Chapter 50

Hearing Naruto's remark about his own stubbornness, Sasuke shot him a glance, then said, "Hurry up and eat. Afterward, we'll practice our close combat skills together."

Naruto froze for a moment upon hearing this, then nodded.

His original plan had been to wait until the end of the month to receive his earnings and use the share to buy some body-strengthening elixirs for Sasuke. But now it seemed Sasuke couldn't wait any longer.

"Alright then."

After finishing their meal, Naruto and Sasuke walked side by side toward the small riverbank.

This path not only led directly to the Uchiha clan grounds, but it was also a place where Naruto used to come to play when he was younger.

Sure enough, as the two stepped outside, two sharp gazes occasionally fell on them.

Sensing the surveillance from the Root, Naruto also restrained his speech.

On the quiet street, Sasuke walked with his head down, seemingly lost in thought.

Soon, the two arrived at an open area.

Sasuke drew out a kunai with a serious expression and stared at Naruto.

"Naruto, be careful."

Seeing Sasuke's shifting gaze, Naruto also focused and drew out a kunai to respond.

Immediately, two shadows moved swiftly across the ground, their weapons clashing in sharp metallic sounds.

In a corner of the open space, two Root members only had their eyes fixed on Sasuke, while Naruto was not within the range of their surveillance this time.

The battle between the two continued for about 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, the clash of their weapons finally ceased.

Sasuke, panting heavily, gripped the kunai with his right hand, which was trembling slightly due to the long and intense combat.

Naruto, on the other hand, was in a similar state. Because of the Root ninja's surveillance, he couldn't directly defeat Sasuke and had been intentionally suppressing his skills, always at a disadvantage during the battle.

Sasuke naturally knew Naruto's true strength, and she was surprised by how seriously Naruto had been treating their sparring session. For a moment, her gaze softened with a touch of warmth.

"Hmph, I don't need you to go easy on me."

Hearing this, Naruto gave a wry smile, "Who's going easy on you? By the way, do you want me to walk you back?"

"No need," Sasuke replied, putting away her kunai and turning to walk away.

"Alright, see you tomorrow."

Watching Sasuke leave, Naruto let out a big sigh of relief. Just as he was about to turn around and head back, he heard Sasuke's voice.

"Naruto, can we train together tomorrow morning?" Sasuke spoke hesitantly, as if feeling awkward, and quickly added, "If it's troublesome, never mind."

Seeing Sasuke act like this, Naruto smiled, "It's not a problem. Are you coming to find me, or should I come to find you?"

Sasuke seemed to relax upon hearing this. "Tomorrow, you can run to the Uchiha clan's main gate to find me. I'll take you to the training ground."

"Alright, I'll head back now."

"Mm, good... good night."

After saying good night, Sasuke quickly ran off, vanishing into the night in the blink of an eye.

Hearing Sasuke say good night to him so spontaneously, Naruto was taken aback for a moment, then smiled playfully.

"Interesting. Is she perhaps starting to feel something for me?"

Along with Sasuke, the Root surveillance ninja also disappeared, but Naruto didn't think too much about it. After all, practicing alone wasn't as fun as practicing with someone else. Plus, they could spar and fight, which was much more practical than just swinging kunai at tree stumps.

Not long after, Naruto hummed a tune as he returned home.

Looking at the clothes neatly hanging on the balcony, he suddenly realized that he rather enjoyed being around Sasuke.

After taking a shower, Naruto sat cross-legged on his bed and made the hand seals to condense chakra.

He knew that tonight his spiritual consciousness would likely visit the Nine-Tails' home again, and he wanted to take advantage of the time before falling asleep to train a bit longer.

An hour later, around 10:30 PM, Naruto opened his eyes and looked out at the pale moonlight. He couldn't help but think: What was Sasuke doing at this moment?

As the thought crossed his mind, Naruto snapped back to reality, shaking his head and forcefully dismissing the thought from his mind.

"Strange, what's happening to me?"

Not delving deeper into it, Naruto lay down on the bed, preparing to sleep.

Sure enough, as expected, just past midnight, Naruto opened his eyes again.

"It's happening again."

Although Naruto was a bit frustrated, he didn't resist too much. After all, he had slept well during the day.

"It seems that in this life, I might be able to use other means to conquer the Nine-Tails."

Naruto walked towards the area where the Nine-Tails was imprisoned, stepping carefully around the deep puddles.

"Yesterday I modified Old Xiao's story a bit, and today, the Nine-Tails must be eagerly waiting for the story, right?"

Every time he thought about it, Naruto couldn't help but smile. Indeed, a targeted plan had been implemented, precise and effective.

The Nine-Tails had resented past Jinchuriki and ninjas mainly because of being forcibly imprisoned, treated as a weapon to intimidate other countries.

But Naruto had gone against this by telling the Nine-Tails stories from his previous life's fantasy novels, where there were creatures similar to the Nine-Tails.

This subtle way of influencing the Nine-Tails' thoughts would gradually change its perception of him over time.

When the time was right, Naruto could use these fantastical stories to form a partnership with the Nine-Tails. He would then be able to transform into the perfect Jinchuriki, using the Nine-Tails' chakra at will.

"I wonder if I can achieve this within five years."

Naruto pondered this possibility, "If I can tame the Nine-Tails within five years, then after I defect, I won't have to fear being hunted down by the Anbu Root ninjas."

As these thoughts raced through his mind, Naruto entered the Nine-Tails' prison.

The moment he entered, he heard a deep, angry growl.

Naruto looked up to see two enormous vertical pupils staring fiercely at him through the gaps in the iron door.

"Yo, good evening, Old Hu."

"Naruto, you're late today."

The Nine-Tails seemed a bit displeased because Naruto had arrived late.

"It's not a big deal, Old Hu. Today's story is especially exciting, want to hear it?"

Naruto said this with a playful tone.

"Quickly tell me the story! What happened with Three-Tailed Fox and the others when they encountered the three-headed lion? What happened in the end?!"

Although the Nine-Tails had been imprisoned for a long time, it had lived for hundreds of years. Its intelligence might not match Shikamaru's, but it was still on par with a normal person.

Suddenly thinking of something, the Nine-Tails added, "You must finish the whole story today!"

Upon hearing this, Naruto's expression remained unchanged, but he inwardly smiled. "Tonight, I'll tell you the whole story? You think that's possible? That several hundred thousand-word novel? You won't even finish reading it in one night."

"Ahem... Old Hu, I'll try my best."

"Hmph, don't tease me again. Once I get out, I'll eat you!" the Nine-Tails threatened in an unfriendly tone.

Naruto didn't waste any more time. He immediately started telling the story.

As soon as Naruto began, the Nine-Tails fell silent, and soon it was fully immersed in the story, clearly identifying with the Three-Tailed Fox.

Naruto, seeing this, deliberately stirred the Nine-Tails' emotions, making sure the story had plenty of twists and turns. Several times, the main character had to risk his life to save the Three-Tailed Fox, falling into crises.

As the plot reached a crucial point, Naruto's voice suddenly stopped.

This abrupt halt shattered the Nine-Tails' deep immersion, and it immediately became furious, urging Naruto to continue.

Seeing this, Naruto smiled, his lips curling upward, "You'll have to wait for me to recover a bit of chakra before I can continue."

The story had reached a critical moment, and the Nine-Tails felt a strong itch inside, yet seeing Naruto look so weak, it had no choice but to hold back its anger.

Time passed by.

With just over an hour until dawn, the Nine-Tails grew anxious and said, "Kid, don't resist. I'll give you some of my chakra to help you recover your strength."

Naruto, nearly falling asleep, immediately perked up when he heard that the Nine-Tails was offering to share its chakra.

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