"Who... who are you really?" The Nine-Tails' pupils contracted sharply as Uchiha Akira casually mentioned its true name. The beast's gaze locked onto Akira with intense focus.
Only the Sage of Six Paths and a few other tailed beasts knew the Nine-Tails' name. No one else in the ninja world should have such knowledge.
Yet, here was this Uchiha boy, effortlessly revealing the name that the Nine-Tails had kept secret for so long.
"Kurama, do you remember what the Sage of Six Paths once told all of you?" Akira sat casually in front of the iron bars of the seal, not in any hurry to answer the Nine-Tails' question. Instead, he continued speaking calmly.
"Naruto is the one the Sage spoke of, so it would be wise for you to get along with him."
"Perhaps you don't know this yet, but let me share another secret with you: Hashirama Senju was the reincarnation of the Sage's son, Asura. Naruto Uzumaki is also a reincarnation of Asura."
"So, in a way, Naruto is the reincarnation of Hashirama Senju as well."
"You were once sealed by Hashirama. If you form a bond with Naruto and become his companion, there's a good chance he'll one day release the seal on you."
"Also, don't think that just because you're sealed inside Naruto and he borrows your chakra, that he's taking advantage of you. Honestly, even without sealing you within him, Naruto's chakra reserves would still rival those of Hashirama."
"So, whether you choose to cooperate is entirely up to you," Akira finished speaking, and his form gradually faded, disappearing from the sealed space.
Hmph! The Nine-Tails snorted as Akira's form vanished. "He talks a good game about having a conversation," it muttered.
In truth, all Akira had done was ramble on without answering the Nine-Tails' question. After saying his piece, he simply left. Was that his idea of a conversation?
Despite its grumbling, the Nine-Tails couldn't shake the shock from the information Akira had just revealed.
He said that Naruto was the reincarnation of Hashirama? And also the reincarnation of the Sage's son?
Was the prophecy the Sage had spoken of referring to this boy, Naruto?
But how did this kid know what the Sage had told the nine-tailed beasts long ago?
If Akira hadn't revealed its true name and recounted things that only Hashirama had said on the battlefield—things only the Nine-Tails and Hashirama could have known—the beast wouldn't have taken him seriously.
But the fact that Akira knew these details, things he couldn't possibly have overheard, made the Nine-Tails reconsider.
It seems this Uchiha Akira has a lot of secrets, the Nine-Tails mused. And most importantly, he seems to have some very special sources of information—knowledge that no one else should have.
Naruto Uzumaki, huh? If I really get along with him, will he eventually release my seal? The Nine-Tails' voice echoed in the empty sealed space...
"How did it go? How was your conversation with the Nine-Tails?" Naruto asked as Akira emerged from the sealed space.
"Hmm, it went pretty well," Akira replied with a smile, nodding in satisfaction.
Even though they hadn't had a proper conversation, Akira was confident that what he had said would have a significant impact.
Though he didn't have the power of "Kotoamatsukami" like Shisui, Akira believed that his prior knowledge of the entire script gave his words considerable weight.
"Naruto, you've already mastered chakra extraction, haven't you?" Akira asked, moving on from the topic of the Nine-Tails.
"Yeah, I've got the hang of it!" Naruto replied enthusiastically.
After all, he had spent a year at the Ninja Academy, so he had grasped the basics. While the original story labeled Naruto as the "Dead Last," the truth was that he possessed incredible potential.
"Good. Today, I'm going to teach you an A-rank forbidden jutsu: the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique," Akira announced.
"Really?" Naruto's eyes lit up with excitement.
He knew what it meant to learn an A-rank forbidden jutsu, but he quickly became doubtful. "But I've only just learned how to extract chakra... Can I really master an A-rank jutsu?"
It wasn't that Naruto lacked confidence; it was just that the idea of mastering such a powerful technique seemed daunting. A jutsu that powerful surely required an enormous amount of chakra to perform, right? Could a beginner like him really handle it?
It was like in martial arts stories, where someone who had just learned to sense their qi was suddenly expected to perform advanced techniques like energy blasts. Could that really be possible?
"It seems you don't fully understand your own potential yet," Akira chuckled. "Your training isn't about increasing your chakra reserves. It's about tapping into the chakra you already have."
"Besides, if you ever find yourself running low, you can always borrow some from the Nine-Tails."
"So your focus should be on controlling your chakra and mastering jutsu."
Yes, in a way, Naruto was like someone born with a thousand years' worth of energy. His goal wasn't to increase that energy but to learn how to control and utilize it effectively. And if he ever needed extra power, there was always the Nine-Tails as a backup battery.
"I... I'm not sure I fully understand, but I can learn it, right?" Naruto said, grinning.
He might not grasp all the details, but what mattered was that he was capable of learning an A-rank jutsu!
Without wasting time, Akira began explaining the key points of the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.
In the original story, Naruto had stolen the forbidden scroll one night and, after practicing on his own, had mastered the technique, even producing a thousand clones on his first try.
And most impressively, Naruto had simplified the A-rank jutsu to the point where he could perform it with just one hand sign.
Yet people still dared to say Naruto wasn't talented?
Then there was the tree-climbing exercise during the Chunin Exams. Despite Sasuke being hailed as a genius, he and Naruto had both reached the top of the trees by the end of the night.
In fact, Naruto had improved faster than Sasuke during that exercise. Even though Sakura had better chakra control and Sasuke was slightly behind her, Naruto, with his notoriously poor control, managed to keep up by sheer force of will and raw chakra.
When Jiraiya helped Naruto remove Orochimaru's Five-Element Seal, Naruto immediately grasped water-walking, proving that his talent might even surpass Sasuke's.
After Akira finished explaining the technique, Naruto moved off to the side to practice.
As for Akira, he lay down nearby, focusing his attention on the life simulator in front of him. A prompt appeared:
[Would you like to spend 1,000,000 ryo to conduct a life simulation?]
Now that Akira had reached the early stages of Kage-level strength, each simulation cost a staggering 1,000,000 ryo.
As for where the money came from? Well, he had recently been assigned to a mission on the village's border, a mission requiring a team of several ninjas. Naturally, he needed some funds for the journey—food, lodging, supplies, and so on.
So Akira had requested a budget from Fugaku, the Hokage. After much persuasion, he had finally secured a budget of 3,000,000 ryo.
Seeing that Naruto was absorbed in his training, Akira turned his attention back to the life simulator. In an instant, 1,000,000 ryo disappeared.
The simulator began.
[You successfully killed the Third Hokage, ensuring the success of the Uchiha coup. Your name resounded across the ninja world, with many predicting that your future achievements would rival those of Madara Uchiha.]
[Your eight-man team left Konoha and headed for the border.]
[Ten days later, you neared the border of the Land of Wind.]
[Half a month later, you encountered an elite unit from Sunagakure. After a fierce battle, your team sustained only minor injuries and successfully repelled the enemy, establishing your dominance and forcing them to retreat.]
[Eighteen days later, while en route to the border of the Land of Earth, your team was poisoned.]
[It turns out that Orochimaru and Sasori of the Red Sand, the "Poison Duo" of the Akatsuki, had secretly poisoned your group, reducing your combat effectiveness by seventy percent.]
[At a critical moment, Might Guy opened the Seventh Gate, but Sasori, controlling his hundred puppets, including the Third Kazekage puppet, managed to stall all of you.]
[You attempted to open the Eighth Gate, but Orochimaru struck first, immobilizing you.]
[You died.]
The simulation ended, and Akira's face darkened.
He hadn't expected that even after reaching Kage-level, he would still die so easily.
So it seems that poison really is a terrifyingly powerful tool in battle...
And with Orochimaru and Sasori, the two top poison users in the Naruto world, he was facing the ultimate challenge.
In terms of chakra enhancement, jutsu acquisition, and bloodline upgrades, this simulation hadn't yielded much. Was it a waste of 1,000,000 ryo?
But when he considered the early warning about this deadly scenario, the cost seemed more like a necessary investment than a waste.
**********
Note: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 136 at patreon.com/Emik01.