"The Naruto Uzumaki you keep talking about was never me, was he?"
When Naruto said those words, the Nine-Tails' aura wavered for the first time.
Even the entire river of space-time trembled faintly.
It was as though some taboo had been touched.
Countless tangled, glasslike images shattered, then converged into chaotic currents that washed around the Nine-Tails and Naruto.
The strange phenomenon caught Naruto's attention.
In all the time he had spent hiding in the river of time, he had never seen anything like it.
Naruto sounded curious. "What did you do?"
"...Your future self told you everything that would happen next, and you want to change it?" After a brief silence, the Nine-Tails suddenly grinned, laughter spilling from his mouth. "Walk your own path however you please. I have no intention of interfering."
"But what disappoints me so deeply..."
"Is that you're still so weak!"
It happened in the blink of an eye—or perhaps time had not moved at all.
The Nine-Tails' palm was already pressed against Naruto's chest.
He moved so fast it was as though time had stopped. Naruto's eyes had not even had time to follow him.
"Go to sleep."
Red light glowed from the Nine-Tails' palm, and a thread of pure chakra flowed into Naruto's body through his heart.
The next instant.
"Urgh!"
Naruto felt the world spin around him and toppled headfirst.
The Nine-Tails gazed at the unconscious Naruto, the feigned savagery in his foxlike eyes gradually softening.
"You're right. The Naruto I care about isn't you. But he is Naruto, and so are you... You're both the same. Without danger and loss staring you in the face, you stop moving forward. Without strength, without my protection, you'll only repeat the same mistakes. I would rather you endure loneliness than be powerless against your