In Konoha, Naruto lies down

Naruto's eyes turned dead again, and he lay on the ground, looking up at the sky and muttering.

"That's done, not a compliment."

[Ding! Flying Thunder God Technique (Incomplete) was successfully deployed.]

Chapter 45 Jiu Lama, I want freedom

Naruto came back to life with a somersault and looked at Ino with tears in his eyes.

Ino Saigao!

"Are you okay?" Ino's face was full of worry.

"fine."

Naruto smiled and waved nonchalantly.

"Eat some meatballs, I'll treat you." Ino said, holding his forehead.

As they talked, the two walked into the meatball shop. Red bean meatballs are a sweet treat, very popular with girls, so the shop was crowded.

When Naruto, dressed in green, walked into the meatball shop, everyone's eyes were focused on him. Fortunately, it didn't cause any commotion, and everyone looked away after just a moment.

"Naruto, do you know what Sasuke has been busy with recently?" Ino asked casually while eating red bean dumplings.

"I'm not sure, probably training with Kakashi-sensei."

"Oh."

The two chatted casually, and as night fell, they went home. Naruto's home was not far from the Yamanaka Flower Shop, so it was natural for them to walk together for a while.

The streets of Konoha are brightly lit, and the atmosphere can be described as peaceful.

Naruto obtained Flying Thunder God, which was undoubtedly a great help to him.

From the perspective of the Chunin Exam duels alone, the most challenging one would be against Shino Aburame's Parasite. He didn't know if the consumptive Gekkou Hayate had died at Maki's hands, nor was he sure if the order of the exams would change.

We still need to talk about the specific situation.

What is known now is that Orochimaru will launch the Konoha Collapse Plan during this Chunin Exam, and in doing so, plant a strawberry on Sasuke's neck. The Third Hokage died in battle, as did Gekkou Hayate, and the streets of Konoha were destroyed.

The night wind was cold, and Ino was talking about some random gossip intermittently.

Naruto occasionally responded, thinking about something.

"You don't have to be nervous. Since you ranked first in the graduation exam, it won't be a big problem as long as you don't run into that genius from the Hyuga family." Ino, wearing a brown short-sleeved shirt and a golden ponytail tied behind her head, said whatever she thought.

"Ino is actually quite gentle." Naruto mentioned it for no reason.

"why would you say so?"

"You're very good at considering others." Naruto scratched his head and said sincerely, "I usually have the impression that you are carefree. I didn't expect Ino to be such a considerate person."

"What do you mean by 'unexpected'?" Ino complained somewhat dissatisfiedly, "After all, we are all from the same village. Isn't it natural to help each other?"

"Well, that's right." Naruto smiled and said nothing more.

As they crossed a street, Naruto waved to Ino and they said goodbye to each other.

After returning home, Naruto simply lay down on the sofa.

The living room was dim, the Anbu surveillance had been withdrawn, and Naruto was temporarily free for the time being.

It was like finally opening the shackles and letting him out for a while.

Unlike other villages that constantly develop the potential of their Jinchūriki, Konoha seems to be consciously limiting the development of their Jinchūriki's strength. Naruto speculates that this may be because Konoha currently lacks a strong enough person to suppress the Nine-Tails. If the Jinchūriki loses control, the damage to the village will be immeasurable.

Rather than using the Nine-Tailed Fox's power, they clearly preferred to contain it.

The Root Ninja who was swallowed by the Nine-Tails did not leave any valuable information, and Naruto had no way to track it down. But he could probably guess that it was Danzo's trick, and maybe the higher-ups had acquiesced.

With a thought, Naruto closed his eyes.

Tick.

Tick.

He opened his eyes and the surrounding environment instantly changed from an exquisitely decorated living room to a dark and damp sewer.

In the darkness, a pair of lantern-sized eyes opened.

Within the small cage, the Nine-Tailed Fox's massive form brought immense pressure. The water in the sewer was trembling constantly, and the next second, the Nine-Tailed Fox's uncontrollable roar sent the entire sealed space reeling.

"Hello again, Nine-Tailed Fox."

Naruto stepped on the puddle, and ripples appeared under his feet, expanding outward from him. A dark yellow light enveloped the entire sealed space. Although it was blurry, it was not completely without light.

"Humans..."

The Nine-Tails was still furious, and its hatred for Naruto had not subsided over time, but had only grown stronger. But it had learned its lesson this time, and apart from the initial roar, it had not continued to cause trouble.

"Do you hate me?" Naruto asked, looking up.

"So what?" Kyuubi said with bared teeth, disdaining to lie.

"I know why you hate me. It's simply because I deprived you of your freedom." Naruto said calmly as he looked up at the Nine-Tails who was laughing like a mountain. There was no emotion on his face that shouldn't have appeared.

"Isn't it? I've been trapped in this dark seal for over a decade! How can I not hate it?"

"I didn't volunteer to be a Jinchūriki," Naruto said. "Who wants to be a container? But no one has ever asked for my opinion."

"That's your own business, humans!"

The Nine-Tailed Fox was somewhat dissatisfied and did not want to argue about this matter. The real victim was it, and it did not care what the greedy and shameless humans did or said.

Naruto was silent for a moment before continuing.

"The situation now is that I will die without you, but you won't die without me. This is not fair."

"Fair? Human, who cares if you live or die?" Kyuubi said sinisterly, "If you die, I will indeed be free. If you don't want to live, tell me in advance, and I will be happy to help you."

"Don't worry, I will do everything I can to survive. Even if it means using forbidden techniques, Kurama." Naruto raised his head and looked at the Nine-Tails seriously, as if he was really swearing an oath, "I will imprison you, constantly strengthen the seal, and torture you forever."

"You have to believe that I can do it, just like I can now master the Four Symbols Seal."

Naruto looked like he was chanting the most sacred prayer, his eyes fixed on the Nine-Tails. Every word he said sent a chill through the great fox's body. It even reminded him of the painful memories of being imprisoned by the previous two generations of Jinchūriki. If this person in front of him really didn't die...

"Are you a pervert?" The Nine-Tailed Fox completely lost his composure and glared at Naruto fiercely.

On the other hand, Naruto smiled when he heard that, his smile was bright and sunny.

"If I'm unhappy, I'll beat everyone until they cry!"

"This is the ninja way I keep my word!"

The Nine-Tails was completely disgusted and was still brooding over Naruto's threat.

He thought to himself, damn it! I've lived for a thousand years, and this is the first time I've seen such a dark Jinchūriki. It's really weird! Who knows where that kid learned the Four Symbols Seal? The current situation is extremely unfavorable for him.

"What do you want?" Kyuubi's tone was somewhat helpless. "This won't do you any good, will it?"

Naruto nodded and spoke.

"Ku Lama, I want freedom."

Chapter 46 Galen whispers

"Freedom?" Ninetails sneered, white air spurting out of his nostrils. "Compared to me, you've already enjoyed enough freedom. How about you stay in this dark cage instead?"

"Ku Lama, don't you understand yet?"

Naruto stretched out his hand, and suddenly several red wooden tentacles emerged from the ground, intertwining to form a flat surface. As the tentacles slowly rose, Naruto was in mid-air, staring at the Nine-Tails as an equal.

"I'm going to let you go, but only if I don't die."

"You're going to let me go?" Kyuubi's eyes showed a trace of horror, staring at Naruto in disbelief, "Human, why... why?"

"I know you are very powerful, Kurama." Naruto said calmly, "The village needs your strength, but I don't care about that. I want freedom and to live the life I want."

"The moment you become a Jinchūriki, not only you will be imprisoned, but also me."

"I don't want to sacrifice my life for this corrupt village and become its slave."

"Why not just destroy this village?" Kyuubi said with a fierce look on his face. "Damn Konoha Ninja Village! They've imprisoned me for hundreds of years!"

"Humans, how about we join forces and completely destroy this village?"

"No." Naruto refused directly.

"Why?" Kyuubi was puzzled. "Don't you hate that village?"

"No hate." Naruto shook his head.

Of course he didn't hate them. He had only been traveling through time for a few days, so he could only say that he was dissatisfied with the village, but it was far from hatred. As for the matter between Minato Namikaze and Kushina, what did it have to do with him? He had figured it out. As long as he was a Jinchūriki, he would never be free.

The village is still the same village. As long as he doesn't become the Jinchūriki, whoever wants to become one can do it. He doesn't care.

"I've said before, I want freedom, but I don't want to be a slave to freedom." Naruto shook his head and said, "People will eventually become slaves to something because of the obsession in their hearts."

"But I'm already so rich and powerful. I'd rather indulge in beauty and wine and live my life as I please than become a savior."

Kyuubi was stunned. He looked at Naruto with some confusion and asked.

"Human, don't you crave power?"

"Kuroma, your power is too weak." Naruto said bluntly.

"What did you say?"

"I do not care."

"Do you want to listen to what you are saying?" Kyuubi was obviously a little unconfident. "Kid, all the tailed beasts in the ninja world combined are not enough for me to fight alone, and you say I am weak?"

"Don't waste time on such unimportant things." Naruto said impatiently, "Kuroma, let me ask you, do you want to go out?"

"Of course I do."

"That's good. I'll come find you again when the time comes."

Naruto said, snapping his fingers and the cell returned to its former spacious appearance.

"What does it mean the time is right?"

However, Naruto did not answer, and his consciousness turned into a shadow and left directly.

The next day.

The alarm clock rang, and Naruto sat up from the bed with sleepy eyes, dragging his still sleepy body to wash up. He wiped the mist off the mirror and forced a smile.

As soon as I walked out of the alley, a Mist Ninja wearing a conical hat suddenly appeared and shouted without saying a word.

"Kid! Go to hell!"

The man shouted like that and was about to pounce on Naruto.

"Wait!" Naruto stopped the man immediately.

"what?"

The man actually stopped and forced a laugh.

"What? Little brat, begging for mercy won't do any good!"

Naruto yawned and said nonchalantly.

"Uncle, I'm the top rookie graduating from the Ninja Academy this year. Your poor transformation skills are too obvious, aren't they?"

"What nonsense are you talking about, little brat?" Cold sweat broke out on the Kirigakure Ninja's forehead.

"I remember that even if you're a Chunin, your salary isn't very high unless you're on dangerous missions, right? To be honest, I've killed a jonin from Kirigakure before, and they had blood all over my face. If you get hurt by me, you'll miss work, which is totally not worth it."

Naruto waved his hand and walked towards the disguised Kirigakure ninja without any hesitation, speaking as he walked.

"Uncle, how much do you earn a month? Why are you risking your life?"

"Ah, time is almost up, I have to go now."

Naruto passed by the Kirigakure ninja, who did not move and let Naruto leave with cold sweat.

Only after the footsteps faded away did the Mist Ninja release his transformation technique with a bang, revealing him dressed like a Konoha Chunin. Still feeling a lingering fear, he glanced back and said.

"What kind of monsters are all these Genin these days?"

At the Ninja School, after many days, Team 7 finally got together.