"Kid, I think you should be clear about one thing. The day you were born was the day your parents died by my claws, wasn't it?"
Inside the cage, Kurama's tails lowered behind it, and its beastly eyes stared straight at Naruto as it spoke.
Hearing this, Naruto remained silent for a long time. One person and one beast remained in a stalemate in the space.
After a long while, Naruto raised his head and called out to Kurama, "Hey! Kurama."
"Hmm?"
Kurama, who was wondering if Naruto would lose control and was about to get a grip on its Chakra, heard Naruto call it. It looked over, puzzled.
Then, it saw Naruto with a serious expression, saying, "From now on, let's work together to beat up the person who controls you."
"Stinky brat! Did you not understand what I said?!" Kurama roared in a fit of rage, and the entire sealed space instantly surged.
Naruto ignored the commotion in the sealed space, just looking at Kurama calmly and slowly saying, "I know, but dad said you were being controlled by someone."
"Are you trying to mislead me?" Kurama's beastly eyes, tinged with doubt, stared at the small Naruto in front of it.
"Mislead?" Naruto was stunned at first, then realized what Kurama was talking about.
He shook his head and said, "No, I'm inviting you to beat up the person who controlled you when the time comes. As for your hatred, let's face it together."
"No matter if you want revenge or whatever, I hope that one day I can erase the malice in your heart."
"No matter how difficult it is, I will definitely do it."
Naruto said, patting his chest, "I, Naruto, am a person who will become Hokage."
"You…"
This time, Kurama was so shocked by Naruto that it couldn't speak.
Its giant fox face was filled with disbelief. As a being that could perceive malice, Kurama knew clearly at this moment that Naruto genuinely meant what he said.
"Heh heh hahahaha!" Kurama laughed with a wide grin, as if in mockery.
"Naruto! If you truly think that, then come and talk to me after you've taken actual action."
"Prove it to me with action!"
Naruto, who was standing in front of the cage, was about to speak, but in the next instant, he was kicked out of the sealed apace by Kurama.
"Stuck-up Kurama! So rude!"
Naruto, now awake, yelled unhappily, but then looked down at the seal on his stomach, reaching out to touch it.
"Just you wait, Kurama."
After today's birthday, Naruto suddenly felt that perhaps his Nine-Tails Jinchuriki identity wasn't a misfortune.
Even with this identity, didn't he still have his teacher, Shikamaru, and others?
And Kurama…
Just as his dad said, it wasn't so willing to be sealed inside his body. So, Naruto wanted to share his happiness with Kurama.
—
"Naruto…"
Kurama, who had kicked Naruto out of the sealed space, murmured softly inside the cage.
Its eyes glanced to the side and it asked, "Minato, aren't you going to come out?"
A ripple flashed, and Minato appeared with a jar. But his figure was exceptionally transparent, and he was currently scratching his head, looking at Kurama.
"I just wanted to sense Naruto's birthday party. I didn't expect him to come in so quickly."
When Naruto came in earlier, Minato had disappeared immediately. After all, in his current state, he felt it was best not to let Naruto see him. Otherwise, what would have been a happy birthday party would become less perfect because of him.
Kurama lay down unhappily, saying, "Hmph, in your current state, no one can help you except the Sage of Six Paths."
Minato shook his head with a bitter smile. "Sage of Six Paths? It's enough to see Naruto grown up and to be with him for this period."
Minato said to Kurama with a proud expression, "But, Kurama, how about it, do you believe what I said now?"
"Tch, anyone can say pretty words. Get lost, don't bother me." Kurama glanced disdainfully at Minato, then closed its eyes.
"Naruto, you've really grown up well." Minato looked outside the sealed space, his eyes narrowed in a smile.
—
The next day.
Naruto woke up on time, put on the clothes Shinji had given him, and the shoes that were Shikamaru and Choji's gift. Then he put on the goggles from Hinata.
As he was about to leave, he saw Sasuke's gift box, thought for a moment, and put on the heaviest weights he currently carried.
"Let's go!"
— — —
In the classroom, Kiba looked at Naruto, who was in brand new clothes, and raised an eyebrow, saying, "Yo, Naruto, you finally decided to change out of your old-fashioned clothes?"
Naruto didn't care about Kiba's mockery and asked, "How about it? Cool, right?"
"Uh…"
Kiba, who was waiting for Naruto to retort, could only nod helplessly when he saw Naruto act like this.
"Yes."
He finished speaking and walked away. Dealing with Naruto like this was so boring.
Naruto hurried to Hinata and asked, "Hinata! Look, cool, right?"
Being spoken to by Naruto in front of so many classmates, Hinata's cheeks flushed crimson. She lowered her head and replied, "Yes, Naruto-kun looks very cool today."
Ino, who had just entered the classroom, jumped up and put her arm around Naruto's shoulder, saying teasingly, "Yo, our Naruto is so energetic today."
Naruto said, "Good morning! Ino, Shikamaru, Choji!"
"Morning." Shikamaru yawned in response.
Choji said, "Naruto, I was just thinking of looking for you. I called out to you downstairs and you didn't come out."
"Hehe, I was so excited, I forgot." Naruto scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed.
Normally, he would wait for Shikamaru and Choji to call him. But today, he was so happy that he forgot.
"Alright, I'm going to lie down for a bit, I went to bed too late last night." Shikamaru waved his hand and walked to his seat.
"Shikamaru is really… always so lazy every day." Ino, who was whispering to Hinata beside her, pouted.
—
In the classroom office, Shinji was listening to Kubo's report regarding the Apprentice Ninja assessment situation.
Shinji looked at Kubo in front of him and said warmly, "Kubo-senpai, thank you for your hard work during this time."
When Asuma and he had presented the proposal at the meeting, Kubo was the first teacher to apply to be an assessor.
"Not at all, Shinji-san, these are the situations of most of the students. Next, I plan to persuade some unsuitable students, or students with other abilities." Kubo waved his hand and pointed to the document in Shinji's hand.
Shinji nodded with a smile, not refusing. "This matter will be handled by a dedicated person, but I think Kubo-senpai, as the teacher of these students, is also qualified to participate."
The one to do this would naturally be Hiruzen, even if it might be a Shadow Clone. But Shinji felt that having Kubo, as the teacher of these Apprentice Ninja, join in might have a different effect.