Time flies.
Three years passed in the blink of an eye.
In a worn-down, tiny apartment barely over a meter tall, Naruto expertly prepares himself a cup of instant noodles.
The taste nearly makes him gag.
Since Naruto showed signs of "remembering" from his past life, he had been left alone in this apartment.
Born with memories of his previous life, Naruto finally understood the cost of the first two years of his life in the house provided by Minato.
During the two years before his birth, Sarutobi Hiruzen had hired a nanny to care for Naruto's daily life.
For those two years, Naruto grew like a normal child.
Sometimes, when the nanny took him out into the sunlight, he remained an orphan, left behind by the Nine-Tails' incident.
After surpassing the age of two and demonstrating his "memory,"
he was expelled from Minato's house and left to live in the poor districts for war orphans.
Of course, no one knew how a two-year-old survived in the original story!
Naruto only knew that when he was less than half a meter tall, his meals consisted of bread and instant noodles.
It was during this time that word began spreading about Naruto as the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki.
He also encountered the worst of human nature: isolation, mockery, and exclusion.
He began to feel the deepest hatred in the Ninja World and could hardly imagine how a two-year-old ignorant child could grow into a pure-hearted person like Naruto under such circumstances.
Anyone normal would have become a vengeful being, consumed by hatred, like Sasuke or Gaara.
Even Kurama, who had lived two lives, had to rely on his sealed chakra within Naruto to communicate and release his emotions.
At that time, Naruto was still too weak, and if any abnormality arose, Sarutobi Hiruzen would have undoubtedly, without hesitation, followed Danzo's advice and sent Naruto to Root for brainwashing.
There are bad people and good people.
Though Naruto had lost proper care, he finally began his path as a ninja.
Even though ANBU watched him from the outside, he now had his own independent space.
Suppressing his nausea, he finished his instant noodles and plunged his consciousness into the sealed space of the Nine-Tails.
In the black corridors, enormous iron doors.
The terrifying Nine-Tails slept beyond the doors.
Feeling Naruto's approach, Kurama didn't even open his eyes, turning away with disdain and returning to sleep.
Seeing the defiant Nine-Tails, Naruto was silent in confusion and said:
— Kurama, you said more than three years have passed, shouldn't you be calm by now?
— Not me. I didn't seal you. If we got along well, where would you go in the future? Let's go together.
— And see how good I am now. Do I want to be a Jinchuriki?
Kurama snorted at Naruto's words, turned away, and went back to sleep, unwilling to interact.
This frustrated Naruto, who had dreamed of becoming the perfect Jinchuriki all these years.
He had initially thought that knowing the Nine-Tails' true name and forming mutual understanding would easily win recognition and turn him into a true partner for Kurama.
But Kurama was completely unimpressed with his speech.
Over the past three years, Naruto had tried many times to communicate, yet Kurama ignored him, and at the start even scared him.
Later, seeing that Naruto was no longer afraid, Kurama simply began to ignore him.
Until a year ago,
when Kurama observed Naruto's difficult life, he consciously restrained the overflowing chakra.
Naruto did not know whether it was out of sympathy.
Every time Kurama didn't interfere, Naruto mastered chakra at a frighteningly high level instantly.
After experimenting with an enormous amount of Uzumaki chakra, Naruto realized he now possessed at least a significant portion of his potential.
At the very least, creating a Water Dragon Bomb or a massive waterfall should be no trouble.
Kurama's current position thrilled Naruto, and he practiced with the Nine-Tails for three days and three nights until Kurama grew tired of Naruto's persistent chakra.
This alarmed the ANBU outside, and Kurama, still in his excitement, stopped trying to provoke further.
However, Kurama noticed Naruto turning away and ignoring him, fearing to hear the constant monologue again.
Yet, by responding to Naruto's attempts at communication, Kurama silently agreed to share experiences accumulated from being sealed by the Nine-Tails.
It's unclear how much time passed.
Naruto exited the sealed space without hesitation.
Kurama, turning his head toward Naruto's departure, muttered sadly:
— The perfect Jinchuriki… it's so simple.
Kurama knew that the Eight Trigrams Seal in Naruto's body wasn't something a half-hearted Nine-Tails could easily escape.
Unilateral consent from Naruto was not enough; a key was required to release the Eight Trigrams Seal… the scroll of sealing, sent by Minato to Mount Myoboku, capable of opening the seal and making Naruto the perfect Jinchuriki.
Kurama was born as an innocent and kind baby fox,
once living a peaceful life among mountains and forests.
But encountering Senju Hashirama, the elder,
one phrase—"I see you are dangerous"—led to his capture and subjugation.
Later, Uchiha Madara forcibly bound him, starting a war with Senju Hashirama.
Eventually, everything remained the same, sealed within Uzumaki Mito's body.
It's hard to say there was no hatred; before being sealed, Kurama had wanted to kill Naruto to never remain trapped again.
But with Naruto appearing in the sealed space, he continued to speak to him for three years.
During these three years, Kurama genuinely considered Naruto a friend.
Kurama, sensing anger, understood everything no worse than anyone else.
Thus, Kurama no longer felt the same hatred toward Naruto as before, having remembered the teachings of the Sixth Hokage about living in harmony with the tailed beast.
However, the Eight Trigrams Seal was not based on Naruto's will, and even if he wished to connect with Kurama, he could not fully do so.
The only thing Kurama could do was return the chakra that had originally spilled through the gaps of the Eight Trigrams Seal.
Additionally, he had forgotten Minato Namikaze, the Sixth Hokage, who had used the Reverse Eight Trigrams Seal to bind his chakra for Naruto's training.
These two had already granted three-year-old Naruto true superpower.
Though still just a Jonin with blue framing, enough to suppress Sharingan, this was still Kurama's terrifying chakra.
With the Uzumaki family controlling the chakra precisely, Naruto could now learn any ninja skill at any time.
Of course, Naruto was unaware of this.
Now, wearing a thick coat, he prepared to step outside. It was New Year, yet he had no company.
Although mentally prepared, he was still furious, feeling the deepest hatred in the Ninja World!
— Damn it, Sarutobi Hiruzen! Wait, you cannot die so gloriously!
Saying this, he inflated a balloon and stepped outside.
Rasengan—the only practical ninjutsu he could master as a transmigrator.