"I foresaw everything, Kurama."
Naruto's calm voice echoed through the dim mindscape.
His sky-blue eyes gleamed with depth far beyond his years. Draped in a white jacket with red flames licking the hem—somewhat resembling the Fourth Hokage's robe, though lacking the intricate Hokage-specific embroidery—Naruto stood tall before the caged Nine-Tails.
Even Kurama, for a brief moment, was taken aback by the boy's composed and mysterious gaze.
What is this brat hiding...?
"Brat! Just what exactly do you know?" Kurama growled.
What the Nine-Tails didn't realize was that Naruto was actually panicking inside.
Damn, this is nerve-wracking... but I can't let him see that.
Naruto forced himself to remain calm. Negotiating with a beast like Kurama required composure, or everything would fall apart.
When Naruto saw Kurama's chakra shift ever so slightly—hesitation and suspicion blooming—he realized he'd seized the initiative.
He didn't answer Kurama's question directly. Instead, he changed the subject.
"Kurama... what do you think of this world? This so-called Ninja World?"
The air instantly grew heavy. Naruto and Kurama locked eyes, tension crackling in the silence.
Before Kurama could respond, Naruto began to speak again—his tone quiet at first, then rising with passion.
"This world... is broken. The ninja clans and nobles sit high above everyone else, waging war after war for power and profit. Schemes lurk around every corner. The cycle never ends."
His fists clenched.
"Children barely old enough to understand the world are sent to die on battlefields. Civilians live in constant fear, caught in the crossfire of shinobi they can't possibly oppose. And then there are those who dare to call themselves 'peacekeepers'—sealing Tailed Beasts like you under the name of peace. But it's never been about peace, has it? It's about power."
At that, Kurama's eyes narrowed.
Then—BOOM!
His massive paws slammed against the iron bars of his prison, shaking the ground with a deafening clang.
Naruto had struck a nerve.
Kurama remembered it vividly: being roused from slumber by arrogant shinobi, forced into conflict, forbidden to resist—and ultimately sealed by a stranger who claimed his power was too dangerous.
And that was only the beginning.
After witnessing the power of the Tailed Beasts, every Hidden Village began to hunt them down. In the end, Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama divided them like spoils of war.
Naruto had spoken those words precisely to strike a chord—and it worked.
A sliver of sympathy flickered in Kurama's gaze. Just as Naruto had hoped.
Naruto continued, voice low but firm.
"The balance of this world is false. Ninja don't produce anything—they just take. The nobles rule from the shadows, and civilians are nothing but sacrificial pawns. Even the Tailed Beasts are treated as weapons... nothing more than tools to be used and discarded."
Kurama's paws clenched, his rage rising. His breathing grew heavier.
Then came the snarl:
"Enough! Brat! Who exactly are you?!"
Naruto's speech had erased any illusion that he was just a clueless child. Kurama stared at him, eyes burning with curiosity and unease.
Naruto stepped forward, unwavering. "I am who I am. Uzumaki Naruto. Born of destiny. And I'm going to change this world, Kurama!"
His voice rang out with conviction. There was no fear in his eyes—only purpose.
He didn't know what the future held. Whether he would destroy the old world or bring about something new—he didn't know.
But he would change it.
Something about those words made Kurama pause. His thoughts began to drift—far, far back in time...
Back to when he was just a small fox kit.
A warm hand gently stroked his fur. A kind voice, aged and wise, whispered softly:
"Kurama... my time is nearly up. But one day, someone will come to you. Not with chains or hatred... but with understanding. He won't be like me, not like when you were part of me. He'll have a different name... but you'll know him when you see him."
"Kurama, true power isn't meant to destroy—it's meant to build a better world."
A shout broke through Kurama's memories.
"Kurama! Power isn't for fighting—it's for creating a better future!"
Startled, Kurama snapped out of his trance.
His crimson eyes locked onto Naruto again—but this time, something had changed.
For the first time, Kurama wavered.
The boy's small figure overlapped, ever so faintly, with the memory of that ancient man—the one humans called the Sage of Six Paths.
"Could it be...?" Kurama murmured. "Is he... the one the Sage spoke of...?"
Naruto looked at him steadily and added, "Kurama, you've watched me grow up. You must be wondering how I know these things... but maybe you already sense it."
"We're both chosen by destiny."
"Ever since I was little, I've had visions… strange images that kept appearing in my mind," Naruto said softly, his gaze distant, as if looking through time itself.
"They showed me things… things that shouldn't have been possible. These visions made me realize that this world—this so-called Shinobi World—is deeply flawed."
"I've seen the future," he continued, voice growing firmer. "Maybe I succeeded in that future. Maybe I failed. But even if I did succeed, the world hardly changed. The shinobi system remained. The hierarchy of power didn't shift. The lives of civilians may have improved, but not because of the efforts of ninja."
Naruto paused. He didn't speak of his true origins—that this world was fictional, created by an author from another reality. That knowledge was far too dangerous and absurd to share, even with Kurama.
But he knew one thing for certain: to truly change this world, he needed Kurama's support.
"Kurama," Naruto said, stepping forward, eyes unwavering, "we're partners now. Whether you like it or not, our lives are bound together. We share one body… and one future."
That statement caused the massive fox to stir.
Kurama's massive frame tensed. His eyes, those deep pools of malevolence and power, flickered with something else—confusion, perhaps… or the first spark of doubt.
Does he truly see me as a partner? Kurama wondered.
"Shut up, brat!" the Nine-Tails growled. "We are not partners!"
He turned away, his massive form slumping down against the cold floor. "Now get lost. The old man's tired."
Naruto opened his mouth to reply—but before he could utter another word, the mental world collapsed around him.
Kurama had forcibly ejected him.
Back in the waking world, Naruto's eyes snapped open. He stared at the ceiling of his dimly lit room, a faint sigh escaping his lips.
"That went... about as well as I expected," he muttered with a wry smile.
He had been honest—almost completely. Aside from hiding his Earth origin, everything he'd said to Kurama came from the heart.
What many didn't know—what Kurama certainly understood—was that the Nine-Tails could sense intention. He could smell malice, deceit, or manipulation. And Naruto hadn't harbored any. Not even a trace. He had truly approached Kurama with the hope of cooperation, not control.
But he also knew this wouldn't be resolved overnight.
Kurama wasn't some simple beast to be tamed—he was ancient, intelligent, and had been betrayed time and time again. If Naruto wanted Kurama's trust, it had to be earned—through consistent actions, not words.
Still, something had changed.
He felt it.
Naruto thought back to Orochimaru—the master manipulator, someone whose charisma and twisted ideology had drawn countless loyal followers. Even with all his cruelty, people still chose to serve him—because he understood the human heart.
Naruto didn't want to manipulate people. He wanted to inspire them. But the comparison reminded him of the power of conviction—and how even distorted ideals could move others if presented with enough clarity.
His earlier speech to Kurama, though partially a bluff, reflected his true beliefs. Peace could never be achieved solely through power or war. Every attempt so far—Hashirama's dream, Nagato's vision—relied on intimidation and dominance.
Hashirama distributed the Tailed Beasts among the Hidden Villages, hoping to balance power and preserve peace. But all he did was reignite the arms race.
Nagato collected those same Beasts to form the Ten-Tails, threatening the world into peace through fear of annihilation. But that, too, was merely the illusion of order—built on a knife's edge.
What happens when the power vanishes?
What happens when the Ten-Tails is gone? When the Jinchūriki die?
Peace rooted in fear will always collapse.
The cycle of hatred would resume because the root cause had not been addressed.
Naruto understood the true enemy: imbalance—of resources, of power, of opportunity.
In this world, ninja monopolized strength. Nobles controlled land and wealth. Civilians were left to suffer in the crossfire. The entire system was built on inequality and exploitation.
To break the cycle of war, Naruto believed, the world needed more than just a strong hand. It needed reform. Philosophy. Structure.
Peace would only come when the hoarders of power—those who ruled from the shadows—were no longer allowed to feed off the blood of innocents.
That was why he had to walk this path.
That was why he needed Kurama.
Not just as a source of strength...
But as a true partner—a being who had seen the rise and fall of human ambition, who knew firsthand the pain of being used.
And perhaps, just perhaps... Kurama wanted to believe again too.
...
TN:
⚡ Support me on P-com/LordMerlin
[💎 Every 300 Power Stones = +1 Bonus Chapter]