Naruto had originally prepared a more elaborate story. He had even planned to "casually" mention that he seemed to have dreamed of a fierce, enormous fox locked behind bars, gradually leading the Third to suspect that the seal was weakening and offer to teach him Sealing Jutsu.
But he had never expected things to go far more smoothly than he had imagined.
The Third had actually volunteered the whole truth about his being the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, along with that prettified "heroic narrative." It saved him all the trouble of laying groundwork and steering the conversation, suddenly accelerating the entire process.
Things were even simpler than Naruto had imagined.
The young hero he had so carefully portrayed-someone who awakened his abilities through fear, yet understood the greater good and willingly sacrificed everything for the village-had clearly touched the Third deeply.
That performance, blending vulnerability with resolve, had undoubtedly been the perfect catalyst.
And so, with almost no resistance and barely any need to plead, he had obtained exactly what he wanted: a scroll containing important knowledge of Sealing Jutsu.
Once he returned home, Naruto eagerly began leafing through it.
The beginning covered basic Sealing Jutsu, such as the One-String Lantern Formation and Fire Sealing Method: Flame Seal. Although Fire Sealing Method: Flame Seal was a B-rank ninjutsu, it was far inferior to the Four Symbols Seal, Five Elements Seal, and Eight Trigrams Seal that came later.
The earlier Sealing Jutsu not only had limited functions, but also lacked the strength of the later seals.
Even more surprising, the Third's Three-Way Seal and the Four Red Yang Formation used jointly by several Hokage were included too.
The Three-Way Seal was the grab skill in the mobile game where the Boruto: Naruto Next Generations version of Konohamaru created two clones.
He flipped to the end. Reverse Four Symbols Seal... Reaper Death Seal... Gate of the Great God?!
That old Third really had the guts to hand these over!
Naruto mentally sucked in a sharp breath.
Of those three techniques, two were S-rank Forbidden Jutsu that killed the user along with the enemy.
The other was a Sealing Jutsu powerful enough to suppress the Ten-Tails!
This was nothing less than the cream of Konoha's Sealing Jutsu, even its most closely guarded secrets!
"Naruto, is that... the Gate of the Great God?!"
Meanwhile, the Nine-Tails in his inner world had also seen the scroll's contents through Naruto's eyes. His enormous body instantly went rigid, his huge crimson eyes filling with incredulous shock.
The previous user of that technique had left him with a truly profound psychological scar.
Naruto's consciousness sank into the Sealing Space, and he nodded at the Nine-Tails with an equally disbelieving expression.
"Kurama, I'm seriously starting to wonder... did the old Third give me the wrong scroll? Did he accidentally hand me Konoha's complete collection of Sealing Jutsu instead of a basic beginner's textbook?"
The contents were so far beyond beginner level that he could hardly help being suspicious.
Recovering from his initial shock, the Nine-Tails snorted, his usual arrogance returning to his voice. "Hmph. What's there to agonize over? This is easy. I've already memorized everything on that scroll."
"Huh?"
This time, Naruto was the one left stunned.
The Nine-Tails flicked his tails and glanced at Naruto as though he were some country bumpkin. "What? I'm the Nine-Tails. I've lived for over a thousand years. What's so surprising about a photographic memory? It wouldn't matter even if you returned the scroll right now."
Seeing his smug expression, Naruto deliberately looked skeptical to goad him. "I don't believe you. You almost make it sound convincing. Go on, recite it for me. Start with the 'One-String Lantern Formation' section."
Stung by the challenge, the Nine-Tails bared his gleaming fangs in angry embarrassment and growled, "You little brat. Are you doubting me?"
Naruto said nothing and simply kept staring at the Nine-Tails.
"Never mind this measly scroll. I even remember every word the Sage of Six Paths said a thousand years ago when he divided his chakra and created the nine of us!"
Naruto: stare~
The Nine-Tails abruptly deflated and lay back down, looking rather sheepish. His voice dropped a little. "But... I can't read, damn it... Who'd want to learn all those squiggly human symbols anyway!
"I just treated them as pictures and 'printed' them into my head exactly as they were. Not a single symbol is wrong! But... I can't read them aloud to you, that's all."
Things suddenly became rather awkward.
A thousand-year-old intelligent being with a photographic memory couldn't read.
Of course, there was nothing inherently deserving of criticism about the Nine-Tails being illiterate.
The Sage of Six Paths had died after splitting up the Ten-Tails, though Naruto had no idea why a being like him could die so easily.
Still, the Sage of Six Paths certainly hadn't had time to teach the Tailed Beasts.
And the Nine-Tails was a gigantic Tailed Beast with the power to destroy the world, utterly out of place in civilized human society.
For most of his long life, humans had either feared and coveted him or sealed him away.
Even making out humans' tiny writing was difficult for him, let alone finding someone kind enough to patiently teach him to read.
It wasn't a flaw of his, but a consequence of the times and his fate.
Yet Naruto's eyes lit up at those words.
He didn't laugh at him. Instead, as though he had discovered an interesting and meaningful new goal, his face blossomed into a bright, unclouded smile, warm as a little sun.
"Then-"
He drew the word out, his voice light and sincere. "I'll teach you to read!"
Those words were like a pebble tossed into a lake, sending ripples through the quiet Sealing Space.
It wasn't charity or an order, but a simple invitation to share something.
It was as though he were saying, Look, the human world has interesting things like this too. Let me introduce you to them.
"I'm not learning!"
Without a moment's hesitation, the Nine-Tails turned away, presenting Naruto with the back of his head in a show of absolute disinterest and firm resistance.
But Naruto had long since figured out the Nine-Tails' prickly personality. His smile didn't fade in the slightest as he continued patiently watching that enormous back, which all but screamed "annoyed."
Silence spread through the Sealing Space.
The Nine-Tails maintained his haughty pose. After waiting a while, he stealthily shifted his gaze back a little and glanced at Naruto out of the corner of his eye, only to find him still watching steadily with that same smile, which somehow both infuriated him and left him helpless.
The embarrassment of being seen through mingled with a trace of... an indescribable, subtle feeling of being taken seriously.
"Fine, fine!"
He whipped his head back around as though he had been pestered beyond endurance, conceding in a gruff voice as he tried to salvage the last scraps of his dignity.
"You're impossible! I don't even want to learn your human writing! I'm only doing it as a favor to you, understand?"
Naruto readily went along with him, nodding at once. "Yes, yes, I'm the one asking you to learn. Thank you so much for doing me this favor, Lord Kurama."
"Hmph!"
Only then did the Nine-Tails give a satisfied snort, though his nine tails began swaying gently without his noticing.
Then, as though changing the subject—or perhaps genuinely urging him on—it said, "Teach me when you have time. Your priority now is to learn Sealing Jutsu as quickly as possible and gain complete control over this Sealing Space. That's what really matters!"