Chapter 366: Chapter 364 : Nearly Deceived!!
In a secluded corner of the village...
Uzumaki Naruto sat alone atop a high ledge, his sky-blue eyes filled with sorrow and confusion.
"Why... why? I’m already a genin now. So why do they still hate me?"
His eyes burned with a mix of frustration and indignation.
He had tried—tried so hard to be accepted.
But the villagers continued to avoid him.
He didn’t understand. He had done everything he could to win them over, yet they still looked at him with fear and disdain.
The demon fox.
That’s what they always whispered behind his back.
They mocked him. Shunned him.
"Tch. Brat, what are you moping about? Why waste time being sad over trash like them? If you ask me, that kid Genya is the only one worth calling a friend!"
A smug, arrogant voice suddenly cut through Naruto’s gloomy thoughts.
Huh?
Before Naruto could respond, he realized—he was no longer in the real world.
Unknowingly, he had slipped into his inner mindscape.
The air was damp, the floor beneath his feet shallow with water, the endless corridor echoing with silence.
Before him stood a massive iron gate—and behind it, a terrifyingly large red fox.
A crushing pressure filled the space just from its presence.
Behind the fox swayed nine enormous tails.
"Demon fox... are you the one they’ve been talking about all this time?" Naruto stared at the beast, a flicker of realization flashing through his eyes.
"So... you’re the monster they’ve all been afraid of. The demon inside me... This isn’t a dream, is it?"
"Hah. Only ignorant fools call me a demon fox," the beast growled, scoffing at the label. "Do I look like some evil spirit to you? I’m not just some monster—"
The fox straightened, his voice regaining its usual haughty tone.
"I have a name. I am a Tailed Beast!"
"Tailed Beast...?" Naruto murmured, still a bit dazed by it all.
"That’s right!" the fox said, puffing out his chest proudly.
"I am one of the noble Tailed Beasts—and not just any one, mind you. I am the Tailed Beast with the most tails: nine!"
After the fall of the Ten-Tails, he was the one with the most tails.
And he never let anyone forget it.
Naruto Uzumaki blinked in confusion, his face full of innocent curiosity.
"What’s a Tailed Beast? Is it strong?"
"Of course I’m strong!" The Nine-Tails lifted his head proudly. When it came to Tailed Beasts, he was second to none.
Aside from monsters like Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama, no one could stand against him!
"If you’re so strong, then... why are you inside me?" Naruto blinked again, tilting his head in wonder. "I always thought talking to you was just part of a dream... I didn’t expect you were real!"
Thump—
The once-smug Nine-Tails stumbled slightly in surprise.
He hadn’t expected it. Naruto—his Jinchūriki—had no idea what a Tailed Beast even was?
Did the villagers never tell him anything?
Why was he inside this kid?
Was he supposed to just say, "I was sealed away"?
Well... this brat had always treated their conversations like dreams.
"How I ended up inside you?" The Nine-Tails lifted his head again, his voice thick with pride. "Hmph! I, my lordly self, refuse to say!"
"Come on, just tell me," Naruto pleaded, his eyes wide. "Also, why do the people in Konoha hate you so much? They seem afraid of you... They even call you the Demon Fox!"
The Nine-Tails’ eyelid twitched.
"That’s because they desired a power that didn’t belong to them," he said, his voice low. "In the end, that same power turned on them. That’s how humans are—selfish. Any power they can’t control, they brand as evil."
"Huh? Desired power that didn’t belong to them?" Naruto frowned, as if a door to long-hidden truths was slowly opening. His curiosity surged as he looked up at the great beast. "Tell me more... about yourself."
At that moment, stars sparkled in Naruto Uzumaki’s eyes.
He had finally found hope—hope of uncovering the truth behind why everyone had always pushed him away. And he wasn’t going to stop until he had all the answers.
"Do you really want to know?" The Nine-Tails blinked slowly, staring straight at Uzumaki Naruto.
"I do!" Naruto nodded seriously, his gaze unwavering.
"It’s simple. Just tear off that seal for me, and I’ll tell you everything you want to know." The Nine-Tails grinned, its fox mouth curling into a wicked, charming smile.
Heh...
As long as Uzumaki Naruto breaks the seal himself, it would finally be free.
Just imagining that made the fox’s face twist into an even more sinister smile.
"Tear off the seal..." Naruto murmured under his breath, looking up at the seal etched onto the giant gate. "Tear this off?"
His palm slowly began to rise.
In the reflection of his golden eyes, the Nine-Tails’ vertical pupils lit up with joy. Was it really going to be this easy? Could the seal be broken just like that?
Heh heh...
If it had known Naruto was this gullible, it would’ve tried tricking him much earlier.
But—
Just when the Nine-Tails was about to celebrate, Naruto’s raised hand slowly dropped back down.
"Why did you stop?!" The Nine-Tails was stunned, its tone turning anxious. The seal was so close to being undone. At the final moment, Naruto had suddenly stopped!
He was so close.
"If I break the seal, wouldn’t that let you out? People are already afraid of you. If you get out, wouldn’t they be even more terrified?" Naruto shook his head, his tone filled with both doubt and determination. "I can’t do that."
"Uh—I’m actually a nice fox!" The Nine-Tails said with a straight face.
But when it saw the utterly disbelieving look on Naruto’s face, it quickly added, "Have you ever heard of the Great Demon Fox legend?"
"The Great Demon Fox?" Naruto blinked. "Never heard of it."
He shook his head.
"The Great Demon Fox is about a fox demon who was framed, sealed away, but one day, when freed, the Great Demon Fox will definitely not..."
The Nine-Tails rambled on beside him, telling the story that Genya had told him!
"Yawn... I’m sleepy!" Naruto clearly had no interest in continuing to listen. His figure gradually faded and finally disappeared from the spiritual space!
"Hey~! Kid, you haven’t helped me break the seal yet, hey~~ hey~~"
The Nine-Tails, powerless and furious, clawed at the door as Naruto vanished from the spiritual space.
Around him,
Red chakra seeped outward.
Just a little more, just a tiny bit, and the seal would be broken—just a little more!
Outside the spiritual world, Naruto still sat in this remote corner, lost in thought.
But his eyes grew more and more confused. What the Nine-Tails had just told him only deepened his confusion!
How did the Nine-Tails end up inside his body?
And why were the villagers so afraid of the fox demon?
He didn’t understand, and no one had ever told him.
Naruto even wondered if he should go ask the Third Hokage for a clear explanation.
"Naruto."
Just as Naruto was lost in thought, a calm, gentle voice sounded.
He instinctively looked up and saw the visitor clearly.
White hair, looking very gentle and humble.
The closer he got to Naruto, Mizuki felt increasingly shocked. No wonder Naruto was the Nine-Tails’ Jinchuriki.
Even before approaching, the chakra radiating from Naruto put great pressure on him!
However,
This also meant Naruto held great resentment toward Konoha, so Mizuki still had hope of persuading him!
Seeing the visitor, Naruto suppressed the Nine-Tails’ chakra inside him and smiled again.
"Mizuki-sensei, you came for me?"
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