Kurama abruptly raised his head in the plaza.
"Hm?"
The next second, the scenery before his eyes changed.
Bizarre images flickered around him, countless colors converging into a chaotic white.
There was no distinction between sky and ground here, nor even any sense of direction.
"The river of space-time... No wonder I couldn't break your barrier, or find where you were hiding even after searching the entire world." Kurama looked at him. "Naruto."
Naruto gave him a helpless look. "You made far too much of a commotion searching the world."
"If I hadn't, you'd still be hiding."
"If I didn't hide, you'd force me to become this world's god, Kurama."
Kurama laughed in anger. "Force you? It's what you deserve!"
"But I don't want to."
"Wasn't your dream to have the power to change everything?"
Naruto didn't argue, seemingly admitting it.
For a moment, both fell silent.
Kurama was the first to break the silence. "At your current level, there's no reason you should be able to enter this space. Did that Sasuke from the future and Boruto tell you about it?"
"Before that."
"Before? Ōtsutsuki Urashiki? That fool did more harm than good, leaving Konoha a complete body possessing divinity..."
"Not him either. Earlier still."
Kurama was puzzled. "Even earlier?"
Naruto reminded him, "The day of the Chunin Ninja Exams."
The Chunin Ninja Exams.
The time Naruto mentioned was beyond anything Kurama had expected. Back then, he had known Naruto's every movement. There was no way Naruto could have bypassed him and encountered any of this without his knowledge.
"Remember when we were on Mount Myōboku? You all thought I'd finish my training quickly, but I stalled right at the final step."
"Dad had to return to the village ahead of me to deal with Orochimaru."
As Naruto explained,