The moment Naruto entered the space, the Nine-Tails was already awake.
Opening its eyes, it glanced at the angry little brat in front of the gate and immediately figured out what was going on.
In its attempt to break the Eight Trigrams Seal, it had been constantly leaking chakra into the seal space, and naturally, as the jinchūriki, Naruto had been affected.
While that chakra had certainly boosted Naruto's physical and mental energy, it also majorly messed with his chakra control.
Sure, it wasn't a problem he couldn't eventually overcome—but Naruto was still just a beginner. Still a fledgling.
The Nine-Tails hadn't done it on purpose, but it couldn't deny it was feeling a little smug. That little brat had dared to mock its power not long ago—well, now he knew the cost.
"Oh? Brat, that wasn't me interfering with your training," the Nine-Tails said lazily, a sly grin tugging at its lips. "It's just that my chakra naturally leaked out of the seal. Not my fault if you can't control your own chakra."
Since it hadn't done it deliberately, Naruto's anger cooled—just a bit.
"Then hold your chakra back," Naruto said, crossing his arms. "Think of it as rent for living in my body."
The Nine-Tails bared its teeth in amusement.
"You feel my power now, huh, brat?"
Then, with zero hesitation:
"Not happening! Hahaha! That's what you get for looking down on me. Enjoy being a loser who can't use jutsu. Forget about ever becoming a ninja!"
It paused, waiting to see Naruto throw a tantrum.
...But the tantrum never came.
Disappointed, the Nine-Tails clicked its tongue and laid back down, shutting its eyes.
Naruto, though frustrated, didn't give up.
This was about his future, after all.
"Hey, Big Fox. Let's talk. What'll it take for you to stop leaking chakra and let me train properly?"
At first, the Nine-Tails ignored him completely.
But Naruto was persistent, pestering him nonstop.
Eventually, annoyed beyond belief, the fox cracked an eye and snapped:
"Brat, beg me. Beg me like you mean it. Offer me your body, and maybe I'll forgive you."
As a tailed beast, there was one other way to gain freedom besides breaking the seal:
Taking over its jinchūriki's mind and controlling their body from within.
It had thought about this before, of course—but the Eight Trigrams Seal was just too damn strong.
If Naruto were to willingly surrender his body, though… that would be another matter entirely.
Not that it actually believed the brat would agree to that.
So no—there was no way it was retracting its chakra.
"You sure about this?" Naruto frowned. "No negotiating?"
"Positive. No deal." The Nine-Tails snorted and turned away, shutting its eyes again.
"You asked for it," Naruto growled before vanishing from the space.
The Nine-Tails didn't care. Just some empty threats from a kid.
What could the brat possibly do?
Even his father, the Fourth Hokage, couldn't make the great Nine-Tails bend!
Satisfied, the big fox drifted back to sleep—after all, stuck in this seal, there wasn't much else to do anyway.
Back in the real world, Naruto wasn't too bothered.
There's always a way to deal with a dumb fox.
After a moment of thought, an idea came to him. He set the matter aside for now—he'd deal with it later.
For now, there were more important things to do.
He grabbed The Basics of Taijutsu Training and started reading.
The book was divided into three sections.
The first explained the importance of taijutsu for a ninja—whether it was long-distance travel, dodging enemy attacks, or keeping your body in top shape to help chakra growth, physical strength was essential.
The second section detailed training methods for building stamina and strength, along with safety tips and what to avoid.
The third focused on advanced mechanics—how to generate explosive power in attacks and how chakra could enhance taijutsu techniques.
Before dinner, Naruto had finished the whole book.
That night, he headed out and began his first real workout based on the book's recommendations.
It completely replaced the low-intensity exercise he used to do for "P.E." class. And even though it only lasted an hour and a half, Naruto was exhausted when he came home—a rare feeling.
But he didn't mind at all.
After washing up and lying in bed, he began executing his plan.
In the seal space, the Nine-Tails started noticing something weird.
Naruto kept appearing and disappearing again and again.
And every time he returned, new items had appeared outside the sealed gate.
They were things Naruto brought from his study space.
In that space, completing lessons would earn entertainment time—and if he didn't use it, he could convert it into study points, which could be exchanged for various items.
Over the past year, Naruto had racked up a ton of these points.
Now, he was finally spending them.
This move-in process lasted about two hours—and by the end of it, the seal space looked completely different.
First, the once-dark chamber was now bright and fully lit with white overhead lights.
The flooded ground? Drained with an industrial water pump.
The water was dumped into a far edge of the space, then the area was dried using a high-powered dryer.
Then a thick, fluffy carpet was rolled out.
Next, a full set of comfy upholstered furniture was brought in—couches, a matching coffee table, a TV cabinet—all arranged into a cozy little lounge area, complete with decorative screens.
It looked like a proper living room.
Finally, Naruto switched on the TV facing the Nine-Tails.
He pulled up the Japanese-dubbed version of The Investiture of the Gods—a legendary mythological series from ancient China—and let the episode begin.
Naruto ignored the Nine-Tails entirely, curled up on the couch in a comfortable pose, and watched with full focus.
Not a word.
Not even a glance.
The kid was chilling hard.