"Deception?"
"When did that happen?" Kurama's eyes were filled with confusion. He quickly searched through his memories with Naruto, but couldn't think of any time or reason why Naruto would deceive him.
Although the kid sometimes deliberately said witty things to tease him, or made harmless jokes, that definitely couldn't be called deception.
Naruto looked at Kurama's bewildered and serious expression, and continued, "That was a long time ago too... It was our first official meeting..."
"Wait!" Kurama immediately understood what Naruto was referring to. He interrupted Naruto, "Are you talking about that... about the 'dream' of the Old Man and Ashura?"
But he immediately frowned again, "However, if what you mean by 'deception' is that you never had that dream... that simply doesn't make sense."
Kurama's logic was very clear, "You couldn't possibly know things about the Old Man that even I have never mentioned to anyone, out of thin air. After the Old Man died, he didn't leave any clear records. If you learned all of this through other unknown means, then wouldn't inventing the 'dream' story be superfluous?"
The more he spoke, the more he felt something was off, and he even began to suspect, was Naruto lying now? To alleviate his own guilt, was he deliberately fabricating an excuse that he himself had 'deceived' him, so that he would feel better?
"...You're right," Naruto scratched his head, admitting quickly, "Those things about the Six Paths Sage... I did learn them elsewhere, in a different way, not really through a dream."
However, Naruto's honesty interrupted his subsequent thoughts. Kurama asked a question he was more concerned about at the moment, "...Then, Naruto, in those 'things' you saw... did it require you to understand me?"
"...Huh?" Naruto didn't expect Kurama to ask this question. He paused for a moment, then honestly replied, "Well... in the'story' I saw, you and I did become friends and fought side by side."
When Kurama heard this answer, the slight spirit he had just regained from the topic of deception instantly deflated again, and his huge head drooped once more.
So, in the end... Naruto's 'lie' merely meant that the channel through which he learned those past events wasn't 'in a dream,' but rather'seen elsewhere'?
This was completely different in nature from his own past attempts to kill him... How was this deception? Naruto looked at Kurama, who looked like he had committed an unforgivable sin and couldn't even lift his head, and felt a little helpless.
Was this fox's moral standard a bit too high? He had lived for thousands of years, yet in this regard, he was like a child who had done something wrong and was afraid of being scolded... However, since he had decided to be honest at this moment, Naruto still decided to first create an atmosphere where Kurama could talk at ease. He cleared his throat and spoke.
"Kurama... let's make a hypothesis, okay?" He stared at the tightly closed giant eyes, "If one day—just hypothetically—if I didn't know you, and you didn't know me. We were just strangers. Then, how would I feel about a massive entity sealed inside my body that could break the Seal at any time and threaten my life?"
He led the conversation to another angle, and the content of this hypothesis was precisely what Kurama was most unwilling to face. What Naruto was going to do next was to thoroughly analyze this possibility.
"That's right," Naruto didn't wait for Kurama to answer, giving the answer himself, "If we weren't friends, we would definitely go down a similar path to what my mother did back then—mutual vigilance, mutual hatred, consuming each other in endless confrontation. Because at that time, we didn't understand each other at all."
"So, strictly speaking, it wasn't you who wanted to kill me at that time, it wasn't the Kurama I know who wanted to kill me."
"Rather, it was 'us,' it was all the injustices, imprisonment, and hatred that humans had inflicted upon you for a long time, using your claws, wanting to tear apart another human caught in it. At that time, you were just a tool carrying too many negative emotions."
He watched Kurama's ears twitch slightly and continued to analyze rationally, with a hint of self-mockery. "Not to mention, from a realistic perspective, if I were still your 'container' at that time, and if I had really died then, who knows... you might have gained freedom and been at ease by now."
Upon hearing this, Kurama finally couldn't help but raise a huge front paw, covering his face, and letting out a suppressed, whimpering growl from his throat.
It was this very point; the more Naruto acted so understanding, even trying to analyze from his perspective, this excessive kindness and understanding, instead, pricked his heart like needles, making him even more ashamed.
"Originally, by common sense, you'd at least be charged with 'attempted murder' or something..." Naruto changed the subject, his tone becoming lighter, "But, if you think about it carefully, how many times have you helped me over the years? And that one night, you pulled me out of that crazy woman's genjutsu and saved my life!"
Naruto made a gesture of "wiping the slate clean," "So, if you calculate it, our old debts have long been completely canceled out, haven't they?"
"And," Naruto's voice deepened again, "after I fully understood the entire truth of that night, I actually felt... you were quite pitiful."
Kurama's paw, covering his face, loosened slightly, as if he wanted to hear more.
"Everyone calls that disaster the 'Nine-Tails Attack,' blaming all the responsibility on your rampage." Naruto's tone carried a sense of injustice, "But the true culprit of all the tragedies that night was that masked attacker, wasn't it? He forcibly extracted you from my mother's body, then controlled you with his Sharingan, twisting your will..."
"Being forced to hurt others, being forced to commit cruel acts against your own will... That night, you and I, like my parents, were also victims of that conspiracy."
"Mmm... I know... Stop talking..."
Kurama finally responded, but his voice was extremely faint. After being understood and forgiven like this, he felt that if Naruto continued, his emotions might really get out of control, which would be too embarrassing for him.
But Naruto didn't stop, continuing to wash over the frozen corners of Kurama's heart.
"We were all victims of that night. I lost my parents, lost a normal childhood. And you... you lost your freedom, and even more, you lost your dignity as a powerful being, being locked into a new cage again—inside my body."
He smiled slightly, a bitter yet relieved smile, "Think about it, we two victims are now here, afraid of disappointing each other... Thinking about it carefully, it's really quite foolish."
Finally, Naruto walked to the edge of the iron cage, gently placed his hand on the cold bars, and looked with firm eyes at Kurama, who had buried his head even deeper.
"So, stop clinging to the shadows of the past, Kurama. The one who wanted to kill me that night was 'the past Kurama, blinded by hatred and manipulation,' it was 'the malice that humans imposed on you.'"
"And the one standing here, talking to me, is the one who is willing to lend me his power, to fight alongside me, my most important partner, Uzumaki Naruto's 'Kurama'!"
"How could I be disappointed or resentful about the past of my most important partner?? I can only feel immense pride that we have come this far together."
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