Naruto was overwhelmed by a surge of emotions for a moment and spoke with a trembling voice.
"Why aren't you afraid of me?"
"Why should I be afraid?"
"Because I am the demon fox."
"Ah! You mean my bestie! No, he isn't a cute little kid like this. He is a charismatic and noble fox... Though I think he's started to gain weight lately..."
Naruto blinked rapidly, bewildered by what he heard.
"What do you mean? I don't understand."
Altay chuckled softly at the boy's innocent confusion.
"The one you call the '9-tailed demon fox' is my friend. He's right over there."
When Altay pointed at Kurama, Naruto only just noticed the giant iron cage in the dark corner of the room. As he turned his eyes in that direction, he saw the so-called most terrifying monster he had heard of his entire life, the one everyone in Konoha talked about, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox who tried to destroy the whole village, lying on his back on a normal bed. Moreover, this legendary monster was reading a manga with wide-open eyes in utter seriousness while eating chips. For a moment, Naruto stared blankly, not knowing what to think. To see if what he was looking at was an illusion, he rubbed his eyes hard and looked that way again. Realizing that the scene was entirely real, the boy's mouth literally dropped open; at that moment, he inwardly began to question his short three-year perspective on life. Seeing the deep shock Naruto had fallen into and the comical look on his face, Altay couldn't hold back a chuckle.
"Focus, Naruto."
Waking from that deep state of bewilderment at the sound of the voice, Naruto quickly turned his head to Altay.
"Mister... Who are you? Where am I? And is that really the Kyuubi!?"
Faced with Naruto's rapid-fire, excited questions, Altay spoke comfortably without losing his composure.
"Like I said. My name is Altay, this is your inner world, and yes, that is really the Kyuubi."
Three-year-old Naruto didn't quite have the capacity to fully comprehend these abstract concepts yet.
"Altay-san, what do you mean by saying this is my inner world? I don't understand."
Altay answered calmly to clear the confusion in the boy's head.
"This is a world that exists inside of you. To be more clear, you are the house, and this is a room inside of you."
Naruto was completely dumbfounded by this analogy, and pointing at himself with his little finger, he yelled at the top of his lungs.
"NANI!!! AM I? A HOUSE? IS THIS A ROOM INSIDE ME?"
Shuddering slightly, Naruto began to question his own humanity, wondering if he was a living being made of flesh and bone. Looking blankly at Naruto, who had entered an unnecessary panic attack, Altay started to feel a slight headache at his temples.
He grumbled to himself, 'I completely forgot how overly energetic and loud Naruto was at this age... Should I have not called him here at all? Such energetic brats can be a complete headache for a person... Especially if they constantly scream at everything like this... My psychological trauma, stemming from the neighbor's children, has literally been reignited.'
After letting out a deep and patient sigh, he put aside the absurdity of the situation and started explaining it in the simplest terms Naruto's little mind could grasp. Following an explanation of about ten minutes that pushed the limits of his patience, Naruto finally showed he somewhat understood the situation by slowly nodding his head. Altay, on the other hand, felt he had endured one of the greatest tortures of his life during those ten minutes. He continued thinking to himself:
'The real reason this kid seems stupid or slow on the uptake in his later years is definitely not something innate! This damn village literally taught him nothing in the name of education. This kid doesn't even know the most basic words and the simplest concepts! I was planning to teach him tactical combat and show him a path, but this kid in front of me is literally a blank slate. What the hell am I going to do with him now!'
When Naruto finally calmed down, he started looking around the dim and unfamiliar space with more careful and curious eyes.
"Altay-san, what are you doing here inside of me?"
Altay sighed softly at the boy's formal address.
"Naruto, you can call me nii-san or Aniki instead of Altay-san. There's no need for too much formality."
Naruto froze for a moment at this offer. This burly man in front of him was showing a vastly different approach than anyone he had met in his life so far. He could clearly feel a strange sense of trust and sincerity from Altay that he couldn't even feel around the Hokage he called Grandpa, but with his tiny mind, he couldn't quite explain this feeling yet. After a brief internal hesitation, he nodded with a slight smile on his face.
"Nii-san, what are you doing here?"
Altay mentally gathered how to answer the question for a moment and began to explain his situation. Of course, while doing so, he skillfully skipped the heavy details that would muddy a three-year-old's mind or that he shouldn't hear. For instance, he didn't mention the part where he died in his own world and suddenly woke up in this dark mind. Following a brief and superficial summary, Naruto tilted his head slightly in astonishment at what he heard.
"So you woke up here like me? And you've been here for 3 months!? Am I trapped here too!?"
As this thought echoed in his mind, it suddenly clicked for Naruto, and that curious expression on his face gave way to sheer panic.
"AAAAAAHHHHHH! WHAT WILL I DO!"
Terrified by the thought of being trapped in this dark, weird place for the rest of his life, Naruto reflexively jumped off the bed he was lying on and attempted to run in hopes of finding an exit. However, Altay caught him by the scruff of his clothes like a cat and lifted him up with a calm reflex.
"Calm down, little fox. You can leave or return here whenever you want. You are the landlord, after all."
His eyes welling up with tears from the panic, Naruto sniffled loudly and looked at Altay with hope-seeking eyes.
"... Really?"
Altay nodded slowly, as if to reassure the boy.
"What could I possibly gain by lying to you?"
Upon this logical answer, Naruto sniffled once more and wiped his tears with his hand. Altay gently placed Naruto, who was dangling in the air like a kitten held by the scruff of its neck, back onto the bed. Sitting on the bed, Naruto wiped his wet cheeks with his sleeve and asked curiously.
"Then how do I get out of here?"
"Let's chat a bit first, then I'll tell you the way out. Are you hungry?"
Naruto shook his head side to side to indicate he was full.
"No."
GGGGUUUUURRRRRRRRR~
With this loud grumbling sound echoing in the silence of the room, Naruto froze in place. While Altay's right eyebrow rose mockingly, the little boy's face turned as red as a tomato from embarrassment. Unable to stay silent at the boy's comical state, Altay chuckled softly.
"I was about to eat too, join me."
Naruto accepted the offer, nodding with an embarrassed expression. As Altay got up from his chair and headed towards the large dining table at the other end of the room, Naruto looked extremely cautiously towards the Nine-Tailed Fox in the cage before getting out of bed, and was once again stunned by the sight he saw. Thinking he saw wrong, he blinked rapidly, then rubbed his eyes hard once more with his little hands. Looking carefully again, he noticed the scene hadn't changed. To be sure, he pinched his arm lightly, but that giant monster was still standing in the same bizarre way. Swallowing to clear his dry throat, he called out with a trembling voice.
"A-A-Altay Nii-san?"
Stepping towards the table, Altay stopped and calmly turned around.
"Yes?"
Pointing at the cage with his index finger, Naruto asked incredibly skeptically.
"Does the Kyuubi cry?"
Altay paused for a moment at this question, then let out a booming laugh that echoed in the room.
"HAHAHAHA! Yes, everyone who has emotions cries sometimes, but it must be something very huge to make Kurama cry. It's not that easy to make him cry."
With an unconvinced expression, Naruto still kept pointing at the cage. Suppressing his laughter and blinking, Altay looked towards the cage Naruto was pointing at and froze in place. This time, it was his turn to be dumbfounded. The giant Kurama, lying on his bed, was completely focused on the manga in his hands, and tears were literally streaming down his demonic eyes. In the Akame ga Kill manga he was reading, Kurama was at the chapter where Tatsumi's older brother figure, Bulat, died tragically and Tatsumi equipped the Incursio armor for the first time. Deeply moved by the weight of the story, the giant fox sniffled and muttered to himself in a low voice.
"You were a good man, Bulat. I am Kyuubi Kurama! I approve of you!"
After letting out a heavy sigh and slowly closing the huge manga, Kurama took a deep, loud sip from his giant soda next to him, wallowing in that strange sorrow. He took a deep breath.
"Haaahhhh!"
Right at that moment, Kurama noticed the silence in the room and turned his head, looking directly at Naruto and Altay. Seeing them both standing there, looking at him with extremely strange and bewildered eyes, he tried to understand the situation. Touching his face with the back of his giant paw, he felt the wetness at the corner of his eyes and paused for a moment to save face. He immediately opened his mouth wide, stretched with a fake yawn, and called out to Altay to distract them as if nothing had happened.
"Oi! I got sleepy from boredom, aren't you done yet?"
Slowly getting up from his bed and keeping up the act, Kurama yawned even more exaggeratedly and walked slowly towards the dining table. Seeing this giant creature move, Naruto quickly got out of bed, quietly took refuge behind Altay, and holding onto his leg, whispered secretly.
"Wasn't he just crying?"
"Shhh! Play along, he's embarrassed. Let's go eat."
Naruto was once again taken aback by this truth.
"The Kyuubi gets embarrassed!?"
Altay chuckled while gently patting the boy's back.
"Yes... There are a lot of things you've been taught wrong. Don't worry, I'll explain them to you slowly!"
Altay bent down and affectionately stroked Naruto's blonde hair again. Seeing the boy submissively accept the touch this time without flinching made him inwardly glad. However, Kurama, who clearly heard their whispering with his sharp ears, roared angrily from the table.
"ALTAY! DON'T SPREAD BASELESS RUMORS!"
Altay had no intention of getting into a pointless argument with the cranky fox.
"Alright, alright~"
Kurama didn't like Altay's sarcastic tone at all, but his main focus right now was what the food coming from the system would be. Besides, even though he didn't show it, he didn't want to scare little Naruto any further. So, he closed the subject and spoke seriously.
"We'll talk after the guest leaves!"
Altay replied to Kurama's attitude with a smile.
"He's our landlord."
Kurama said only one thing in a cold voice.
"16 times."
Altay shrugged nonchalantly. He knew that in the original work, Kurama saved Naruto from death at least sixteen times, but since none of those events had happened yet in this new reality they were in, that defense technically didn't mean much. Without dragging the subject out, he sat at the wooden table. Naruto came with timid steps and settled into the chair right next to him. When the boy looked ahead with great expectation and curiosity, he saw that the wooden table was completely empty.
"So what are we going to eat?"
Altay smiled mysteriously and spoke.
"Just wait, the food will arrive shortly."
Naruto looked at Altay weirdly, as if to say, "Where is food going to come from on an empty table?" But seeing both the giant Kurama and Altay waiting while looking at the empty table, he stopped questioning and focused on the table to wait too. Soon after, a faint, magical flash of light appeared right in the middle of the table. Startled by this sudden flash, Naruto reflexively squeezed his eyes shut. When he felt the light fade and half-opened his eyes again, covered copper trays of various sizes were lined up on the table that had been completely empty just a moment ago. Utterly astounded by this magic he witnessed, Naruto jumped to his feet, yelling.
"HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?"
Altay's eyebrow twitched again due to the boy's sudden and loud reaction.
"Naruto, please speak without yelling."
Realizing his mistake, Naruto quickly covered his own mouth with both hands and sat back down bashfully.
"I'm sorry."
Softening the harshness in his voice, Altay sighed with a fatherly affection.
"Here is your first lesson. No yelling. No empty talk and baseless claims. If you pay attention to these two points, people will take you more seriously."
Not understanding, Naruto asked with pure curiosity on his face.
"What do you mean?"
Altay knew very well the psychological underlying reason why the boy constantly made noise. He chose his words carefully to explain it slowly.
"Naruto, you constantly yell because you want to draw attention, right?"
Naruto froze for a moment at this direct observation. The cheerful tone in his voice completely vanished. He slowly bowed his head, clenching his little hands tightly into fists in his lap. With the feeling of loneliness brought on by no one in the village seeing him and everyone hating him, he silently confirmed Altay just by nodding. Seeing this unfair burden on the shoulders of a little boy, Altay took another deep breath.
"Doing this will only bother people more and keep them away from you. Plus, it will cause you to make yourself a target. These things I listed are all a constantly annoying and yelling person will ever get."
With his head bowed, Naruto listened to what was said without uttering a single word. Squeezing his fists on his knees even tighter, he dug his nails into his palms. Without lifting his face, he muttered in an extremely calm yet equally trembling voice.
"Then... How will I prove my existence to everyone?"
Leaning slightly towards him over the table, Altay asked a very striking question.
"Does it matter to prove your existence?"