"I say, you made such a huge scene just to get yourself thrown into the hospital?"
Kurama lay sprawled inside the sealed space, propping his chin on his massive paws, staring at Naruto with clear confusion on his massive fox face.
"What do you know? This is Brother Hang's style, so just stay out of it." Naruto kept his eyes closed as he lay sprawled on the damp floor, a smug smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"Brother Hang? And you're always going on about 'cheats' like you'd die if you didn't cheat somehow—and that a little cheating doesn't count. So what the hell is a 'cheat' anyway?"
Kurama twitched an ear in irritation. He'd heard Naruto muttering strange things in this sealed space before about 'protagonist halos,' 'plot armor,' and other nonsense but this new term made him genuinely curious.
Naruto suddenly sat up, still keeping his eyes shut, but now there was a noticeable curve of mischief forming on his face.
"You seriously wanna know?"
This damn brat...
Kurama narrowed his eyes at the fox-faced boy's grin, sensing trouble from a mile away.
"You can tell me or not," the Tailed Beast huffed, feigning disinterest and turning his head.
"In that case, allow me to demonstrate."
"Watch carefully, Kurama."
Naruto slowly opened his eyes.
Kurama, despite trying to play it cool, found his gaze drifting toward Naruto's face. And then his fur bristled in a snap. The massive beast jolted upright, eyes wide.
"Is this Genjutsu?! When !?"
Kurama instinctively crouched into a defensive stance, his slit pupils narrowing.
Naruto's previously blue eyes had shifted. Now, they were blood-red. And within that crimson glow spun three tomoe the completed Sharingan. But that wasn't all. The tomoe shifted and linked, transforming into the Mangekyō Sharingan. More specifically, they merged into a unique vertical slit resembling a fox's pupil a visual callback to the Nine-Tails itself.
This had completely blindsided Naruto. Originally, the system had only granted him a basic one-tomoe Sharingan. It was supposed to evolve naturally through use and stress. But as soon as the bloodline activated, memories from the past five years surged forward—raw malice, isolation, countless moments on the brink. Combined with his reinforced body from years of physical training and the steady mentality of someone who had lived a second life, it catalyzed something unexpected.
He jumped straight into Mangekyō.
After more than a year of laying low and training, he'd finally taken a major step forward.
The past was the past. This was now.
Up to this point, his growth was slow but earned. Yes, he had Kurama's chakra to use sparingly, but the strength came mostly from grit and grind. The Nine-Tails' chakra was still unstable. As for Sage Mode forget it. Without Mount Myōboku or the toads' guidance, it was inaccessible.
His training had hit a plateau.
But now? Now he had a weapon that didn't require external conditions. The chakra feedback and mental power from unlocking Mangekyō dwarfed all his prior effort. Even without using its full power, his presence was on the level of a high jonin or low Kage. With Mangekyō's abilities which the system hinted at being custom-made he'd entered the realm of super-shadow level shinobi.
If someone dared look down on him now?
They'd be dragged into oblivion.
Sarutobi Hiruzen himself might not be able to stop him.
Hard work was good. A strong bloodline? Better. But nothing beat straight-up cheating.
If Naruto, with both grind and cheat codes enabled, couldn't succeed, then no one could.
"Hahaha… ha… HAHAHAHAHA!"
In the stillness of the sealed space, Naruto's laughter erupted like thunder from the abyss. It started low, rasping with the weight of madness, but grew louder, higher, until it filled the space with chaos.
His laugh carried relief. Spite. Victory. Euphoria. The balance of power had shifted.
"This brat..."
Kurama blinked, staring at Naruto, slowly realizing this wasn't a genjutsu. This boy had truly awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
But the longer he looked, the more Kurama's ears drooped in confusion.
"Why... why does this laugh remind me of that Uchiha Madara bastard?"
It couldn't be. But... that aura, the tone, the insanity in the eyes...
Kurama began to search his memory. Minato definitely didn't have Uchiha blood he was pure Namikaze. Kushina, though… she was a proud Uzumaki. But didn't she used to visit the Uchiha Compound often? There were rumors back in the day about a particular Uchiha she was always close with. That couldn't be...
Was Naruto actually a yellow-haired Uchiha?
Kurama's mental gears started overheating.
Too many questions. Too many implications. Damn it, I'm a tailed beast, not a gossiping shinobi.
But damn if Naruto didn't look like Minato, down to the spiky hair and mischievous smile.
"Oi, Kurama, you seem to be thinking of something very rude."
Naruto cocked his head, studying the fox's expression. In his long life, he'd never seen a fox look so thoroughly human with squinting eyes, pursed lips, and what could only be described as visible existential crisis.
"Ahem!" Kurama coughed, awkwardly scratching the back of his ear with a claw. I may be a fox, but it's still awkward thinking one of your parents might've cheated right in front of you.
"Anyway," the beast changed the subject, "What's with the Mangekyō Sharingan? I never sensed the Uchiha chakra from you before."
Naruto stood and crossed his arms, a wicked grin on his face. "The past was the past. This is now. I told you this is my cheat."
Mangekyō = Cheat?
Kurama blinked, baffled.
Still… he couldn't argue with that logic. Mangekyō Sharingan was one of the most broken power-ups in shinobi history. The amount of raw growth it provided would take a regular ninja two lifetimes to reach.
"Alright, enough talking." Naruto cracked his neck and turned toward the fox. "Kurama come train with me."
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