Chapter 24: Meeting Kurama…again

Four people were currently happily talking with each other inside a clearing of a huge forest. At first glance, it looked like 2 children that were talking to their parent’s, but if someone were to listen in on the conversation and take a closer look, it would rather feel like three adults listening to the rambling speech of a single child, that was excitingly telling them about his adventures.

Minato, Kushina, and Yuna were currently listening to Naruto’s stories of how he explored certain parts of Konoha or played a prank at someone that annoyed him with fond smiles.

Minato had already given Kushina a rough explanation on who Yuna was and it seems like Kushina decided that Yuna was some kind of second mother to Naruto, which could more or less be considered correct, considering how much Yuna has supported him so far. So, the “three” parents were currently listening to Naruto explain how he has lived his life so far. All of it.

Unfortunately, a short while after Naruto’s explanation finished, Minato’s chakra ran out and he had to leave. This naturally was followed by a sea of tears from Naruto. It took Kushina quite a while to pacify him, but in the end, she managed to do so.

This time, it was Kushina’s turn to tell Naruto about her life. All of it. Again…

Although Yuna’s eyebrow was heavily twitching at the end of it, she endured the exposition onslaught for Naruto’s sake. A long time later… a VERY long time later, Kushina had used up all her chakra as well and it was time for her to leave. Before she disappeared, she gave the twins a hug, while saying a few more words.

“Live well, my children.”

While Naruto started crying even harder, Yuna could only offer Kushina a wry smile. Even Yuna’s grandchildren had grandchildren older than Kushina. Not treating Kushina like a little brat was all the concessions Yuna was willing to give her. After Kushina vanished as well, it was Yuna’s turn to pacify the crying Naruto.

“*Sniff* s-sorry, nee-san”

“Sorry? What are you sorry about?”

“For crying like that.”

Yuna could only roll her eyes at him.

“If you want to cry, then cry. As long as it helps you get over your sadness, then there is nothing shameful about that. Just never forget to always keep moving forward, no matter the situation.”

“A-alright, nee-san. I understand”

Naruto gave Yuna a happy smile and even though there was still some sadness in it, Naruto seems to have calmed down a little.

“Well, Naruto, are you ready for the last meeting of the day?”

“The Kyuubi part that is sealed inside me, right? Yes, I am ready.”

“Good, then let’s go”

Naruto and Yuna made their way back out of the forest and entered the sewer system, which is currently the representation of Naruto’s mindscape. The deeper they walked in, the deeper Naruto’s frown became, until he couldn’t take it anymore.

“Nee-san, I really need to change this place. This is way too gloomy.”

“Haha, I know, right. Don’t worry. A few months of training and you should be able to change it however you like. Do you already know what you want to do with it?”

“Of course, nee-san, I want a huge ocean and an equally huge beach!”

“Oh? Where did you get that idea?”

Naruto actually blushed a little before answering.

“I saw a beach in a book and it looked really cool.”

Yuna couldn’t help but smirk at that. Changing one’s own mindscape into something just because you saw it once and thought it would be cool is a very “Narutoish” idea. In the end, however, it doesn’t really matter. Your mindscape should be something you can use to relax in, after all. What it looks like is, at the end of the day, not something you should fuss about too much.

“Don’t worry, Naruto. Just do it however you like.”

After a few more minutes of walking, they reached yet another cage, with yet another giant fox in it. Kurama naturally noticed the twins enter as well and as soon as he spotted Yuna, he gave her an annoyed look. Yuna could only smile wryly at that, after all, she can’t just forcefully enter another person’s mindscape without dealing some permanent damage to it and if she went in with Naruto’s permission, Naruto would naturally meet Kurama as well. So, until now, Yuna really had no chance to visit the other half of Kurama. Kurama naturally knew that as well, but he decided to be angry at Yuna anyway. He, however, decided to at least play the act of not knowing Yuna to keep her secrets.

[Two brats? What do you want from me?]

Yuna was just about to answer when Naruto boldly stepped forward. After walking a few steps further, he stopped, lifted his hand, pointed it at Kurama, and boldly made his declaration.

“I want to become your friend!”

Yuna and Kurama both stared at Naruto, completely dumbfounded. Kurama’s first thought was that Yuna told Naruto to say that, but considering she was actually dumbfounded for once, he quickly denied that option. He usually would have started to throw curses at Naruto, but Kurama was still a little confused about the current situation, so he asked a question instead.

[Why?]

“Because your other half said that it was really boring to be sealed away for all those years. Even if I can’t let you out of my body, I at least don’t want you to be bored all the time. Your other half can see through nee-san’s eyes, I bet if I try really hard, I can let you see through mine as well. Nee-san also said that she will teach me how I can change my mindscape so it doesn’t look so dreary anymore. I will build you a really nice place to relax in. So, what about it, will you be my friend?”

Kurama was still completely dumbfounded. Naruto was not the first human to approach him with all kinds of promises, but the eyes of those humans were always filled with greed and deceit. Naruto’s eyes, however, were filled with nothing but innocence and honesty. Naruto genuinely wanted to become his friend, because he thought that it would help Kurama out of his boredom. If it was Yuna spinning that tale he would think that she is skilled enough to trick him, however, there is no way a normal child was capable of that. So, he did the only thing he could think of. He started laughing. The situation was just too ridiculous. First, Yuna appears and becomes his friend by earning his trust and respect and now the little brother appears and overwhelms Kurama with his innocence and will to help others.

[BWAHAHAHA, very well, brat. Show me what you can do. Being acknowledged by me isn’t easy. Let’s see what you can do.]

Naruto’s face was filled with a surprising amount of conviction as he gave his answer.

“Don’t worry, I will do just that. I will have you acknowledge me and then I will have you give me your name, just you wait.”

[Hahaha, good. I can’t wait.]

Naruto gave Kurama another nod and then started walking away from Kurama. Meanwhile, Yuna was still standing at the entrance of Kurama’s room, while having absolutely no clue what just happened.

‘Did Naruto just convince him to be friends? How did that even happen? Could someone please explain the situation to me? How did an 8-year-old convince someone this old to be friends? Well, I guess they aren’t really friends yet, but they are clearly on a good path. What the hell?’

This was the first and certainly not the last time Yuna experienced the most powerful of all techniques in Naruto’s arsenal. The talk-no-jutsu.