Landlord and Tenant
Naruto casually sat down outside the cage, glancing at the massive fox opposite him.
After a few taunts, the majestic Kyuubi turned away, a rare frown on his face—an expression that seemed out of place on such a fearsome creature.
However, happiness follows the law of energy conservation, and the tension in the room seemed to dissipate as Kyuubi's mood shifted.
The negative emotions that had surged earlier calmed down.
Humans, after all, are social creatures, and loneliness is often more unbearable than malice.
Naruto looked at Kyuubi's enormous tail, wondering how he could leave the sealed space while also searching his mind for memories of the Kyuubi.
The nine-tailed fox was no ordinary tailed beast. It was the one with the most chakra and the strongest of the nine. Kyuubi was instinctively capable of sensing malice and had a form of "favorability" detection similar to Naruto's own system of understanding others.
In its wild form, Kyuubi's power was already nearing the level of a Kage.
As a Jinchūriki, Naruto could tap into Kyuubi's strength and enter the Kurama Mode, making him stronger than the Five Kage. In the Boruto era, the Kyuubi even had the ability to burn its own chakra, allowing Naruto to temporarily achieve power on par with the Otsutsuki clan.
Without the Kyuubi, Naruto could have fought shoulder to shoulder with the Fourth Hokage, but he would never have reached his true peak.
But for the future, if Naruto wanted to live freely in the ninja world, he didn't want to rely on Kyuubi's help.
While lost in these thoughts, Naruto suddenly felt a tug at his consciousness. His brows furrowed as he felt himself being pulled uncontrollably from the sealed space.
It turned out that entering the seal required mental energy, and one could not stay for too long.
Sensing Naruto's departure, Kyuubi turned and looked at the spot where Naruto had vanished, deep in thought.
Although this Jinchūriki was just a kid, he was different from Mito and Kushina. Despite Naruto's obvious malice, there was surprisingly little directed at him personally.
Kyuubi had clearly kept certain truths from Naruto, but in the end, the Kyuubi was the one who had caused all the pain in his life.
So, was Naruto naturally more attuned to tailed beasts, or were the humans outside more malicious than he was?
With a soft snort, Kyuubi curled up, closing his eyes to rest. He had been imprisoned for decades and was curious to see if Naruto would ever stir his interest.
---
A Month Later
Outside the seal, Naruto stretched and began to tidy up his room.
Thinking back to his first encounter with Kyuubi, he couldn't help but smile. Now that he could communicate with the fox, he had a new outlet for his boredom.
Over the next month, Naruto visited the sealed space regularly after eating and sleeping, his sole purpose being to interact with Kyuubi.
The once cold and distant Kyuubi grew impatient with Naruto's daily visits. Looking at the boy—who was no bigger than a flea to him—he growled, "You brat, don't you have anything else to do? Coming here every day just to bug me?"
Naruto shrugged casually, "Isn't it my job as a jailer to make sure prisoners don't escape? I have to keep an eye on you, after all."
Kyuubi bared his fangs, "I remember you said we were landlord and tenant, didn't you?"
"That was before," Naruto grinned, "but I've had a rethink. You can't exactly afford rent, so let's just stick to jailer and prisoner. I've got nothing else to do anyway."
Kyuubi rolled his eyes, "Right, you haven't been outside for a month. The ninjas outside locked you up. That's what happens when you're an old vessel."
Naruto smirked, hands on his hips, "My grounding is temporary, but you? Who knows when you'll be out of my body. Compared to you, I'm the one who's free. I even have books sent by the Third Hokage."
"Really?" Kyuubi's eyes glinted with mischief.
Just as Naruto was about to retort, a knock came at the door. He quickly rose from the sofa.
Opening the door, he found the familiar face of the Third Hokage. This time, the old man wore casual clothes, looking more approachable.
With a warm smile, the Third Hokage asked, "How have you been, Naruto?"
"Grandpa," Naruto grinned, "I've got food and shelter, and no one treats me like a monster anymore when I go outside. I can read books and learn about the world. Life's been good."
"If I could, I'd want to live like this forever."
From a child's perspective, there was nothing wrong with Naruto's answer, but the Third Hokage knew better. A Jinchūriki needed real-life experiences to grow—not to remain sheltered.
The village would need Naruto's power in the future.
After a moment of thought, the Third Hokage said, "Naruto, life at home is nice, but you need to see more of the world. You should go outside more often."
"I'll just be seen as a monster by the villagers," Naruto said, shrugging. "It's not that I care about being called a monster, but I don't want to cause trouble for you, Grandpa."
The Third Hokage frowned but remained patient. "I've issued an order in the village: they are not to spread rumors about you being the demon fox. You won't be treated like that anymore."
Naruto grinned, "Okay, I'll listen to you, but if anyone insults me in front of me again, I'll make them regret it."
The Third Hokage smiled, though a hint of worry lingered in his eyes. After leaving Naruto's living expenses, he took his leave.
As soon as the Hokage was gone, Naruto slipped the money into his pocket when Kyuubi's voice rang out. "Kid, you always call the Third Hokage 'old man'—now, after meeting him, you call him 'grandpa'? You sure know how to sweet-talk him."
Kyuubi mimicked Naruto's tone, adding his own twist by calling the Hokage "grandpa" in a mocking tone.
Naruto gave the Kyuubi a frustrated look. "You know, if you, the big fox, had learned better, you wouldn't have been sealed inside my body as a tenant."
Kyuubi fell silent, curling up in the corner of the cage to brood.
Despite the seal preventing Kyuubi from physically retaliating, it couldn't stop its emotional frustration from mounting. Every time Naruto knew just how to hit its sore spot, yet it could do nothing but fume in silence.
Watching Kyuubi sulk in silence, Naruto couldn't help but smile, looking forward to the days to come.
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