"Yo... Kurama..." Lexon greeted Kurama from outside the cage.
The sudden voice startled the Nine-Tails, who was playing a game inside.
It paused the game, looked at Lexon outside the cage, and said with some dissatisfaction, "What are you doing! Can't you stop scaring this old man? I wasn't even fully focused on the game, but I still didn't sense your entry or presence. I think you're scaring me on purpose!"
"It wasn't intentional," Lexon said, waving his hand.
In fact, it wasn't that Lexon was deliberately hiding his aura; rather, his strength had become terrifyingly immense. He had reached a level of resonance with this world where, unless he intentionally drew attention to himself, none of his actions could be detected through sensory means. Paradoxically, only the most ordinary naked eye could notice his existence, which was why Kurama couldn't sense him and could only see him with its eyes.
Kurama didn't dwell too much on the issue, as this wasn't the first or second time Lexon had been like this.
Switching the subject, it grumbled, "Why are you here again? You're interrupting my gaming time!"
"Playing games all the time isn't exactly good for you," Lexon replied.
He always felt that he was "slightly" responsible for turning the Nine-Tails into a shut-in fox, so he would occasionally offer a word of advice.
Hearing Lexon's words, Kurama waved its fox hand impatiently and said, "Alright, alright, you say the same thing every time you come. I'm tired of hearing it... Just tell me, what do you want?"
"It's something good," Lexon said.
"New games or new anime?" Kurama's eyes instantly lit up.
'It really has been deeply corrupted,' Lexon thought to himself as he saw the fox's reaction.
"It's about releasing your seal," Lexon told it.
"Eh~" Hearing this, Kurama let out a vague sound of indifference, curling its lip.
It was clearly as uninterested as could be.
'Could your disappointment be any more obvious?' Lexon felt a bit speechless.
In the past, being sealed was a matter of life and death, but now that he offered to unseal it, the fox didn't seem to care at all.
"I'm not just releasing the seal to give you freedom; there are other reasons too." Lexon's goal wasn't just to remove the Nine-Tails' shackles; he had other objectives as well.
"Whatever, whatever, I don't care," Kurama said with a look of complete indifference.
Its life inside the cage was actually quite comfortable now. Compared to the past—living in the middle of nowhere, being controlled by some Sharingan every now and then, or having some bastard show up saying 'You're too strong, I must seal you' and then one-shotting it—its current life as a Tailed Beast was much better.
Here, that brat Naruto would occasionally come in to play games or watch anime with it...
Although Kurama didn't say it aloud, deep down, it felt quite happy to have someone to play with.
'Maybe I should just stay here as a squatter even after the seal is removed?' Kurama thought to itself.
It was already considering becoming a long-term resident inside Naruto's body.
"Then let's bring Naruto in first," Lexon said to the Nine-Tails.
His "other objectives" wouldn't work without Naruto present.
"Fine," Kurama nodded in response.
In front of Lexon, Kurama no longer possessed even a hint of its former ferocity. As time passed, it felt that Lexon's strength was becoming increasingly terrifying. It had even begun to think that the aura Lexon emitted had surpassed that of the old man it respected most in its heart—the legendary figure known to the world as the Sage of Six Paths...
"By the way, that brat Naruto's mental state has been very low because of the deaths of those people in Konoha... Do you have any ideas?" Before pulling Naruto into the seal space, Kurama suddenly asked Lexon.
"What? Are you actually worried about Naruto now?" The corners of Lexon's mouth curled slightly as he teased the Nine-Tails.
"Hmph... I just find him an eyesore when he's like that," Kurama said, crossing its arms and turning its fox head away.
"Is that so..." Lexon's face was full of amusement.
"What are you laughing at! I don't care about that brat at all!" Seeing Lexon's expression, Kurama shouted before he could say anything else.
'A tsundere fox is truly a tsundere fox,' Lexon thought, but he stopped teasing it. If he kept laughing, the fox might explode in embarrassment.
Thus, Lexon said, "You're just a fox, so don't worry about so much. Just leave everything to me."
"Okay," Kurama nodded directly without questioning him.
In its understanding, with Lexon's power, there really was no need for it to worry...
"Then I'll pull Naruto in," Kurama said.
"Go ahead," Lexon replied.
The next moment, Kurama waved its fox arm.
Another figure appeared in front of the cage. It was Naruto.
His expression was desolate, and he looked somewhat confused by his sudden appearance in the seal space.
"Stupid fox... Lexon..." Naruto's voice was low and weak.
He had been present when the Uchiha matter was resolved, and the slight rift between him and Lexon had already vanished. In his heart, Lexon was still his good friend.
"Brat, what are you so sad about... It's just a few dead people... Those people weren't even good to you, and that old man who visited occasionally harbored ill intentions toward you too... If they're dead, they're dead!" Seeing Naruto like this, Kurama clearly wanted to comfort him, so it spoke up.
However, Kurama was obviously not very good at comforting people. Its words didn't improve Naruto's mood at all; instead, they made him look even more dejected.
"Stupid fox, shut up..." Naruto spoke with no energy at all.
"What? You brat... Come, play some games with me and cheer up!" Kurama, having no self-awareness, was still trying to use its unique method to make Naruto feel better.
"I don't want to play right now..." Naruto replied.
"What? You won't even play games? That won't do! Hurry up and come with me—"
"Kurama, stop talking for a bit," Lexon interrupted the Nine-Tails, telling it to be quiet.
As his voice fell, Kurama stopped speaking. It seemed to realize that its words weren't exactly having a comforting effect.
"Naruto," Lexon suddenly called his name.
Naruto looked up at him.
"Have you ever been curious about your parents?" Lexon said to Naruto.
"My parents?" At the mention of this topic, Naruto's attention finally shifted away from the destruction of Konoha.
"I have been curious..." Naruto said. "But the Third Hokage said..."
Before he could finish, Lexon spoke.
"He lied to you."
Lexon didn't even need to know what Sarutobi Hiruzen had said to Naruto to reach that conclusion.
"The Third Hokage lied to me?" Naruto was confused and puzzled.
Immediately after, he stared at Lexon, asking urgently for an answer, "Then what happened to my parents? Lexon, do you know something?"
Under Naruto's urgent gaze, Lexon didn't answer immediately. Instead, he took a step forward and stood before the cage.
"The answer you want..." As he spoke, Lexon raised his arm, his fingers moving toward the talisman pasted on the outside of the cage, and continued, "...is right here."
In the next instant, his fingers pulled downward, and the talisman was ripped away.
The seal space suddenly shook.
The cage doors swung wide open.
A violent gust of wind erupted from within, blowing Lexon and Naruto's hair upward.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]