Golden Body Mode

In this state, Naruto's appearance began to undergo a drastic transformation.

His hair was lifted upward by Chakra, the strands over his forehead splitting into the shape of two horns. Six black magatama formed from Chakra at his collar.

When Naruto opened his eyes, his pupils had taken on the exact same shape as the Nine-Tails', though they shone a brilliant orange-gold in the sunlight.

The thirty Shadow Clones collectively fell silent for two seconds before voicing their amazement in unison.

"Wow, the original went all out."

"While we're suffering here trying to comprehend the Flying Thunder God, the original secretly went and built himself a Gundam behind our backs!"

"Uh, what do we do if we're halfway through comprehending the Flying Thunder God and the original suddenly blinds us? Waiting online, urgent."

Naruto ignored the clones. He slowly raised both hands and lowered his head to examine his palms.

Golden Chakra flowed over his fingertips like molten gold, illuminating every line in his palms with crystal clarity.

This feeling was too wonderful.

Whenever he had used the Nine-Tails Chakra before, whether in his initial berserk state or his Four-Tails form, he had needed Absolute Control to suppress the hateful will within the Nine-Tails Chakra.

But now, things were different.

The Nine-Tails had willingly given him its Chakra. Before it entered his body, the Nine-Tails had already withdrawn the hateful will within it, leaving Naruto to receive nothing but pure power.

Naruto now felt so light that he could fly, every cell in his body brimming with gentle yet immense power.

"This is Golden Body Mode—or rather, Nine-Tails Chakra Mode."

Naruto muttered to himself.

He bent his knees slightly and lightly tapped the rock with his toes. His body became a streak of golden light, appearing on the opposite bank of the pool.

It was neither the Body Flicker Technique nor the Flying Thunder God. This was simply the most basic movement speed in Golden Body Mode.

He raised his hand again and spread his fingers toward the pool before him.

A brand-new sensory ability naturally unfolded.

Good and Evil Perception

It was completely different from the detection he had previously performed by combining Absolute Control with Chakra fluctuations. Good and Evil Perception in Golden Body Mode was a higher-level sensory ability.

He could sense others' goodwill toward him, as well as any malice they emitted.

Naruto closed his eyes and gradually expanded the range of Good and Evil Perception.

There were no malicious Chakra sources in the forest around the waterfall. There were only a few scattered gray presences, likely nocturnal animals.

As the range extended to the edge of Konoha, he could sense the countless benevolent Chakras in the village scattered everywhere like stars, with several especially distinct ones among them.

Iruka-sensei, Uncle Ichiraku, and the three little brats from Konohamaru's group had no ill will toward him.

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief and withdrew Good and Evil Perception, confirming its current maximum range.

Supported by his Chakra reserves, Good and Evil Perception could cover the entire Konoha region without any issue.

Naruto then carefully checked the Chakra conditions both inside and outside the barrier once more.

After Golden Body Mode had activated, every Chakra fluctuation had been contained by the Perception Isolation Barrier. The external search for traces outside the barrier had also come up clean.

There was no disturbance on Konoha's side. Everything in the village was normal. The ANBU were still squatting in place, and the Third Hokage's crystal ball was most likely still aimed at Naruto's Shadow Clone, which was snoring away.

With that double layer of insurance, this awakening of Golden Body Mode had not alerted anyone at all.

"Although the outcome was good, it was still a little risky."

Naruto muttered.

His original plan had been to train in the Flying Thunder God first, then, after gaining a preliminary grasp of it, find some wilderness far from Konoha and spar with the Nine-Tails to try activating Golden Body Mode.

He had never expected the Nine-Tails to be moved by his sincerity. In a surge of emotion, it had directly shoved all its Chakra into him, completely disrupting the plan.

Fortunately, the Perception Isolation Barrier and Absolute Control had worked together flawlessly. Otherwise, that burst of Chakra a moment ago would have been enough to wake every sensory ninja in Konoha.

That would have been troublesome.

Naruto's consciousness then sank back into the Sealing Space.

It was still that expanse of blue sky, white clouds, and endless grassland.

The Nine-Tails' enormous body lay sprawled on the grass. Unlike before, however, its massive dark-orange body had visibly shrunk by a full size, and its once lush, dense fur had become sparse and dull.

Its nine tails lay limply across the grass, too lazy even to swish.

Naruto walked over to the Nine-Tails' enormous fox head and placed a hand on its furry muzzle, his brow furrowing slightly.

"Thanks, Kurama."

"I'm sorry for leaving you in this state."

The Nine-Tails' eyelids twitched open a sliver.

"Hmph. I didn't expect you to actually do it."

The Nine-Tails' voice was much softer than before and carried obvious weakness, but its tone remained arrogant.

"Uzumaki Naruto... no, Naruto."

"You now possess my power. I hope you use it well."

"Don't say such mushy things. Just let me sleep for a while."

"And when you have time, stop practicing nothing but those flashy ninjutsu."

The Nine-Tails closed its eyes, its voice growing lower and lower. "You may have Golden Body Mode now, but your body has yet to fully adapt to the speed and strength of this form."

"Make adapting to Golden Body Mode your top priority. Otherwise, when you throw a punch, the first thing to break won't be your enemy's face—it'll be your own finger bones."

"Also, now that you have my Chakra, you should learn the Tailed Beast Bomb and several basic Tailed Beast techniques."

"You have such enormous Chakra reserves now, yet without methods to release it that match them, you're simply wasting resources."

"Got it, Kurama."

Naruto nodded seriously.

"Also, remember this: in this mode, you use your own Chakra to control my Chakra."

"Though you can precisely control your Chakra, your total amount isn't that great. Don't rely on Golden Body Mode and burn through it recklessly."

"If it runs out, my Chakra will instantly lose control and go berserk. By then, you won't even be able to rein it back in."

"I'll remember, Kurama."

Naruto answered solemnly.

"Now that you understand, get out. I'm going to sleep for a while."

The Nine-Tails turned its head away, presenting the back of its head to Naruto. Its nine tails gathered and curled around its body, and its breathing gradually became long and steady.

Naruto withdrew from the Sealing Space, his consciousness returning to reality.

The moment he opened his eyes, he saw more than thirty clones staring at him in unison. Naruto shook his glittering golden hair and deliberately struck a pose.

"Yo, everyone. What do you think of my new look?"

At those words, all the Shadow Clones stared expressionlessly at Naruto. After a moment of silence, they erupted together.

"Damn it, the original actually got to show off!"

"We're over there with our asses in the air, meditating and comprehending the Flying Thunder God, while you're sneaking around over here making pinky promises with the Nine-Tails to unlock Golden Body Mode! Is there any justice left? Any law left?"