Naruto: Naruto's Uchiha girlfriend is too tsundere

Chapter 9 The Treasure That Will Change the Future

"A purple one appeared?!"

Naruto's eyes widened suddenly. The treasure chest in front of him was exactly like the selectable rewards in the game, and the options inside were just as the name suggested—all of them were special items from the Naruto movie!

Naruto's gaze was fixed on the second option.

【Whirlpool Noodles (Template Trial Card x3)】

[Instructions for use: After activation, you will gain full power and abilities of Menma Uzumaki, the boss in Naruto the Movie: Road to Ninja, for 1 hour, usable 3 times]

Swirl-shaped surface...!

Naruto is very familiar with this character—the "dark version of Naruto Uzumaki" from the limited Tsukuyomi world. Uzumaki Menma is completely opposite to him in both personality and experience. But what is most captivating is his terrifying strength.

Nine-faced Suvaha... Great Spiral Wheel Yu...

In my memory, Menma's summoning technique "Nine-Faced Suvaha" can summon nine different summoning beasts, and his ultimate technique "Great Spiral Wheel" possesses destructive power enough to destroy the entire Hidden Leaf Village. Furthermore, the Nine-Tails resides within him, allowing him to perfectly control the power of a fully tailed beast.

His strength far surpasses that of ordinary Kage-level characters.

Based on the anime, Menma's strength is at least at the level of himself in Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, or Sasuke with Mangekyou Sharingan—or even stronger!

Rather than calling this a template trial card, it's more like an ultimate trump card prepared for someone who hasn't yet grown up—most importantly, using it doesn't involve the risk of going berserk like with the Nine-Tails' chakra leak, and it has no side effects whatsoever.

As for the other two options?

Naruto frowned, recalling for a moment. That so-called "Zero-Tails Dark Chakra" seemed to be an artificial tailed beast created by that guy named Shennong in the movie "Bonds." Although it sounded powerful, it wouldn't be a boost to his strength at all; it would be completely superfluous.

Dark chakra... I remember it might trigger negative emotions? ...Are you kidding me! The Nine-Tails, known as the strongest tailed beast, resides within my body!

Instead of cultivating a good relationship with the arrogant fox that's already at home, why go and create some artificial tailed beast's dark chakra? It's just like...

Instead of using the top-of-the-line computer at home, they insist on going to the Time General Store to play with those big-headed computers.

The last option left Naruto speechless.

Jackal? That's probably that low-level summon from "The Will of Fire".

Naruto even suspected that the system was just filling in the numbers—this thing wasn't even Hiruko's main summoning beast, the final boss of the movie, but just a synthetic beast of one of his henchmen.

Furthermore... if Naruto chooses the trial card for Menma Uzumaki, he might be able to do some things that were originally impossible. For Naruto, who lived an unremarkable life in his previous existence, this is undoubtedly an opportunity to change some tragedies.

Death of Hizashi.

The thought flashed through his mind; this event would likely happen very soon—definitely no later than this year. Hyuga Neji's father, Hyuga Hizashi, the most tragic father of the Konoha Twelve in the original work, was about to meet his end.

Because the Third Shinobi World War had just ended, the Hidden Cloud Village sent envoys to Konoha under the pretense of "signing a peace treaty," but in reality, they were secretly plotting to seize the Byakugan from the Hyuga clan.

They even went so far as to target three-year-old Hinata Hyuga, attempting to kidnap her. However, the Hyuga clan leader, Hiashi Hyuga, discovered the kidnapping in time and killed the kidnappers.

However, what was most infuriating was the subsequent development—Kumogakure turned the tables, threatening war under the pretext that "Konoha ninjas murdered the messenger." They demanded the surrender of Hiashi Hyuga, who had killed the kidnappers. At the time, Konoha had just suffered the Nine-Tails' attack and the Third Shinobi World War, leaving it severely weakened. Ultimately, the higher-ups chose to compromise.

To keep the secret of the eye roll from being revealed.

The Hyuga main family proposed that Hiashi's twin brother, Hizashi, be the scapegoat. And Hizashi... actually accepted this fate, even saying things like "I died to protect my brother," glorifying his sacrifice as a heroic act of "rebelling against the shackles of fate."

...Without justice, without fairness, a living, breathing person was swallowed up by this world. Young Neji lost his father forever.

As for those high-sounding excuses like "for the greater good" and "to avoid war"? What about the calculations and trade-offs made by those at the top?

Naruto didn't want to try to understand. He only knew one thing: he didn't want to watch a living, breathing person be devoured by this world, nothing more.

Moreover, Neji's later tragic end...

Thinking about this, as for whether Kumogakure will actually start a war? If, after rescuing Hizashi, that Raikage dares to suspect that Konoha orchestrated it all...

Naruto wouldn't mind using the trial card again to fight the Raikage.

"System, I choose the Whirlpool Noodles Experience Card."

[Congratulations, host, you have obtained: Whirlpool Faceless (Template Trial Card x3)!]

This is a precious item that can temporarily elevate someone to the peak of Kage level! Naruto couldn't wait to see it. With a slight thought, a card radiating purple light slowly appeared before him.

He reached out and took the card, examining the image on it closely—wasn't this the character art for Motou Village?!

As another thought flashed through his mind, the card transformed into a stream of light and disappeared from his palm, returning to the system space.

Chapter 10 The Great Fox

After drinking the milk and rinsing his mouth carefully, Naruto collapsed onto the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

The bond system... who can I still build good relationships with now?

Satsuki certainly wanted to go find her again, but then he thought, wouldn't the approach of the Uchiha clan members to him, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, arouse the suspicion of the Konoha higher-ups? Especially that old schemer Danzo—did he expect him to show mercy just because she was only a three-year-old girl? It was best to give up such a naive idea as soon as possible.

I need to find a way to get some connections with the third generation...

There was no way around it. Uchiha Sasuke's bond level increased by 500 points with each level, and Naruto couldn't help but be envious.

Speaking of which, could there be bond points with the Third Hokage as well? That old man probably doesn't really see me as just a vessel for a tailed beast, does he?

To be fair, the Third Hokage treated him fairly well, but only to a limited extent. He never went hungry, and later the villagers would sell him things because of the Hokage's orders, but the isolation and shunning always persisted.

Each time the three generations visit, besides bringing daily necessities as a routine, the most frequent question they ask is...

"Naruto, do you know what the Hokage is?"

Do you know what the Hokage represents?

The intention couldn't be clearer: this old guy clearly wants his son to follow in his footsteps, become an outstanding ninja of Konoha, and ideally even dream of becoming Hokage.

Naruto's reluctance to become Hokage wasn't due to deep resentment stemming from the villagers' isolation—though that rejection was indeed unpleasant. The real reason, besides his desire to avoid involvement with the darker aspects of government, was that Naruto knew all too well how exhausting the Hokage position was.

The version of myself in Boruto...

In the clip from the anime, the "self," now the Seventh Hokage, is overwhelmed by mountains of documents, forced to use shadow clones even to celebrate his daughter's birthday. His perpetually tired eyes with dark circles stand in stark contrast to his current radiant self in the mirror.

What a joke! Whoever wants that kind of life can live it!

Right now, there are very few people with whom I can form bonds. The Third Hokage is one, Kakashi is probably still in the Anbu and I can't contact him at all, as for the Konoha Twelve...

Aside from Sakura, Lee, and Tenten (who are from commoner backgrounds... Tenten probably doesn't count as a commoner, right?), the others are all scions of various powerful clans. Making contact with them rashly now would definitely arouse the suspicion of Konoha's higher-ups.

The scenes of sending Hinata home and rescuing her from harm's way, which were part of the original story, haven't happened yet...

It was impossible for Naruto to take the initiative to go to the Hyuga clan's young lady. Thinking of this, Naruto sighed helplessly.

"...It seems like besides Might Guy, there aren't any suitable candidates."

Night deepened. Naruto lay in bed, his thoughts gradually slowing. The chirping of insects outside the window seemed to come and go, and his eyelids grew heavy without him realizing it. Finally, filled with anticipation for the future, he slowly closed his eyes.

------

The surroundings were gloomy, and a faint smell of rust filled the damp air. The puddles on the ground reflected the dim light, and each step created tiny ripples.

Directly in front, a huge iron gate, tens of meters high, stood majestically. The heavy door panel was covered with complex and obscure spells, and a sealing talisman was pasted in the center.

Naruto wasn't sure if he was dreaming or had actually entered the sealed space. At that moment, he was staring wide-eyed at the enormous orange fox behind the iron gate.

"Hmm..." Naruto tilted his head back, trying to take in the scene before him. "Although it's a bit big, it's still quite cute when you look closely."

Upon hearing this, the Nine-Tails behind the iron gate felt a vein throb on its forehead.

This kid... is he missing a screw in his head?

As the strongest tailed beast, it was already accustomed to the fearful and hateful gazes of humans. But "cute"? This adjective left it speechless for a moment; what about itself could be described as "cute"?

Never mind. More than how she is viewed, Kurama longs for the freedom that has been taken from her for so long.

"Kid, come here and open the door."

A deep, oppressive voice echoed within the sealed space. Naruto looked up at the enormous orange fox before him—its orange-red eyes still gleamed dangerously even in the darkness, its sharp fangs were faintly visible, and its nine tails swayed restlessly behind it.

Naruto was speechless at Kurama's blunt approach. Did this fox not even bother with basic pretense? It just asked to have the seal released without even trying?

"This door is too big, I can't open it."

"Just tear off that piece of paper on the door." The Nine-Tails impatiently flicked its tail, lowered its massive head, and breathed heavily on Naruto, carrying a strong, scorching heat.

Naruto thought for a moment and asked, "What will happen if I open it?"

"Why are you asking so many questions? Just open it now!" Nine-Tails' voice suddenly rose, causing the entire sealed space to tremble slightly.

In the Nine-Tails' eyes, although this brat often muttered things to himself that it couldn't understand, he was ultimately just a callow human child. How could it, the strongest tailed beast, not be able to handle a three-year-old kid?

"No way!" Naruto took a step back, crossing his arms. "I may not know much, but it would be dangerous if I let you out."

...What a perceptive little devil.

Just as Kurama was secretly plotting how to bewitch the brat, it discovered that Naruto not only showed no fear, but instead opened his bright blue eyes wide and looked at it with great interest.

“No wonder those guys called me the Demon Fox…” Naruto looked up, his gaze fixed intently on the enormous creature before him. “So there really is a big fox inside me.”

Nine-Tails' ears twitched slightly, not expecting the other party to react this way.

Naruto ignored its silence and continued, "But even though it's a bit big, it's really cool!"

These words completely stunned Nine-Tails.

It has lived for thousands of years and has seen countless human gazes directed at it—fear, hatred, contempt, scheming… yet no one has ever described it as “handsome.”

What surprised it even more was that, among the emotions it sensed, Naruto's words were actually serious.

Because the Nine-Tails is indeed very beautiful.

Its orange-red fur still gleamed softly in the dimly lit sealed space. Nine enormous tails swayed gently behind it, each hair containing immense chakra, tracing graceful arcs in the air. Its massive size almost filled the entire field of vision, with sharp claws, pointed fangs, and orange-red eyes... It should have been a fearsome beast, yet it inexplicably exuded a noble air, like a mythical creature from legends.

...It seems that the original form of the Nine-Tailed Fox was a divine beast?

As Naruto was lost in thought, he suddenly realized a problem. "But... how do we get out of here?" He looked around; the damp, dark sealed space was filled with endless darkness and that huge iron door. "It seems we're all trapped here."

He scratched his head, then flashed a bright smile and extended his hand towards Kurama. "By the way! My name is Naruto Uzumaki. Since we've met, let's get to know each other!"

His response was a cold snort filled with impatience from Nine-Tails.

"Get lost, brat." It slowly lowered itself, resting its massive head on its front paws, and stared coldly at Naruto. "Or I'll kill you."

"Huh? Why?" Naruto wasn't scared off at all; instead, he asked in confusion, "This is our first time meeting, isn't it? It's not good to hate each other."

He simply sat down cross-legged, resting his chin on his hand. "Since we're all here anyway, chatting is much better than just staring at each other, right?"

Nine-Tailed Fox swished its tail irritably, not expecting that this brat was not only unafraid of it, but even intended to "chat" with it.

What a troublesome human cub.

Chapter 11 Another Tsundere

"Big fox, how long have you been here? There's water everywhere, aren't you uncomfortable?"

Nine-Tails' ears twitched slightly, and it glanced at him sideways. "Do you think I want this? Don't talk to this old man so casually, brat."

"Really..." Naruto protested with a dissatisfaction, "I already said my name is Uzumaki Naruto, not some brat! Since I've introduced myself, shouldn't you politely give me your name too?"

Nine-Tailed Fox scoffed, "Hmph, name? Don't you humans all call me 'Nine-Tailed Fox'? I'm tired of that title."

...It seems that if I want to get closer to this big fox, I'll have to resort to some unconventional methods.

Naruto stroked his chin, then looked up with a sly smile. "Um... excuse me, is your name 'Kurama'?"

"what?!"

The Nine-Tails, which had been lying on the ground ignoring Naruto, suddenly raised its head, its massive body instantly tensing. Its name—in this ninja world, only the Sage of Six Paths and the other tailed beasts should know it! This brat… how could this be?!

"boom--!"

Nine-Tailed Fox abruptly stood up, its massive claws slamming heavily against the iron bars of the cage, causing the entire sealed space to tremble slightly. "Kid...where did you get that name from?!"

"From watching anime." But this answer wouldn't satisfy Kurama, as the concept of "anime" doesn't even exist in this world. If Kurama answered like that, it would probably feel like it was being mocked.

"Hmm... well," Naruto hesitated, "what I'm about to say might be a little strange."

"Speak up already!" Nine-Tails impatiently slapped the ground with its claws, splashing water that soaked Naruto's trouser legs.

"Actually, I can't be sure if this is true or not. A long time ago, I had a very strange dream."

"A dream?" Nine-Tails revealed a mocking expression. "Kid, you're not trying to say that you learned my name in a dream, are you?"

“It does sound strange,” Naruto said, looking directly into Kurama’s eyes, his tone unusually serious, “but it’s true. In my dream, an old man in a white robe, with a very distinctive appearance, told me that a large fox named Kurama lives inside me. He also told me to be friends with you, saying we should understand each other and something like that…”

Old man...?