Chakra is honestly a miraculous substance.
Since merging with the lifeforms of the Shinobi World, it represents life in the living and the soul in the dead, capable of transmitting both abilities and raw unfiltered emotions.
The Nine-Tails sealed within Naruto is a prime example of this.
Initially, the giant demon fox was merely a cynical observer.
From day one, it watched Naruto grow up, witnessing his entire childhood as he endured relentless bullying from the inherently malicious assholes of Konoha.
Similarly, the Nine-Tails also witnessed the arrival of Isshiki and Momoshiki from the future.
Unlike the thick-headed Naruto who completely failed to grasp their significance, the Nine-Tails clearly understood what those alien freaks represented.
The death of Madara did not guarantee its safety or freedom from mind control!
Words can deceive, but chakra never lies.
As the proud and aloof Nine-Tails gradually opened a crack in its cynical heart, its connection with Naruto, its Jinchūriki, grew significantly stronger.
Due to the continued existence of the seal, this physical connection essentially became a permanent "locked-on skill."
The Nine-Tails now passively experiences every single one of Naruto's body sensations at all times.
24/7.
Normally, this wouldn't be a huge problem.
Even if Naruto got the absolute crap beaten out of him during training, the mere physical pain wouldn't bother the Nine-Tails, given its resilience.
However, the synchronization of his other senses had become absolutely excessive!
For instance, just now: being swallowed whole and kicked by giant toads, then forcibly stuffed with squirming worms to be eaten alive—the Nine-Tails found it utterly disgusting.
"I wasn't mistaken earlier. Half of my essence has been released from the Reaper Death Seal and is somewhere nearby... What the hell is happening out there?"
Inside the Sealing Space, after a bout of dry heaving, the Nine-Tails recalled the earlier events.
It had sensed the other half of its own chakra, which should have been sealed alongside the Fourth Hokage.
But since the two halves hadn't actually made physical contact, the Nine-Tails remained completely in the dark about what had happened to its other half.
This division into two entities was functionally similar to the Shadow Clone technique.
Just as the memories of a Shadow Clone only synchronize upon its dispersal, the Nine-Tails couldn't access the lived experiences of its other half yet.
While the giant fox pondered this existential crisis, the elderly toad couple, Fukasaku and Shima, had already dragged Naruto—whose stomach was still stuffed with detoxification worms—to the main hall to meet the Great Toad Sage.
"Great Toad Sage! You once prophesied to Jiraiya-chan that his disciple would change the entire Shinobi World. This is his disciple! Please look at this child—is he the Child of Prophecy?"
Sage Shima gazed expectantly at the senile toad, who was currently dozing off on his massive stone throne.
"Hmm... I did have a dream just now..." the Great Toad Sage slowly croaked.
"Wonderful! What did you dream about?!" Sage Shima's eyes widened.
She held her breath, terrified of mishearing a single syllable coming out of the senile old toad mouth.
The Great Toad Sage's dreams were, after all, prophecies.
"This blond child will resolve his deep misunderstanding with the Nine-Tails, and they will eventually come to accept each other..." the Great Toad Sage continued, pausing frequently to breathe.
"Hmph."
Deep inside the Sealing Space, the Nine-Tails loudly scoffed at these words.
But then it remembered that even the legendary Sage of the Six Paths had completely trusted this old toad's prophecies...
Could it really be destined to reconcile and actively cooperate with this loudmouth blond brat?
'Fuck it, i dont care.'
The Nine-Tails decided to stop giving itself a headache over it.
What's done is done.
Even if it were forced to reconcile with Naruto in the future, that future version of itself could deal with the cringe when the time came.
The Nine-Tails certainly wasn't going to drastically change its current hostile attitude toward Naruto based on mere prophecy.
With that stubborn thought, the Nine-Tails snorted coldly, lay down on his paws and prepared to take a nap.
"Wonderful! To think he'd actually reconcile with the terrifying Nine-Tails! This child truly is the Child of Prophecy!"
"Indeed! Jiraiya has been searching for the savior for so long and now he's finally appeared. It seems the Shinobi World is about to enter a brand new era!"
Shima and Fukasaku exchanged hopeful glances, their wrinkly faces beaming with joy!
"Great Toad Sage, what comes next? Is there more to the prophecy?" Sage Shima asked eagerly, her eyes practically glued to the giant toad.
The Great Toad Sage remained entirely unmoved, maintaining his excruciatingly slow deliberate pace of speech.
"Then... this child and the Nine-Tails will become husband and wife."
"Excellent! Naruto actually marries the Nine-Tails... Wait, what the hell?!"
The hopeful smile instantly vanished from Sage Shima's face, immediately replaced by shock, pure horror, and utter bewilderment.
"NANIIIIIIIIIIIIIII?!"
The Nine-Tails, sealed within its cage, was violently jolted awake.
'Husband and WHAT?!'
Leaving aside the wildly illegal fact that one of them was a human teenager and the other was a massive chakra entity... even if they were both human, they were both dudes!
How the hell could they possibly become husband and wife?!
"Great Toad Sage... are you truly suffering from senile dementia right now?" Sage Fukasaku asked extremely cautiously.
This is exactly what the Nine-Tails was screaming in the Sealing Space right now.
"It was just a dream... snore." The Great Toad Sage instantly drifted back to sleep after dropping that cursed bomb.
In truth, the old geezer had merely been dreaming and had inadvertently connected his brain to the degenerate Limited Tsukuyomi universe from before.
But for the fanatic toads of Mount Myōboku, the Great Toad Sage's dreams were undeniable prophecies!
At least until proven otherwise, they had absolutely no reason to doubt the lore.
"So... between that human kid and the giant fox, who's the husband and who's the wife?" Sage Shima asked her partner in a disturbed whisper as she dragged Naruto's unconscious body away from the hall.
"Who knows? Probably Naruto," Sage Fukasaku replied absently, his brain still entirely freeze by the shocking news.
"Why?"
"Because the Nine-Tails doesn't have... you know. The equipment."
"True."
The Nine-Tails in the Sealing Space heard every single cursed word of their conversation.
Inside its cage, the mighty fox raged helplessly, throwing a massive tantrum.
This blind rage was quickly followed by an overwhelming, suffocating wave of unease and pure fear.
It was the ferocious, legendary Nine-Tails, not some submissive fox spirit!
How could it possibly marry that idiot brat Uzumaki Naruto?!
How would it ever show its face to the other Tailed Beasts again?!
'Why? Why would that senile Toad make such a horrifyingly absurd prophecy?'
Having lived for millennia in the Shinobi World, the Nine-Tails knew one grim rule: the more unhinged and absurd something seemed, the more likely it was to be true.
Lies had to follow basic logic, but reality needed zero logic whatsoever.
Soon, the Nine-Tails realized a terrifyingly possible explanation.
In the Sealing Space, it had always watched Naruto's daily life, knowing damn well that Uchiha Sasuke was the person Naruto cared about the most.
If Naruto truly had a destined romantic partner, it would undoubtedly be that edgy Uchiha.
Hell, even Naruto's first kiss had literally been with Sasuke!
So why did the prophecy mention the fox instead?
It must be because Naruto lacked the power to protect his emo boyfriend.
When Sasuke inevitably died, a broken, desperate Naruto would turn his sinful grieving hands toward it, an innocent captive Tailed Beast, as a rebound!
"Oh hell nah. i must protect Uchiha Sasuke at all costs and ensure their gay bond remains unbreakable! Only then can we avert this cursed prophecy."
As the wisest of the Tailed Beasts, the Nine-Tails quickly identified the root cause and devised a flawless survival solution: keep Sasuke alive so Naruto stays away from his fur.
...
That night, Naruto finally awoke amidst the chaos.
Sage Fukasaku informed him of their current location.
From Naruto, Sage Shima and Fukasaku learned the grim news that Jiraiya had been abducted by Orochimaru.
"Naruto-chan," Sage Shima said, slamming a steaming bowl of thick, gooey insect soup onto the table.
"To rescue Jiraiya-chan, we've decided to begin teaching you Sage Mode training tomorrow."