But this time, he did not retreat. He did not succumb.
Within the space of his mind, two opposing forces emerged. On one side was the core of his will: a radiant flow of golden warmth, life-affirming green, pure blue, and shimmering multicolored light, each hue representing the future, hope, and possibility.
This was his dream, his heart of protection, all his positive emotions and convictions. In the confrontation, they seemed to condense and shine even brighter.
On the other side lay infinite darkness and ice-cold emptiness.
It was more than just hatred from others it was the distilled essence of all negative emotions in the world.
At its center stood a figure identical to him, emanating a suffocating aura of despair.
This dark Naruto mirrored him perfectly, but his eyes were scarlet and hollow, his body wrapped in visible black smoke, thick and tangible.
Resentment, rage, loneliness, destruction these were the injustices of a boy abandoned and scorned by the villagers, magnified infinitely under the influence of Kurama's chakra. This was the instinctive backlash against the malice he had suffered, the embodiment of his suppressed pain and rage.
This was Naruto's deepest darkness made real.
"We meet again, my other self," Naruto said calmly.
The dark Naruto lifted his head slowly. His scarlet eyes, empty and cold, reflected nothing but a pure longing for destruction.
He spoke, his words dripping with derision and despair:
"Have you realized yet? We are one. To destroy everything obstructive is the only way to true release!"
"I am your dark side, venting all your negative emotions..."
Before he could finish, Naruto appeared before him. In the dark Naruto's startled gaze, Naruto opened his arms wide, unguarded, full of acceptance, and embraced the cold incarnation of all his negativity and despair.
"I understand now!" Naruto declared, his voice steady, no trace of trembling, brimming with profound comprehension.
"You were never wrong. You are a part of me."
His words pierced through the crushing darkness. The multicolored light surrounding him began to drive back the shadow.
"You are the hurt I once suffered, the grievances and frustration buried in my heart. You are the pain I tried to forget but could never truly discard. You are my past self, the lonely, angry child hurt by the world!"
For the first time, a subtle ripple appeared in dark Naruto's emotionless eyes.
"That hatred, that bitterness they are heavy, painful, and freezing! I know it! I really do!" Naruto said gently. "It must have been unbearable, carrying all of that alone, locked away in the darkness!"
The scarlet eyes of dark Naruto met Naruto's gaze. There was no resistance, no retreat only deep sympathy and concern.
"But you do not have to be alone anymore!"
"Because now, I am here, and together we will bear it all."
This was not annihilation. It was not banishment.
It was the deepest form of reconciliation and acceptance.
Naruto faced the shadow of his own soul, acknowledged its existence, understood its roots in past suffering and loneliness, and chose to embrace it to carry it, rather than be consumed or discard it.
"I will bear your hatred."
"Those grievances are no longer yours to carry alone."
"I understand the urge to destroy, but I choose a different path!"
"Do not fear solitude. We will always be together!"
Naruto held his dark self tightly, the multicolored light gently seeping into the black-and-white coldness not to assimilate or erase it, but to contain and nurture it.
"You are also Uzumaki Naruto! Together, we move forward! This power is not for destruction it is to protect the bonds we cherish, to safeguard the dream we share!"
He remembered Kakashi's silent care;
The Third Hokage's gentle eyes and his words: "Your safety is more important than anything else";
Jiraiya's boisterous laughter, hiding his concern;
Kakashi's quiet support beneath his lazy tone;
Minato's final words: "Now, you are already our pride";
Kushina's tearful yet proud smile;
Sasuke's angry, determined glare as he opened his Mangekyō Sharingan: "You idiot! If you do something so dangerous again, I must be there!"
Hinata's pale, worried face and her trembling voice: "Naruto, please don't do something like this again";
Kurama's immense, lonely eyes reflecting the hatred Naruto had felt.
All these images, combined with Naruto's vision for the future and his plans for peace, dissolved the remnants of hatred.
The multicolored light was not just his it carried everything he loved, everything he protected, everything he cherished.
It was not a false mask but the very foundation of Uzumaki Naruto's existence.
In that instant, the chaotic crimson chakra enveloping him shifted.
Golden warmth filled his body. His anguished expression softened, and the furrow of his brow eased into a profound, focused calm.
The immense energy he radiated still made the air tremble, yet its violent edge was now tempered by a vast, star-like will.
For the first time, Kurama's massive fox eyes widened in astonishment.
It sensed the full depth of Naruto's negative emotions not severed or isolated, but gently embraced.
The darkness, entering the depths of Naruto's soul, spread across an infinite expanse, yet seemed to have boundaries now. The icy sting was wrapped in warmth, guided and balanced.
This was not mere suppression it was acceptance.
Naruto's soul had created a vast "vessel," using his faith and the accumulation of all positive emotions to carry and harmonize the immense darkness, gradually calming and settling it.
This was the true meaning of a jinchūriki.
It was not about sealing a tailed beast it was humanity, with the power of spirit and will, consciously bearing and harmonizing a tailed beast's power and negativity.
Sasuke's Mangekyō Sharingan fixed on Naruto, his tense nerves finally relaxing slightly, his eyes filled with awe: "Naruto, you really did it!"
Hinata covered her mouth, tears streaming freely. She saw that Naruto's dark side had not vanished, but had been gently and steadfastly embraced by his own light, forming a harmonious whole.
Light and darkness coexisted that was the complete self.
Like sky and earth, intertwined yet distinct.
In Hinata's eyes, Naruto was like Taijitu incarnate, black and white in balance, mutually sustaining.
An unprecedented aura radiated from him.
Under the blue sky and white clouds of the sealed space, Kurama lay still, its gaze fixed unwaveringly on Naruto.
It remembered Naruto's stubborn words: "Negative emotions will never sway me."
"I am willing to bear the same negativity as you!"
"How can I truly understand you if I cannot feel the same pain?"
After a long moment, the enormous fox lowered its head slightly, as though a thousand-year barrier had quietly split open, letting a sliver of new light recognition shine through.