That night.
After washing up, Naruto lay down on the bed he remembered so well, stretching lazily.
This was the room he had lived in since he was little—the same room that, in his previous life, had been completely destroyed when Pain invaded Konoha with a single Shinra tensei.
The moonlight outside was beautiful, but Naruto wasn't in the mood to admire it. He pulled the curtains shut, lay back down, lifted his sleep shirt, and slowly moved his hand downward…
Finally, his hand reached his navel—the place of the Nine-Tails' seal.
Chakra gathered at his fingertips. The Eight Trigrams Seal surfaced as Naruto pressed his palm against it and turned. With a click, the first layer of the seal opened, and his chakra poured inside.
Inside the sealed gate, a pair of scarlet eyes suddenly snapped open, glaring at him with deep hatred.
Naruto smiled faintly, then let his consciousness sink inward.
When he opened his eyes again, as expected, he had succeeded. He was back inside that familiar sewer-like space.
Naruto knew this path all too well. Without hesitation, he walked forward and stopped in front of the massive gate, calling out:
"Hey! Kurama, what's wrong with you? I've been calling you but you never answer. You even cut off our chakra link—made me need a key just to get in here!"
The Nine-Tails stepped forward slowly, scarlet eyes locked on Naruto, baring its fangs as though it might swallow him whole.
Naruto tilted his head, puzzled, and stepped closer.
"What's with you, staring at me like that?"
But just as he neared the gate, the Nine-Tails lashed out without a word! Its claws shot forward—sharp and deadly enough to pierce even his spiritual body.
Thankfully, Naruto's reflexes were fast, or else he would have been skewered on the spot.
"Holy crap! Kurama, are you insane? You tried to ambush me?!" Naruto shouted angrily.
The Nine-Tails bared its teeth, growling, "Don't call me Kurama, you imposter!"
"Huh?" Naruto blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Pacing behind the bars of the gate, the Nine-Tails snarled:
"You're not that brat Naruto. He only ever called me Nine-Tails! But you… you've taken over his body. I can feel it—your soul is far stronger than his ever was! You imposter—who the hell are you? And how do you even know the name Kurama? Get out of Naruto's body!"
With that, the beast roared, its furious voice shaking the very air, waves of power bursting out from behind the gate.
Naruto covered his ears until the roar faded. Then he smiled lightly.
"So that's it."
No wonder after he came back, whenever he tried to contact Kurama, the fox ignored him—and even sealed itself away.
The reason was simple: Kurama had sensed the change in Naruto's soul. The original "Naruto" seemed to have vanished, replaced by another spirit that had entered his body.
To Kurama, it looked exactly like Naruto had been possessed.
"Tell me!" Kurama bellowed, furious. "Where did you take that brat Naruto?!"
Naruto chuckled inwardly, amused, and teased:
"What's this? Weren't you the one who always hated that kid? Why do you care so much all of a sudden?"
"Hmph!" Kurama snorted. "Do I need to explain myself to you?"
Arms crossed, Naruto smirked. "Sorry, but that kid's soul… I've already devoured it."
At those words, Kurama's nine tails thrashed wildly, its eyes blazing red. The fox looked ready to burst through the gate and tear Naruto apart on the spot!
"You vile creature—you're even worse than me! I'll devour you myself!"
Watching Kurama's rage, Naruto's heart warmed.
This guy… always so tsundere. pretending" not to care, but deep down, he worried more than anyone.
Seeing Kurama claw furiously at the gate, like a cat desperate to pounce, Naruto couldn't hold back his laughter.
"Hahaha! Kurama, you really are… hahaha… you haven't changed at all! You're killing me here, hahaha!"
"Shut up!" Kurama roared. "I told you not to call me Kurama! You're not worthy!"
That nickname had been given by the Sage of Six Paths himself. Apart from him and the other Tailed Beasts, anyone else calling him that felt like an insult.
Naruto stopped laughing, his eyes softening as he looked at the beast before him—his partner, his brother. This time, he decided to be honest.
After all, Kurama had been with him longer than anyone, sealed inside his body from the day he was born.
Kurama knew countless secrets about him. In a way, Kurama was like another version of Naruto—a companion who knew his heart better than anyone.
After the Fourth Shinobi World War, when the seal was gone and their chakra connected freely, they had fought side by side with no secrets between them.
So, Naruto chose to reveal the truth.
"You're right. I'm not exactly the same brat you once knew… but I am still Naruto. I've just… come back here from another timeline."
Kurama's tails froze mid-swing. After a moment, he snorted coldly:
"Can't you come up with a more believable excuse? Who could possibly travel through time? Ridiculous."
Naruto smiled faintly.
"It was the Sage of Six Paths who sent me back."
Kurama's eyes widened. "What did you say?"
"I said," Naruto sighed, "the Sage of Six Paths brought me back here. As for how I know your true name… you probably won't believe me. But in the path I lived before, I trained with Uncle Killer B and Gyūki—the Eight-Tails. With their help, I learned to master your chakra. The name Kurama… I first heard it from Gyūki."
Kurama's eyes went even wider. "What nonsense! The Eight-Tails would help you? And me—willingly letting you use my chakra? Impossible!"
Naruto nodded with a wry smile. "Yeah, that sounds just like you. You didn't agree at first. I remember I had to buy you lots of dango before you finally gave in."
Kurama glared even more fiercely from behind the gate.
This brat! Saying something so humiliating in such a straight face!
"Hmph! As if you could ever defeat me. I am the mighty Nine-Tails, supreme among beasts! Don't mock me, brat! And you even know the Eight-Tails' nickname? Looks like you've gathered plenty of intel!"
Naruto sighed. "You told me all that yourself—well, the you from before. And not just you, I know all the Tailed Beasts' names."
He raised a finger and began reciting them one by one:
"One-Tail: Shukaku.
Two-Tails: Matatabi—also called the Demon Cat.
Three-Tails: Isobu.
Four-Tails: Son—Son Gokū.
Five-Tails: Kokuō.
Six-Tails: Saiken.
Seven-Tails: Chōmei.
Eight-Tails: Gyūki, though Killer B likes to call him Hachibi or 'Lil Eight.'
Nine-Tails: Kurama… or, should I say, the Big Dumb Cat—that's you!"
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