It had never imagined that the two people who had beaten it most mercilessly in this world were both descendants of the Sage of Six Paths.
Seeing Kurama sink into something dangerously close to depression, Arata's mischievous streak resurfaced.
He cleared his throat deliberately, drawing Kurama's attention, and then added casually,
"Actually… both the Senju clan and the Uzumaki clan are descendants of Asura."
For a moment, the Nine-Tails didn't react.
"The Uzumaki clan?" it repeated blankly.
Arata nodded, suppressing the smile threatening to curl at his lips.
"For example—Uzumaki Mito, Uzumaki Kushina… and the current one, Uzumaki Naruto."
Silence.
There was a saying: if something doesn't erupt in silence, it perishes in silence.
Kurama's fur slowly stood on end.
Vast quantities of Nine-Tails chakra began to boil violently, to the point that the air itself seemed to warp.
The overwhelming surge forced Arata.....who had been lying atop Kurama.....to be shoved back through the gaps in the iron gate.
Realizing he might have pushed things a little too far, Arata immediately poured chakra into the sealing array on the gate to counteract the corrosive chakra.
As long as Kurama's chakra didn't leak past the seal, Naruto would remain unaffected.....even if the Nine-Tails went completely berserk.
For that reason, Arata didn't try to stop Kurama's outburst, focusing instead on reinforcing the seal.
In truth, the seal left behind by the Fourth Hokage had been constructed in an extremely short time...but it was nearly flawless.
Not only did it firmly confine the Nine-Tails, it also prevented its chakra from corroding Naruto's mind.
Kurama's chakra, being a mass of negative emotions, was anything but benign.
Embedded within it were countless destabilizing impulses capable of driving people mad.
From this alone, one could see just how profound Minato Namikaze's mastery of sealing techniques had been.
To create such a perfect Eight Trigrams Seal in such a short span of time....and to design it so that the Nine-Tails' chakra could be converted into Naruto's own....was nothing short of astonishing.
Truly worthy of the title of genius.
Other prodigies might advance faster or possess sharper combat instincts, but the Fourth Hokage was a complete anomaly...equally peerless in combat and invention.
Even the Rasengan Naruto frequently used, along with its later evolutions, were all derived from Minato's original creation.
After some time passed and Kurama finished venting its rage, finally calming down, Arata strolled back through the sealed iron gate.
When Kurama saw him again, it snorted irritably.
"You're still here? What now?"
At the moment, just seeing someone from the Uchiha clan was enough to put it in a foul mood.
Arata paid no attention to the hostility.
"I just want to tell you about the current situation of the child you're sealed inside."
Kurama, already sprawled on the ground, closed its eyes deliberately, making it clear it didn't want to engage.
Seeing the Nine-Tails acting like a sulking child, Arata remained unbothered and continued calmly:
"The child's name is Uzumaki Naruto. He's been an orphan since birth. He's just a kid....an optimistic, kind-hearted one at that.
He doesn't harbor prejudice or hatred toward tailed beasts."
"I've already spoken to him and encouraged him to try befriending you. Now, the rest depends on you."
"Also, some time ago, I received news that the Eight-Tails, Gyūki, in the Hidden Cloud Village has found a like-minded jinchūriki.
Their relationship is excellent. He's even referred to as a 'perfect jinchūriki.'"
"So you could try it as well...try being Naruto's companion.
Don't see your jinchūriki as shackles, but as a bond."
While Arata spoke, he didn't notice that although Kurama's eyes remained closed, its ears twitched faintly the entire time.
Once he finished, Arata didn't linger. His consciousness withdrew directly from Naruto's inner world.
After Arata left Naruto's body, Kurama clearly sensed his departure.
A long time later, Kurama's low, resonant voice echoed through the underground labyrinth, tinged with complicated, indescribable emotions.
"Uzumaki Naruto… Uzumaki Naruto…"
Arata, of course, was unaware of this.
When he returned to the physical world, he found Naruto already asleep on the bed, having grown bored while waiting.
Arata smiled, but he hadn't forgotten the true purpose of this visit.
He immediately activated his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and cast a dōjutsu on the sleeping Naruto.
'Replication Eye' ..... Activated.
Invisible waves radiated from Arata's Mangekyō Sharingan, sweeping across Naruto's body.
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