Naruto lived in a modest one-bedroom apartment on the second floor of a two-story residential building.
It was located just northeast of Konoha’s center, only a short walk from the village’s busiest streets. Countless shops and market stalls lined the area, making it lively from sunrise until nightfall.
For someone branded as the "demon fox," however...
It was one of the worst places he could possibly live.
Every time he stepped outside, he was greeted by hateful stares, whispered insults, and fearful looks.
Very few people could endure that day after day.
"Ha..."
After returning home and closing the front door behind him, shutting out the voices outside, Naruto let out a long sigh.
He sat on the small step by the entrance, slowly removed his shoes, slipped into his house slippers, and walked inside.
The apartment was fully furnished and spotlessly clean.
It looked nothing like the home of a three-year-old living alone.
Walking into the kitchen, Naruto filled a kettle with water and set it on the stove.
Standing on a small stool, he reached into the upper cabinet and took out two cups of instant noodles. After emptying the seasoning packets into each cup, he waited for the water to boil before pouring it in and sealing the lids.
Next, he opened the refrigerator, took out a carton of milk, inserted the straw, and quietly sipped it while waiting for the noodles to finish cooking.
The Third Hokage gave Naruto only 3,000 ryō each month for living expenses.
At current prices, that was roughly the reward for a single D-rank mission.
A bowl of Ichiraku’s miso ramen cost around fifty ryō.
That meant his monthly allowance was barely enough to buy two bowls of ramen a day.
Instant noodles and a carton of milk, on the other hand, cost just over twenty ryō.
Much cheaper.
Although Konoha’s villagers wanted nothing to do with Naruto, many merchants from outside the village had settled there over the past few years.
Unlike the locals, these newcomers had never experienced the Night of the Nine-Tails.
They didn’t look at Naruto with the same hatred.
The instant noodles and milk all came from those outside merchants.
Whenever he went shopping, he bought them by the box.
To the shopkeepers, Naruto was simply another paying customer.
Money was money.
About five minutes later...
Naruto peeled back the lid of one cup, stirred the noodles, and smiled as the rich aroma drifted into the air.
Then he clasped his hands together.
"Thanks for the meal."
Life needed a little sense of ceremony.
It was a habit he had picked up before turning one while living with one of his foster families.
Even though those same people had later turned against him after discovering he was the so-called "demon fox," the habit had remained.
A few minutes later, he finished his dinner.
After cleaning the table and resting for a while, he took a bath.
Then he changed into a pair of discounted children’s pajamas that he had bought by carefully saving part of his allowance.
They were already becoming too small.
Even so...
He couldn’t bring himself to throw them away.
After washing his clothes and hanging them up to dry, Naruto turned off the lights and climbed into bed.
Silence filled the room.
Meanwhile...
His consciousness appeared somewhere else.
Deep within a vast underground sewer.
The world inside the Eight Trigrams Seal.
A gigantic crimson fox lay curled up behind an enormous steel gate.
An overwhelming aura of rage...
Hatred...
And ancient savagery radiated from its massive body.
The Nine-Tails.
Sensing someone entering the sealed space, one of the fox’s ears twitched.
"Kurama."
"Already asleep?"
Naruto called out softly.
One ear twitched again.
No answer.
Seeing that, a mischievous grin spread across Naruto’s face.
He quietly walked over to the cage.
Then...
He grabbed one of Kurama’s whiskers.
And gave it a hard tug.
"Hiss!"
The Nine-Tails instantly sucked in a sharp breath before springing to his feet.
"You brat!"
"I’m going to eat you!"
"Haha!"
Time to run!
The moment Kurama lunged with his massive jaws wide open, Naruto darted behind him.
Kurama spun around and snapped again.
Naruto slipped behind him once more.
Kurama turned.
Naruto circled around again.
Before long...
The boy and the giant fox were literally running circles around each other inside the enormous cage.
"Haha! You can’t catch me!"
"You missed again!"
Kurama’s patience finally snapped.
One of his enormous tails whipped toward Naruto.
Bang!
"Ow!"
"Kurama! That really hurt!"
After being sent tumbling across the ground and crashing into the iron gate of the seal, Naruto rubbed his head while loudly protesting.
"Hmph."
Kurama turned his head away with a proud snort.
But from the corner of one crimson eye, he secretly watched Naruto rubbing his head.
A flicker of concern flashed through those fierce slit pupils.
...Did I hit him too hard?
"Pfft!"
The moment Naruto noticed Kurama’s expression...
He burst into laughter.
"You little brat!"
Kurama roared.
Only then did he realize he’d been tricked again.
"Kurama, it really hurts."
"See for yourself if you don’t believe me."
Naruto immediately put on the most pitiful expression he could manage.
As if I’d fall for that again.
Kurama rolled his eyes before lying back down and closing them.
"Hehe..."
Naruto couldn’t help laughing again.
A terrifying giant fox rolling its eyes...
The contrast was simply too funny.
Kurama’s ears twitched.
He couldn’t even be bothered to respond anymore.
That’s enough teasing for today.
If I keep this up, he’ll really get mad.
Naruto walked over and found a comfortable spot before lying down against Kurama’s enormous body.
The fox’s thick fur was unbelievably warm.
"Mmm..."
Naruto let out a satisfied sigh.
Then he rolled onto his side, hugged a thick tuft of crimson fur like a pillow, and settled in comfortably.
Kurama slowly opened one eye.
He looked down at the boy sleeping peacefully against him.
A trace of helplessness appeared in his eyes.
Yet...
The corners of his mouth lifted ever so slightly.
He still remembered the first time this little Jinchūriki had entered the seal.
Back then, Naruto had been nothing more than a babbling infant who couldn’t even speak properly.
He could barely crawl.
Faced with a child like that, Kurama hadn’t even bothered trying to scare him.
He had simply ignored the baby.
How could a newborn understand fear?
As for eating him...
Kurama snorted inwardly.
He was Kurama—the strongest of the Tailed Beasts.
How could he stoop so low as to bully a baby whose mind hadn’t even fully developed?
Where would his dignity be?
If he was going to eat the brat...
At the very least, he’d wait until the kid grew up and put on some weight.
What Kurama hadn’t expected was that from that day onward, the little nuisance entered the seal every single day.
At first, he only babbled incoherently.
Later, he crawled over and treated Kurama like a giant cushion.
Eventually...
A bed.
His back.
His head.
His tails.
Even the spaces between his claws.
Naruto had slept just about everywhere imaginable.
And to make matters worse...
He was an awful sleeper.
Every night, he tugged on Kurama’s mane in his sleep.
That, perhaps...
Was the very definition of fearlessness born from innocence.
Before either of them realized it...
Nearly three years had passed.
Three years together.
Day after day.
Even Kurama couldn’t help growing attached to the little brat.
He still remembered the day Naruto learned to speak.
The very first word the boy had pronounced clearly...
Had been his name.
"Kurama."
Thinking of that, a faint look of pride appeared on the great fox’s face.