"Ding!"
"Congratulations, Host: You have established a Level 7 (Maxed) bond with the original character "Kurama"!"
"You have gained 800 points!"
The System's notification sounded in Naruto's mind, but his attention was completely focused on the giant fox in front of him.
Kurama still maintained its posture of lowering its head and half-covering its face with its paw, but the System's voice revealed its true inner thoughts.
"Alright, now you understand, don't you?" Naruto's tone was relaxed. "I forgive you for those things you said just now. So, don't act like that anymore."
So, did Naruto truly and completely forgive Kurama for its past actions, without any lingering resentment?
The answer is yes.
In Naruto's values, this was actually a very simple principle: if a murderer killed someone, the one to resent and punish should be the knife-wielding murderer himself, not the weapon used by the murderer, which had no independent will.
Naruto viewed Kurama's role back then in this way—it was mostly used by Obito as a destructive "weapon."
For harm caused involuntarily or through malicious exploitation, Naruto was willing to offer understanding and forgiveness, just as he was doing now with Kurama.
Of course, the scope of this "forgiveness" was limited and did not include extremely selfish acts—such as wanting to drag all innocent people in the world to their deaths if someone they loved died, or, after faking death for many years, meeting a teacher who had once cared for them, and the first thing they did was plot to kill the teacher's wife.
And then deceiving themselves by saying that all the people they killed could be "resurrected" in an illusory world.
However, Naruto's ability to forgive Kurama so easily and completely might also have a touch of selfishness mixed in—he genuinely liked this somewhat tsundere, fluffy big fox from the bottom of his heart.
Old Man… Meanwhile, in the depths of Kurama's heart, an ancient and benevolent figure emerged—that was the Six Paths Sage, who created them, the Tailed Beasts.
It recalled the prophecy he left before his departure, about the "person of destiny" who would eventually appear, capable of understanding all Tailed Beasts… At this moment, there was no longer any hesitation or wavering in Kurama's heart; it had made up its mind completely!
Naruto was that person!
This belief was firmly rooted in its deep consciousness. Even if the Six Paths Sage were truly alive now, standing before Kurama, and personally told Kurama that the person in the prophecy was actually someone else… Kurama thought almost obsessively in its heart, it would never admit it! It would only recognize Naruto! He was the only one!
Kurama lowered the giant front paw that had been covering its face. On its face, which had always shown fierce or tsundere expressions, a sense of relief finally appeared.
In its open eyes, there was an incredibly gentle gaze as it quietly looked at the small yet infinitely important Naruto standing before it.
"Hmph…" Kurama let out a habitual, somewhat awkward snort. "You kid… This Old Man has lived for thousands of years and seen countless humans skilled in lecturing, but compared to you… those guys don't even qualify for comparison."
"Eh? Really?" Naruto scratched his head a little sheepishly. "Were those things I just said… considered lecturing? I was just speaking my mind, that's all."
"…Never mind,"
Kurama tilted its head slightly, its voice carrying an unprecedented frankness. "This Old Man likes this about you, straightforward, saying whatever you think. So, we are even. You forgave this Old Man's past, and this Old Man… forgave you for lying to this Old Man earlier."
After saying this, Kurama itself seemed to find this "mutual forgiveness" scene a bit too "sappy," and couldn't help but let out a low, deep chuckle from the depths of its throat.
Even though it had deliberately lowered its volume, its enormous size made the laughter still echo loudly in the vast Seal space.
Relief, ease, comfort from being deeply understood… The hatred that had clung to it like a persistent disease for so long was now completely purified and shed by the warm sunlight, leaving behind a pure joy of regaining something lost and having an important person once again.
Kurama felt that even when it was not yet Sealed and possessed absolute freedom, its heart had never been as full and happy as it was now.
Watching Kurama laugh heartily, Naruto was completely infected by this emotion, grinning and showing a sunny smile. He finally unburdened himself of that small weight in his heart—the guilt he felt for initially having to fabricate a "dream" lie to communicate with Kurama.
One person and one fox, on this grassland constructed by their shared will, smiled at each other. In this laughter, there was no longer any barrier or testing, only genuine gratitude and joy for having each other as a friend who could completely understand each other and accept the past.
Finally, the laughter gradually subsided, but warm smiles still lingered on both their faces. Naruto seemed to remember something and proactively asked.
"Speaking of which, I really benefited this time, Kurama. By the way, aren't you curious? About the Six Paths Sage, and Ashura and Indra, where exactly did I learn about those things?"
"Whether it's a dream or not, for this Old Man, it's just a different way of knowing now; there's no essential difference." Kurama flicked its giant tail, appearing not too concerned.
But it immediately added, "However… this Old Man is indeed a little curious. The Old Man left suddenly, and he didn't leave any detailed records of these past events, no texts or stone tablets. How exactly did you come to know of them?"
"Well…" Naruto's face showed a somewhat troubled wry smile. "It might be a bit complicated to explain, and it might even sound a bit unbelievable…"
But, the next moment, Kurama made a move that made Naruto's pupils contract—it slowly raised a giant fist, covered in thick orange fur, and steadily held it in front of Naruto. The fist was so enormous that it could almost completely envelop Naruto's entire body.
Fist bump? This wasn't… wasn't this supposed to happen only during the Fourth Ninja World War? Now… now it's…?
This sudden development shocked Naruto, but he didn't hesitate for a moment. He trusted Kurama, just as Kurama trusted him now.
"Then how about this," Kurama's deep voice carried an undeniable trust, "Connect your Chakra with this Old Man's. Let this Old Man see for myself."
Naruto looked at the giant, symbolic fist before him, took a deep breath, and then firmly, unreservedly, raised his own comparatively tiny fist.
"Thump."
A faint sound echoed in the silent space of consciousness.
One large and one small, two distinctly different fists, pressed tightly together at this moment.
The next moment, two vast Chakras, originating from the same source yet flowing independently for a long time, were no longer a temporary borrowing or limited cooperation as before, but began a truly meaningful, unreserved—link and fusion!
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