Altay fell into deep thought once again as he looked at Kurama, who was rubbing his swollen belly with great pride.
'...Kurama couldn't seriously be the secret main character of the Naruto anime, right? Although, thinking about all those events he counted... If it weren't for Kurama, Naruto would have died long ago in his early years as a ninja, on that bridge or in the forest...'
Altay sighed softly and looked at the giant fox with a slightly more respectful expression. Kurama, immediately noticing the respect and acceptance beneath that gaze, continued to speak, exceedingly pleased with himself.
"How about that? I'm amazing, aren't I, mortal? I am the mighty, charismatic, and noble Kyuubi, Kurama-sama, who constantly saves the so-called hero of this world from the brink of death! All of you, bow before me! HAHAHAHA!"
Altay's right eyebrow began to twitch in annoyance; he was instantly irritated by this narcissistic fox getting so full of himself. He decided to deflate Kurama's bloated pride a little.
"Drop this heroism act now! You only helped Naruto to save your own life and because you were afraid of death!"
Kurama fell silent for a moment at these words. Although the sly smile on his face faded slightly, it didn't take long before he answered, waving his giant right paw in the air dismissively.
"Ah, those are completely trivial details. In war, what matters is always the results! Not the process."
Altay remained speechless in the face of this shameless defense. Sighing once more, he stood up from where he was sitting and started walking towards the small bookshelf sent by the system. Meanwhile, Kurama was occupied with something else entirely; he was looking curiously at his own giant-sized bed. Throughout his thousand-year life, the great fox had always slept either on mountains and rocks, or on the cold floors of dungeons; he had never slept in a bed before. He touched the giant, soft mattress with curiosity. After carefully sniffing and analyzing it for a while, he stepped onto the bed with heavy steps. He spun around in circles on the mattress for a bit; in this state, he looked almost like a giant, adorable dog. Finally, like a cat, he started rubbing his massive back against the bed. Kurama absolutely loved this feeling! He had never seen such luxury since his imprisonment, or perhaps even since his birth. Without even realizing it, he was secretly starting to like Altay and this "system" business of his. To fully test this new and soft bed, he decided to take a sweet nap right then and there. He curled up nicely on the bed and pulled the giant quilt, specially prepared for him, over himself.
Altay chuckled quietly at the pet-like antics of his furry friend behind him and turned his attention to the scrolls and books on the bookshelf. He selected a few among them and began to examine them:
[Basic Chakra Control Methods]
[Kenjutsu Training Notes of Konoha's White Fang, Hatake Sakumo]
[Taijutsu Training Methods – Includes the Experiences of Might Duy and Might Guy]
[In-depth Research Notes on Chakra Usage and Elemental Knowledge – Author: Orochimaru]
[Research on Hand Seals – Senju Tobirama and Orochimaru]
[Chakra Body Development Method – Includes the Experiences of the 3rd and 4th Raikage]
[Uchiha Izuna's Swordsmanship Records]
[Uchiha Madara's Battle and Combat Experiences] ...
When Altay saw these names and the contents of the books, he whistled in shock.
"Wow... These dimensional beings really know how to make up for their mistake..."
Just reading and studying these notes alone would grant him unimaginable things. As he had decided earlier, Altay ignored all the scrolls related to ninjutsu and genjutsu and set them aside. He couldn't learn hand seals overnight in a simple way as described in those ridiculous fanfictions. He had been molded by strict military discipline for over twenty years. He was so accustomed to his own lethal close-quarters combat style that even if he memorized the hand seals, it would take years for him to weave them quickly as a reflex in the middle of a battle. That is why he naturally set kenjutsu (swordsmanship) and taijutsu (close combat) as his main focus points. It is a very difficult process for a person to change the muscle memory and fighting habits they have established over years; especially if this person is a soldier who has been in life-or-death battles, trying to completely change his fighting style all at once could backfire on the front lines and lead to his own death.
Taking the taijutsu and kenjutsu books he had selected, he sat at the study desk. As he began to gently flip through the pages of the books, he called out to Kurama, who was enjoying his new bed behind him.
"Kurama, exactly how old is Naruto right now?"
Sprawled out comfortably on his new bed, lazily sipping his soda, Kurama answered in an extremely sluggish voice.
"Three."
Surprised, Altay lifted his head from the book and looked behind him at Kurama.
"He's that young?"
Kurama opened a single crimson eye and looked at Altay.
"You should be glad about this, at least you have plenty of time to train and get stronger so you can survive when you get out! Don't forget that the chakra in your body was given directly by me. It is much wilder and stronger than ordinary human chakra. Additionally, due to my Yang affinity, an abundance of life energy and vitality has formed in your body. Meaning, not only is your chakra capacity huge, but your chakra center has also expanded, becoming massive enough to almost be compared to those famous Uzumaki bastards! Furthermore, the best part is, you are only in your early twenties; you have plenty of room to physically develop and grow stronger."
Altay was utterly astounded by the last sentence he heard.
"Wait a minute! Twenty? What nonsense are you spouting, you furball? I am 49 years old!"
Altay hurriedly got up from the study desk, went to the cabin where the bathroom was, and stood in front of the mirror. He carefully looked at his own face, hands, and body. Standing before him was not a worn-out soldier in his late forties, but a young, vigorous, and lively body in his early twenties, as if he had just finished puberty. Altay stared blankly at his reflection in the mirror.
"...Great... All my charisma and maturity are gone..."
Altay sighed unhappily as he looked at his young face in the mirror. But actually, he wasn't all that surprised by the situation. He had been 'isekai'd' (teleported) into the seal space inside a three-year-old child's stomach, and was currently sharing the same room with a giant, talking furball. What else could possibly surprise him?
Accepting the situation, Altay took a deep breath and walked back towards his own bed. He threw himself on his back onto the bed and fell into deep thought. With his eyes on the ceiling, he distractedly called out to Kurama.
"Kurama, what exactly are your plans for the future?"
While chilling on his bed, Kurama was simultaneously cleaning the meat scraps from between his giant teeth with his special toothpick. He answered dismissively.
"Isn't it obvious? To survive."
Altay chuckled lightly.
"And what do you plan to do about Naruto?"
Kurama remained silent at this question. Frankly, even he didn't know what to do amidst these changing circumstances yet. After thinking for a moment, Altay spoke seriously.
"Kurama, if you really want to survive, your only chance is to make Naruto stronger. I don't know exactly what will happen in the future, but this Ninja world's chances of winning against those alien Otsutsukis are really very low. The bad part is, I don't have much information about the Boruto era; I only have a few useless and patchy pieces of knowledge. So I'd say don't rely too much on the information in my mind regarding that Boruto era, especially since with my presence, it is highly likely that the future of this world won't be the same as before."
Kurama stayed completely silent. When he read Altay's mind, he had indeed seen very little regarding the Boruto series, because Altay hadn't liked the style of that anime at all and had stopped watching it. Altay sighed again and looked at the books resting on his desk that he needed to study. He muttered to himself in a low voice.
"Anyway... At least I won't be sitting idle here for the half a year it'll take for the system to activate."
Hearing this sentence, lightning suddenly struck in Kurama's brain. His giant mouth hung open in shock.
'Wait a minute! This bastard human's food and water problem has been completely solved thanks to the system! So he's not going to starve to death or anything!'
Suddenly, that terrifying nightmare came alive in Kurama's mind: Altay gets out of here with the system and shows those disgraceful memories to all the other Bijuu (tailed beasts)! In his mind, Kurama vividly imagined how the other eight Bijuu, especially that One-Tailed Shukaku he hated so much, would mock him with these memories. In fear, Kurama grabbed his massive head with his two giant paws.
-Kurama's Imagination-
Shukaku: "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! KURAMA, YOU LOOKED REALLY BEAUTIFUL IN THAT SKIRT! I FOUND YOU VERY ADORABLE! HAHAHAHAHAHA..."
Son Goku (Four-Tails): "KYAHAHAHAHAHA! I REALLY LOVED THE PART WHERE YOU DID THAT DANCE CALLED THE TANGO! YOUR FOOTWORK WAS TRULY AMAZING! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Gyuuki (Eight-Tails): "GAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I LOVED THE POSES YOU STRUCK WHEN YOU WERE DECORATED WITH RIBBONS AND THOSE PAINTS CALLED MAKEUP!"
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA (X8)
-The Real World-
Waking up in terror from his own imagination, Kurama let out a huge, despair-filled scream inwardly.
'NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!'
Altay, completely unaware of Kurama's internal breakdown and mental crisis at that moment, continued speaking.
"Oi! Kurama! Has Naruto met that Hyuga girl, Hinata, yet?"
Kurama, currently lying on his bed in an overly dramatic and pessimistic manner, questioning life, gave an almost automatic reply from his subconscious.
"No. Why do you ask?"
"Hahaha, just out of curiosity. So, can you summon Naruto here?"
Kurama continued to answer in the same devastated, pessimistic mood.
"...No."
Not caring about Kurama's weird tone of voice, Altay fell into thought and continued speaking.
"Then how can we talk to him?"
Kurama let out a deep sigh.
"Unless it is by his own consent and will, I cannot talk to him. Or, unless he is physically unconscious, I cannot pull his mind here into the seal space. We have that bastard Minato to thank for putting us in this situation."
Altay grimaced at this name, and a deep contempt appeared in his eyes. He did not find this sacrifice that the Fourth Hokage Minato made of his own biological son, Naruto, logical in any way, nor did he approve of it. If he had the opportunity, he would take both Minato and Gaara's father, Rasa, turn them both into his daily punching bags, and beat them military-style twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. No matter how right or logical it seemed for their beliefs or the future of the village, no parent had the right to ruin a young child's life in such a horrifying way, to seal a monster inside him. Altay only liked the Naruto anime from afar as a fictional story, but now that this story had turned into reality, the only thing Altay felt towards that "Supreme Ninja World" and its ruthless shinobi rules was pure disgust and disdain.
Altay sighed. After pushing these dark thoughts out of his mind and thinking a bit more, a brilliant idea came to him.
"Kurama! I think I found a way to talk to Naruto early on!"
Altay looked at Kurama calmly. Kurama shook off his pessimistic state and turned his head to Altay with curiosity.
"How is that going to work?"
"In the coming days, Naruto will try to save Hinata from those three stupid bully kids. Of course, he won't be strong enough, and he will pass out after taking a solid beating! We can use his loss of consciousness at that moment to pull Naruto's mind here."
Hearing this plan, Kurama fell into serious thought.
"...Actually, it might work."
Altay smiled upon receiving this confirmation.
"Good."
Kurama raised an eyebrow suspiciously and looked at Altay.
"But why is talking to an ordinary brat so important to you? What's your deal?"
Leaning comfortably against the headboard of his bed, Altay spoke in an extremely sincere tone of voice.
"I want to bring a little cheer to an orphaned child who has been ostracized by everyone and grown up unloved since he was very little. Is that a crime? Poor Naruto didn't have a single person in this village who truly accepted him until he was eight years old; if it weren't for Shikamaru and Choji, he could have completely collapsed from loneliness. I just want to lift his spirits, at least a little bit, and make him feel that he has someone behind him."
Kurama remained completely silent in the face of this explanation. His giant eyes narrowed slightly. In his mind, that saying he had heard while reading Altay's memories and never forgot echoed:
'A Turkish soldier is the one who fights the hardest and most ruthlessly against his enemy on the battlefield; but he is also the one who is the most merciful and honorable towards the innocent.'