Naruto Uzumaki and the Nine-Tails stared at each other for a long time.
The bond forged between them in battle needed no words. The unspoken understanding from those shared memories was gradually becoming second nature to the Nine-Tails. They had once been comrades who would die for each other. Through those memories, the Nine-Tails had already come to accept the Naruto Uzumaki standing before it.
After a while, the Nine-Tails noticed a problem. "Naruto, your spiritual power is immense. How can your body possibly bear it?"
Naruto laughed heartily. "It's fine. After I leave this space, my memories will be sealed again."
"Forget it, it doesn't matter," the Nine-Tails said, shaking its tail. "My memories will still be here. When we get back, I'll tell you the truth..."
"It's better if you don't," Naruto said, his face serious. "It could loosen the seal and harm my current body. You should understand what I mean..."
The Nine-Tails' gaze grew strange. "So that means..."
"That's right!" Naruto gave a long-overdue thumbs-up and praised, "From now on, I'm counting on you, Kurama!"
"You little brat!" the giant demon fox roared, instantly furious. "So after this, I'll have to deal with that idiot kid who only knows how to draw out my chakra?"
"Don't be so grumpy, Kurama! I know you can guide the current me onto the right path!"
"But the Naruto out there only knows how to take my chakra and has no intention of unlocking this cage. Every time he shows up in here, I get so angry..."
"Hey, don't worry! Jiraiya-sensei should find a way to help me undo the seal soon!"
"You could just use that chakra-absorbing jutsu on the seal's lock! After you get out, focus on strengthening your body, then immediately find a way to undo your memory seal!"
"Yeah, yeah, if I still remember..." Naruto nodded with a helpless look. After a moment of thought, he suddenly reached out and threw the Yang Power in his hand onto the Nine-Tails. "Kurama, this is a seed of Yang Power. It might help a little."
"The old man of Six Paths' power?" the Nine-Tails rumbled as the mark appeared on its body. "In that case, I might be able to condense the Sage of Six Paths' senjutsu chakra and transfer it directly to you."
"Thanks for everything," Naruto said, patting the cage. He then turned to Itachi Uchiha, who was standing beside him. "Everything is settled. You can release the Tsukuyomi now!"
"Don't you need a little more time?" Itachi asked softly, looking at Naruto's smile. "Once we leave the Tsukuyomi, your memories will be sealed again."
"Ha, it's okay," Naruto said with a glance at the Nine-Tails. "We still have a long road ahead. This time, we can avoid a lot of tragedy... I'm counting on you too, Itachi!"
"Tch, just hurry up and get back to reality!" the Nine-Tails grumbled. "I have to figure out how to make this brat train his taijutsu. The hard part is still ahead!"
"I understand," Itachi nodded seriously. The Mangekyo Sharingan in his eyes began to spin, and the black-and-white world of Tsukuyomi gradually crumbled.
Itachi watched as Naruto's figure shrank, becoming illusory again. He lowered his head and murmured to himself, "What an incredible person you are, Naruto. For both you and Orochimaru, going back to the past to change the future must be incredibly difficult..."
Once the Tsukuyomi space completely crumbled, Naruto and Itachi's consciousness returned to their bodies.
Since the time experienced within Tsukuyomi was under Itachi's complete control, only a moment had passed in the real world.
Immediately upon his return, Itachi felt a change in his body. His illness was improving, and his declining eyesight was slowly recovering. The power of the Yang Seal was beyond anything he had imagined. Fortunately, these changes were internal, known only to him. He covered his eyes and knelt, telling his partner, "Kisame, let's go."
"Mr. Itachi?" Kisame Hoshigaki looked suspiciously at Naruto in the distance. "Something seems wrong with that brat. Your dōjutsu worked, didn't it?"
"No, it was a draw," Itachi shook his head, his face turning grim. "His spiritual power is immense. Even I couldn't completely break his will."
Kisame didn't hesitate. His face filled with concern as he quickly helped Itachi up, and the two retreated.
Sasuke Uchiha leaped up to chase them, but Anko Mitarashi stopped him. "Don't chase them," she said in a low voice. "Let's check on this kid's injuries first."
Sasuke's expression was complicated. "Alright..." Having experienced Tsukuyomi himself, he understood the pain it caused. And this time, Naruto had suffered through it because of him.
Naruto's brain was protecting itself, his memories receding like a tide. He could only clutch his head and collapse to the ground, groaning in pain. "It hurts so much..."
"Let's get him to the hospital!" Sasuke said, his expression tense. He immediately moved to help Naruto up. When Itachi had used Tsukuyomi on him, he'd been hospitalized for a while to recover from the mental damage.
Just as Sasuke was forcing his teammate to his feet, Naruto grabbed his arm and gritted his teeth. "Sasuke, don't worry..."
He had experienced this kind of pain many times before.
Once his memories of the future were sealed away, the pain in Naruto's head gradually subsided, and his mind returned to normal.
Besides Sasuke, the Nine-Tails inside Naruto had also experienced the flood of memories. At that moment, it couldn't help but ask with genuine concern, "Hey, Naruto, are you okay?"
"Hmm?"
The next moment, Naruto's consciousness appeared in his mental space. He looked at the giant demon fox, who wore a look of concern, then pressed his temples and said coldly, "Nine-Tails, are you plotting something again?"
The expression on the Nine-Tails' face froze.
This amnesiac Naruto was really annoying.
However, the Nine-Tails remembered the Naruto who had been Hokage for a hundred years, the one who had worked so hard to earn its trust that they could entrust their lives to each other. Now, that heavy burden was on its shoulders. It was its turn to work hard and earn Naruto's recognition.
Perhaps this was karma. What goes around, comes around.
The giant fox lay down, snorted, and mumbled, "What a cursed fate..."
Naruto looked up in confusion. "What did you say?"
"Get out. I'm going to rest." After the Nine-Tails spoke, it closed its eyes. Now that it possessed Naruto's memories, it needed to plan their path forward.
First, it had to gain Naruto's trust quickly and convince him to open the seal. Not only would that allow Naruto to borrow its chakra without reservation, but it could also draw out natural energy to synthesize the Sage of Six Paths' senjutsu chakra for him. At that point, Naruto's strength would reach a whole new level.
"So weird..." Naruto frowned and left the mental space.
The Nine-Tails raised its head and watched the blond genin leave, a grin on its face. "Hmph, let's just treat it as paying off a debt."
Outside Granny Cat's warehouse, Sasuke stared nervously at Naruto's face. "What's wrong, Naruto? Are you still not feeling well? Was it a mental injury from Itachi's Tsukuyomi?"
"No, I'm fine now," Naruto said, coming to his senses. He suppressed the urge to overthink it and said in a low voice, "It was probably just the Nine-Tails playing tricks again."
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Bonus:
Nine-Tails Brand Cheat is Online!
Naruto: Everyone else is trying to get cheats, but I'm creating them!
Nine-Tails: The problem is you don't even listen to me! You don't know how to use the cheat!
Naruto: Just be more understanding...
Nine-Tails: If you would just open the seal, you could become the God of Shinobi right now, but the current you won't do it!
Naruto: You have to guide me slowly, teach me how to use the cheat...
Nine-Tails: You think I have that kind of patience?
Naruto: Think about me back then! I slowly earned your recognition, didn't I?
Nine-Tails: I'll only put up with this for a little while...