Systematic Shinobi - Chapter 49.2

"…Naruto…." a deep voice echoed ominously throughout the mindscape as they entered the main area of the seal, "Your patheticness knows no bounds. The jinchuuriki of me, the mighty Nine Tails being manhandled by a mere Three Tails jinchuuriki, shameful."

A massive gigantic gate loomed at the other side of the huge, dreary room. And within it, a tantic orange furred fox with blazing, malice filled eyes glared out in contempt.

Yet made no move to stand up as they approached. The Kyuubi lay there, head atop its paws and saw no need to rise up to greet them.

Kurama's position alone, indicated how far below…him he believed they were.

'Yes, that would be right. While we have no genders physically, our personalities reflect them in a way. I would say only Matatabi leans towards being female out of us nine.' Isobu agreed.

Kurama's words at least seemed to snap Naruto out of his funk, "Ah, shut up you stupid fox!" the blonde shouted, "I was using your power, which I didn't ask for by the way and I still lost! It wasn't just me, we both got our butts kicked!"

"Keh, that's just because of how pathetic you are at using not only your own strength but mine," Kurama scoffed, "If it were me, I would have crushed them."

"Big talk for a dumb fox stuck in a cage!" Naruto snapped back.

"Your pathetic retorts show just how little you know, disgraceful," Kurama sniffed in disdain, then those blazing crimson red eyes settled on Daiki, "Now why did you come boy? Do you think I'll happily serve this little fool like that pathetic weakling Sanbi does you? Just because you have a slight understanding of where I stand?"

"Hardly, if you heard what I said to Naruto, you already know that I know you won't, not that I blame you, I wouldn't be too happy in your place either," Daiki snorted himself, "No, I just came because I wanted to see the one that killed my parents and see just how powerful you really are."

Kurama did not react to his words much, beyond a slight tightening of the fur around his eyes. But after a moment of his words hanging in the air, the titanic nine tailed fox slowly stood up, rising to his full height within the seal, each of his tails a match for Manda in size and length fanning out behind him, "Is that so? Well then, let me give you just a taste of it boy."

The air seemed to still at Kurama's words…

And then.

A searing red wave of pressure erupted from the seal, illuminating everything within the area with a deep dark crimson glow.

And Daiki's eyes widened as he felt it, Naruto falling to his backside with a gasp as it rushed over them.

It was like the world itself was pressing down upon his shoulders and a hate fuelled bloodlust that made Orochimaru's own feel like that of a new born babes in comparison to the Snake Sannin's own swept into his very bones.

Lesser shinobi would lock up and die in fright from the sheer killing intent alone within the chakra pressing down upon him. And the sheer force behind it, could probably kill the average newly graduated genin.

It was a truly absurd power that even just a mere flare of, dwarfed that of Isobu's own even with Daiki's added on top.

It was not even a contest.

This was the Kyuubi. The being that could flatten mountains with a swing of a single tail and cause a tsunami with another.

Pure primordial power given life and physical form. The greater part of a god, even in his weakened state.

Daiki couldn't stop the cold sweat that erupted from his pores. The power behind Kurama, truly was insane.

And just as suddenly as it started, the wave of chakra stopped and Daiki released a breath he didn't know he was holding.

It really was just a taste as Kurama said, but the sheer power behind it was mindboggling. So vast, that even with the ability to sense chakra he'd gained from Isobu, he couldn't see an end to it.

"The hell was that for you stupid fox!" Naruto surged to his feet, shaking his head and baring his fist angrily at Kurama, "Just cuz' you're in a shitty situation doesn't mean you do crap like that!"

If nothing else, the blonde's mental fortitude was something else. Naive and ignorant he might have been and childish as hell, but there was do denying his courage and backbone.

"Naruto…do not think just because this boy has told you a small fraction of what let us to this moment, that we are in anyway friends," Kurama scoffed, "You are nothing, less than nothing. You are weak and pathetic and can do nothing without me. The only thing that saves you from me, is this seal between us. Make no mistake though, I will one day escape this prison and crush you and everything you love, well what little of it you do, because don't ever forget, I know the true you and not that pathetic veneer you show off for those foolish humans to get their attention and acknowledgement."

Naruto growled, "….Bastard fox, and here I was beginning to sympathize with you a bit," he bit out, "I'm not gonna let that happen, I'm gonna be the Hokage that surpasses all the other Hokage and since you couldn't beat the Yondaime, no way you'll beat me!"

"Try beating the one beside you first, he's the next Hokage after all I sensed no lies in his words," Kurama mocked the blonde, "It's a good thing he is not my Jinchuuriki or I'd have a very hard time getting out, thankfully I got you, a weakling."

Naruto visibly grimaced and grit his teeth, but for once didn't shout back. Probably because he didn't know what to say though more than anything else.

Not that he blamed him, he just had his dream mocked and rubbed in his face, by the very being that caused him all the pain he'd suffered in his life. At least as far as he knew.

"Boy," Kurama then turned his attention to Daiki once more, "I will not apologize for your parents, because I am not sorry. You should feel proud though, that the being they fell to was me, the mightiest and strongest of all!"

"That's fine," Daiki shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest, gleaming scarlet meeting crimson red, "Like I said, I don't blame you for it. It's just the way this world works, but I'll say one thing back and keep it mind. You won't be the strongest of the Bijuu for long. I'll make sure Isobu surpasses you."

Kurama blinked, "…I see, so it's like that, the fool." the giant fox shook his head, then erupted into great peels of laughter, pure amusement vibrating the very air, "A goal even more foolish than Naruto wanting to become Hokage, good luck with that!"

And then he roared and a wave of pressure swept over him and the world warped around him.

Suddenly, he was back in the physical world, Naruto held aloft in his hand by the throat.

Naruto's eyes regained their focus and he kicked wildly in his grip, forcing the boy to drop him. The blonde landed on his backside and rubbed at his throat.

'That…was interesting.' Daiki mused inwardly, the thick tails of chakra behind him flicking back and forth through the air idly.

'Quite…I was not expecting Kurama to be so…accommodating.' Isobu agreed, 'He afforded you…while not respect, at least a smidgen of courtesy in the matter of your parents.'

Yeah, he was not at all expecting Kurama's…while not comforting words or an apology, but at least acknowledgement of him and the death of his parents at his hands.

'Yes, I believe your words to Naruto and not blaming him for his part in things and even believing him to be in the right with his actions, earned you a bit of good will with my sibling,' Isobu mused, 'I don't doubt he would still kill you without a second thought if it meant gaining his freedom, but it is a start I believe towards gaining his cooperation.'

Huh. And there he was not even aiming for that. He didn't think it would be at all that simple and wouldn't amount to much beyond a tiny starting point, but it was a gain without going for it in the first place that he would happily accept.

A cough drew him from his thoughts and he looked down to see the boy with a grimace on his face and looking up at him, "…Were you telling the truth?" Naruto asked, "About being the next Hokage?"

Ah, right. Naruto hadn't really believed him. But Kurama confirmed his words.

"Yeah," Daiki confirmed bluntly, "Because of what led me to meeting and sealing the Sanbi inside me, the old man believes I'd be a good candidate. Especially since with the full power of the Sanbi, I can fight on the level of the Hokage and protect the village. There's loads of requirements for being the Hokage, but the most important is being strong enough to do the job."

Naruto visibly grit his teeth and stood up, hands clenching into fists, "I thought there wasn't any shortcuts to being Hokage, yet you're telling me if I could use the fox's power, the old man would think of letting me be it?" he asked.

Daiki scoffed, "Hell no," he replied flatly, "Naruto, I told you there's more to it. You don't need to be the smartest or most knowledgeable to be Hokage and while strength is the most important, it has to be accompanied with loyalty to the village and the maturity to know what being Hokage actually means."

He uncrossed his arms and stared the boy directly in the eyes, "You're not stupid Naruto, but you're ignorant and you refuse to compromise, you don't understand the first thing about being a ninja never mind being the Hokage," he explained, "At you're core, you're too soft and you don't have the mindset needed to do what's right for the village above all else which the Hokage needs."

"…What…what do you mean I don't understand the first thing about being a ninja?" Naruto's hands flexed.

Daiki sighed. He couldn't blame him for not knowing. Daiki himself learned this lesson from Naruto himself when he was older after all.

"To be a ninja is to endure. That's what it means. You can't even truly endure being yourself, you constantly want attention, you lie awake at night wishing you had parents to love you, you yearn for affection. And you despair at being who you are and being a Jinchuuriki," Daiki told him and lifted a single hand and pointed at him, a finger of chakra extending from his own to poke him directly on the chest, over his heart, "Here's a little advice from me to you. Get over it. You've got this far without parents haven't you? You're strong, you don't need them. If you want love, don't look to the past for something that can't be, look to the future, find someone else to love you. Accept that the world is cruel and that people die. You can rage and cry about it, but then you have to move on."

With a thought, he dispelled the chakra cloak from around his body and stepped up to the blonde, his image in Daiki's vision being superseded by an older one in a red cloak for a brief moment, "And most importantly." he said as he thought about the Naruto whom he in another life had eagerly watched and held great love for.

"…Yeah?" Naruto trembled under his gaze, such was the weight of this moment.

"Be proud of who you are, there's nothing wrong with being a Jinchuuriki, even if you put aside what I told you earlier, without you, nobody could hold back the Kyuubi and it would have destroyed the Leaf Village, you protected this village so hold your head high," Daiki smirked, "Wear it like a crown, something you alone accomplished that nobody else did and it can't be used to hurt you. And always remember who you are. You're Naruto Uzumaki, the saviour of the Leaf, the Jinchuuriki of the strongest Bijuu and above all else an enduring ninja that no matter how many times you get knocked flat on your ass, will always stand back up."

"…Daiki…" Naruto bit his lip and tears began to bud in the corner of his eyes, "…Right, I…get you I think…"

Daiki clapped him on the shoulder and turned away, walking a few steps forward and reaching within himself once more. A familiar bubbling red cloak of chakra with three tails sprung into existence around him instantly.

"Now that we've got the heavy emotional crap out of the way, let's get down to business," Daiki looked over his shoulder with a smirk, "Bring out the Kyuubi's chakra, draw on it till you can form at least one tail, I'm going to teach you how to to use it properly. Oh, and use your sexy jutsu while you're at it."

"…Eh?" Naruto blinked at his words, the heavy emotion and tears in his gaze disappearing through the power of sheer confusion.