"This is… Kurama's voice!"
Naruto's attention was immediately drawn to the mocking voice echoing in his mind, stirring a considerable ripple in his heart.
"Could it be because I gained two levels today and put all 4 free attribute points into [Spirit]?"
"Now I can even hear Kurama talking to himself."
Naruto speculated silently.
In the early stages, Kurama was violent, lonely, and arrogant; the resentment from a thousand years of imprisonment forged an extremely aggressive nature, and he would not show a tsundere side in front of Naruto.
The only explanation was… Kurama was complaining in his "little den."
"Interesting, since I can hear Kurama speak, I suppose I can still find the 'Sealing Space' even without Jiraiya's guidance."
Naruto closed the wooden window, sat cross-legged on the bed, closed his eyes, and concentrated on finding the source of Kurama's voice.
He listened carefully.
In the depths of his pitch-black consciousness, besides Kurama's arrogant complaints, there seemed to be the sound of dripping water.
"Drip," "drip"…
As his spirit delved deeper, the sound of damp dripping water amplified infinitely in his ears.
"Splash!"
Taking a step, Naruto actually heard the incredibly clear sound of stepping in water.
"I… I'm in?!"
When Naruto opened his eyes, he looked down and saw his boot soles already submerged in ankle-deep water.
"This is the Sealing Space of my consciousness world."
Naruto looked around, and what met his eyes was a dim drainage pipe space.
There was standing water on the ground, not too deep, clear to the bottom, but it seemed boundless, like an infinite, dark dead sea.
A rusty, metallic smell filled his nostrils.
At the end of his vision stood a huge, reddish iron gate, covered in rust.
This was a cage!
The cage looked indestructible, and within it was a deep, terrifying darkness, making it impossible to see what enormous creature was imprisoned inside.
"The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, the strongest Tailed Beast, must be up ahead."
Naruto took a step, wading through the clear standing water, and walked forward.
"Splash ~ splash ~"
Water splashed, and ripples spread in circles across the calm, mirror-like surface.
"Closer, a little closer."
"Yes, just like that."
A deep, alluring voice came from the depths of the darkness.
When Naruto reached the gate, the standing water suddenly trembled as if boiling, and with a "clang," a colossal sound like metal striking metal echoed through the empty Sealing Space.
A pale "bone claw" struck the iron bars of the gate, its sharp, knife-like fingertips almost passing through the gaps to scratch Naruto.
This… was merely a fingernail of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's claw.
As the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox slapped the gate with its claw, the resulting gale continuously ruffled Naruto's hair and orange jacket, yet he stood his ground, not retreating an inch.
"Hehehe, scared senseless, are we?"
A mocking voice came from the darkness.
"Do I look scared?"
Naruto stood with one hand in his pocket and yawned with the other hand in front of his mouth.
"Hm!?"
Two crimson points lit up in the darkness, like vertical moons soaked in a sea of blood, and as the sound of chains scraping drew closer, the outline of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox finally emerged from the darkness.
It was a colossal creature, six or seven stories tall, with a mountain-like, reddish-orange beast body, every muscle twitching, every strand of fur emanating solidified malice, and nine tails flickering in and out of sight in the darkness, like colossal pillars reaching for the sky.
Comparing a flying dragon to such a giant beast was indeed like comparing a gnat to an elephant.
The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox leaned its head closer, baring its fangs.
Whether it was its mouth full of pale fangs and sharp teeth, its blood-red, wild, and violent demonic eyes, or its long, fierce fox face, everything about it was terrifying.
Let alone a child, even an adult seeing it for the first time would likely turn pale, collapse to the ground, and tremble uncontrollably.
"Brat! You're not afraid of me?"
A wave of sound, carrying the scent of sulfur, rushed towards him, its entire face filling most of the gate bars. Naruto, standing in front of it, seemed only as tall as one of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's fangs.
"I'm not afraid, because…"
Naruto almost gave a low-EQ reply: 'You're in a seal, what can you do to me?'
"Because you bear no ill will."
"Heh heh, no ill will?"
Kurama straightened its body, and the malicious Chakra it emitted formed solidified crimson streams that seeped through the gaps in the gate bars, settling on the water's surface and transforming into a red mist that spread and coiled around Naruto's ankles, like countless venomous snakes.
"Arrogant brat, do you still think I bear no ill will?!"
Kurama asked mockingly, its grin almost reaching its ears, proudly displaying its neat, pale fangs.
"The seal is loosening quite a bit, is it already leaking this much Nine-Tailed Chakra?"
Naruto looked down at the wisps of crimson Chakra, his eyes flickering, still showing no sign of fear.
"Brat, you… you're really not afraid!"
Kurama was first startled, then somewhat annoyed, it slammed its claw heavily against the sealed cage. A colossal roar, like a great bell, exploded in the Sealing Space, even causing the calm standing water to boil and churn.
It didn't expect that even with this, Naruto still wasn't afraid.
"You… you must be very lonely and isolated, being confined here, right?" Naruto asked as if possessed.
The Demon Fox's pupils narrowed into two vertical slits.
"Brat, what did you say?"
"Just now, when you saw the flying dragon, you were complaining here."
"…"
The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox thought of something and sneered, "Now that you've seen this great one, compare me to your so-called flying dragon. Who is stronger?"
"The flying dragon."
"?"
"Just kidding, of course it's you."
"Thump—!!"
The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox slammed a claw against the gate bars, making the massive gate tremble precariously.
It lowered its body, its ferocious head drawing near, one crimson beast eye wide, staring intently at Naruto, and threatening fiercely, "Brat, do you dare to trick this great one?!"
So what if I trick you?
Naruto thought for a moment and gave up the idea of continuing to provoke this tsundere fox.
Otherwise, Kurama would really get angry.
"Lord Fox, you look so tall and mighty, so wise and powerful, naturally you are a hundred, a thousand times stronger than a big lizard with wings."
Flattery always works.
Naruto made a large circle with his hands in front of him, smiling brightly, showering the "fox" with praise.
The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox didn't reply, nor did it let out an arrogant "hmph." It merely remained silent for a moment, then its scimitar-like claw tried to pass through the gaps in the iron bars, pointing at the talisman stuck in the middle of the gate.
"Tear off that talisman."
Kurama enticed, "As long as you release me, you will gain the power to crush everything. What flying dragons, what Konoha Village, they are all ants!"
"Flying dragons are only stronger than drakes and wyrmlings, weaker than true dragons. With my growth rate, slaying a dragon won't be difficult."
"What about Konoha Village?"
"Konoha Village raised you as a monster, and those villagers' gazes… heh, how are they different from looking at a caged beast?"
"Just let me out, and this great one can easily destroy the entire Village!"