"Big fox? Could it be that Kurama is acting up again?"
Otsutsuki Hagoromo naturally noticed what was happening with Naruto as well. A kind smile appeared on his face.
"Looks like he knows I'm here."
"Kurama? Who's that? Are you talking about the big fox?"
Naruto looked confused. He had no idea what this unfamiliar old man meant by "Kurama."
The Nine-Tails had only agreed to cooperate and provide Naruto with chakra after being completely beaten into submission by Aoba.
Although Naruto and the Nine-Tails had gotten along fairly well over the past few years, and the fox had gradually accepted the relationship, it still lacked the shared resolve they had in the original story when facing life-and-death situations together.
So they still couldn't truly connect heart to heart.
As for a name like Kurama, there was no way the Nine-Tails would tell Naruto.
Tailed beasts cared about their pride too.
There was nothing that could be done about that.
After all, whether it was the Akatsuki, Uchiha Obito, or Uchiha Madara, all those people who threatened the tailed beasts had basically been dealt with by Aoba before they even had the chance to target Naruto and the Nine-Tails.
"Kurama is the Nine-Tails' name. I was the one who gave it to him."
Hearing Naruto's question, Otsutsuki Hagoromo nodded cheerfully.
"He liked the name very much back then."
"Huh?", Naruto froze for a moment after hearing that.
Then he noticed that the Nine-Tails, who had been making noise inside his stomach a moment ago, had suddenly quieted down and seemed unusually obedient.
That reaction surprised Naruto.
'Does that mean the fox really agrees with what this old grandpa said?'
He immediately looked at Otsutsuki Hagoromo with a different light in his eyes.
"Then Grandpa, are you really close with the big fox?"
"Hahaha! We were very close."
After hearing Naruto's question, Otsutsuki Hagoromo could not help recalling the past. Back when he left, Kurama had cried the hardest.
For a moment, the bad mood caused by Aoba repeatedly irritating him improved quite a bit.
"So amazing!"
Naruto spoke from the bottom of his heart.
Hearing the praise, the smile on Otsutsuki Hagoromo's face became even gentler.
Even if this was only a strand of chakra, Naruto still counted as half his son.
Otsutsuki Hagoromo directly raised his hand and placed it on Naruto's shoulder. With a kind smile, he said, "Naruto, don't resist. I'll go say hello to Kurama."
"Huh?"
Naruto did not immediately listen to him. Instead, he first looked at Aoba.
Only after Aoba nodded at him did he lower his guard.
After that, the two stood there without speaking.
It looked like they had both entered the sealing space to talk.
Aoba did not interfere too much after seeing this.
With Otsutsuki Hagoromo there, Naruto should be able to fully master the Nine-Tails' power.
Then he looked toward Sasuke, who had silently walked over.
Unlike Naruto's carefree attitude, Sasuke's expression was much more serious.
His eyes stayed fixed on Otsutsuki Hagoromo.
More accurately, they were fixed on Otsutsuki Hagoromo's eyes.
'The Rinnegan!'
There was even intense fighting spirit in his gaze.
Although Nagato had only stayed in Konoha for a short time for treatment, Sasuke, who had a strong obsession with power, naturally knew about those eyes.
Back when he had just obtained the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, Sasuke had even thought about challenging him.
But Nagato's legs had already healed at the time, and he had returned to the Hidden Rain Village, so Sasuke could only give up on the idea.
He never expected another one to appear in front of him now.
Even if this old man sounded impressive and had even named the tailed beasts, he was still an Uchiha.
An Uchiha never falls behind anyone, even Aoba, whom he had never managed to defeat.
He only believed that he still was not strong enough, not that there was a problem with the Uchiha clan.
Aoba naturally saw through his thoughts from his expression and could not help finding it a little amusing. He directly said, "He's the new teacher I found for you two."
"Teacher?"
Sasuke came back to his senses after hearing that, and the fighting spirit in him weakened quite a bit.
But the way he looked at Otsutsuki Hagoromo became more scrutinizing, and there was also more suspicion in his eyes.
"What can he teach us?"
"There's actually quite a lot he can teach. After all, he's—hm?"
Boom!
Aoba originally wanted to briefly introduce Otsutsuki Hagoromo's identity, but he was interrupted by a sudden eruption of chakra.
Naruto, who had been quietly standing beside them, suddenly burst out with an enormous and terrifying golden chakra.
The surrounding air instantly shook violently, and even the ground beneath their feet began cracking.
The chakra wrapped around him in layers of powerful airflow.
Right after that, the golden chakra grew even stronger, like blazing golden flames. It formed a chakra cloak over Naruto's body, while the hem swayed and rolled like fire.
Aoba raised his brows when he saw this.
'That really is fast.'
Though it also made sense. During the short time he had been talking with Sasuke, a long while had probably already passed inside the sealing space.
In the original story, when Naruto learned the Summoning Technique and fell off the cliff, he spent ages talking inside the sealing space while outside he was still in the same spot.
But compared to Aoba's calm reaction, Sasuke could no longer stay composed.
"Th-This... how is this possible?"
Sasuke stared at Naruto in disbelief.
He could tell Naruto's current state was related to the Nine-Tails.
Every time Naruto borrowed the Nine-Tails' chakra, his whole body would glow golden, but Sasuke could feel that Naruto's current condition was on an entirely different level than before.
Just the amount of chakra alone had suddenly increased several times over.
Previously, Naruto had already been able to match him evenly by relying on the Nine-Tails' chakra together with the Eight Gates.
He never expected Naruto to suddenly become this much stronger again.
That made Sasuke feel a crushing pressure.