly, completely unafraid of the Nine-Tails' imposing aura.

Oh? Interesting!

Seeing that Naruto had no reaction at all, the Nine-Tails gave a slight smile. Its aura grew even more powerful, forming an intense pressure of wind that bore down on Naruto.

That alone would probably have frightened an ordinary Chunin so badly that they couldn't walk.

But Naruto wasn't a Chunin. He was an eternal Genin! Didn't it know the status of Konoha Village's Genin in the ninja world?

Wait, he hadn't even entered the Ninja Academy yet. Never mind.

"Ding! System mission issued. Please obtain the Nine-Tails' recognition. The deeper its recognition, the better the reward!"

Since the system was pitching in, Naruto naturally couldn't let such a good opportunity to fleece it pass by!

Facing the Nine-Tails' released aura, Naruto was like a small boat adrift upon the sea.

Though he was small, he could ride the waves. No matter how fierce the wind and waves, they could not overturn a boat like his.

This was a display of Naruto's powerful will, as well as the invisible resistance of the bloodline within him.

Seeing that Naruto had not been affected in the slightest, the Nine-Tails couldn't help clicking its tongue in amazement. It silently thought this was interesting, then withdrew its aura.

It closed its eyes again.

Seeing that the Nine-Tails had gone quiet, Naruto felt somewhat helpless. Why was this Nine-Tails still such a mute?

Do I have to start the conversation myself?

"What's wrong, Kurama? Not going to keep testing me?" Naruto asked with a smile.

"You brat, I never expected my aura to have no effect on you at all! It's all because of this damned seal. Otherwise, I could crush you to death with one paw! Damn Fourth Hokage, you hateful little brat!" The Nine-Tails immediately roared at Naruto, retorting angrily.

Then it seemed to realize something. Its eyes widened, and it immediately sat upright from its prone position. Even its voice trembled slightly.

It looked at Naruto seriously and asked, "What did you just call me?"

Naruto met the Nine-Tails' gaze seriously and answered, "Kurama. That's your name, isn't it?"

It had been a long time since the Nine-Tails had heard that name. Its memories seemed to return to those days of freedom, recalling the past. How nostalgic.

"How do you know that name?"

After the nostalgia faded, shock appeared plainly on the Nine-Tails' face. Had Kushina Uzumaki and Minato told him? No, that couldn't be right. They had died long ago, and it had never revealed its name.

"It's simple, Kurama. I know everything about the ninja world, whether it's the past or the future. It's an ability I was born with!" Naruto switched into full-blown bullshitting mode. Heavenly Mouth, as a passive ability, activated as well, enhancing his persuasiveness.

"How could that be possible? Even that man wouldn't dare claim to know everything in the ninja world. Don't think you can fool me!" The Nine-Tails instantly became enraged. Nine-Tails chakra slammed madly against the seal, creating booming collision after collision.

"That man... the Sage of Six Paths, perhaps?" Upon hearing Naruto say the words Sage of Six Paths, the Nine-Tails' expression turned stunned. Could it be? Did he really know?

Naruto paused briefly, stared straight into the Nine-Tails' eyes, and said word by word, "Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki?"

Hearing that name, the Nine-Tails seemed to lose all its strength. It collapsed to the ground and said shakily, "You really do know!"

Seeing that the Nine-Tails had begun to believe him, Naruto decided to press his advantage.

He continued, "I know everything. About you nine tailed beasts. You were originally the Ten-Tails, and Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki divided its chakra into nine portions. That was how you nine tailed beasts came to be."

"One-Tail, Shukaku."

"Two-Tails, Matatabi."

"Three-Tails, Isobu."

"Four-Tails, Son Goku."

"Five-Tails, Kokuō."

"Six-Tails, Saiken."

"Seven-Tails, Chōmei."

"Eight-Tails, Gyūki."

"And you, the Nine-Tails, Kurama."

"Am I right?"

As it listened to those familiar names emerge one after another from Naruto's mouth, Kurama had no choice but to believe that Naruto really did know some things.

"Still, I heard a rumor, and I don't know whether it's true. Can you help clear it up for me?" Naruto recalled a question that had always been debated in his previous life. Since he had come to the world of Naruto, he naturally had to ask about it properly.

"What is it? Is there actually something you don't know?" The Nine-Tails had been led along by Naruto and asked in response.

"I heard that when Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki divided the chakra, he didn't divide it equally. Instead, it was one share for the Nine-Tails, one share for the One-Tail; one share for the Nine-Tails, one share for the Two-Tails; one share for the Nine-Tails, one share for the Three-Tails; and so on until the very end. That's why you became the strongest of all the tailed beasts. Is that true?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Hahahaha! Kid, you actually came up with a theory like that. But you got part of it right. The old man really did favor me a little more, so he gave me just a little more chakra, that's all." Kurama burst into laughter and explained Naruto's question.

"A little? More like a billion little bits!" Naruto immediately shot back.

"Interesting. Very interesting, Naruto. What else do you know?" Kurama put aside its playful mood and looked at Naruto seriously.

Kurama possessed the ability to sense malice.

It was an ability that could distinguish good from evil, one that could sense thoughts and intentions.

It was said that the Nine-Tails had suffered through a thousand years of war, hatred, and betrayal, becoming a collection of hatred itself.

Because it cared most deeply about emotions, it could feel more pain and hatred than anyone else, and its perception of malice was exceptionally sharp. It was a sensory ability outside the ninja system.

Yet Kurama could not sense even a trace of malice from Naruto, which greatly surprised it.

After all, over the years, most of the unfair treatment Naruto had suffered was because Kurama was sealed inside him.

There were some experiences that even Kurama found infuriating when it looked through Naruto's memories.

Though they were all human, they still harbored immense suspicion toward one another.

Judging by Naruto's behavior, he knew many things and naturally knew about Kurama as well. Yet even under those circumstances, he had not developed the slightest malice toward it. Could he be the one with the pure heart spoken of in legend? Kurama recalled something the Sage of Six Paths had once said.

"A blue-eyed youth who laughingly calls out the names of the nine beasts will gather you together once more!"

That person was also called the Child of Prophecy, a ninja capable of transforming the entire world of Naruto.

"Everything! Kurama, I know everything!" Naruto declared confidently.

"Heh. Believe whatever you want." Kurama shifted from sitting back into a lying position.

Seeing Kurama's doubtful expression, Naruto felt a little troubled. It was rare for him to get such a chance to fleece someone, so he had to max out the Nine-Tails' recognition. Maybe he could get a Rinnegan or something as a reward.

"Kurama, do you know about the Child of Prophecy?" Naruto dropped another bombshell.

"What? Naruto, you really know? Could you truly be...?" Kurama sat up straight again and stared at Naruto.

Seeing Kurama swing back and forth like this, Naruto almost wanted to laugh. What most dangerous tailed beast? It was practically a little pet.

"That's right. I am the Child of Prophecy. I can foresee the future of the ninja world!" Naruto decided to reveal a few things to Kurama.

"Tell me in detail. What is the future ninja world like?" Kurama's interest was piqued. Even powerful Kurama did not possess an ability like prophecy.

"The future is going to be quite exciting." Naruto sat down as well, preparing to have a good long chat with Kurama.

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