After bidding farewell to Hiruzen Sarutobi, little Naruto returned home alone.
The feeling of being monitored had completely vanished.
'Now that I can refine Chakra, I can immediately sense the approximate location of the Ninja who are monitoring me.'
'It seems... future surveillance might still happen, but it definitely won't be as intense as before, where they almost treated me as blind.'
Upon returning home, the first thing he did was throw his cotton coat and scarf into the washing machine.
Then he continued to work on filling his little stomach.
After eating and drinking his fill, little Naruto rubbed his round, bulging belly.
'Once I've digested a bit, I'll try refining Chakra again to see the exact consumption.'
Akimichi Choza: "Oh my, this child is practically a combination of Minato and Kushina."
Nara Shikaku nodded slightly.
Nara Shikaku: "That's right, this child's future potential is unimaginable. Of course, he still has one hurdle to overcome."
Nara Shikaku: "If I'm not mistaken, Minato, you left some leeway in your seal, didn't you?"
Hmm?
Inside Shinigami's stomach, Minato blinked.
Then he rubbed his head, smiling faintly.
Minato Namikaze: Yes, as expected of Shikaku-senpai, I did leave a key.
Minato Namikaze: At the time, I considered using two Four Symbols Seals, a double seal... This is part of the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style.
Minato Namikaze: Its purpose is to convert the Kurama Chakra leaking from between the Four Symbols Seals into Naruto's Chakra.
Minato Namikaze did not reveal everything at once.
He also had his own considerations.
Senju Tobirama: A very good idea, no wonder that child has such talent.
Senju Tobirama: I'm talking about Black-Framed Naruto.
Uzumaki Naruto: "..."
Actually, you don't need to specifically remind me.
This time, Naruto, somewhat unwillingly, actively punched himself on the head.
Damn whisper, appear quickly!
If you appear, I'll immediately reject you!
Even though we're both Naruto, I won't lose to my black-framed self!
Night.
After several attempts, little Naruto ended his training.
He felt a bit drowsy.
Chakra Refining was still a bit too early for him at the moment.
That's what little Naruto thought.
Normally at this time, even if little Naruto felt sleepy due to his biological clock.
He would absolutely not feel so drowsy, or even a little fatigued.
Thinking this, little Naruto unconsciously closed his eyes.
Buzz—!!!
In the blink of an eye, it was the latter half of the night.
Little Naruto suddenly opened his eyes.
His mind was filled with the pair of enormous eyes he had seen earlier in his 'dream'.
Red pupils, with a vertical '1'.
Extremely oppressive.
In the dream, little Naruto seemed to fall into an endless dark space, with only those enormous eyes before him.
And they emitted a chilling red glow.
Hoo—
He took a deep breath.
Little Naruto's back was already drenched in cold sweat.
But the next second, little Naruto suddenly curved his lips.
"Fox demon... It must be you, fox demon!"
Those eyes, though terrifying, little Naruto felt a sense of familiarity.
Because he had seen those eyes in the mirror before.
His eyes had looked like that when his emotions had fluctuated violently.
"Hmph! Brat! Fox demon? Are you talking about yourself?"
Little Naruto's eyes widened.
Then he quickly looked around.
It was pitch black and silent.
He released his senses.
There was no feeling of being monitored.
So... where did this voice come from?
Wait... why do I feel a little comfortable? It's that feeling!
"Fox demon, you're talking about me, and you too." Little Naruto took a deep breath, calming his inner self.
This change immediately made little Naruto realize.
Everything was due to the Chakra Refining Technique.
Which means—the change only occurred after he refined Chakra.
He could now talk to the fox demon inside him.
"Fox demon? That's what those foolish ants call me, and you admit it?"
"Is this Jinchuriki of mine so worthless?"
"Why, after refining Chakra, don't you immediately seek revenge on them?"
"Lately, you've been chattering in my ear from time to time. Now, I've appeared. You can confidently do what you want to do. Don't resist my power, and I will absolutely protect you."
As soon as it appeared, it couldn't help but expose its intentions?
Little Naruto naturally wouldn't be swayed by Kurama's words.
Why?
Why would this fox demon help him?
And, not resist its power?
Little Naruto's lips curled slightly. If he were trapped inside someone, unable to get out, he would definitely try to entice that person, then take over, or... unlock the 'cage' holding him.
"Alright." Little Naruto replied with a smile.
"Hiss—"
Many people gasped.
Putting themselves in his shoes, in this situation, if their roles were reversed, they might truly have been swayed by Kurama.
Uzumaki Kushina: "Kurama, are you looking for death?"
Uzumaki Kushina: "Oh, right, you have a name, Ku... Kurama? Pfft~"
Uzumaki Kushina: "Ahem, Kurama, speak up!"
Kushina's voice came from the chat room.
Inside the Sealing Space.
Kurama lay on the ground, not even lifting an eyelid.
As if it heard nothing, saw nothing.
Uzumaki Mito: Kurama... so you have a name.
Kurama: "..."
Forget it, I won't stoop to the level of these two ignorant women.
Senju Hashirama: Hahaha~
Senju Hashirama's laughter came through.
Kurama almost broke down.
But in the end, between anger and forbearance, it still chose to swallow its anger.
Inside the Sealing Space, Kurama slightly lifted an eyelid.
"He agreed, so let's act."
Little Naruto: "Alright~"
"My power is beyond your imagination. You only need to get a little, and the entire Konoha, including that so-called Third Hokage, will be no match for you."
Little Naruto: "Alright~"
"Brat!"
"You don't believe me?!"
"I do~" Little Naruto nodded with a beaming smile.
"Damn it!"
Kurama's eyes widened, and it growled: "You and your..."
Beep—
Little Naruto frowned slightly.
He felt as if a lot of his Chakra had disappeared.
Chakra wouldn't just disappear for no reason.
Immediately, little Naruto sensed something.
He lifted his shirt and looked at his lower abdomen.
It felt somewhat hot there.
Upon seeing this, little Naruto saw the 'incantations' of the Eight Trigrams Seal.
"What is this...?"
Little Naruto clearly hadn't learned any related knowledge yet.
"A cage?"
"My... the cage that holds that fox demon?"
"The consumption of Chakra just now was because of this 'cage', right?"
"It also directly absorbed a lot of my Chakra... and interrupted my connection with the fox demon."
As he thought, drowsiness set in, and little Naruto quickly got out of bed to write down everything about his first communication with Kurama.
At the end, he also wrote: It's a very, very bad fox demon. It tried to entice me during our first conversation, and... it seems a bit tsundere.
Kurama: ???
Nonsense!
Inside the Sealing Space, Kurama couldn't see or hear anything about Naruto.
"The seal that just loosened has tightened again?"
"It's because that brat extracted Chakra..."
"Damn Minato Namikaze!!!"
In the Pure Land World, the Six Paths Sage's lips curled slightly, then he shook his head with a chuckle.
"Kurama was split into two by Minato, wasn't it?"
"Hehe~"
The Six Paths Sage wasn't too worried.
Even split into two, the Chakra would still be enough for Asura's reincarnation.
After all, when the Ten-Tails was split into nine Tailed Beasts, it was—
Splitting Chakra~
One share for Kurama, one share for Shukaku~
Another share for Kurama, and one for Matatabi too~