"Hmph! Stop pretending in front of me! If you can summon someone with such evil power, you're no good either!"

  Kyubi scoffed at Naruto's expnation. In its eyes, Itachi was clearly someone Naruto had brought in.

  Naruto was truly in a tough spot, unable to expin himself. If he hadn't come here, he wouldn't even have known what Itachi had done to him. And Kyubi wasn't the type to listen to expnations. Not only had he been pyed by Itachi, but now he was also being resented by the kyubi.

  "Sigh~ What if I told you I just found out what that guy did it to me? Would you believe me?"

  "Hmph! Do you think I'd believe that?"

  Kyubi looked at Naruto as if he were an idiot, its tone dripping with disdain. Naruto scratched his head, unsure of what to do. Even with two lifetimes of experience, he had no idea how to handle this situation.

  "Anyway, all I can say is that I was also tricked. Whether you believe me or not is up to you. How about this—let's work together?"

  "Work together? You're saying you want to cooperate with me? Hah! Hahahaha!"

  Kyubi burst into ughter as if it had just heard the funniest joke. Its ughter was filled with endless mockery. As the strongest of the Nine Tailed Beasts, no one had ever dared to say such a thing to it. Even Uchiha Madara back in the day could only control it through the Sharingan. In its eyes, a mere human had no right to utter those words, especially when that human was just a kid.

  "Kid, do you even know what you're saying? Cooperation? What makes you think you have the right to say that to me? What can you even offer me?"

  Naruto wasn't angered by Kyubi mockery. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and carefully observed the beast. For some reason, he suddenly felt that Kyubi was truly pitiful.

  "Freedom. I can give you freedom."

  "Freedom? Hahahaha! Hahahaha!"

  This time, Kyubi ughed even louder. If it weren't for being firmly bound to the cross, it might have been rolling on the ground in ughter. The ughter sted for nearly a minute before gradually subsiding. The moment it stopped, Kyubi expression and emotions shifted, and it spoke in a low, sinister voice.

  "Kid, you probably don't realize this yet, do you? You're a jinchūriki, and I'm a tailed beast. My freedom is built upon your life. The moment I gain my freedom, it means your death. Offering me freedom as a bargaining chip is equivalent to trading your own life. Do you understand that?"

  Kyubi suddenly raised its voice, almost roaring at Naruto. But Naruto remained unfazed. Knowing the future, he also knew that a win-win solution was possible.

  "Of course I understand. In fact, I understand it better than anyone alive today. But I can make it happen! One day, I'll set you free!"

  Naruto looked at the Nine-Tails with determined eyes, trying to gain its trust, but all he received was the kyubi disdain.

  "Boring tricks! you! a brat like you dares to speak so arrogantly? Forget it, it's enough. Kid, I have nothing more to say to you."

  The Kyubi tone suddenly grew weary as it lowered its head and closed its eyes, returning to the state it was in when Naruto first arrived.

  Naruto frowned slightly. Although leaving now wouldn't be a problem, he knew from the future plot that he would eventually need the Kyubi power. Following the original story would naturally be fine, but now that this situation had arisen, if he didn't handle it well, it could affect many things ter. If something went wrong with theKyubi power and led to his demise, it would be a huge loss. So, he at least needed to gain the Kyubi trust now.

  "I'm not tricking you Kurama!"

  The Nine-Tails trembled all over, its eyes snapping open in shock. How long had it been since someone called it by that name? Even It had almost forgotten it. Yet now, it was being uttered by a child. How could it not be surprised?

  "How... how do you know that name? Who exactly are you?"

  Naruto lowered his head, avoiding the Nine-Tails' gaze to prevent revealing any fws, and feigned confusion as he shook his head.

  "I don't know either. The moment I saw you, many names appeared in my mind—Shukaku, Matatabi, Isobu, Son Goku, Kokuō, Saiken, Chōmei, Gyūki, Kurama. I only knew that the name corresponding to you was Kurama."

  The Nine-Tails furrowed its brows, its gaze gradually softening. After a long while, it finally cracked a smile.

  "Heh! If that's the case, then prove it to me through your actions! I'm starting to believe you a little."

  "Alright! It's settled then! I'll prove it to you. By the way, my name is Uzumaki Naruto!"

  After saying this, Naruto opened his eyes, looking at the familiar ceiling, and let out a long sigh of relief. He gently touched his stomach and couldn't help but grin.

  "Finally managed to bluff my way through. Tsk! I never expected the target of Tsukuyomi to be the Nine-Tails. No wonder I didn't notice anything unusual. But why? What's Itachi's purpose in doing this? He should be absolutely loyal to Konoha. There's no reason for him to target the Nine-Tails. I really can't figure it out."

  If it had been Uchiha Fugaku, Naruto might have worried that Fugaku was pnning to use the Nine-Tails during a coup. But since it was Uchiha Itachi, he could basically rule out that possibility. However, after eliminating that possibility, he still couldn't understand what Itachi's true intentions were.

  Anyway, the matter was resolved, and since he couldn't figure it out, Naruto didn't dwell on it and soon fell into a deep sleep.

  ...........

  Early in the morning, Naruto arrived at school on time. As soon as he entered the cssroom, he saw that many people had already arrived, including Hinata. Since css hadn't started yet, the students were chatting in groups—girls in one cluster, boys in another. Sasuke, as the handsome heir of a prominent cn, was surrounded by many people. Naruto, familiar with the routine, went over and sat next to Hinata.

  "Yo, Hinata, you're here early."

  "Ah! Naruto-kun, you're early too."

  Hinata's cheeks flushed slightly, and she looked startled. Naruto was about to continue speaking with a smile when a group of students filed into the cssroom. Shortly after, the bell rang, and Iruka entered the room. The previously noisy cssroom instantly fell silent.

  "Alright, css is about to start. Everyone, please return to your seats. Today's lesson is very important, so pay close attention. We'll be covering one of the three basic ninjutsu techniques—the Transformation Technique. Please take out your notebooks and take notes as I expin..."

  Iruka pulled out his prepared lesson pn and began lecturing enthusiastically. Naruto, who was determined to remain at the bottom of the css, immediately slumped onto his desk and casually pushed his notebook over to Hinata beside him.