NIP Chapter 18 Days with the Fox
Chapter 18 Days with the Fox
That night, after saying goodbye to Satsuki, Naruto returned home and busied himself for a while before sitting on his bed, his consciousness sinking into the sealed space.
In the damp, chilly sealed space, the Nine-Tails' massive body was curled up behind iron bars. Naruto approached with a grin, raising his hand in greeting. "Kurama, I'm here to chat with you again!"
Nine-Tailed Fox merely raised its eyelids slightly before closing its eyes again, not even bothering to flick its tail.
Naruto, completely unfazed by Kurama's coldness, moved even closer. "What's wrong, Kurama? What happened? You seem to be in a bad mood."
After a moment of silence, Nine-Tails spoke. His deep voice echoed within the sealed space. "...Kid, stay away from that brat who was with you today."
Another brat? You mean Satsuki… Naruto immediately understood the reason: Kurama's hatred for the Uchiha clan was deeply ingrained. After all, the source of its sealing was Madara Uchiha, who controlled Kurama to fight the First Hokage.
However, it's impossible to stay away from Zuoyue. She's currently the "sugar daddy" with the highest bond points, and her affection level is surprisingly easy to raise.
He leveled up twice this afternoon, causing his system points to skyrocket. However, he still needs to find a way to coax... no, persuade this arrogant big fox in front of him.
"Stay away from that other brat? You mean Satsuki? Why? That kid is so lovable, isn't he?"
The nine-tailed fox thrashed its tail in frustration. "Why are you asking so many 'whys'? I told you to stay away, so stay away!"
"...Kurama, are you jealous?" Naruto covered his mouth. "I didn't realize you cared about me so much."
"What?!" The Nine-Tailed Fox suddenly raised its head. "Don't be so arrogant! You brat! How could I possibly be jealous!" It bared its teeth angrily, and all nine of its tails stood up like bristles.
"Haha, just kidding~ Don't get excited, don't get excited~" Naruto quickly waved his hand to calm Kurama down, watching Kurama angrily lie down again.
After the fox calmed down a bit, Naruto finally spoke. "Big fox, I never thought someone would tell me to stay away from others..."
"What's so strange about that?"
Naruto stared directly into Kurama's eyes. "Maybe it's because...in the village, everyone tells their children to stay away from me."
These words caused Kurama's tail to freeze in mid-air for a moment. After a long silence, Naruto smiled and said, "Sorry, Kurama, I can't agree to this condition."
He patted his chest. "Because that guy is my first friend! It's the first time I've ever made a friend!"
Kurama turned its face away, refusing to look at Naruto. It knew perfectly well why this brat was ostracized by the entire village—the reason was itself, the "calamity" sealed within Naruto. Now, was it going to sever this brat's ties with his only friend?
Although he didn't fully trust Naruto yet, Kurama convinced himself with his proud dignity: "Oh well, he's just an Uchiha brat who doesn't even have a Sharingan. I'll just consider it... giving this kid a little charity."
Soon, Naruto's lively voice rang out again: "Oh right, Kurama! Today I'm going to continue that story! Last time we talked about Xiao Huohuo at the auction..."
Naruto was enthusiastically recounting the adapted version of "Battle Through the Heavens." Although Kurama still had its back to Naruto, its erect ears and occasional tail sway revealed that it was actually listening very attentively.
------
Night had fallen. Inside the sealed space, Naruto stretched lazily, a satisfied smile on his face. "Alright, Kurama, it's late. I had a great time chatting with you. I'm going back to sleep now."
Nine-Tails' ears twitched involuntarily. Leaving so soon? It actually wanted to hear another chapter of the story, but proud as it was, how could it possibly ask this brat to stay? Wouldn't that be admitting it was fascinated by the story?
"If you're going to leave, then leave quickly." Nine-Tails turned its head away, feigning indifference.
Just then, Naruto suddenly pulled something out of his pocket mysteriously. "Oh, right, this is for you. I researched it for a long time before bringing it in, so please accept it gratefully~"
"What? Kid, I don't need to—" Nine-Tails turned his head impatiently, but his words stopped abruptly.
Naruto was carefully slipping a book through a gap in the iron fence. In the sealed space, a spiritual world purely composed of chakra, the ability to materialize a physical object required incredibly precise chakra manipulation skills!
On the cover of the book, the words "Battle Through the Heavens, Volume 1" are neatly written. Inside, the contents are all handwritten by Naruto, his handwriting is childish but very neat, and there are also cute little illustrations in some places.
Nine-Tailed Fox was at a loss for words.
Naruto scratched his head sheepishly. "Sorry, I can't stay with you all the time. It must be boring being here all alone with nothing to do, right?" He pointed to the book. "If you're bored, read this to pass the time."
Naruto watched as Kurama carefully used its tail to lift the book, and a smile unconsciously crept onto his face. "Looks like my research wasn't in vain..."
Why can real-world objects be brought into this spiritual space? The principle is actually quite simple—half of the chakra body is the manifestation of spiritual energy, and the sealed space, in a sense, is a reflection of Naruto's inner world.
In the real world, he wrapped the book in chakra, memorized its shape and structure, and then perfectly reconstructed it in the sealed space using chakra, creating a physical version of a "shadow clone." Of course, this replica is still essentially made of chakra, and if it were food, it wouldn't even have a taste.
The Nine-Tailed Fox lowered its head, gazing at the book in its paws, its eyes flickering slightly. This was the first time it had received a gift... The last time it had felt such pure kindness was when the Sage of Six Paths was still alive.
Suddenly, to Naruto's astonishment, the Nine-Tails' enormous body began to shrink, eventually becoming only the size of a large dog. It used its front paws to turn the pages of the book and actually began to read.
So the Nine-Tails can control its size? Naruto's eyes widened. A body made entirely of chakra is definitely convenient...
Noticing Naruto's burning gaze, the shrunken Kurama raised its head. "Hey, brat, what kind of look is that?"
There was a strange longing in his eyes—like the irresistible urge to pet something cute. The little Nine-Tails was fluffy now, its ears twitching every now and then. Naruto suppressed the urge to pet it and coughed lightly.
"It's nothing... By the way, do you like this gift?" He deliberately changed the subject, his blue eyes sparkling with anticipation. "I spent a long time figuring out how to bring this book in."
Kurama was about to say something arrogant as usual, but it suddenly stopped when it saw Naruto's expectant eyes. This kid... he's only three years old. It realized that the child in front of it genuinely wanted to make it happy, and had even developed this chakra application technique on his own.
After a long silence, the Nine-Tailed Fox awkwardly turned its face away. "...Hmph, not bad. I'll reluctantly accept it." It gently turned the pages with its paw, then added, "But don't get too cocky."
Naruto couldn't help but laugh at Kurama's contradictory behavior: "Yes, yes, yes~ I'm going back to sleep now! See you tomorrow, Kurama~"
Before leaving the sealed space, he looked back one last time—the little nine-tailed fox was completely absorbed in the story, its fluffy tail swaying gently involuntarily, sweeping a fan-shaped pattern across the damp ground.
【Ding! 】
[Congratulations, host: You have established a bond with the original character "Nurama" (Level 2)]
[Reward: 400 points!]