Several years earlier, the seal set by the Fourth Hokage finally showed its first signs of loosening in Kurama's eyes.
Of course, this "loosening" was only a tiny leak of its true power escaping from the edge of the seal.
When the orange aura of tailed beast chakra wrapped around the young Naruto inside the mental world, Kurama couldn't help but grin in delight.
Everything had a beginning.
No one could become powerful in a single step.
But Kurama knew that once even a small crack appeared in the seal, its eventual escape would only be a matter of time.
So what would happen next?
Would this brat lose control and go berserk after receiving its power…
Or would he be devoured directly?
—
In the real world, Naruto suddenly opened his eyes on the balcony.
His originally bright blue eyes were now dyed crimson, the pupils narrowing into fox-like slits.
The change gave him an entirely different aura.
The innocent childishness on his face was now tinged with something feral and dangerous.
He stood up.
Naruto gazed out from the balcony toward the distant scenery of Konoha.
A massive amount of foreign chakra was now flowing continuously from the small gap in the Eight Trigrams Seal on his abdomen.
Chakra was the foundation of everything.
It was the root of power.
In this world, the more chakra one possessed, the stronger they became.
Under Kurama's eager gaze, Naruto suddenly leapt from the balcony.
He jumped directly from a building seven or eight meters high.
Whoosh.
He landed steadily on the ground.
Then Naruto immediately headed toward the small forest where he usually trained.
That quiet place filled with wooden posts and practice targets had long been Naruto's personal training ground.
Previously, even after hundreds of punches, he could barely leave a few shallow marks on those wooden posts.
But this time…
The result was completely different.
Bang!
A small childish fist struck forward.
The wooden post exploded instantly, as if hit by a large-caliber firearm.
Wood fragments scattered everywhere.
"…."
Naruto looked at the shattered post and nodded in satisfaction.
Then he began practicing again.
Punching.
Kicking.
Repeating the movements over and over.
Even his clumsy strikes produced explosive sounds and terrifying destructive force.
This was the potential of a jinchuriki empowered by the Nine-Tails.
But to Kurama, the scene was completely unacceptable.
"That brat… didn't go berserk?!"
Naruto had directly absorbed chakra that hadn't been filtered.
That chakra contained Kurama's hatred toward humanity.
Yet the boy showed absolutely no sign of losing control.
"How is that possible…?"
Kurama groaned in disbelief.
Even the previous jinchuriki, Kushina Uzumaki—who possessed pure Uzumaki blood—had occasionally lost control after absorbing its chakra.
Could it be because of the Eight Trigrams Seal?
Unable to understand the situation, Kurama could only stare helplessly as Naruto continued practicing his crude taijutsu.
"Phew…"
Morning soon passed.
Naruto wiped the sweat from his forehead and went to a nearby river to wash up.
"My stomach's hungry. Time to head home."
Under Kurama's still-disbelieving gaze, Naruto walked back toward the village with those crimson fox-like pupils still in his eyes.
—
In the following days, Naruto continued adapting to Kurama's power.
Kurama watched in growing shock.
Then confusion.
Eventually… mild regret.
Naruto's strength increased rapidly.
With one kick, he could shatter a tree of ordinary thickness.
With a single punch, he could crush stones the size of a cooking pot.
No matter how Kurama looked at it, it felt like the brat was freeloading off its chakra.
Still, as time passed, the opportunity Kurama had been waiting for finally arrived.
"Hm."
One morning, Naruto woke up unusually early.
Constantly borrowing Kurama's chakra didn't just increase his power.
It also filled him with overwhelming vitality.
No matter how exhausted he was the day before, a short rest would restore him completely thanks to Kurama's regenerative chakra.
However…
Being soaked in that chakra for too long—especially chakra filled with such overwhelming life force—was bound to produce unpredictable side effects.
Especially for a young human child who was constantly using that power twenty-four hours a day.
Standing in front of a mirror, Naruto examined himself.
Compared to last month, his body had changed slightly.
His crimson fox-like pupils remained.
His physique had grown a bit stronger.
And…
"Why does it feel so swollen…"
Naruto looked down awkwardly.
Even at such a young age, one particular part of his body had grown at an alarming rate.
Compared to the rest of his body, its development was… shockingly obvious.
"Why is this happening?"
Naruto suspected he might be sick.
He had asked the "tenant" inside him before, but Kurama had refused to explain.
"Maybe even it doesn't know…"
In any case, Naruto decided to go out.
Maybe see a doctor.
Or just walk around and stretch a bit.
—
Outside the Uchiha Clan district in Konoha, inside a narrow alley beside a shop…
Three children had cornered another child.
A closer look revealed that the girl they surrounded had a delicate face—and the distinctive Uchiha clan crest on her clothes.
"What do you three want?"
She raised her head and calmly looked at them.
Her refined appearance carried the natural elegance of the Uchiha Clan.
At her age, that elegance translated into pure cuteness.
Simply making eye contact with her was enough to make others feel inferior.
The three boys, who looked rather ordinary and somewhat aggressive, pointed at her angrily.
"Wasn't it someone from the Uchiha Clan who summoned the Nine-Tails?! How dare you walk around the streets like nothing happened!"
The Nine-Tails disaster years earlier had caused immense suffering throughout Konoha.
Rumors had spread throughout the village blaming the Uchiha Clan.
"My brother died because of that demon fox!"
"The Uchiha are enemies of everyone!"
The boys continued shouting accusations.
The girl had been calm until then.
But hearing their insults made anger rise inside her.
"Unsteady legs… weak arms…"
As the daughter of the captain of the Konoha Police Force and a member of the Uchiha Clan, she had trained alongside her older brother since childhood.
With one glance, she could tell the three boys were complete amateurs.
For a proud Uchiha, beating them would be easy.
However…
Doing so might cause trouble for her parents—or even the clan itself.
So instead…
She looked around carefully.
This alley was narrow and shaded.
Sunlight barely reached it.
If no one noticed…
"Hm?!"
Suddenly, a strange expression appeared on her face.
But the three boys continued shouting, unaware that something had changed.
"Bullying people isn't right."
A somewhat simple voice suddenly sounded behind them.
"!"
The three bullies froze and turned around.
A boy stood behind them.
He wore a cheap-looking orange short-sleeved tracksuit, and his messy blond hair made him look somewhat foolish.
At first glance, he seemed harmless.
But inside his crimson fox-like pupils, two sharp red glints flickered.
A fierce aura radiated faintly from his body.
Two seconds later, the three boys were already sweating nervously.
Some of them were even trembling.
"Don't move."
The Uchiha girl smiled slightly as she watched the scene unfold.
"You three aren't strong enough to deal with him."
"Shut up, you stupid Uchiha!"
The leader of the bullies shouted angrily at her.
But the moment he turned his head back—
Snap.
Naruto's hand grabbed his face.
His fingers tightened like steel clamps.
Crack… crack…
The terrifying pressure made the boy's skull creak painfully.
"Mgh…!"
Fear froze everyone in place.
Then—
Bang!
Naruto flung the boy away.
Just like tossing out a bag of garbage.
"!!?"
Watching their friend fly from one end of the alley to the other, the remaining two boys panicked.
But Naruto moved again before they could react.
Both were thrown aside just as easily.
"Are you okay?"
After effortlessly defeating the three bullies, Naruto smiled innocently at the delicate girl before him.
This Uchiha girl…
was really beautiful.