Darkness was everywhere. A sinister feeling hung thick in the air, and the stench of blood assaulted his nose.
"Where is this? Wasn't I just sleeping?" Naruto looked around, but all he saw was a filthy, dark corridor.
He glanced down and saw murky water pooling around his ankles.
"This... could it be?" Only one thought crossed his mind. Kyuubi... or rather, Kurama.
"Is he calling me? Or did I somehow enter here unconsciously?" he wondered.
But thinking wouldn't help. Naruto decided to walk down the corridor. He had no idea where to go but chose to follow his instincts.
Gradually, a faint light began to shine down the corridor, and eventually, he reached a brighter area.
There stood a massive iron gate stretching as far as the eye could see, with thick darkness lurking behind it.
"I'm sure... he's there," Naruto said, approaching the bars.
He glanced around but received no response.
"Guess I have no choice but to call—"
"Who are you?" A deep voice echoed from within before he could finish.
Naruto looked around, trying to pinpoint the voice, but saw nothing until—
Kyuubi revealed his head.
Sharp fangs, a fierce expression, and blood-red eyes stared at Naruto.
"Who are you?" Kyuubi repeated.
Naruto looked at his face. Kyuubi was terrifying, but strangely, he didn't feel afraid at all.
"Kyuubi... that's what they call you, right?" Naruto began.
"And who are you, boy? You don't seem like that kid. Your eyes... they're full of hatred," Kurama questioned.
Naruto fell silent. He lowered his head and saw his reflection in the water.
"Me? I don't even know who I really am. Am I him, or someone else? Or... what exactly am I?" Despair flickered across his face as he touched it, struggling with his identity.
Kurama remained silent, observing him closely.
Then Naruto's expression suddenly changed. His eyes turned cold and distant.
"Do you know someone named Indra?" His voice was low, yet chilling.
Kurama's eyes widened. That name shocked him.
"Kid! What do you know about him?" Kurama demanded.
"Heh... Curious now, are you, Kurama?" Naruto stared straight into Kurama's eyes and smiled.
Crash!
Kurama slammed the bars, his eyes glowing red, his face contorted in anger.
"You little brat! Don't mess with me! How do you know all this?!" Kurama roared.
"Alright, calm down. If you don't, I won't say a word," Naruto replied.
Kurama was still fuming, but he forced himself to stay calm.
"So... what do you know?" he asked, his voice cold as ice.
"If I told you I'm the reincarnation—no, the rebirth—of Indra... would you believe me?" Naruto posed both a statement and a question.
"Reincarnation? Impossible," Kurama scoffed. "He's long dead. I saw it myself..."
"Then... take a look at this."
Whoosh.
Naruto revealed his Sharingan, showing two tomoe.
Kurama panicked again. "No way! What's going on out there? What happened while I was asleep?" he fired off questions rapidly.
Kurama couldn't help but panic—he was facing the Sharingan, an eye that could control him.
"At first, I didn't realize it either, but then memories began to surface, and these eyes awakened. This body... it's incredible. It holds immense chakra, and now it has the Sharingan. Hey Kurama, you know what that means, right?"
Naruto was threatening him, and Kurama understood. It was painful, but he had no choice.
"So... what exactly do you know?"
"I know a few things. You and the other eight are fragments of the Ten-Tails. And my father, Hagoromo, sealed away our mother—Kaguya."
Naruto spoke carefully, watching Kurama's reaction.
Kurama frowned. He closed his eyes, paused for a moment, then spoke again.
"Honestly... I find it hard to believe. But some of the things you said... no one in this age should know them."
Memories of Indra's cruelty flashed through Kurama's mind, and his face trembled slightly.
"So... Indra—"
"Naruto. Just Naruto. I left that name behind long ago," Naruto interrupted coldly.
That icy tone—it was familiar to Kurama. This truly was him... Kurama felt as if sweat could bead on his forehead.
"So, Naruto... what do you want from me?" Kurama asked cautiously.
Naruto smiled. "Just one simple thing. I want you to cooperate with me."
"Cooperate?"
"Yeah. When I need your power, you'll give it to me."
"That's all?" Kurama asked.
Naruto nodded. "You see, my memories are limited—almost useless. I need your help to regain my strength. And don't worry, I won't toy with you."
Kurama understood. As long as they worked together, everything would be fine. But...
"Indra—no, Naruto... my chakra is split into two."
"I know. My father, Minato, sealed half of you. Don't worry. I'll take care of it later."
Suddenly, a beam of light pierced the room and slowly widened.
"Looks like our time's up."
Before everything faded, Naruto looked back at Kurama.
"Hey, Kurama. Don't be afraid of me. I'm not Indra. We can start over."
Kurama stayed silent. His view of the boy had completely changed.
Naruto's consciousness returned—and he woke up.
Knock knock knock!
"Yeah, hold on a second!" Naruto shouted.
"I don't know... if Kurama called me or I entered his space on my own. But it doesn't matter anymore. Kurama's on my side now... even if it started with a few lies."
"Heh, idiot," he thought.
Naruto opened the door and saw someone he recognized.
"Yo, Naruto." Guy stood at the door.
Naruto immediately closed it.
"Wait, hold on!" Guy quickly slipped his foot between the door.
"Oh, it's you, Guy-san," Naruto said, pretending not to know.
"Hahahaha! Sorry about that! Don't be mad, young man!" Guy laughed loudly, even while apologizing.
Naruto's nose twitched.
Finally, Guy got serious. "You were waiting for me this morning, weren't you?"
"Yeah, that's right," Naruto replied.
"I'm sorry." Guy held his chest and said dramatically, "I deeply regret it. I had a mission escorting merchants yesterday, and I only just returned. I forgot to tell you. So now, I've decided to make it up to you—"
"So Naruto, I'm inviting you to a barbecue! My treat!" he declared enthusiastically.
"Huh? What?" Naruto didn't expect that at all.
But before he could say anything, Guy had already started dragging him away.
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Alright, at first I only wanted to write one chapter, but suddenly I felt like writing a new one—and here it is.
So, what do you think? This version of Naruto isn't that dumb, right?
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