Morning in Konoha.
Naruto stood on the balcony, beginning his daily training.
Whenever he sat here and occasionally gazed at the scenery, memories of the past would surface in his mind.
Naruto didn't know exactly how he arrived in this world.
Simply put—he had transmigrated.
And he had become the protagonist, the Child of Prophecy, the future Seventh Hokage, and the reincarnation of Asura's chakra in this lifetime…
Naruto Uzumaki.
In his previous life, Naruto had been a devoted fan of the Naruto series and knew the entire story by heart.
Transmigrating into this world felt like a dream come true.
"I am the Child of Prophecy, destined to save the ninja world."
"I will defeat every villain and become the Seventh Hokage."
"I will overturn every tragedy and bring smiles to everyone's faces. The Uchiha Clan… Neji and the Hyuga… Nagato… Obito…"
Whenever he thought about his dream—and the countless tragedies he could prevent—an uncontrollable joy would rise within his heart.
Yet that joy was invisible to others.
At least, nothing about his expression revealed it.
However, inside this body lived a long-term "tenant" capable of sensing every fluctuation in his emotions.
Drip… drip…
A dark spiritual world.
Deep within a sewer-like chamber.
Behind a massive iron gate sat an enormous fox-shaped beast.
Special sealing talismans strengthened the barrier, keeping the demon fox firmly imprisoned behind the iron bars.
Bored out of its mind, the fox sensed the host's emotional fluctuations and sneered.
"Hmph… If you think you can instantly learn chakra extraction just because that little white-eyed girl taught you, you'd better stop wasting your time."
A few days earlier—
Naruto had been passing through a small forest in the village when he encountered a young girl being bullied by several troublemakers.
As someone determined to become the Seventh Hokage, Naruto obviously couldn't ignore such a scene.
After a brief fight, Naruto rescued the girl and thoroughly taught the bullies a lesson.
I am Naruto Uzumaki.
But not that Naruto Uzumaki.
At the time, Naruto had stood over the defeated bullies with complete confidence.
According to the original storyline, Naruto should have been the one beaten to the ground.
But this time, he was the victor.
History had begun to change.
The butterfly effect had started to accumulate.
Yet some things still followed their destined course.
For example—
That simple act had earned him a lifelong admirer.
The girl's name was Hinata Hyuga.
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki—the man who will become Hokage!"
Naruto formed hand seals as Hinata had taught him and began extracting chakra, responding casually to the giant fox living inside him.
To achieve his dreams, he needed a solid foundation and overwhelming strength.
In other words…
Training was inevitable in the ninja world.
"Tch."
The Nine-Tails clicked its tongue, offering no comment.
It had heard those same words thousands of times already.
From the moment Naruto learned to speak, the fox had understood what kind of brat he was.
Just like his father…
The detestable Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
"But…"
Kurama narrowed its eyes and began observing Naruto carefully.
"Back then, Minato Namikaze used the Eight Trigrams Seal to imprison me inside this brat. Besides sealing me, the technique also acts like a purification system, continuously converting my chakra into pure chakra for the boy to use…"
Naturally, this unreasonable theft of its power made Kurama extremely dissatisfied.
Of course, the amount Naruto stole was insignificant compared to the vast ocean of chakra Kurama possessed.
"But the power of any seal will gradually weaken over time…"
The Nine-Tails had been waiting.
It had no intention of remaining imprisoned forever.
Escape had always been its ultimate goal.
After two previous jinchuriki—Mito Uzumaki and Kushina Uzumaki—this third host was far less mature.
"This brat is young… and stupid. If he keeps extracting chakra during training… perhaps the seal will loosen sooner than expected…"
The thought made Kurama's heart burn with anticipation.
It decided to guide the boy further—tempt him into using its power more often.
"Kid… do you want power? Like the power you used when saving that little girl in the forest? If you agree, I might generously lend you some of my strength."
Kurama spoke in a seductive tone.
"Hmmm…"
Naruto sat cross-legged with his hands clasped, focusing on chakra extraction as if he hadn't heard the question.
"Hmmm… hmmm…"
Time slowly passed.
Sweat began forming on Naruto's forehead.
Watching closely, Kurama quickly realized the boy was struggling.
"So… this brat didn't inherit the Fourth Hokage's talent after all. He's more like his mother, Kushina Uzumaki."
Just as Kurama was thinking that, Naruto suddenly spoke.
And his words nearly made the Nine-Tails choke.
"Extracting chakra is so hard… I get it now. It's because you, Nine-Tails, are dragging me down."
"...!!"
Kurama almost exploded in rage.
Its chakra was being stolen by the Eight Trigrams Seal and given to this brat—
And now the boy was blaming it?!
Anyone would lose their temper.
Of course, Naruto understood perfectly well that the Eight Trigrams Seal siphoned Kurama's chakra—roughly the equivalent of a hundred Kakashi-level units—purifying it into usable chakra.
But as Naruto Uzumaki, the protagonist of the ninja world, playing his role properly was essential.
So he pretended to be clueless.
In fact, he had been acting ever since he was an infant.
"You owe me compensation, you stupid fox! Hurry up and pay me back with chakra!"
Naruto shamelessly shifted the blame.
To deceive others, one must first deceive oneself.
Naruto quickly convinced himself.
Kurama was dragging him down—
Just like the Sharingan dragged down Kakashi.
"Is that so?" Kurama replied.
Suddenly—
The world spun.
Naruto's vision blurred, and the next moment he found himself inside a dark sewer-like space.
Drip… drip…
The sound of water echoed around him as ripples spread beneath his feet.
"Where is this…?"
Naruto looked around with a deliberately confused expression.
"Naruto Uzumaki!"
From within the pitch-black cage, a pair of enormous vertical pupils snapped open.
Those blazing eyes illuminated a massive fox head and a shadowy, monstrous body behind the bars.
Two enormous claws reached through the cage, interlocking like prison bars around Naruto's small body.
"Accept my power!"
Kurama's voice thundered in Naruto's ears.
The movements within the spiritual world manifested in reality.
Kurama was pouring its chakra directly into him.
A jinchuriki could be exploited when their mind showed weakness.
And the moment Naruto relaxed his guard…
Kurama seized the opportunity.
However—
What the Nine-Tails failed to notice was the faint smile curling at the corner of Naruto's lips.