"Hmph. Brat," Kurama said, rising to his full height and looking down at Naruto with burning crimson eyes. "Do you really think you can defeat me now?"
This was the moment Kurama had been waiting for.
But waiting didn't mean going easy.
"I'm here to defeat you," Naruto replied without hesitation, "or earn your acknowledgment. And I will succeed."
Minato and Kushina were watching. Naruto could feel it.
This time, there was no second attempt waiting for him. No safety net. No retreat.
Kurama's lips curled upward. "Then show me."
Naruto brought his hands together.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Dozens of Narutos burst into existence across the seal space.
"That won't be enough!" Kurama roared.
The shockwave alone blasted forward like a storm. Naruto felt his chest tighten. Just a roar carried this much force. No wonder the tailed beasts were feared.
Yet when the dust settled, not a single clone had vanished.
Kurama's eyes narrowed, locking onto the faint wind armor shimmering around Naruto.
"So that's it…"
Naruto grinned. "Let's go!"
All the clones charged at once, each forming a Rasengan.
"Rasengan Barrage!"
Kurama's nine tails swept outward, crushing several clones instantly. But others slipped through, slamming their Rasengan into Kurama's massive body.
The impact forced Kurama back only a few meters.
He laughed. "That's it? Are you scratching me?"
The nine tails drew together. Above Kurama's head, dark blue and black chakra condensed rapidly.
"Bijuu Bomb!"
Minato and Kushina stiffened. They knew that power all too well.
"It'll be fine," Fujimoto Tōma said calmly. "The seal space can handle it."
Naruto didn't panic. Power meant nothing if it couldn't hit.
His body had already gone still.
Golden markings spread around his eyes.
Sage Mode.
The Bijuu Bomb shrank, compressed, then vanished into Kurama's mouth. His cheeks bulged.
At that moment, Naruto moved.
Clones grabbed him and hurled him upward. Half the clones vanished just as the beam fired, their chakra returning to Naruto as the blast tore through empty space.
In Sage Mode, Naruto's speed soared.
He dropped from above, chakra swelling behind his back.
Kurama's eyes widened. That chakra… it wasn't a Bijuu Bomb, but it was close.
"Massive Rasengan!"
Naruto and the remaining clones slammed the attack into Kurama head-on.
The seal space shook.
Kurama's enormous body was hurled backward.
Naruto didn't stop.
Breathing deeply, he gathered everything he had left. Memories flooded his mind. Training. Pain. Laughter.
His parents.
White light screamed into existence in his hand.
"Did it work…?" Naruto whispered, eyes blazing.
"Senjutsu: Wind Style – Rasenshuriken!"
He charged.
Kurama stared at the spinning blade of light and felt it clearly.
Sage chakra.
So the brat had come this far.
Kurama closed his eyes and didn't move.
The pain never came.
When he opened his eyes, Naruto was standing right in front of him, hand outstretched.
"I won," Naruto said softly. "And I don't want to hurt you. Thank you… for everything. Please keep fighting with me."
Kurama snorted. "Hmph. You beat me. Do whatever you want with my power."
He paused, then reluctantly bumped Naruto's fist with a massive claw.
In the mindscape beyond, Minato and Kushina finally exhaled.
"That Sage Mode…" Minato murmured. Naruto had already surpassed what he himself could maintain.
And the Rasenshuriken…
Naruto had completed the technique Minato never could.
"No wonder they call him unpredictable," Tōma said quietly.
Moments later, Naruto returned to the real world.
Golden chakra erupted around him.
Six whisker marks sharpened into vertical lines. A radiant cloak formed, marked with black magatama. His eyes turned crimson with slit pupils.
Kurama Mode.
"And he did it in one go…" Tōma muttered, impressed.
Naruto stared at his glowing hands. "This… is our power?"
Kurama's voice echoed. "Don't question it."
"This is power only a jinchūriki can use," Tōma said. "Kurama alone couldn't do this either."
Naruto nodded slowly.
"Now try Sage Mode again," Tōma added. "Let Kurama gather natural energy."
"…We can combine them?" Naruto asked.
"Try."
Kurama agreed.
Natural energy poured in, far more than Naruto had ever drawn alone.
When he opened his eyes again, the pupils had changed.
A cross-shaped gaze. Sage Mode and Kurama Mode, perfectly fused.
In one day, Naruto went from a five-minute Sage Mode limit to a complete Nine-Tails Sage Mode.
The leap was absolute.