"Then, Uncle Bee, and Gyuki, see you later."
Kano then moved in the direction Gyuki had pointed, searching through the darkness that filled her vision, which was a bit creepy.
Finally, she saw a bit of light—no, it was a little blonde head.
"Naruto!"
"Kano-chan, you're here!"
Naruto ran over to Kano's side. Their fingers touched for a moment, then he scratched his head and pulled away.
Naruto's manner of liking her but keeping his distance was too cute; she couldn't help but want to tease him.
Kano grabbed his hand and smiled at the blushing Naruto.
"It's so dark here, it's a bit scary. It wasn't easy to find you, so you have to hold onto me tight. I'll be scared if we get separated."
Seeing Naruto's shy expression with his face slightly red, Kano let out a mischievous grin. Is this the joy of being Takagi-san? Anyway, this was inside Naruto's inner world; letting him hold her hand wasn't a loss.
She followed Naruto to the place where the Nine-Tailed was sealed. It wasn't as open as the Eight-Tails' area; there was a massive gate with bars spaced so far apart that she could walk right through them.
"Is the Nine-Tailed inside?"
"Yeah, it's probably hiding in there."
"Can you come with me to take a look?"
"Sure."
The two of them walked up to the gate, still holding hands. They couldn't see where the Nine-Tailed was at all; it was pitch black inside, feeling as if there was nothing there.
Kano poked her head in to look.
Suddenly, a giant claw reached out, scaring Kano so much she fell onto her butt.
"How did another girl show up? Is she a sacrifice for me?"
"Hey, you stinking fox!" Naruto helped Kano up and cursed at the Nine-Tailed. "She's my best friend, I won't let you hurt her!"
Even through a layer of the cage, she could clearly feel that hatred—a bottomless malice.
Kano didn't like judging right from wrong; she only acted according to her own preferences. Right now, she wanted to help Naruto persuade the Nine-Tailed and give Naruto a little bit of help.
"Ha... whew." She took a deep breath, preparing to start her Talk no Jutsu. "Kurama, I've come to find you."
"Who are you? Why do you know this old one's name?!"
"Should I introduce myself? My name is Nara Kano, age 11. I live in the Nara Clan Area in the northeastern part of Konoha Village. I am unmarried. I train at the Nara clan training grounds every day until 8 PM before going home. I don't smoke, and I don't drink. I go to bed at 11 PM and make sure to get 8 hours of sleep. Before bed, I always drink a glass of warm milk and do 20 minutes of stretching. Once in bed, I fall asleep immediately. I sleep until morning, never leaving fatigue or stress for the next day. The doctors say I'm very normal."
"Are you sick in the head? What kind of self-introduction was that!"
Kano felt there was nothing wrong with her introduction; she actually quite liked introducing herself that way.
"I came to find you for a purpose, naturally."
"What purpose?"
"I want to undo your seal and set you free."
"Kano-chan, what are you saying? If the seal is undone, it'll come out and hurt people! You can't undo the seal!"
"Kid, this is none of your business, get lost! this old one wants to talk to this girl now."
"Naruto, you don't understand yet. Just listen to our conversation. I hope you can understand—that you can understand each other."
"Kurama, I know you've suffered unfair treatment. Just because you possess great power, you were cruelly controlled and sealed away by others."
"Having great power isn't your fault. Besides, why weren't those people who were even stronger than you sealed away?"
By speaking from the Nine-Tailed's perspective, Kano hit the nail right on the head. It couldn't help but nod, feeling more and more aggrieved as it listened. It hadn't done anything, yet first it was controlled by Uchiha Madara, then suppressed by Senju Hashirama, and immediately following that, sealed by a Jinchuriki.
If talking about danger, weren't Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama, who could defeat it, even more dangerous? Why weren't those two sealed away as well?
"Damn Uchiha Madara! Damn Senju Hashirama! It's all their fault! this old one committed no crime, yet I was constantly betrayed, hurt, used, and finally sealed! You can understand me, can't you? Hurry and undo the seal, let me out!"
"Yes, I will."
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