The space remained silent for a long time.
Kurama's earlier rage slowly faded.
For the first time in decades, the fox did not snarl, did not roar, did not slam the bars.
Instead, it simply lay down inside the cage—lowering its massive head onto its paws, as though it had finally abandoned resistance altogether.
Yes, it could look down on Naruto.
Yes, it could refuse to believe that the boy would ever gain full control of it.
Yes, it could cling to the belief that one day it would find a chance to break free.
But even if it did…
What was the point?
If that kid Yoruha existed in the outside world, then even if Kurama escaped…
So what?
Only to be captured and sealed again?
Just like back then—
humiliated by Hashirama Senju?
Kurama's tails twitched irritably.
The fox let out a low, tired sigh.
"Old man Sage… ever since you died, this shinobi world has been nothing but annoying.
I finally get the weakest Jinchūriki in history, and then this brat shows up.
Did you curse me from the Pure Land, old man?"
It let out a long, defeated breath.
It had believed Naruto would be the easiest host to break—
a boy with weak control, unstable emotions, and a flimsy seal.
All it had needed to do was flood him with chakra, whisper in his ear, tempt him, push him—
and eventually the seal would unravel.
But after tonight…
Kurama understood something with cold clarity:
Even if it broke the seal—
Yoruha would simply reseal it.
Now, Yoruha wasn't its match.
Not yet.
But Kurama was sensitive to power.
And it could feel it—
Yoruha was growing.
Fast.
Too fast.
At this rate, it wouldn't be long before he reached a level capable of subduing the Nine-Tails—
even rivaling that man's terrifying strength.
Just thinking about being crushed beneath Hashirama's wooden hands again made Kurama's fur bristle.
And yet…
From Yoruha, it felt that same overwhelming presence—
and perhaps even more potential.
Because Kurama was certain:
When Hashirama was Yoruha's age,
he absolutely wasn't this strong.
But Yoruha himself had no idea how far he'd already climbed.
In Kurama's senses, the boy had already stepped into Kage-class.
Maybe above.
It wasn't sure—
it had never seen Yoruha fight seriously.
But that mysterious golden power inside him…
That was undeniable.
The boy's potential was terrifying.
Meanwhile, Yoruha stared suspiciously at the fox.
"Weird… it's not attacking. Did it give up? Or is it building up to something worse?"
He genuinely thought Kurama was preparing some kind of surprise attack.
He didn't realize the truth:
Kurama had simply…
lost the will to resist.
What was the point of breaking free if Yoruha would just shove it back into a cage?
As Yoruha reinforced the seal, he never took his eyes off the fox—watchful, cautious, ready for a sudden strike.
Nearly an hour passed.
At last, Yoruha exhaled sharply.
He had strengthened Minato's seal again—
and then, for good measure, added an entirely new Eight Trigrams Seal on top of it.
Kurama felt it instantly.
The new seal was tighter.
Denser.
Far more resilient than Minato's original.
In fact—
Kurama discovered something horrifying:
It could still erode Minato's old seal…
but Yoruha's newly added seal?
Its chakra couldn't even scratch it.
Not even one layer.
Not even a fraction.
Kurama stared at the boy, golden eyes narrowed.
"Brat… you added another seal? Aren't you afraid your chakra will be sucked dry?"
Yoruha's face was pale.
"You're right. I almost did run out of chakra. Sealing techniques really burn through it.
Looks like my chakra reserves still aren't enough."
Kurama's eye twitched violently.
Was this kid insane!?
He'd risk draining his entire chakra supply…
just to slap on another seal?
And that seal…
It wasn't normal.
It wasn't Minato's Eight Trigrams Seal.
It was the same type—
but Yoruha's version was several times stronger.
With Kurama's own power, breaking it was impossible.
Absolutely impossible.
Then—
Ten minutes later…
Kurama's jaw nearly hit the floor.
Yoruha's chakra recovered.
Full.
Completely.
As if he'd never used a single drop.
"Y–You—your chakra actually recovered!?"
Yoruha stretched lazily.
His complexion returned to normal, as though nothing had happened.
"Man… running on empty feels horrible.
Well, I'm done here. Time to head out."
He turned to leave.
"See you around, Kurama."
He took one step.
"Wait!"
Kurama blurted the word before it realized it had spoken.
Yoruha paused, frowning slightly, but turned back.
"What is it now?"
Kurama stared at him for a long, long moment.
The question burned inside its chest.
Finally—
"…That Naruto brat… what is he to you?"
Yoruha blinked.
Then he smiled softly.
"I'm just doing what I think is right.
Naruto is… I guess he's my friend."
"And he's someone very important to the village.
He can't afford to fall."
His voice lowered—gentle, but firm.
"Everything I'm doing is to make sure he can someday command your power.
I believe he can. Truly."
"But until then… I need you to stop causing trouble for him."
He shrugged lightly.
"Besides, if you broke free now, I'm not strong enough to stop you.
And Konoha doesn't have anyone left who could reseal you."
If anyone else had said that, Kurama would've fired off a dozen Tailed Beast Bombs in their face.
But Yoruha wasn't "anyone."
Only a handful of names in history had ever spoken to the Nine-Tails with that level of calm certainty:
Hagoromo.
Indra.
Asura.
Madara.
Hashirama.
The ones Kurama acknowledged.
The ones who could suppress it.
And now—
this boy.
Kurama didn't doubt Yoruha.
Not even a little.
It was simply… curious.
"Why…
why would you go this far for him?"
Because Kurama remembered clearly:
Not long ago, Naruto had treated Yoruha as a rival—
even as an enemy.
But now?
Now this boy was reinforcing his seal at the risk of his own life.
Kurama couldn't understand—
and that confusion shook it more than any seal ever had.
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read 50 chapter ahead on P@treon if you're interested: patreon.com/MrSenpai0