The claw withdrew.
A heavy shadow descended, and a massive face pressed close against the bars of the gate.
A narrow triangle-shaped face, golden pupils, and thick fur.
It was a fox.
A face longer than Naruto was tall—a colossal fox.
It bared its teeth in a ferocious grin. "What did they say to you?"
"To make you think such nonsense."
Mocking, scornful, laced with biting sarcasm.
Naruto frowned, puzzled.
He disliked this kind of overt, unfiltered malice. But his teacher had told him before: the spirits of Zanpakutō expressed emotions in various ways—some gentle, some fierce. Without a doubt, these manifestations were simply tests to see if the wielder truly had the qualification to pick up the blade and fight.
What he had studied flipped through his mind like turning pages in a book.
"You're the manifestation of my spiritual power," he replied. "The most important companion who will stay with me for life."
The Nine-Tails burst out laughing. "Spiritual power… companion?"
"How absurd."
"Have the people of Konoha fallen to such childish beliefs?"
Naruto froze.
What… did he just hear?
Konoha?
How could this fox say that word?
"How could this have anything to do with Konoha?" he instinctively retorted.
The Nine-Tails chuckled darkly. "How could it not?"
"I'm already dead," Naruto said seriously, cutting him off. "I'm no longer in Konoha."
The Nine-Tails narrowed its eyes, fur bristling. "Dead?"
What?
He didn't even feel it—just died, out of nowhere?
Coming from a scrawny little brat, such serious words felt chilling.
Naruto sat cross-legged and began recounting the events of the past three years.
The Soul Society, the Shinigami, the Shinō Academy, the Gotei 13—these unfamiliar terms flowed steadily into the Nine-Tails' ears.
The Underworld… it had heard of that back when it was newly born and still with that old man, the Sage of Six Paths, Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo. As for Shinigami… it had seen them before too, when it was sealed inside Konoha's first Jinchūriki, Uzumaki Mito.
But what Naruto described was entirely different.
Lies by Konoha?
Didn't seem like it.
Lies like this served no purpose—certainly not enough to fool it.
And based on its knowledge and experience, everything Naruto said was internally consistent. It didn't sound fake.
This brat was easy to read too. He didn't seem to be lying.
"That's the situation," Naruto concluded. "Whether you were born in my heart back in Konoha or here in the Soul Society, from now on we're partners."
"Will you tell me your name?"
The Nine-Tails exhaled roughly through gritted teeth. "You make it sound so convincing, but I find it hard to believe you."
"How about this—"
"Brat, let me feel the things you're talking about."
Naruto blinked. "Feel?"
"What do you want me to do?"
The Nine-Tails pondered, glancing away from the seal on the gate. "Think of it as a reward for amusing me."
"Stop resisting my chakra. I'll control it carefully and use your senses to experience the world."
It wanted Naruto to remove the seal and release it.
But… though Naruto's words about the Soul Society didn't match what it knew of the underworld, he spoke with conviction, as if it were true.
And part of its body was still sealed inside that bastard, the Fourth Hokage's soul.
Temporary release wasn't as important as restoring its complete form.
"If it weren't for Konoha, would you have given me your name…" Naruto, ever stubborn, was still hung up on that point.
BANG—
A massive paw slammed into the bars as the Nine-Tails growled impatiently, "Maybe I'd consider it, brat!"
Its power surged, ejecting Naruto from the space.
Everything went black.
That same falling sensation struck again.
He hadn't even opened his eyes—
An awful stench pierced his nostrils, like rot crawling up his nose hairs.
Something was decomposing.
Naruto opened his eyes—
This wasn't the bright, spacious classroom. He lay in a bed, inside a cramped, dimly lit room.
The room looked familiar.
It was… his old apartment in Konoha.
He sat up, confused, sniffing in the direction of the stench.
Unwashed instant noodle cups, spoiled milk, leftover fish and mushrooms that had barely been touched—
Memories flashed through his mind.
Instant noodles had been his only food for years. No one wanted to sell him anything, so he had to stockpile this cheap junk.
The fish and mushrooms… he had foraged those in the mountains. It wasn't easy.
But…
Hadn't he already died?
How was he back in Konoha, in a place he'd nearly forgotten?
The days he'd spent in the Soul Society, at the Shinō Academy—difficult, but joyful—what did they mean now?
"This doesn't look like your so-called Soul Society, brat," the Nine-Tails' angry voice growled in his ear.
Naruto returned to his senses. "You can see?"
"I can't," it snapped. "But didn't I say I could use your senses to perceive the world?"
"So?"
"Where's your Soul Society proof?"
Naruto didn't reply. He was just as confused.
Was it all a dream?
But such a long, vivid dream…
Frowning, he started to get out of bed, wanting to step outside for a look.
But a sharp pain struck his waist—he'd been poked by something hard.
He looked down.
It was a sheathed sword, the guard pressing into his stomach.
He brightened instantly!
A Zanpakutō.
He reached out and grasped the hilt, lifting it.
"Can you see this sword?" Naruto asked, eyes blazing with hope.
The Nine-Tails was confused. "Sword? There's no—"
It paused. "Huh. Weird. You do have a weapon in your hand."
It had seen many kinds of ninja tools.
From ordinary kunai and shuriken to the strange blades of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, and even the legendary Bashōsen and Seven Star Sword wielded by the Sage of Six Paths—none felt like this.
No matter how special those tools were, they were still real-world weapons.
But the sword in Naruto's hand…
It would've gone unnoticed without being pointed out.
It existed in a strange, intangible state—interwoven with Naruto's aura, almost like an extension of his body.
"This is the Zanpakutō I told you about," Naruto said, his voice filled with excitement. "Even though I don't understand why I've returned to Konoha, the Zanpakutō came with me. That proves the Soul Society and Shinō Academy weren't dreams!"
"They're real!"
The Nine-Tails snorted noncommittally.
"So now you'll tell me your name, right?" Naruto asked boldly.
The Nine-Tails bared its teeth. "Just a weapon. Doesn't prove anything."
But it was confused too.
This kind of weapon didn't feel man-made. In its long lifespan, it had indeed seen jutsu related to souls—like the "Soul Transfer Technique" and "Dead Demon Consuming Seal." But even the Shinigami summoned by the latter didn't carry weapons like this.
Its instincts said Naruto wasn't lying. The Soul Society must be real.
But without seeing it firsthand, it just couldn't fully believe.
Naruto didn't yell or argue.
He gripped the Zanpakutō, pondering how he suddenly returned to Konoha.
Was it because he entered his inner world?
He tried to enter Jinzen again—to return to that "sewer-like" mental space—but every time the Nine-Tails kicked him out, he remained in his little apartment, never back at the Shinō Academy.
He tried other strange methods too.
None worked.
Could he really not go back?
Naruto looked through the window toward the Hokage Rock and clenched his Zanpakutō.
No.
There was still a chance.
In the Gotei 13, the Thirteenth Division was tasked with "Purification" and maintained a presence in the human world.
Konoha wouldn't be an exception.
If he could just find that Shinigami, he could return to the Soul Society.
As for now—
He needed to find out what had changed in Konoha during his absence.
Although… how was he going to explain to them that he disappeared for three years and returned looking exactly the same?
Still, the untouched state of his room suggested…
No one noticed he was gone.
No one cared.
Naruto cleaned up his place, threw out the garbage.
He dug into a drawer and found a little over a thousand yen—his only money—then headed to the nearest convenience store.
But just as he reached the entrance—
An old man in an apron rushed out waving a broom. "Out! OUT! You damn plague!"
"I told you! Don't come near my shop!"
Naruto looked up, eyes surprised.
Not at the man's attitude—
That was standard in Konoha. They never hid their hatred.
But because…
Even after three years in the Soul Society, the shopkeeper's face hadn't changed at all.
He rose on tiptoes to peek into the store at the digital clock—it was different from his mechanical alarm, showing the date and time clearly.
It wasn't three years later.
It was still the same day he'd left for the Soul Society.
As if… time had frozen when he left and only started moving again when he returned.
"You damn brat! Didn't you hear me?" the shopkeeper roared, even angrier as Naruto continued staring and sizing up his store. He raised the broom high and swung at Naruto.
(End of Chapter)