Ultimately, Naruto let the mask shop owner go, refraining from further harm.
He was in Konoha, and with neither strength nor status, pushing things too far would only hurt himself.
However, after freeing the mask shop owner, Naruto swaggered off.
The Anbu wanted to apprehend Naruto, but the mask shop owner had already admitted his own mistake, claiming Naruto wasn't involved. The Anbu could only grit his teeth and let Naruto leave.
Of course, he would report the incident in detail, hoping the higher-ups would punish the unrestrained Nine-Tailed Demon Brat. That was all he could do.
If he embellished the story, the Third Hokage would definitely know.
After all, the current Third Hokage was the strongest Hokage!
Naruto hurried back to his cramped, moldy little house, and without further ado, sat cross-legged on the bed.
Just as he'd been angry, he'd felt an unusual fluctuation of Chakra within him.
Although he hadn't focused on it then, he'd remembered the feeling.
Now back home, he started searching for it, following that sensation.
Sure enough, his consciousness quickly arrived in the dark, sewer-like space where Kurama was sealed.
"Yo, Kurama!"
Before Kurama could erupt in fury, Naruto spoke first, initiating a greeting.
This completely baffled Kurama.
It had originally planned to act tough and intimidate this malnourished Little Brat.
"Little brat, what did you just say?" Kurama narrowed its eyes, emitting a dangerous aura.
"Kurama, isn't that your name?" Naruto grinned as he approached the seal gate and sat down in front of Kurama.
"Damn brat, you really don't respect me, do you!" Kurama instantly stood upright, its entire body bristling as if its fur was standing on end. It raised its long claws and lunged at Naruto.
The terrifying aura, accompanied by a powerful force like a category 5 hurricane, swept over them.
Waves surged behind Naruto, and his body was pushed backward by the force.
His clothes billowed, and his facial skin rippled like water.
Even so, Naruto's expression remained calm.
He simply watched Kurama's performance, his gaze unwavering.
Kurama put on a one-man show for a while, but found that he couldn't scare Naruto at all. He became listless and lay back down.
"No matter how you know my name, you, Little Brat, aren't qualified to call me that."
Kurama put on a disdainful attitude, but then said very coquettishly, "But since you were able to come here on your own, just spit it out. What do you want to get?"
Naruto's mouth curled into a grin. Did he come here on his own? Didn't you, Kurama, you arrogant, insincere Kurama, lure me here?
But he wasn't polite either, and directly opened his mouth like a lion, "I want you to cooperate with me and willingly give me your Chakra to use, not the Tailed Beast Cloak kind, but Chakra Mode."
Kurama's Chakra Mode could be activated as long as Naruto and Kurama exchanged Chakra.
Since Kurama's Chakra could seep out from the cracks in the seal, that mode could be activated.
As for the Tailed Beast Transformation of Kurama mode, the seal gate must be completely opened to achieve it.
Now, the key to the seal is still with Mount Myoboku Toad Tora, so that's out of the question for now.
Of course, all of this hinges on Kurama's cooperation.
Otherwise, if it mixes its hatred into the Chakra, Naruto's done for.
At the very least, he can't handle that level of hatred right now.
Kurama was stunned by Naruto's words, silent for several minutes, then suddenly burst into laughter.
But Naruto just looked at it calmly, without any change in expression.
Kurama could directly feel that he was serious.
Kurama didn't bother to figure out how Naruto knew about Chakra Mode, and jested, "Alright, as long as you tear off the Sealing Tag, I'll give you as much Chakra as you want. With this seal in place, what I can give you is insignificant."
"Alright!" Naruto got up very readily, which was beyond Kurama's expectations.
He walked straight to the door of the seal. With a thought, his body automatically floated up, rising until he was in front of the sealing tag.
After all, this was his mental space, and he could do many things with just a thought.
"Watch closely, this is my sincerity to you!"
Naruto's lips curled into a smile, and he tore off the sealing tag cleanly and decisively, without any hesitation.
This scene directly stunned Kurama, who couldn't react at all.
Wait, did this little brat even understand what it meant to tear off the sealing tag?
Whoosh!
A golden figure appeared, but like Kurama, it was also in a daze.
Even if the Golden Flash was fast, it still needed time to react.
Naruto, that guy, just tore right through it.
One person and one fox stared at each other across the gate, completely frozen.
But soon, Kurama was the first to recover, and upon seeing the suddenly appearing golden figure, it instantly erupted in rage.
"Fourth Hokage, I'll kill you!" Kurama's body exploded with a thick killing intent, like a volcano about to erupt.
"This is troublesome," Minato Namikaze rubbed his temples.
His insurance plan had been wasted.
But now wasn't the time for these thoughts. He flashed in front of Naruto, lifted Naruto's shirt, and pressed his palm against the seal on Naruto's abdomen.
One could only say he was worthy of the title of Golden Flash. Before Kurama's Chakra fully erupted, the seal was repaired again.
Kurama's sharp claws slammed against the seal's gate, but not a ripple was created.
"Damn Fourth Hokage, you actually..." Kurama regretted it so much that his intestines turned green.
Although there was no seal key, once the Sealing Tag was torn open, its Chakra could be fully released.
As long as it used the attribute of hatred, it could dye Naruto with its color. Then, it could use Naruto's body to break the cage.
Of course, Naruto's only fate then would be death.
It finally had a chance to escape, but because it was half a beat slow, it was sealed again by that damned Golden Flash.
Actually, Kurama wasn't really slow to react. It was just that Naruto's decision to remove the sealing tag had shocked it beyond belief.
Kurama sensed Naruto's sincerity. This genuine treatment also stirred a touch of compassion within it, preventing it from immediately seizing control of Naruto's body.
One could only say that Kurama's true nature was also kind. It was the long-term harm inflicted upon it by humans that had frozen its heart.
But regardless, after missing such a golden opportunity, regret was inevitable.