From that day forward, Danzo completely shifted his strategy in teaching Naruto. He gave up on ninjutsu and focused on developing Naruto's taijutsu.
Naruto was a little disappointed—after all, using ninjutsu looks so cool.
> "Hahaha! You brat, like you could learn ninjutsu anyway! I told you, what's the point of learning that crap?"
Even the Nine-Tails inside him couldn't stop laughing. One paw clutching its stomach, the other pounding the ground, the fox was howling with laughter.
It only quieted down after Naruto landed a few punches right into its belly, making the fox roll around in pain.
Truthfully, Naruto just thought ninjutsu looked cool.
He didn't really need to learn it.
The Hyuga clan couldn't use the five elemental styles either, right? You win some, you lose some.
Anyway, no matter how flashy your jutsu is, if I can knock you out in one punch—case closed.
And if one punch isn't enough?
Well, then I'll just stand to the right... and blast you from there.
The Nine-Tails finally stopped wheezing, then jumped up and pointed angrily at Naruto:
> "You damn brat! I've had enough! Today I'm teaching you a lesson!"
> "Bring it on!" Naruto rolled up his sleeves and charged straight into the cage's iron gates.
A moment later, sounds of clanging and thumping echoed from the seal.
When the dust settled, the Nine-Tails lay flat on its back, covered in bruises with huge black eyes and a swollen face. Meanwhile, Naruto was lying on top of its belly, arms behind his head.
> "Brat," the fox muttered, "why not forget about learning ninjutsu altogether? I'll lend you my power. You don't like someone? Boom. Just blow them away."
> "Why waste energy with all those stupid hand signs and weak little techniques? That's human stuff."
Naruto rolled over lazily, finding a more comfortable position on the fox's belly.
> "I am human."
> "Are you kidding?" the Nine-Tails grumbled, as the bruises on its face began to fade thanks to its chakra. "You're stronger than most of us Tailed Beasts."
> "We should join forces. You and I together—no one in this world could stand against us. We'd be invincible."
The fox tried once again to coax Naruto with its trademark "subtle" persuasion.
> "Invincible?" Naruto raised an eyebrow, then casually said, "What about Uchiha Madara?"
The fox fell silent for a long moment.
> "...If you used that flashy teleport thing of yours, maybe."
Maybe?!
Madara must've left a serious trauma.
> "Alright then," Naruto said thoughtfully. "What about Senju Hashirama?"
The fox was just about to brag—say something like, 'That leafy-haired freak is nothing'—but the image flashed in its mind: being picked up single-handedly like a kitten, while fully transformed.
> "Your power is too dangerous, Kurama," Hashirama had said.
Not long after that... the Nine-Tails was sealed away.
> "Tch. Noisy, noisy, noisy!"
Its ego bruised, the Nine-Tails almost flipped the metaphysical table.
Then its eyes spun slyly again as it suggested:
> "Alright, how about we destroy that annoying village out there? Wipe out all those annoying humans. You hate them, don't you?"
> "You're really savage," Naruto rolled his eyes, not even thinking about it. "Kill them all? Then what? Wait around for the next bunch to come seal you again?"
Patting Kurama's belly, he said softly:
> "Kurama, we're still really weak right now—especially me."
You?! Weak?!
Kurama: "???"
You're seriously saying this?! That one punch of yours had me wailing. Imagine what it'd do to an ordinary human—they'd be nothing but meat paste!
> "When you don't yet have the power to protect yourself, the last thing you should be is arrogant."
> "There are still so, so many people out there stronger than us."
> "How strong do we need to be, then?" Kurama asked, following Naruto's train of thought.
Naruto thought for a moment, then answered with total seriousness:
> "At the very least, strong enough to beat you in one punch."
...???
"I'm the strongest Tailed Beast, don't I get any respect?!" Kurama's soul almost left its body.
Naruto was thinking about all those future threats—Six Paths Obito, Six Paths Madara, the Sage of Six Paths, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, and the far-off Ōtsutsuki clan floating out there in space.
Just like Frieza's army, they invade planets for chakra.
Until he had power to match that, he had to keep his head down and grind.
Kurama, however, was still sulking.
And he didn't notice that Naruto never actually rejected his suggestions.
Then Kurama's eyes gleamed again.
> "Let's get rid of that one-eyed old geezer outside, then. You hate him, don't you? His malice toward you is probably the worst in the whole village."
Kurama!
Agent of Chaos!
> "Kurama," Naruto said, rubbing the softest part of the fox's belly as he lay down again. "You're a civilized fox now. Don't just go around killing people."
> "Physically destroying someone is way too low tier."
> "You know what it means to crush someone emotionally?"
Before Kurama could answer, Naruto added with a smirk:
> "Yeah, I didn't think so."
Kurama bristled.
Then Naruto added calmly:
> "He wants to become Hokage, right? What if I helped him achieve that?"
> "Help him... what now?" Kurama asked, completely confused but a little intrigued.
> "Being Hokage is his lifelong obsession, his dream, the one thing he's always wanted. If we help him rise to that position, then—"
> "Then what?!" Kurama clawed the ground impatiently.
But Naruto didn't answer. Instead, he said:
> "The most effective way to destroy someone... isn't to defeat them or scare them."
> "It's to wait until they think they've won—then hit them with the harshest, most direct blow. Shatter their dream. Break their spirit."
Kurama blinked, then asked dumbly:
> "So... you're just gonna punch him?"
"..."
Naruto stared at the fox for a long moment.
Then sighed.
> "Forget it. Even if I explain, you wouldn't get it."
Seeing the way Naruto was looking at him—like he was gently explaining things to a particularly dumb toddler—Kurama's fur bristled again.
"UZUMAKI NARUTO, YOU LITTLE—!"
The fox leapt up and lunged at Naruto.
Once again, thunderous bam-bam-pow sounds echoed through the seal space.
And once again, Kurama reemerged with a swollen face and panda eyes.
> "Brat! If I talk to you again, I'll admit I'm Shukaku!"
…Of course, not long after that, he came crawling back, pretending like nothing happened.
Turns out, it's not just humans who talk tough but act sweet—Tailed Beasts are guilty of that too.
Outside the seal, the Fourth Hokage stood watching the whole mess. He wanted to join in, but somehow... didn't feel like he could fit in.
He sighed, lightly brushing his cheek with his finger.
> "Naruto and Kurama sure have a great relationship…"
They really did—but not without beating the crap out of each other first.
And all of it stemmed from one night years ago…
> "Hey Kurama," Naruto had asked, "how do Tailed Beasts usually bond with each other?"
Kurama, without thinking, gave an answer he'd regret for the rest of his life:
> "...We fight."
PS: Access advance (50+) chapters at
https://www.patreon.com/c/NanamiTL