I'm not that Naruto Uzumaki

As Naruto stepped one foot into the iron gate, the fox's closed eyes opened slightly, revealing a faint slit with a flicker of sharp light.

Pa!

The moment Naruto completely passed through the gap and stood on the other side of the iron gate, the fox's crimson eyes fully opened. Its massive body stirred, and nine giant tails shot up behind it, its entire being bristling with fiery red fur.

"Roar~Roar!"

The fox howled toward the sky.

Naruto looked up, focusing intently on the Nine-Tails. He had already activated the defensive mechanisms of his mirrored world. However, after stepping inside, he realized that the fox was several times larger than it had appeared from outside the gate.

He could hear a strange sense of satisfaction in the fox's roar. Just as he was trying to decipher its meaning, the fox stopped howling, its mountain-sized head lowering until it was nearly pressed against Naruto.

"Brat! I can't sense your fear!"

The fox's crimson eyes glowed dangerously as it spoke. Its massive jaws, lined with razor-sharp fangs, opened and closed as if considering whether to swallow Naruto whole.

"I didn't even know of your existence until today. Why should I be afraid? This is the sealed space that belongs to both you and me. In a way, we are equals. Besides, why define our relationship by who fears whom right from the start?"

Naruto saw his reflection in the fox's red pupils and answered without a change in expression.

"Heh… Equals!"

The moment the fox heard those words, its ferocious nature instantly surfaced. Its crimson chakra roiled violently like a tide of blood, and a flash of malice gleamed in its eyes, making its fox face appear all the more terrifying.

"Not good! The Nine-Tails really isn't one to keep its word!"

Outside the iron gate, Minato Namikaze noticed the shift in situation. The thought barely crossed his mind before his hands began forming seals at high speed, preparing to counter any crisis should Naruto lose control.

As Minato hurried, the ominous chakra completely engulfed Naruto's small body in the blink of an eye.

[Warning! Mental world under attack. In defensive mode, you may choose to forcibly expel or forcibly capture the intruder.]

The moment Naruto was wrapped in the chakra, his eyes turned completely red. Then, he heard the notification from his mirrored world. However, he temporarily ignored it because he realized that the fox's chakra wasn't invading his will—it was merely pulling him into a chaotic-looking space.

Here, he saw eerie entities similar to the ghostly spirits from some TV dramas in his past life. First, waves of whispers coaxed and enticed him, then a flood of hatred and negativity surged toward him like a roaring tide, attempting to drown him.

It was pure resentment.

Within this resentment, Naruto actually sensed some emotions emanating from the fox. More than that, he found these negative emotions oddly familiar. In an instant, they reminded him of his past life—the madness of wanting to break free from his wheelchair and become a healthy human.

Especially in his final moments, when a natural disaster struck, and life was slipping away. As he faced the great terror of death, he realized that no emotion could help him escape his doom.

That world—those twenty-odd years of struggling to survive—had shown him the darkest depths of human nature.

And in his final moment, as he was liberated, he had uttered the most venomous curse, cursing the world that had treated him unfairly.

After arriving in this world, he had felt from the very beginning that emotions had no impact on reality. The worse reality became, the easier people fell into unrealistic fantasies.

Hatred, numbness, despair, bitterness, collapse, fear—he had tasted them all.

Now, he finally understood: it was those very negative emotions that had sustained his insignificant life.

"Big fox, you should be able to sense my state of mind right now. These negative emotions mean nothing to me."

"Stop using such crude tricks to test me. As an existence that is practically immortal, you can't possibly comprehend the true despair of a human. You should be able to tell—I harbor no ill will toward you. I came here sincerely to discuss a solution with you."

The moment Naruto finished speaking, he realized he had returned from that chaotic space. The fox's pupils were fixed on him with intrigue.

Outside, Minato nearly stumbled when he heard his son's voice.

Though it seemed like the crisis he had feared hadn't occurred, he still remained on high alert, preparing for any unexpected developments.

"Brat, you're the strangest human I've ever met."

"Hatred is deeply rooted in your heart. You use negative emotions as fuel to nurture something unknown. Yet, at the same time, I sense that this hatred is gradually being stripped away from the world itself. You've become a detached observer with ice-cold rationality."

After testing Naruto, the fox seemed to confirm that he bore no hostility. Its menacing expression softened.

Naruto smiled slightly. "Are you curious about what is being nurtured?"

The fox bared its fangs. "Of course, I'm curious. I've watched you grow up, but I never imagined that the resentment spawned by your own negative emotions would be this vast."

"If I had to name it, I'd say what's being nurtured is the will to survive and grow stronger."

"Will? What is that?"

The fox's pupils slightly widened in confusion.

Naruto thought for a moment before explaining:

"Will is when a person consciously sets a goal, then adjusts and directs their actions accordingly, overcoming obstacles to achieve it. It is a crucial psychological factor in decision-making."

"The pain born from these negative emotions has scarred me deeply, yet at the same time, it has intoxicated me."

The fox mulled over Naruto's words before scoffing:

"Hmph! You've only been reading and writing for less than a year. How did you come up with such nonsense?"

Outside, Minato was just as bewildered. He finally realized that no matter how much he had observed Naruto growing up—or even in their recent interactions—his son did not behave like a child.

Naruto's demeanor was more akin to an adult with a wealth of life experience.

Not just any adult, but someone who had endured unimaginable hardships.

A grim expression overtook Minato's face as he sank into deep thought…

Naruto's gaze remained bright as he stared into the fox's eyes. "Pain fosters growth. Now, can we talk about cooperation?"

The fox's slit pupils narrowed suspiciously. "What kind of cooperation?"

Minato, listening from outside, also perked up.

Naruto spoke with solemnity. "I will give you a promise."

The fox instinctively responded, "What promise?"

Naruto locked eyes with the fox, his gaze unwavering.

"Within sixteen years, I will free you from this seal. I will grant you true freedom—if you believe in me."

A heavy silence fell upon the sealed space.

The fox was stunned.

Even Minato, for once, did not immediately object.

After a long pause, the fox roared, "Do you understand? If I am freed, I will destroy Konoha!"

"That has nothing to do with me."

Naruto's response was indifferent, as if his father—the Fourth Hokage of Konoha—did not exist.

"Roar!"

"Brat! Tell me! You're really willing to give the Tailed Beasts freedom? Do you realize that if a Tailed Beast leaves its Jinchūriki, the Jinchūriki will die without exception?"

Naruto's expression remained unchanged. "Die without exception? Nothing is absolute. This is the shinobi world, where chakra holds miraculous powers. I will find a way to free you while keeping myself alive."

"Moreover, I'll say it again—you Tailed Beasts possess intelligence equal to humans. To me, there is no difference between Tailed Beasts and humans. We can communicate as equals."

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