Family…
Inside the sealed space, the Nine-Tailed watched Naruto's back, its eyes flickering slightly.
Recalling the bits and pieces of their two years together, the Nine-Tailed fell silent.
Two years had allowed both the human and the fox to gain a certain understanding of each other.
Though it was reluctant to admit it, Naruto was indeed different from the previous two Jinchuriki.
From Naruto, the Nine-Tailed had never felt a hint of malice; his attitude towards it was no different from his attitude towards the little brats from the Ino–Shika–Chō families, even more familiar and enthusiastic.
At least that little girl named Ino had never heard Naruto sing, but it heard him every day, and couldn't help but listen.
Honestly, the Nine-Tailed thought Naruto sang quite well, but the kid didn't sing properly; most of the time he hummed softly as if he had a toothache, and only occasionally, when he got into it, would he sit up and belt out a few high notes.
And this humming went on for two years…
Naruto went from being a tiny sprout to a slightly larger sprout.
It had long grown accustomed to Naruto's mosquito-like humming, occasionally even humming along.
And every time it hummed along, the kid would excitedly turn around and try to teach it to sing.
Hmph, foolish brat…
Does a wise old fox like me need someone to teach it?
The Nine-Tailed lay down, twitched its ears, and re-entered a state of feigned slumber.
Family?
This guy is as naive as ever…
What exactly led you to such a conclusion, Naruto…
Is it the Chakra that shares the same origin and nature as mine?
Or is it the symbiotic relationship between a Jinchuriki and a Tailed Beast that made you, who has always been alone, feel a delusion?
As someone with maturity and thoughts far beyond your peers, you should understand this principle.
If relationships between people could be established merely by verbal acknowledgment, then there wouldn't be so many conflicts in this world.
Although, you, little brat, are quite to my liking, but Naruto…
Your true feelings… haven't truly been conveyed yet.
So, if you want my approval, prove it with action…
Meanwhile, in the outside world.
Compared to the Nine-Tailed's silence, Jiraiya's face was filled with disbelief.
He thought that whether the Nine-Tailed had bewitched Naruto, or they had truly come to accept each other, at most they should be friends or comrades.
He never expected… it would be family.
"Family…"
Jiraiya's expression was complex as he came back to his senses.
Sure enough, this child deep down still yearns for kinship, doesn't he…
Naruto didn't know Jiraiya's thoughts; otherwise, he would probably have laughed out loud.
Although he had initially intended to release the Nine-Tailed to avoid conflict and prevent the Akatsuki Organization from targeting him.
However, as time passed and the human and the fox hummed songs and bickered every day, Naruto gradually came to regard the Nine-Tailed as his own fox.
He didn't think he could stand by idly if the Nine-Tailed were ever in danger.
After all, he only disliked Konoha, it didn't mean he was emotionless.
Let alone the Nine-Tailed, which has an independent personality; even raising a dog for two years would develop feelings, wouldn't it?
"I inherited the sealing jutsu of the Uzumaki Clan."
Naruto said calmly, "Even if you don't give me the key, as the sealing effect weakens, I can forcefully break the seal, but for certain reasons, I don't want to do that, so…"
"Jiraiya, you don't want me to forcefully break the seal and cause Konoha to be devastated, do you?"
Jiraiya's face twitched; as an experienced author of adult novels, he acutely sensed that Naruto's words were a bit off.
It's good material…
No!
Now is not the time to be thinking about this!
Shaking his head, forcing himself to calm down, Jiraiya took a deep breath.
After pondering for a while, he let out another heavy sigh: "Alright… I can give you the key, but there are conditions."
"Speak."
Naruto crossed his arms, raising his head slightly.
He wasn't afraid of Jiraiya setting conditions; he was only afraid of the guy being stubborn.
Although he could completely unseal himself with sealing jutsu, who knew if this clumsy system would just erase the Nine-Tailed as a negative buff.
After all, Nine-Tailed Chakra is very corrosive, and although it no longer poses a threat to him, it is still a negative influence.
"A Jinchuriki is too important to the Village; if other ninja Villages learn that Konoha has lost its Tailed Beast, it could very likely trigger a war."
Jiraiya said in a deep voice, "Therefore, I hope you can stay in Konoha until you are twenty years old."
Naruto heard this and lowered his head deeply.
After two seconds of thought, he chuckled lightly as he raised his head again, turning his gaze back to Jiraiya.
"Sure enough, you old geezer were just messing with me, weren't you?"
Boom—
As his voice fell, a pillar of crimson Chakra light shot up into the sky!
The violent Chakra aura recklessly surged into the clouds, shattering the clouds floating in the sky.
In an instant, the entire Konoha seemed to hit a pause button, a profound silence.
With the eruption of that crimson Chakra, people finally remembered the fear of being dominated by the Nine-Tailed once again!
Then, after this brief stillness, a scream broke the deadly silence.
The scream immediately triggered a chain reaction; people gasped, shouted, shoved… fleeing in terror from the range oppressed by the crimson Chakra, and the animals in the forest also became agitated, scattering and fleeing in all directions, and for a time, the entire Konoha fell into chaos.
"This is… Nine-Tailed Chakra?"
Jiraiya was shocked, blocking the oncoming Chakra storm and subconsciously taking two steps back.
"Sure enough, that Nine-Tailed didn't have good intentions…"
"You're spouting nonsense!!!"
Hearing Jiraiya's words, inside the sealed space, the Nine-Tailed cursed loudly: "What does that have to do with me? You damned perverted old man!"
Jiraiya couldn't hear the Nine-Tailed's curses, but he quickly realized this.
The crimson pillar of light didn't last too long; after just a few seconds, it gradually faded, leaving only a crimson Chakra orb in its place.
Immediately after, like a water balloon bursting, the red Chakra orb in front of him cracked open at one point, and from that cracked point, it evenly spread outwards until it completely dissipated.
A blonde boy with orange-red fox ears and nine tails appeared before Jiraiya.
Jiraiya stared at the boy in front of him in astonishment, stunned for two seconds, then tentatively spoke: "Naruto?"
"Grandpa is here!"
Naruto raised his head, his crimson eyes gleaming with cold light.
The moment he spoke, his nine fox tails swiftly gathered in front of him, and at their tips, ice-blue and crimson colors appeared, and a small, purplish-black Tailed Beast Ball rapidly formed.
"Tailed Beast Ball…"
Jiraiya's face changed, and he quickly raised his hand: "Naruto, don't get excited! Let me explain!"
"I gave you a chance, but unfortunately, you didn't know how to cherish it."
Hearing this, Naruto's lips curved into a slight arc, and he let out a disdainful sneer: "You ungrateful thing, do you really think I can't get the key without you?"
As he spoke, with a hum, the Tailed Beast Ball expanded again.
The extremely dense Chakra orb immediately erupted with a powerful force field, shattering the surrounding ground.
Naruto stared coldly in Jiraiya's direction; this was only the second time he had displayed this form, and the first time he had displayed it in the real world.
And it was at the moment this form appeared that Naruto was surprised to realize that in this state, his control over Chakra was incredibly high!