The giant Nine-Tails raged through Konohagakure, its overwhelming power striking fear into countless ninjas.
At that moment, a blond ninja stepped forward, used his life to defeat the tailed beast, and sealed it inside a newborn baby.
Time passed. The baby slowly grew up. The boy named Uzumaki Naruto became known throughout the village. The pain and loss from that past war were unfairly blamed on him. People treated him like the Nine-Tails monster that brought disaster to the village.
In that kind of environment, the child kept growing.
Failed school exams. Fooled by a spy teacher. Saved by another teacher. Became a ninja. Joined a squad. Took missions. Entered the Chunin Exams. Beat his opponents. Faced the One-Tail. Brought back the next Hokage. And then… his friend ran away.
In the blink of an eye, the kid grew up. The enemies came.
He searched for his friend. Trained in Ninjutsu. Lost his teacher. Saw the village destroyed. Fought in the Fourth Great Ninja War. Saw the Ten-Tails revived. Watched Obito become the Jinchuriki. Beat Obito. Madara came back. Then Kaguya appeared. And in the end, they sealed Kaguya together.
Time jumped again. The moon set. He married the girl he loved. Had kids. Became the Hokage.
Everything felt like a play unfolding in front of Naruto. Each scene was vivid, but also strangely distant, like a dream fading away.
At the very end, Naruto stared at the huge title in front of him — "Boruto: Naruto Next Generations" — and felt something he couldn't put into words.
How to describe it… maybe "totally confused" was the only phrase that fit his feelings right now.
Kurama crouched next to Naruto. Only after all the scenes finished playing did he speak calmly: "Now that you've seen my memories, what are you thinking?"
Naruto, still dazed, turned to look at him. He pointed at the screen still flashing images and asked in a shaky voice, "Kurama… what is this?"
"My memories…" Kurama answered without thinking, then grinned mischievously. "Or maybe... the story you would have lived through — a tale called 'Naruto' and 'Naruto: The Legend of Hayate.'"
After saying that, Kurama lowered his head and brought his face right up to Naruto's. "If I hadn't reached out to you back then and had treated you like what you just saw… then your future would've played out exactly like that."
Yes — he had shown Naruto the entire story of Naruto, including the final movie.
And now, he really wanted to know what Naruto was thinking.
It had to be interesting!
Naruto stared blankly at the paused screen in front of him, mouth open but completely lost for words.
What could he even say?
Was it "That was incredible"? "Too real"? Or maybe, "Come on, Kurama, quit joking. How could anyone know the future"?
He couldn't say anything. Even though it all seemed absurd, everything he saw in that story… really felt like something he *would* do. And Sasuke's actions matched perfectly with the Sasuke he knew.
Honestly, in the whole story — other than Kurama — everyone's actions made total sense.
And that's exactly what made it so hard to ignore.
Naruto suddenly thought of something and turned to Kurama: "So that's why you changed back then? Because you already knew what would happen? That's why Shukaku was so surprised by how different you acted?"
"Exactly." Kurama nodded and sat up straighter, looking at the flashing screen ahead with a rare serious tone.
Naruto blinked, then suddenly looked up. "Wait, hold on. If that's the case, then there's no need to worry at all, right? As long as everything goes like it did in the story, I'll seal Kaguya with Sasuke eventually. So what are you so worried about?"
"Who told you Kaguya is the only thing I'm worried about?" Kurama shot the question back at Naruto.
Naruto froze.
Seeing that reaction, Kurama went on, "My goal is to live a laid-back life. Like a shut-in, no stress, just chilling. I want to play games, binge anime, eat junk and do nothing. But if the story goes the way it originally did, I'd just end up stuck inside your body, then die with you in that 'Baryon Mode.'"
"This isn't what I planned," Kurama said as he looked at Naruto. "So first, I need to make sure you're stronger than you were in Baryon Mode. Then, I need the power to get out of your body. And finally, once I'm out, I need enough strength to handle anyone who tries to turn me into a chakra pill."
"All three are necessary. That's the only way I can guarantee I get to live peacefully like a lazy fat fox in the Boruto timeline."
Kurama pointed at Naruto.
"You've already reached the level I need. Actually, not just you—Sasuke too. You both went beyond what I expected. Which means I've already hit all my goals. There's just one thing left."
"Sealing Kaguya!" Naruto jumped in.
"Exactly," Kurama nodded. "Once Kaguya's sealed, nothing unexpected will pop up before we get to Boruto's era. Even Toneri, that guy on the moon, isn't much of a threat to you or Sasuke now."
The two of them were way too overpowered now. If they could fully control all the power they had, either one of them could go head-to-head with an Otsutsuki alone.
You saw how future Sasuke chased Isshiki all the way to the time point of the Dragon Vein? That proves Kurama's plan worked.
Then Naruto suddenly realized something. He looked at Kurama in shock, eyes wide: "You were the one who pushed the Fourth Great Ninja War to happen!"
Kurama froze.
Naruto took two steps back, his face pale as he pointed at Kurama. "Ever since we got back from the Sage of Six Paths' realm, you've been guiding everything! You knew Sasuke would go after his brother, and back then, to give the Akatsuki time to get the other tailed beasts, you dragged me into a fight with Sasuke!"
"You stayed outside during that time just so the enemy would know the three of us couldn't return to Konoha! That gave them the green light to go ahead and attack!"
"You never contacted the other tailed beasts—only Shukaku. Your goal was to slow down Akatsuki's sealing process and keep everything under your control!"
"And now that the time has come, you want me to give up Shukaku… so Kaguya can be revived!"
Kurama stayed silent, just looking at Naruto.
Naruto clenched his fists, his voice shaking with anger. "Kurama… what do you take us for?"
His tone was full of rage and disbelief, like someone who'd just been stabbed in the back by someone they trusted.
Kurama let out a long sigh. "Naruto…"
"Are you stupid?"
"If I could pull all that off, you think I'd need to train you and Sasuke?"
"Huh?" Naruto blinked. "So I was wrong?"
Kurama sighed again. "Naruto, listen to your big bro here—quit the dramatic overthinking."
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