Late at night, Naruto Uzumaki was home alone, staring at the dilapidated ceiling before closing his eyes.
With a turn of his mind, he found himself in the dim, underground water prison. The sound of dripping water echoed through the sealing space, adding a sense of danger to his spiritual world.
...drip...drip...drip...
Naruto stepped across the water-stained stone slabs, gradually approaching the depths of the prison. The candlelight illuminated his face. "Nine-Tails," he called out, "have you thought about what I mentioned last time?"
Behind the bars in the deepest part of the prison, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox opened its eyes. It stared at the yellow-haired brat in front of it, who was about the same size as one of its eyes, and snorted. "Hmph, brat, do you think I'm some pet you've raised?"
"Nine-Tails, you're overthinking it." Naruto stopped just outside the cage and held out his palm. "With your size, you're really not qualified to be a pet..."
That sentence instantly enraged the Nine-Tails.
The demon fox stood up, lowering its huge head to slowly approach the bars. A puff of hot air escaped from between its sharp teeth. Even in its rage, the Nine-Tails maintained the dignity of a Tailed Beast. "Sharp-tongued brat!"
Crimson, negative chakra bubbled up. Under the Nine-Tails's control, it continuously overflowed from the cage, eroding the sealing space. Leaking Tailed Beast chakra was something the Nine-Tails did almost every day, always trying to use it to draw out the jinchuriki's negative emotions.
"Sealing Jutsu: Devour!"
Naruto nonchalantly raised his palm, glanced at the Nine-Tails, and completely devoured the crimson chakra filling the space. Under the effect of the Devouring Seal, the Tailed Beast's chakra would soon be purified into power he could use.
He gazed into the Nine-Tails's blood-colored eyes and calmly opened his palm again. "Nine-Tails, have you decided now? Will you provide me with chakra voluntarily, or will you let me take it from you?"
"..."
The Nine-Tails snapped out of its astonishment at seeing the Devouring Seal. Hearing Naruto's words, it suppressed its rising anger. "Brat, as long as you're willing to undo the seal, you can use my chakra as you please!"
The last time they spoke, Naruto had displayed a supreme arrogance that had greatly displeased the demon fox, and it couldn't be bothered with the ignorant little fellow. Afterward, it felt some regret. An ignorant little fellow, no matter how you looked at it, should be easier to deceive than Mito Uzumaki and Kushina Uzumaki.
As long as it could get him to undo the Four Symbols Seal on the cage, it could use its chakra to erode Naruto's consciousness at a much faster rate. That would be its chance to escape.
Moreover, this brat was clearly craving its power. He wanted to use the Tailed Beast's chakra. The previous two jinchuriki, Mito and Kushina, had disdained its power and had no need for it, leaving the Nine-Tails with no way to gain a foothold. Today, the third jinchuriki had taken the initiative to request its support. Although his words were unpleasant and his attitude insincere... as long as it could escape, it could immediately teach him how to be a good boy.
However, after glancing at the Nine-Tails, Naruto's brow gradually furrowed. He lowered his head, turned, and began to leave. "Forget it, I'll come back later!"
The Nine-Tails slammed a claw on the ground irritably, lowering its voice to a roar as it watched the small, retreating figure. "Hey, brat, what do you mean! You wanted to borrow my chakra, and I've already agreed!"
"Your gaze is wrong..." Naruto's figure sank back into the darkness. "I still think it's better to devour your chakra directly. The amount that leaked out this time is enough for now."
"You wretch! Are you toying with me!"
"I told you, your gaze is wrong..."
His orange ninja suit disappeared completely into the corridor of the water prison. His final warning echoed in the empty sealing space. "Nine-Tails, the next time you see me, you'd better be more sincere, because I don't really want to completely devour you..."
"..."
The Nine-Tails helplessly reached out its claws to grab the bars, its teeth clenched tightly. "Idiot, do you really think you can contain a Tailed Beast's chakra? Even that guy Minato Namikaze, who set up this seal, couldn't contain half of my power. A mere twelve-year-old brat..."
Unfortunately, there was no one else in the entire sealing space to hear it—only the dripping of water droplets, accompanying the most ferocious Tailed Beast in the ninja world.
On the bed, Naruto quietly opened his eyes. He slowly clenched his fists, feeling the replenished chakra and power within his body, before closing his eyes again and falling into a deep sleep.
This afternoon, defeating Ebisu with the Shadow Clone Jutsu and other techniques had consumed a lot of his chakra. Although he knew his recovery was strong, he had to ensure everything was foolproof to pass tomorrow's survival exercise.
The only pity was that the Nine-Tails still hadn't submitted. Or rather, while the Nine-Tails outwardly submitted and was willing to provide chakra, its attitude and expression made Naruto feel very uncomfortable. He didn't really know what he needed from the Nine-Tails to meet his requirements, but he knew its current attitude was clearly not what he expected.
Outside the door of the old house, an old man quietly descended the stairs.
A team of ANBU ninjas followed closely beside him. One asked in a low voice, "Third Hokage, do we need to continue monitoring here?"
"There's no need for that anymore." Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head, muttering to himself absentmindedly, "I didn't expect that he can already control the Nine-Tails's chakra now."
To avoid any accidents, Hiruzen had planned to inspect the Four Symbols Seal on Naruto tonight, to ensure the Tailed Beast's chakra wouldn't leak. But just as he sensed the leak and was about to rush in, the Tailed Beast cloak that was gradually forming on Naruto's body suddenly disappeared. That evil chakra also dissipated into the air.
Hiruzen turned to the ANBU team and ordered in a low voice, "You few, you don't need to be on duty around here anymore. Go back and report to ANBU headquarters."
An ANBU ninja suddenly raised a question. "Lord Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki is, after all, part of the village... If we let him be like this..."
Another ANBU, who clearly knew more, added in a deep voice, "And it's not just spies from outside the village who are coveting his power. Even within the village..."
Ever since the Tailed Beast was sealed inside Naruto, their ANBU team had been responsible for eliminating enemies who coveted its power and had even tracked some ninjas from within Konoha itself.
"It's alright. Children have to grow up eventually." Hiruzen waved his hand, signaling them not to be nervous. "I will restrain certain people in the village and no longer allow them to contact Naruto."
"As for enemies from other villages," he continued, "I believe Kakashi Hatake has enough ability to protect his subordinate."
Only Hiruzen himself knew the truth. The most important purpose of this ANBU team had always been to monitor the Nine-Tails's seal. As for enemies coveting the Tailed Beast, there was never any real need to worry about them.
Because truly strong ninjas don't need the power of a Tailed Beast at all.
-----
Bonus:
Hiruzen Sarutobi: "A truly strong ninja doesn't need to rely on a tailed beast's power."
Minato Namikaze: "Are you serious, Third?"
Hashirama Senju: "Well said!"
Tobirama Senju: "Big brother's right!"
Madara Uchiha: "What the hell is that supposed to mean!?"