"Kid, come here."
Behind the Seal Gate, the massive fox lowered its head slightly, its enormous eyes gleaming as it beckoned Naruto.
"Come closer. I have something good for you."
"I remember you."
Naruto did not move.
He stared quietly at the huge fox through the bars of the Seal Gate for a long moment before speaking again.
"When I was 'fighting' Kaido… it was your power that protected me."
Naruto's memories of losing control in the Pirate World were vague and fragmented. He didn't remember much—only that when everything had gone wild, it seemed to be this fox's power that had shielded him. He also remembered the fox promising to lend him strength to kill Kaido.
"That's right," the Nine-Tails replied without hesitation.
It nodded, lifting a paw and curling it inward in a beckoning gesture. Its eyes narrowed into a smile.
"It was I who protected you. Now come—open this gate. I'll lend you even more power. Enough to defeat that dragon."
The Nine-Tails had not yet established true telepathy with Naruto. Nor could it peer into the outside world through him—especially with the system's interference isolating it.
It knew nothing about Naruto's full journey to the Pirate World.
It only remembered locking eyes with that dragon across the void… and Naruto's burning rage at the time.
That, it believed, would be enough.
"I don't need it anymore."
Naruto shook his head.
Then he looked straight at the fox and asked sincerely,
"You're lying to me, aren't you? I can feel that you hate me. You even want to kill me. Why?"
Naruto was young—but he wasn't foolish.
He could clearly sense the malice the fox harbored toward him. And for some reason, he had discovered that he could now feel other people's emotions.
Especially emotions directed at him.
The fox was smiling—but the hatred rolling off it was so intense that Naruto's skin prickled.
"Hmm?"
The Nine-Tails' eyes widened slightly.
"You can sense this old man's emotions?"
It stared at Naruto carefully, its expression growing serious.
"How did your Yin-chakra suddenly become so strong?" it asked slowly. "Kid… what happened to you?"
Since Naruto's birth, the Nine-Tails had been sealed within him. It knew his chakra far better than anyone else.
And yet now—
Naruto's Yin-attribute chakra had surged to a level nearly equal to his Yang-attribute chakra.
That was impossible.
"Yin chakra? What's that?"
Naruto didn't understand chakra attributes yet. He frowned, then asked something else instead.
"What is this place? Why are you imprisoned here? And what's our relationship?"
After a pause, he added quietly,
"Is it because of you… that the people in the Village call me a Big Fox?"
For the first time, things began to connect.
"Why am I imprisoned here?"
The Nine-Tails' expression twisted instantly.
It slammed a massive claw against the Seal Gate, the sound echoing violently through the space.
"You dare ask me why I'm imprisoned here?!"
If it weren't for that hateful old man…
If it weren't for the Fourth Hokage—
Not only had it been sealed, but half of its body had been forcibly torn away.
It was incomplete.
And this cage was the proof.
"Of course I'm asking you."
Naruto tilted his head, utterly serious.
"Who else would I be asking? Myself?"
"..."
The Nine-Tails stared at Naruto's small, earnest face.
Then it froze.
The anger boiling in its chest drained away.
"…Ridiculous," it muttered, lowering itself and lying down. "This old man is really getting angry at a kid who isn't even six years old."
"Hey! Big Fox!"
Naruto wasn't satisfied.
"You still haven't answered me! Why are you imprisoned inside my body?!"
Naruto already understood that this place was inside him—but why it was there, and why this fox was sealed inside him, remained unanswered.
His instincts told him the fox knew the truth.
"Tch."
The Nine-Tails clicked its tongue.
Having realized Naruto's age—and that deception wouldn't work—it completely lost interest. It turned away and retreated deeper into the seal, ignoring him entirely.
"Hey! Big Fox! Talk to me!"
Naruto called out for a while. When no answer came, his consciousness faded, and the sealed space dissolved around him.
"This kid…"
After Naruto left, the Nine-Tails reappeared near the Seal Gate. Its eyes flickered with unease.
Something was wrong.
Naruto's sudden surge in Yin-chakra made no sense.
And more troubling still—
For the past few days, the Nine-Tails had been unable to access the shared conscious space of the Tailed Beasts, as though some unknown force had isolated it completely.
And that dragon…
Everything felt off.
"Oh… I'm back."
Naruto opened his eyes.
After recalling what he'd just experienced, he let out a small sigh.
"So there really is a Big Fox inside my body."
Before, he'd felt wronged when the people of the Village called him a Big Fox.
Now that he knew the truth?
He felt even more wronged.
It's not like I asked for it! And that fox isn't cute at all!
"Oh—System!"
Only now did Naruto remember the system.
He hurriedly asked in his mind,
"System! I want to go back to Yamato! Take me back right now!"
[Sorry, Host. The first unconditional "Real Life" experience was a System benefit. To enter "Real Life" mode again, the Host must obtain the required qualification.]
"Then how do I get the qualification?" Naruto asked urgently.
[The Host must complete at least one "Virtual Experience," receive a "Good" life evaluation, and only then may qualify for another "Real Life" experience.]
"Then start it right now!" Naruto said without hesitation.
[Sorry. The Host has just completed a "Real Life" experience. For physical and mental safety, the Host must wait seven natural days before beginning another life experience.]
"Seven days?!"
Naruto clenched his fists in frustration.
"That's way too long!"
But no matter how annoyed he was, the system didn't budge.
Left with no choice, Naruto could only grit his teeth and wait.