Naruto opened his eyes.
He was back in his apartment.
He wasn't disappointed—not in the slightest. It wasn't like he had expected to win over that tsundere fox in one go.
There was still plenty of time.
No need to rush.
Outside his window, a crescent moon hung high over the night sky of Konoha. Around it, countless stars shimmered, painting a tranquil and beautiful scene.
Inside the Seal
Kurama—the Nine-Tails—lay on the floor of his cage. His slitted eyes were half-lidded, but the relaxed look he usually wore was gone.
Clearly…
What Naruto had said earlier had struck a chord.
On one hand, the fox thought Naruto's words were utter nonsense.
But on the other… there was something about them. Something that seemed possible—just a little.
Kurama was conflicted.
In the end, he decided to withdraw the chakra he had been leaking through the seal.
Not because he agreed with Naruto.
No.
He was just too lazy to keep it up.
That was all.
At that moment, the instant Kurama retracted his chakra, Naruto sensed it.
The oppressive Nine-Tails chakra he always had to keep in check suddenly vanished.
With nothing left to suppress, Naruto could feel a clear shift.
He could now draw out more chakra from within himself.
And even more importantly—his chakra control had become sharper, more refined.
Naruto smiled faintly at the realization.
After his first real interaction with Kurama, Naruto returned to his usual school routine.
He continued his daily spiritual training, worked on his body using the Six Treasures Immortal Thief Technique, and included strength conditioning in his regimen.
Of course, he didn't neglect his chakra training and control exercises either.
All of this, he did while understanding one simple truth: balance.
He knew not to stay constantly on edge. To truly grow, one had to rest, relax, and reset.
His relationship with Hinata also continued to grow steadily.
Then, one day...
Naruto brought a homemade lunch to school.
The moment he opened the lunchbox, the mouth-watering aroma from his god-tier cooking wafted through the classroom.
Choji's eyes were instantly locked on the bento box.
Seeing this, Naruto generously shared his food with Choji, Shikamaru, and a few others.
And once they took a bite of Naruto's cooking...
They were hooked.
Choji and Shikamaru were blown away by the taste.
From that day onward, the two of them pooled their pocket money together to ask Naruto to make extra portions of his food every day.
They even offered to bring their own ingredients.
At first, Naruto considered declining.
But after seeing just how much money the two were offering...
He gave in.
He couldn't help but think: Kids from established clans really are loaded.
Plus, the ingredients they brought were far better than what he could gather from hunting in the forest every few days.
With his cooking skills, whipping up a few extra portions was no problem at all.
A month later...
Naruto counted the earnings he'd made from Choji and company.
It was ridiculous.
As expected from kids raised in wealthy households.
But even while he was stacking up pocket money...
Naruto never lost sight of his true goal.
That evening, after finishing his schoolwork, eating dinner, and cleaning up, Naruto quietly closed his eyes and re-entered the sealed space—his second visit since that initial meeting.
Kurama turned and rolled his eyes at Naruto's sudden arrival.
The fox shifted slightly, facing away.
Clearly, he had no interest in chatting.
Naruto wasn't bothered.
This time, he hadn't come here to win Kurama over.
No—
He came here for one purpose:
To train the Rasengan.
Yes!
Naruto had waited until his physical fitness and chakra development reached a certain level before beginning to practice the iconic jutsu created by his father—Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage.
The Rasengan was a powerful A-rank technique that Minato developed after studying the Tailed Beast Ball. By compressing and rotating chakra in the palm of the hand, he created a dense, high-speed spinning sphere of chakra with devastating destructive power.
Minato originally intended it to be the foundation of a new ninjutsu that combined shape and nature transformation—but even in its incomplete form, the Rasengan was fearsome.
In battle, he often combined it with the Flying Thunder God Technique, blitzing enemies before they could even react.
So terrifying was the combination that enemy ninja were granted permission to abort their missions if they ever encountered the Yellow Flash on the battlefield.
Naruto sat cross-legged on the surface of the water in the sealed space.
He didn't even glance at Kurama.
Instead, he focused inward.
"The first step… is concentrating chakra into the center of the palm," he muttered.
As he spoke, he began to channel chakra into his hand.
"The second step… is placing a water balloon in your palm, then steadily injecting chakra until the water inside starts churning erratically—eventually bursting."
"And the third step... is using a rubber ball. The chakra has to be so condensed and wild that even that durable shell can't withstand it. Once you break the rubber ball, you've mastered the Rasengan."
Naruto paused.
There was just one problem.
This was Kurama's sealed space—there were no water balloons or rubber balls lying around.
But then a thought struck him.
Wait… if I'm here in the form of spiritual energy, can't I manifest what I need using my mind?
With that idea in mind, Naruto closed his eyes again.
He visualized a water balloon in one hand and a rubber ball in the other.
When he opened his eyes...
Sure enough, both items had appeared in his hands.
"Yoshi!"
He grinned.
If his mental power could manifest physical objects inside this space, then…
He could train here freely—without fear of being watched.
From inside the cage, Kurama peeked over.
He'd been ignoring Naruto at first, but curiosity got the better of him.
When he saw the water balloon and rubber ball in Naruto's hands, his eyes widened.
"Hey, brat!"
"This isn't your personal training ground!"
Kurama's deep voice echoed through the chamber, his vertical pupils glaring.
What the hell does this kid take me for?!
He actually came here to train—right in front of me?!
Naruto looked up and waved casually at the angry fox.
"Don't be stingy, Kurama."
"Where else am I supposed to train without being monitored?"
"Besides, aren't you bored in here all alone? Having someone to talk to isn't so bad, is it?"
...
TN:
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