It wasn't that Kurama lacked integrity; the Nine-Tails simply found Menma's proposal too tempting. The tailed beast abandoned its usual tsundere attitude, replaced by pure anticipation.
Anyone sealed away for decades or even centuries, either bound in place or confined to a tiny space, would react the same way.
If it could truly connect its chakra, it would be just as Menma described. Kurama could project its will into a Shadow Clone, break free of the seal, and roam the outside world. It wouldn't have to worry about being captured again.
Thinking this, Kurama's grin widened.
Menma helplessly pursed his lips as he watched the Nine-Tails' sudden shift in expression, the fox's smile resembling that of a red-furred husky.
Minato and Kushina, standing to the side, were stunned.
"What is a Chakra Link Technique?" Kushina asked, grabbing Minato's robe. "Why did the Nine-Tails suddenly become so… fawning?"
Minato pondered for a moment before answering uncertainly.
"I read about this in a secret scroll when I was alive," he said. "It's said the original purpose of chakra was for people to link their minds and achieve shared understanding, thereby eliminating war and injustice. Unfortunately…"
Kushina understood the rest without him saying it. The goal wasn't achieved; instead, chakra led to more brutal battles and rigid class divisions. After the emergence of ninjas, civilians were forever relegated to the bottom.
However, Kushina didn't care about any of that. She simply gazed starry-eyed at Menma, who had easily subdued the Nine-Tails and made it submit.
"My son even understands this!" she beamed. "He's a true genius! Far superior to that good-for-nothing father of his!"
Minato sighed. There's no need to praise one and belittle the other.
He shook his head. Luckily, Naruto's innocent nature could keep Menma in check. Otherwise…
Up ahead, Menma squatted down and patted Kurama's face, his expression full of mockery.
"Want to take back what you said before? Sure. But I still prefer your previous unruly self. Why don't you revert to your old self?"
Hearing this, Kurama's face stiffened. The fox's fury returned instantly. It opened its blood-red maw and roared, "You… you damn brat! I'm not begging you; I'm informing you! Don't be ungrateful!"
"Not bad," Menma nodded in satisfaction. He waved his hand, releasing the Adamantine Sealing Chains and freeing the Nine-Tails from its bindings.
Kurama immediately rolled over, settling into a more comfortable position on the ground. Seeing Menma release the beast, Minato and Kushina rushed forward, flanking it on either side.
Looking down at the tense parents, the Nine-Tails snorted disdainfully.
"Tch. I'm not human. I don't have your scheming and deceit, and I won't go back on my word."
Kurama then looked seriously at Menma. "Brat, are you really planning to link your chakra with me? Although I don't know where you learned this method, I need to explain it beforehand. With this connection of consciousness, all your thoughts and secrets will ultimately be exposed in my mind. Even so, you don't care?"
The pride of being the strongest tailed beast made Kurama clearly explain the pros and cons. Half the reason was that it didn't want to be silenced after learning Menma's secrets.
"It doesn't matter," Menma shrugged indifferently. "I have no secrets worth hiding. But you—don't be scared by my extreme emotions."
With the system helping to conceal his mind, even the primary personality, whose soul was completely connected, couldn't break through his defenses. It was just a chakra link. Whatever Menma wanted the Nine-Tails to see or sense, it would see and sense.
"Hmph, what a joke," Kurama scoffed. "I am the embodiment of hatred. Do you think I'd scare?"
Sealed for so many years, the Nine-Tails' resentment towards humans was sky-high. Could it be less than a brat who had hated for barely a decade?
With a disdainful expression, Kurama lowered its head. "Since you don't mind, let's begin. I've had enough of this cramped and crowded place!"
The thought of being able to escape soon—and not being feared or captured—made the Nine-Tails unconsciously grin.
"Alright, then start linking with me," Menma said, extending his fist toward the Nine-Tails.
Kurama: "?"
"Don't you know this method?!" the Nine-Tails asked, shocked. Was all that talk just to get something for nothing?
"If you know how, that's enough," Menma said calmly, without a trace of embarrassment. "I know the Sage of Six Paths linked with you."
I concede defeat, the Nine-Tails thought. You're the thickest-skinned one. But it dared not say it aloud.
During the conversation, Kurama clenched its claws into fists and met Menma's fist.
In an instant, a deep, inky blackness surged into the Nine-Tails' heart, making it exclaim that it had acted rashly. It was a memory of being isolated, ostracized, and rejected by the world—a memory that suffocated even the Nine-Tails. Everyone around it harbored terrible malice and hatred!
But the owner of this memory had to face them every day, unable to escape like it, running away to hide in the deep mountains and forests. If he had only hated humanity for nearly a hundred years while sealed away… the owner of these memories had been immersed in this honeypot of malice and hatred for over a decade!
"A bunch of cowardly bullies! Beasts!" Kurama roared. "After regaining my senses, I should have used the Tailed Beast Ball to completely destroy this damned place!"
Firsthand experience was far more direct than passive observation. Kushina now deeply regretted letting these people live.
"Is this a connection failure? Is Kushina about to go berserk again?!" Menma asked, his eyes narrowing.
Kurama's body was enveloped in Adamantine Chains once more.
"We need to finish this quickly," Minato said solemnly, forming a Rasengan nearby. "We can't let the Nine-Tails' spirit be harmed!"
Hearing the words of the two beneath him, Kurama stared at them, its eyes bloodshot.
"I won't go berserk; these aren't my family," it snarled. "But you two might be a different story… hehehe."
A mocking smile played on the Nine-Tails' face as it clenched its free paw into a fist and extended it.
"Feel it," it taunted. "You who sacrificed your lives for these people. Feel the gratitude from them…"