After Naruto finished speaking, silence returned to the damp, shadowy space.
Only the sound of his breathing echoed quietly in the darkness.
Was it love that had saved him?
No—it was sheer willpower that helped him conquer the darkness in his heart.
Honestly, the Nine-Tails had to admit, that speech? Not bad. Kind of his style, even.
For someone so young to have that kind of mindset… if this kid didn't die young, he'd definitely become someone powerful.
The mountain-sized beast looked down at the small figure standing before the gate, emotions flickering in its eyes.
It wasn't disappointment exactly—but it was something.
Then, the Nine-Tails remembered a few other things Naruto had said that bugged it.
"You little brat! You dare to look down on my power?! I am feared like a natural disaster! All who see me tremble!"
Its roar shook the space.
Enraged, it released an even greater surge of chakra than before—flooding the space with its fury.
"You're locked in here," Naruto said calmly, unfazed by the pressure hanging thick in the air.
"I razed half of Konoha to the ground. You ninjas hate me with a passion, yet none of you could kill me!" the Nine-Tails snarled, baring its teeth and lifting a massive claw, clearly trying to prove its point.
Naruto didn't even bother replying this time.
This fox was... kind of dumb, honestly.
No wonder it got itself sealed up.
Naruto decided to learn from it—never overestimate yourself. Always plan, always assess the situation.
He also needed to read more books and get smarter. If not, he might get tricked someday and not even realize it.
Sighing, Naruto thought it was about time to figure out how to leave this place and get back to his study space.
He'd already wasted enough of tonight. He still had learning to do.
Since he came here during chakra refinement, this space must also exist inside him, like the learning space—a mental realm of some sort. So leaving it shouldn't be that hard.
As soon as Naruto thought that—
The scene changed.
He was back in his own study space.
"Yup, nailed it," Naruto muttered, rubbing his chin as he looked around at the familiar surroundings.
Then, just as easily, he focused again—and poof, he was back in the damp, cold seal chamber.
"Big Fox, I'm leaving now. Bye-bye! I'll visit again next time," he said cheerfully, waving at the furious beast behind the gate.
Manners mattered.
Even if the meeting didn't go so great, this fox did live inside his body. Technically, they were neighbors now—hard to avoid each other.
And while the fox wasn't friendly, at least it wasn't like the villagers who acted like he didn't exist.
It was… someone he could talk to.
Naruto didn't need someone to talk to in order to live—but deep down, he still wished he had someone.
Even if that someone was just a cranky giant fox.
That's why he made sure to be polite, said goodbye properly, showed a bit of goodwill—then left the seal space.
Back in the study room, Naruto sat down at his desk, picked up Primary School Math Book 11 (Renjiao Edition), and got back to studying.
He still hadn't finished Five Thousand Years of Chinese History, but that was just extracurricular reading. It couldn't get in the way of his official studies.
Soon enough, listening to the teacher's voice from the lesson video, Naruto slipped into full-on study mode.
Meanwhile, back in the seal—
The Nine-Tails stared at the empty space where Naruto had vanished.
It remained silent for a long time.
Eventually, the rage faded from its face, replaced by something more thoughtful.
As a tailed beast, it could share a degree of perception with its jinchūriki.
So the Nine-Tails had long noticed something strange about Naruto—his spirit often seemed to disappear from his body. It wasn't constant, but it happened enough to raise suspicion.
Until now, it hadn't been sure. Maybe it was just some weird innate ability.
The ninja world was vast. Strange things happened.
But tonight, it had used Naruto's first chakra refinement—when his spirit was fully focused—to pull him into the seal space.
Seeing Naruto in person—and hearing his way-too-mature words—confirmed it: his mental "disappearances" were not random.
They were intentional. He was consciously going somewhere else. Somewhere the Nine-Tails couldn't reach. Somewhere he was learning.
Recalling the moment Naruto vanished again—only to reappear just to say goodbye—the Nine-Tails couldn't help but smirk slightly.
The brat was annoying, but surprisingly well-mannered.
And that… felt good.
After being treated like a mindless beast for so long—something beneath people, something you couldn't even talk to—it actually felt… kinda nice.
Shame it couldn't take advantage of the kid's innocence and twist him into its pawn.
…
The night passed in silence.
At dawn, Naruto finished his studies and exited his mental realm, waking up in his bed.
He hopped out of bed like usual and straightened the blankets.
Then he paused—surprised by how good he felt.
Just by focusing for a moment, he could sense it clearly: a strong, steady flow of chakra pulsing through his chakra network. Not only that, but it was increasing steadily, minute by minute.
Based on the textbooks he'd read, Naruto was pretty sure the amount of chakra he had now was already on par with a mid-level chunin.
He scratched his head, confused.
The books all said refining chakra was hard—especially for kids.
Chakra came from combining physical and mental energy, and the best age for growth was supposed to be between twelve and eighteen, when the body was fully developing.