Got an an review, here's the chap(⌐■-■)
Chapter 18: Days Living with the Fox
Night had fallen over Konoha, and after saying goodbye to Satsuki, Naruto returned to his apartment. He went through his usual evening routine—cleaning up, brushing his teeth, and getting ready for bed—before settling cross-legged on his mattress. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and let his consciousness sink into the familiar depths of his seal.
The damp, echoing chamber materialized around him, lit by an eerie orange glow. Behind towering iron bars that stretched impossibly high, the Nine-Tails' massive form lay curled up like a slumbering mountain. Naruto approached with his characteristic grin, raising his hand in a cheerful wave.
"Kurama! I'm back to chat again!"
The fox barely lifted one eyelid before closing it again, not even bothering to twitch its tails in acknowledgment.
Undeterred by the cold reception, Naruto actually moved closer to the bars. "What's wrong, Kurama? Did something happen? You seem like you're in a bad mood."
After a long silence, the Nine-Tails finally spoke, its deep voice reverberating through the cavernous space. "...Brat. That other kid you were with today—stay away from her from now on."
'The other kid? He must mean Satsuki...' Naruto immediately understood the reason behind Kurama's hostility. The Nine-Tails harbored a deep-seated hatred for the Uchiha clan, and for good reason. After all, the source of its imprisonment traced back to Uchiha Madara, who had controlled the beast and forced it to battle the First Hokage.
But staying away from Satsuki was absolutely impossible. That girl was currently his highest-value "target" for bond points, and her favorability was surprisingly easy to raise. Just yesterday afternoon, her bond level had jumped twice in a row, causing his system points to skyrocket. Still, he needed to find a way to convince this proud fox—gently, of course.
"Stay away from the other kid? You mean Satsuki? But why? That child is obviously quite likable, isn't she?"
The Nine-Tails' tails began lashing irritably. "Why so many questions? I told you to stay away, so stay away!"
"...Kurama, you're not jealous, are you?" Naruto covered his mouth with mock surprise. "I never would have guessed—turns out you care about me this much."
"What?!" The Nine-Tails' head shot up violently. "Don't be so presumptuous, you little brat! How could I possibly be jealous!" It bared its fangs in fury, all nine tails bristling and standing on end like an enormous bottle brush.
"Haha, just kidding, just kidding! Don't get so worked up!" Naruto quickly waved his hands placatingly, watching as the great fox huffily settled back down.
Once the beast had calmed somewhat, Naruto spoke again, his tone growing more thoughtful. "You know, big fox, I never imagined there'd be someone asking me to stay away from other people..."
"What's so strange about that?"
Naruto's gaze met the Nine-Tails' crimson eyes directly. "It's just... in the village, it's usually other people asking their children to stay away from me."
The words hit their mark. One of Kurama's tails froze mid-air for just an instant. After a long silence, Naruto smiled gently. "Sorry, Kurama, but I can't agree to that condition."
He patted his chest over his heart. "Because that girl is my very first friend! It's the first time I've ever had a friend, you know!"
The Nine-Tails turned its massive head away, refusing to look at Naruto. Of course it knew why this child was isolated by the entire village—the reason was itself, the "calamity" sealed within Naruto's body. Now, was it really going to force this kid to cut ties with his only friend?
Though it hadn't yet fully trusted Naruto, the Nine-Tails used its own prideful dignity to rationalize the situation. 'Hmph, whatever. She's just an Uchiha brat without even a Sharingan. I suppose I can... grant this kid a small mercy.'
Soon enough, Naruto's lively voice filled the space again. "Oh right, Kurama! I need to continue that story from yesterday! Last time I got to the part where Xiao Yan was at the auction house..."
Naruto launched into an animated retelling of his adapted version of "Battle Through the Heavens", his eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. Though the Nine-Tails maintained its position with its back turned, its perked ears and occasionally swishing tail betrayed how intently it was actually listening.
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Deep into the night, within the seal space, Naruto stretched his arms wide with a satisfied expression. "Alright, Kurama, it's getting pretty late. I had a great time chatting with you—I'm going back to sleep now."
The Nine-Tails' ears twitched involuntarily. 'He's leaving so soon?'
It actually wanted to hear another chapter of the story, but with its pride, how could it possibly ask this brat to stay longer? That would be admitting it was captivated by the tale.
"If you're going to leave, then leave quickly," the Nine-Tails said with feigned indifference, turning its head away.
Just then, Naruto mysteriously pulled something from inside his jacket. "Oh, before I go—this is for you. I spent ages figuring out how to bring this in here, so you better be grateful when you accept it!"
"What? Brat, I don't need any—" The Nine-Tails turned back irritably, but its words died in its throat.
Naruto was carefully threading a small book through the gaps in the iron bars. In a sealing space like this—a purely spiritual world constructed from chakra—manifesting physical objects required incredibly precise chakra manipulation techniques!
The book's cover bore the neat characters: "Battle Through the Heavens, Volume 1". The pages inside were filled with Naruto's careful handwriting, each character painstakingly copied despite his young hands. The script was childish but remarkably neat, and some sections even featured cute little illustrations in the margins.
For a moment, the Nine-Tails was speechless.
Naruto scratched his head sheepishly. "Sorry I can't always keep you company. Being stuck in here with nothing to do must be really boring, right?" He gestured toward the book. "When you get bored, you can read this to pass the time."
Naruto watched as the Nine-Tails carefully wrapped one of its tails around the small book, and he couldn't help but smile.
'Looks like all my research paid off...'
The principle behind bringing real-world objects into this mental space was actually quite simple—chakra was half spiritual energy made manifest, and the sealing space was, in essence, a projection of Naruto's inner world. By wrapping the book in chakra in the real world and memorizing its structure, he could perfectly reconstruct it here using pure chakra manipulation. It was like creating a physical "Kage Bunshin" of an object. Of course, since the copy was still made of chakra, if it had been food, it wouldn't even have taste.
The Nine-Tails stared down at the book in its grasp, its crimson pupils flickering with something unidentifiable. This was the first gift it had ever received... The last time it had felt such pure, selfless kindness was back when the old man—the Sage of Six Paths—was still alive.
Suddenly, to Naruto's amazement, the Nine-Tails' enormous form began to shrink, gradually reducing until it was roughly the size of a large dog. Using its front paws, it carefully opened the book and actually began to read.
'So Kurama can control its size?' Naruto's eyes widened in fascination. 'Having a body made of pure chakra really is convenient...'
Sensing Naruto's intense stare, the miniaturized Nine-Tails looked up. "Hey, brat, what's with that look?"
There was something peculiar in that gaze—the kind of longing someone gets when they see something adorable and can't resist the urge to pet it. The small Kurama was undeniably fluffy, with ears that twitched adorably from time to time. Naruto forcibly suppressed his overwhelming desire to reach out and ruffle that fur, clearing his throat awkwardly.
"Nothing... So, do you like the gift?" He deliberately changed the subject, his blue eyes sparkling with anticipation. "I really did spend forever figuring out how to bring a book in here."
The Nine-Tails was about to give its usual prideful response when it caught sight of Naruto's expectant expression and suddenly hesitated. This kid was only three years old, after all. It realized that the child genuinely, wholeheartedly wanted to make it happy—had even developed this chakra manipulation technique just for that purpose.
After another long pause, the Nine-Tails looked away with obvious embarrassment. "...Hmph. It's... acceptable. I suppose I'll reluctantly accept it." It carefully turned a page with its claw, then added stiffly, "But don't let it go to your head."
Watching Kurama's transparent attempt at maintaining dignity while clearly treasuring the gift, Naruto couldn't help but chuckle. "Yes, yes! Well then, I'm really going to sleep now! See you tomorrow, Kurama!"
As he prepared to leave the seal space, Naruto glanced back one final time. The small Nine-Tails had already become completely absorbed in the story, its fluffy tail unconsciously swaying as it read, sweeping gentle arcs across the damp ground.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations Host: Bond established with target character "Kurama" (Level 2)]
[Reward: 400 System Points acquired!]
(Ik some of you, going to hack me about the inconsistencies about the system...well idk, it's the og author's fault, so yeah,)
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