Naruto: Naruto's Uchiha girlfriend is too arrogant

Chapter 308, First Round

In the space of consciousness, time seemed to stand still.

Naruto looked at the Nine-Tails, who had fallen into a long silence, with some unease. The giant fox's eyes were closed, its brows were furrowed, and its facial muscles twitched slightly, as if it were immersed in some extremely intense, even painful, vortex of emotions.

Judging from its ever-changing expression, it seemed to have seen something far beyond expectations, something unsettling.

Finally, the Nine-Tails' enormous eyelids trembled and slowly opened. In its eyes was an unfathomable depth of shock, lingering fear, and… an indescribable, almost bursting rage and panic!

The last image that lingered in its consciousness was Naruto activating that mode burning with intense red chakra! It clearly "heard" another version of itself roaring at Naruto.

"...This technique...Naruto! What did you do?!"

That was what it saw: a conversation between "itself" from another time and space, and a more mature Naruto from that time and space.

"This is a technique I invented on the spot, borrowing the power of Zuo Yue. I call it Yin Yang Release: Dual-Polar Life Cycle Guardian Spin..."

"Naruto!" Another voice from his own self cried out in terror and an attempt to stop him.

"...I'm sorry, I used Yin Release to freeze the causal chain between you and this mode," the mature Naruto's voice held a resolute calm, yet spoke the cruelest words, "This technique consumes my life energy. Please, after you gain your freedom, protect the world before those guys completely disappear..."

"Bastard?! Why...why did you do this?!"

"We're in this together, remember? From cellmates who hated each other, to partners who fought together, to brothers who fought side by side... you and I are inseparable!"

Naruto's last voice, tinged with a weary laugh, pierced the heart of Kurama, who had witnessed it all.

"...Maybe it's because I saw my comrades die beside me, and I couldn't help myself. It seems... I'm not suited to be Hokage..."

These final whispers tolled like a death knell in Kurama's mind.

People may forget memories due to trauma or time, but the imprints etched deep within the soul cannot be completely erased by any force. Mistakenly believing himself to be merely a traveler carrying the soul of another world—this is the "current situation" that Naruto Uzumaki perceives so far…

At this moment, Naruto was unaware that the shock Kurama experienced was completely different from what he had anticipated. Why did Kurama's expression upon opening its eyes... carry sadness?

"Feed...Naruto."

"……exist!"

Naruto was surprised to find that Kurama's voice was terribly hoarse and filled with suppressed emotion. If one is not confident enough in the bond between himself and Kurama, one might mistakenly believe that Kurama is disappointed and angry because it has discovered that "it is not the original Naruto".

However, in stark contrast to this somber atmosphere, a clear system notification suddenly rang in Naruto's mind:

[Ding! Congratulations, host: Your bond level with the original character "Kurama" has increased to level 8! (The relationship has undergone a fundamental change!)]

What's going on? In this atmosphere... the bond level actually increased?

"You, come here."

Unsure of Kurama's true intentions, Naruto obediently took a few steps forward and looked up at the enormous fox.

Then--

"Bang."

A soft, not-so-loud sound. Kurama raised one of its massive forepaws and, as if flicking a small marble, gently sent Naruto tumbling backward. The action carried a hint of annoyance, but the force was perfectly controlled; Naruto felt no pain, only a somewhat disheveled fall to the ground.

He raised his head, his blue eyes filled with confusion as he looked at the Nine-Tailed Fox with bewilderment.

After that brief, cathartic interaction, the Nine-Tails seemed to have finally found an outlet for its dormant and sorrowful emotions. It opened its enormous eyes deeply and completely. This time, its gaze towards Naruto was even gentler than during their reconciliation. Deep within those eyes surged an indescribable emotion, a mixture of relief, regret, and a will to protect.

"You brat..." Nine-Tails' voice was still hoarse, but with a hint of a sigh, "...You really kept it a secret..."

"...I'm sorry," Naruto thought Kurama was referring to his identity as a "soul from another world," and lowered his head guiltily. "It's unbelievable, isn't it...?"

"Yes," Nine-Tails' response was meaningful, "even you... you've fooled yourself..."

"What?"

"Wait a moment, let me tell you slowly." The Nine-Tailed Fox shook its massive head, temporarily casting aside those heavy images of the future. It let out a huge sigh of relief, its expression filled with genuine joy at surviving a catastrophe.

It adjusted its emotions, brought its attention back to the present moment, and spoke in as natural a tone as possible.

"By the way, now that we've come this far, it's time to remove this final shackle left by the Fourth Hokage."

It pointed with its paw at the huge iron gate with the character "封" (seal) printed on it.

"This thing is still here. The chakra I can smoothly output to you is always limited, and I can't achieve true perfect synergy."

Kurama spoke with utmost naturalness; however, according to common sense, the consequence of tearing off the seal is often that the tailed beast's power goes completely berserk, breaking through the cage, while the jinchūriki is devoured and loses their life.

But for Naruto and Kurama at this moment, this "common sense" based on hatred and fear has long been shattered by their relationship and seems somewhat outdated.

Naruto paused for a moment, then smiled. He nodded vigorously, stood up again, and without hesitation reached out his hand towards the talisman containing powerful sealing energy in the center of the iron gate.

The instant his fingertips touched the edge of the talisman!

"Snapped!"

A slender hand appeared out of thin air without warning and firmly grasped Naruto's wrist as he was about to tear off the talisman!

At the same time, a gentle voice that felt both familiar and utterly unfamiliar to Naruto rang in his ears.

"Stop, Naruto."

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(Regarding this, it's actually a setting where the second playthrough mistakenly thought it was time travel. The author actually intended to write it this way all along, and some foreshadowing was planted earlier.)

(However, the first playthrough is not from the original work; it's a parallel world to Naruto, where Sasuke is always a woman.)