When Naruto woke up, Konoha was still the same as ever.
Sunlight streamed through the window, and the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was Carl sitting nearby.
Carl seemed to know exactly when Naruto would wake. He turned his head, met Naruto's gaze, and said,
"Had a good sleep?"
Naruto jumped up from bed in one swift motion, grinning as he began to describe the wonderful dream he'd had the night before.
Carl listened silently, then let out a short laugh and teased,
"Don't tell me you forgot the part where you kissed that pink-haired girl?"
"Eh—eh?! Carl, how did you know...?"
Halfway through his words, Naruto suddenly realized what he'd said, and quickly clamped his hands over his mouth.
Carl shook his head and said flatly,
"Still as hopeless as ever. Most guys who keep chasing like that don't end up well, you know."
Embarrassed, Naruto lowered his head.
Carl didn't actually scold him over such a thing. Considering everything Naruto had been through since childhood, it was rare enough for him to even have something like a first love. It wasn't so easy to just let that go.
Carl slowly stood, crossed his arms, and walked to Naruto's bedside. Looking down at him from above, Carl's sharp gaze made Naruto swallow nervously before he asked weakly,
"What is it, Carl?"
Carl said calmly,
"The jutsu you struggled with most back in the Academy was the Clone Technique, right?"
Naruto froze, then nodded firmly.
Carl didn't explain further. He raised his hand, and with a flick of his wrist, a small scroll appeared in his palm as if by magic.
He tossed it to Naruto, who caught it, utterly confused.
"This contains a ninjutsu a hundred times stronger than the Clone Technique. Learn it."
Naruto hurriedly unrolled the scroll.
The very first line, written in large characters, read—Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!
What? Shadow Clone? Multiple?
He looked again—it was an A-rank ninjutsu!
Staring at the scroll, Naruto scratched his head and muttered,
"Uh... Carl, can I really learn something like this?"
Carl gave him a sidelong glance. Inwardly, he thought—This technique was practically made for you. In the original timeline, you mastered it before finishing a meal. And your proficiency far surpassed even Tobirama Senju, the one who created it.
Carl reached out and tapped Naruto's forehead with a finger.
"You'll never know unless you try. There's no one in this world more suited for this jutsu than you."
"But... the Nine-Tails will mess with my chakra..."
"Don't worry about that. In fact, this jutsu and the Nine-Tails' chakra are a perfect match. Just give it a try. You can skip classes today. You have one day to learn it."
"What? O-One day!? Carl, that's—"
"Hmm?"
Dark energy suddenly surged around Carl's body, filling the room with an overwhelming pressure. The shockwave made Naruto fall back onto the bed.
"You'll eat when you master it."
With that, Carl's body turned into a swirl of black mist and flowed straight into Naruto, leaving the boy alone in confusion.
...
Inside the sealed space, Carl's figure reappeared before the Nine-Tails.
The beast, which had just begun to relax over the past few days, instantly tensed up, its expression souring.
Seeing that, Carl chuckled.
"What's wrong? Not happy to see me?"
The Nine-Tails snorted twin bursts of hot air from its nostrils.
"You're a strange human. Don't tell me you already know how to get out of here?"
Carl smiled faintly.
"I do. But before that, I need to study this world's chakra a bit more."
"This world's... you?"
A flash of realization lit up in the Nine-Tails' eyes before shock replaced it.
"You don't have chakra?!"
Carl casually dug at his ear.
"Why so loud? Is that really so surprising?"
The Nine-Tails didn't answer right away. It frowned deeply, muttering to itself,
"No... maybe you're from that clan the old man spoke of. Perhaps you just call energy by another name..."
Its muttering was loud enough that Carl heard every word without trying.
He vanished in a blur and reappeared sitting cross-legged right atop the bridge of the Nine-Tails' nose—between its massive eyes.
Carl stretched out his arm. In the next instant, it turned pitch-black with a faint hum.
It looked like a simple transformation, but the sheer power radiating from that arm made the Nine-Tails' fur stand on end.
It didn't doubt for a second that this small black arm could flatten it with a single punch.
At such a close distance, the tension made the beast's entire body bristle. Carl lightly patted its fur and said with a small smile,
"Relax. I'm not in the mood to beat you up today."
"..."
Arrogant as it was, the Nine-Tails could only grit its teeth and endure.
It had no choice. Carl's power was terrifying beyond reason—and that strange ability of his... it was the kind that could truly kill it.
Carl withdrew the haki from his arm and spoke lazily,
"Kurama, try communicating properly with that kid. You might even come to like him."
The Nine-Tails blinked, startled that Carl had called it by name. But when it heard the rest, its face twisted in disbelief.
"You want me to get along with that brat?"
"Why not? What's your plan otherwise—to rot away in here until he dies of old age? It's not like you actually hate him that much, do you?"
"So what? He's still human. It was humans who used dirty tricks to control me and then locked me up!"
Carl crossed his arms and looked down at the raging beast, utterly calm.
"Humans number far more than the nine Tailed Beasts combined. Their differences are vast. You should learn to narrow down your grudge a little more precisely."
The Nine-Tails fell silent, its red eyes flickering.
Carl went on,
"Let's say you got free. Could you defeat Uchiha Madara, the one who controlled you? Or Senju Hashirama, who sealed you? Even if you were released, you wouldn't stand a chance against either of them. And no village would ever allow a being like you to roam freely. So this—" he gestured around, "—might actually be the safest place for you."
The Nine-Tails snorted coldly.
"You mean this prison?"
"If you're willing to work with Uzumaki Naruto, that prison won't exist anymore. And once you synchronize with him, you'll gain power far beyond what you've ever had. Even if Uchiha Madara or Senju Hashirama were revived, you might just stand on equal ground with them."