After returning home, Naruto immediately made himself a bowl of instant ramen.
He wasn’t in the mood to go fishing anymore.
He skipped the whole process and went straight to sleep.
The road of being a salted fish was long.
Apparently, every profession was difficult.
Who could have imagined that Sasuke would actually challenge him?
Ridiculous.
After finishing his ramen, Naruto flopped onto his bed and went straight to sleep.
The moment he entered sleep mode, his consciousness arrived in the Eight Trigrams Sealing Space.
“NARUTO!!!!”
The Nine-Tails roared furiously.
“How dare you toy with me!
When I get out of here, I’ll eat you alive!”
The roar made Naruto’s ears ring.
His pair of dead-fish eyes looked toward the enormous Nine-Tails, his expression helpless.
First Sasuke.
Then the Nine-Tails.
Why was being a salted fish so difficult?
“Sorry.
I didn’t mean to.
It won’t happen again.”
Naruto’s tone was sincere, and his attitude was earnest.
After saying that, he even gave a seventy-five-degree bow.
Full of sincerity.
So when exactly had he toyed with the Nine-Tails?
He hadn’t done anything last night!
Naruto couldn’t figure it out.
But that didn’t stop him from admitting defeat and apologizing.
As long as I apologize fast enough, you can’t use any abilities on me.
That was the truth.
Seeing Naruto lower his head, the Nine-Tails froze.
It stopped roaring.
It stopped shouting.
Its enormous, bell-like eyes narrowed.
Something was wrong with this brat.
He wasn’t like his father.
And he certainly wasn’t like that woman.
The way he apologized…
The speed at which he bowed…
Something was very wrong.
Yesterday, after apologizing, this brat had immediately turned around and gone to sleep.
It looked sincere, but it was actually extremely abnormal.
This brat wasn’t afraid!
“Hmph… You cunning brat.
Do you think I’ll fall for the same trick twice?”
“This time, don’t even think about fooling me!”
The Nine-Tails growled, baring its teeth.
Naruto could practically smell its breath through the iron bars.
It was overpowering.
Even going a month without brushing your teeth probably wouldn’t produce a smell this intense.
“Sorry again.
I really didn’t mean to.”
Naruto remained bent over in apology, without even raising his head.
He was confused too.
When exactly had he toyed with the Nine-Tails?
It was acting like a resentful wife.
The Nine-Tails froze again.
Another apology.
And just as straightforward as before.
But there was a problem.
It had already released its killing intent.
Yet this brat was still completely calm!
“NARUTO!!!!!!!”
…
Naruto simply stopped talking.
If apologizing didn’t work, then there was nothing else he could do.
The Nine-Tails was scary.
It was difficult to get along with.
Even more ridiculous than Sasuke.
Then…
Forget it.
Humans and foxes walked different paths.
Since Naruto didn’t possess the original’s legendary ability to talk his way through everything, there was no point in forcing it.
You keep shouting.
I’ll just pretend I can’t hear you.
Naruto secretly opened the system interface.
His Lazing Points had already reached 265.
There was no problem reaching the Chunin Template within the next couple of days.
But Naruto didn’t rush to increase his attributes.
Instead, he searched further down.
The system shop was basically a department store.
Especially the daily necessities section.
It had practically everything.
Very convenient.
Naruto decided to buy some earplugs.
He had come to the Nine-Tails Sealing Space specifically to piggyback on the check-in rewards and sleep.
Convince the Nine-Tails?
Become a perfect jinchuriki ahead of schedule?
Forget it.
Even the original Naruto, with his legendary ability to talk his way into anyone’s heart, had needed an enormous amount of effort to win the Nine-Tails over.
Naruto didn’t have that ability.
If he couldn’t afford to provoke it, he could only hide.
You shout.
I sleep.
Neither of us interferes with the other.
“Ding!
Successful act of slacking.”
“Obtained 20 Lazing Points.”
Along with the system notification, Naruto’s gaze stopped.
“Oh, found it.”
[Premium Earplugs: Completely block out noise and give you a high-quality sleeping experience.]
[Price: 5 Lazing Points.]
“So cheap.”
Naruto was about to purchase them when he suddenly remembered something.
This was a physical item.
Would it even work inside a mental space?
“Wait…”
“A mental space?”
Naruto raised an eyebrow.
He remembered that this place seemed to be a battle of wills.
Naruto closed his eyes and imagined himself wearing earplugs.
“NARUTO!!!!”
Nothing happened.
Naruto scratched his ears.
He felt like he was about to go deaf.
He raised his head and glanced at the Nine-Tails.
It was still wearing a ferocious expression.
If the cage weren’t between them, it probably would have swallowed him whole by now.
Then…
I’ll just move farther away.
Naruto silently took two steps backward, closed his eyes, and continued imagining.
Still nothing.
He moved farther away and tried again.
“It’s useless.
As long as you remain here, you cannot escape from my sight!”
The Nine-Tails continued roaring.
Naruto stopped retreating.
“100 minus 65 equals 35…”
“Add it.”
He spent 35 Lazing Points on Mental Energy.
His mental strength instantly skyrocketed.
Naruto tried again.
And this time—
He succeeded!
Two large earplugs appeared in his ears.
The Nine-Tails’ roar instantly disappeared without a trace.
Naruto raised an eyebrow and looked at the Nine-Tails smugly.
Go ahead.
Shout again.
I can’t hear you, heh heh!
Not only could he not hear it, he could also sleep peacefully!
Naruto focused his thoughts and continued imagining.
Having already gained experience materializing the earplugs in this mental space, he succeeded very quickly this time.
A large bed suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
Then came a pillow.
A blanket.
Naruto lay down on the bed, pulled the blanket over his head, and went straight to sleep!
The Nine-Tails stared at Naruto lying on the bed.
It felt completely bewildered.
Yesterday, the brat had entered and immediately gone to sleep.
Today was even more outrageous.
He had blocked his ears and conjured an entire bed.
So…
Had this brat come here just to sleep with it?