"Why is the environment here so awful?" Naruto frowned, looking at the pooled water on the ground.
The current sealed space reminded him of his first encounter with Aizen-sensei. That initial meeting had taken place in this same cold, damp space. However, as Naruto and Aizen communicated and their relationship grew closer, the sealed space within Naruto's body had gradually changed its appearance. It could transform into a vast grassland with fresh air or a magnificent, opulent palace. What Naruto found unexpected was that a refined and gentle Shinigami like Aizen-sensei actually preferred it when Naruto changed the sealed space into a precipice lashed bybitterly cold winds. Standing at the cliff's edge, the entire area felt as if it were on the verge of collapse, fierce winds howling past his ears. Looking down, one would see a dark abyss, awakening the deepest fears within a person's heart.
Naruto had once asked Aizen-sensei about it. Aizen's reply had been quite surprising: "That is the place closest to heaven."
And now, the sealed space had reverted to its original state. Did this signify something? Naruto immediately sprinted towards the familiar seal gate at top speed. The seal gate itself hadn't changed, but Aizen's gentle smile and magnetic voice were absent from within. In their place was a dark red, mountain-like shadow.
"Little brat, you've come." A deep, hoarse voice sounded from behind the gate. Then, the shadow shifted, and the entire sealed space seemed to tremble slightly.
By the dim light, Naruto made out the creature behind the gate: a gigantic, fiery-red fox with nine tails.
A beast? Where is Aizen-sensei? Naruto's eyes narrowed, glinting with a dangerous light. Aizen-sensei is gone?
"A fine look in your eyes. But that look shouldn't be directed at me, but at them." The massive beast suddenly exuded an intense, cold, and loathsome negative aura that passed through the iron bars, enveloping Naruto. It made him shiver uncontrollably, and an indescribable mania and killing intent surged from the depths of his heart. He desperately wanted to destroy something in that instant.
The ugly faces of Konoha's villagers flashed through Naruto's mind. Because of them, he had once been mired in suffering, yearning for acknowledgment every single day. I want to kill them. I want them to feel the pain I once suffered.
"Little brat, I understand how you feel. You've done nothing wrong, yet you're treated like an animal. You are not at fault. They are. This Konoha is. Your gentleness and refinement are merely a protective guise. I can see your heart. You and I are the same; we both hate Konoha!"
The giant red beast arched its body, its nine fiery tails dancing. Its enticing voice echoed throughout the space. "Come. I can give you the power to overturn Konoha. Accept it. Accept your truest self. Destroy Konoha! Kill them all! Make them regret everything they've ever done to you!" Accompanied by these hate-filled words, the colossal beast took a step forward, its enormous body now fully exposed in the light.
Seeing this nine-tailed fox, brimming with negative emotions, Naruto understood instantly. No wonder the villagers regarded him as the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. No wonder the Third Hokage tried every means to control him. Because within his body, there truly existed a Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.
Although he didn't know the exact nature of his relationship with the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, he could be certain that the villagers were unaware of it. The truth was likely held by Konoha's higher-ups. The villagers were merely pawns, meant to drive him into darkness so that the Third Hokage could then 'save' him.
"How foolish." A derisive smile touched his lips.
Having figured this out, the boiling killing intent in his mind receded like a tide. The next moment, Naruto's gentle, refined smile returned.
"Hm?" The Nine-Tails lowered its head, looking at the composed Naruto, a flicker of astonishment in its eyes. It hadn't expected Naruto to break free from the killing intent so quickly and to show such a gentle… disgusting smile. This smile reminded it of the Fourth Hokage – the man who had sealed it away.
"Little brat, wipe that fake smile off your face!" Rage seethed within the Nine-Tails. It gripped the iron bars and let out a heaven-shattering roar at Naruto. The force of its breath even rustled Naruto's golden hair.
Naruto, still smiling, elegantly smoothed his hair. "Are you the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox?"
"Hmph. Indeed, I am the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. Those humans sealed me within your body, intending to control my power. To them, you are just a weapon. No, you are merely a replaceable container," the Nine-Tails replied without hesitation, its angry visage replaced by a sneer, though its words were a mix of truth and falsehood. "Little brat, I know you hate Konoha. You hate them for sealing me inside you, hate them for not telling the villagers the truth, forcing you to live under constant abuse for years."
"All of this can be changed. As long as you accept my power and kill them all, the resentment in your heart will be washed away, and you will gain a new life." The Nine-Tails spoke the lines it had rehearsed countless times within the sealed space, hoping to drag Naruto into the abyss. It eagerly anticipated the moment the Fourth Hokage would see his own son destroy Konoha. That would undoubtedly be the most spectacular and brilliant scene in the history of the ninja world.
As its words fell, crimson chakra surged from the Nine-Tails' body and into Naruto. An even more terrifying, boiling killing intent than before flooded Naruto's mind.
'Third Hokage, you fools tried to brainwash Naruto, to make him Konoha's lapdog, little knowing you blundered the most crucial step. I, Kurama, have been accumulating power! I will use the darkness you yourselves have cultivated to make Naruto fall completely, to become my, Kurama's, instrument of revenge!' The Nine-Tails cackled madly in its heart, already impatient to see Naruto dominated by killing intent.
But the next moment, its expression froze.
In its line of sight, Naruto wore a playful smirk, his eyes looking at it with amusement. The killing intent around him was gone. Even the blood-red chakra had faded, replaced by a gentle, shimmering blue light surrounding his body and a long sword that had appeared in his hand.
From that long sword, the Nine-Tails sensed an immense feeling of crisis. Its body arched, its fur bristled on end, and its eyes widened in shock and trepidation. "Impossible! How could you break free from my killing intent?"
"What is that sword? What kind of Kekkei Genkai is that?" Its body instinctively took a step back as it bared its teeth and demanded. When it looked at Naruto's small form again, the Nine-Tails' gaze was filled with gravity. It understood; it had underestimated Naruto. Naruto seemed to have awakened an incredible Kekkei Genkai. Its own chakra was extremely corrosive; no ordinary Kekkei Genkai could withstand it. This also meant Naruto's Kekkei Genkai had been awakened for some time, and he had already mastered it.
Could it be that Konoha hasn't noticed any of this? A chill ran down the Nine-Tails' spine. A child of about five, mastering an unknown Kekkei Genkai right under the noses of Konoha's ninja – it was simply terrifying.
"Thank you for informing me of parts of the truth. It has indeed cleared up some of my doubts," Naruto said, gently stroking Kyoka Suigetsu, a faint curve playing on his lips. This also explained the long-standing attitudes of the Third Hokage and the villagers towards him.
This meant… he actually possessed Reiatsu, Chakra, and the power of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox within his body. This… this would be his aid in reaching greater heights!
However… the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's power was not his own!
"Those who indulge in power derived from others are weak."