Chapter 100: Staying Friends Forever
"Look! It's that child!"
"Is he the legendary Nine-Tailed Demon Fox?"
"Everyone listen up, you absolutely cannot get close to him! He's a monster!"
"Get lost! Get out of my sight right now!"
"Don't you dare enter my shop again!"
"Never play with him! Do you hear me? Be careful, he might harm you!"
"Don't come over! Stay away from us!"
...
More voices piled on, one after another.
In the boundless darkness, young Naruto looked small and helpless. He stood alone, ringed by a crowd that seemed to merge with the shadows.
Their eyes were full of disgust and hate, as if he were a plague. Their words cut like knives.
The darkness loomed like a beast, jaws open to swallow him whole—
In a blink, the scene flipped.
"We always believed in you!"
Shouts rang in his ears.
"You're a hero, Naruto!"
People pressed around him, eyes shining.
"Thank you, Naruto!"
"Naruto, can you give me an autograph? My kid is your fan!"
Smiling faces kept appearing. Ichiraku Ramen slid into view.
Two ninja sat beside him, excited. "Naruto, please sign for us!"
As they grinned and gave him a thumbs-up, their faces blurred—overlapping with the villagers who once drove him away.
...
"I am the village's dangerous weapon."
Gaara's flat tone and the chill rolling off him.
"To them, I am just a relic they want erased."
Naruto felt the weight of Gaara's killing intent—resentment so heavy it made him shiver.
Then the scene shifted again.
"Gaara is our great Kazekage!"
Cheers. Reverent faces.
"Lord Gaara isn't just handsome—he's an elite with exceptional strength!"
Praise piled up.
Naruto stood off to the side, watching the crowd around Gaara. In his mind, the old, hated Gaara flickered beside the revered one.
Malice and goodwill braided together into something strange—
—and finally coalesced into the blood-red pupils of his dark self.
'See?'
A mocking voice echoed. 'Humans are so hypocritical.'
...
"No!"
Naruto jolted awake, drenched in sweat like he'd been hauled from a river.
He sucked in air, vision swimming, then clearing.
He turned instinctively.
Renji was awake too, sitting by the bed, gaze set past the window on the bright moon hanging high.
"Sorry… did I wake you?" Naruto's voice held guilt.
Everything from the True Waterfall had hit him hard—especially the words of his dark side, still circling in his head.
Naruto gripped Renji's sleeve, as if drawing a bit of steadiness. His hand trembled.
He regretted insisting they crash in the same room; he couldn't sleep and now Renji couldn't either.
Renji had been woken by Naruto's shout. He wasn't a corpse.
Sleep didn't matter much. He let Naruto settle while he watched the moon.
When Naruto's breathing eased, Renji asked, "Nightmare?"
Naruto nodded.
Renji looked over, his gaze steady. "Can you tell me what you saw at the True Waterfall?"
Naruto's shoulders went tight.
"It's fine if you'd rather not," Renji added.
"No! I can tell Renji."
If he couldn't speak to Renji, who could he speak to?
Naruto drew a deep breath, lining up the words. "My dark side… deep down, I've always hated… those people… in the village…"
Finally saying it left him drained.
He searched Renji's face for any disappointment.
There was none. Renji even smiled a little—easing the knot in Naruto's chest.
"That's normal," Renji said, voice low. "You're human. How could you not resent the pain you went through?"
The words worked like a key turning a lock.
"Don't stop there," Renji said, guiding him. "Keep going."
The sincerity made Naruto feel safe.
"The two ninja who asked me for an autograph at Ichiraku… they once ran me off when I was little. I remembered—it's like they forgot. Now they act like nothing happened…"
His voice shook, bitterness rising.
"Is it just because I have 'value' now?"
Renji listened, then nodded. "Yes. Because you showed value."
Naruto's heart clenched.
"But it's not only that," Renji added right away. "They saw you step forward when it mattered. That kind of courage—taking responsibility—makes people see who you really are. That's where respect comes from."
"Power alone breeds fear," Renji said, calm but firm. "Respect—worship, even—comes from understanding the person behind the power."
"You're stuck in the darkest corner of this, Naruto. Do you get what I'm saying?"
Naruto nodded hard. "Yeah."
He understood, but the gloom didn't vanish at once.
Renji saw it. "People are simple. They fear what they don't understand. Do you hate the Nine-Tails—for taking your parents and wrecking your childhood?"
Naruto clenched his teeth and nodded.
"Then think about the villagers. The Nine-Tails took people from them too," Renji said. "Most don't even know what a Jinchuriki is. To them, the Nine-Tails was you, and you were the Nine-Tails."
"I'm not asking you to forgive them. You're an innocent victim. But the real cause of your suffering—"
"It was the Nine-Tails!" Naruto cut in, firm.
Renji shook his head slightly. "Not exactly. The one who unleashed it—the man who caused the catastrophe—that's who deserves the blame."
Naruto went quiet, thinking.
Letting go of that old hatred wouldn't be instant. Renji didn't expect it to be.
'They'll reconcile eventually,' he thought. 'No need to force it tonight. …Though I wouldn't mind the Nine-Tails' malice value.'
"If you were locked in a cage your whole life," Renji asked, tapping a knuckle lightly against Naruto's chest, "would you be happy?"
"Of course not!"
He remembered the suffocation when Renji locked him up. He really thought he'd die.
"What about the Nine-Tails?"
The question cracked across Naruto's thoughts. He'd never looked at it that way.
"But if it isn't locked up, it'll hurt people…" Naruto protested, weaker now.
"Before Madara controlled it," Renji asked, "do we have records of the Nine-Tails attacking on its own?"
Naruto searched his memory.
He couldn't find any clear record.
"…No."
"Then the point isn't the beast—it's the one wielding its power," Renji said.
...
Inside the sealing space, the Nine-Tails lifted an eyelid.
It lay on its paws, listening to this human talk to that noisy brat.
"The Nine-Tails is like any other creature. Even a wild animal won't attack unless you step into its territory…"
"So learn to judge people, Naruto."
Renji almost smiled as he said it.
'When Naruto really sits with this later, that mood will be priceless.'
"I think I get it," Naruto said, nodding.
"Then why aren't you afraid of me? Why don't you dislike me?"
"Because I know you didn't destroy the village. And… I knew who you were earlier than you think."
Renji had known Naruto since he was small; in some ways, better than anyone.
"Little Naruto was cute. I don't know how the adults could be that cruel." Renji ruffled his hair once.
The big blue eyes, the put-upon look—like a stray cat in the rain.
Naruto's eyes stung and tears spilled. He scrubbed them away with his sleeve.
'It's really good Renji's here.'
"Easy," Renji said. "People stop fighting when they understand each other. Same goes for you and the Nine-Tails."
...
In the sealing space, the Nine-Tails exploded into a roar.
"DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT MAKING ME HELP THIS BRAT!"
Its massive body quaked with anger.
"YOU CUNNING HUMANS!"
The nine tails lashed.
"UNBELIEVABLE!"
Its slit pupils widened. 'How can a human make this much sense? Weren't they always hypocritical and selfish?'
...
"If you want its power—want to fight with it—start by trying to understand what it really thinks," Renji told Naruto.
Before Naruto could answer, the Nine-Tails thundered again, "FIGHTING TOGETHER? SPARE ME THE FLOWERY WORDS! YOU JUST WANT TO USE MY POWER!"
"TREACHEROUS HUMANS!"
The sealing space shook with its rage.
Naruto clamped his hands over his ears—useless.
"I checked the archives back in Konoha," Renji said. "The Nine-Tails lived in a forest until Madara's Sharingan turned it into a weapon against the village."
"After that, the First Hokage feared its power and it was sealed into Uzumaki hosts—first Uzumaki Mito, then your mother… and finally you."
"For a century, it's never been free. The one time it was, it was controlled."
"Jinchuriki and Tailed Beasts share the same kind of fate," Renji said. "In this world, you two might understand each other most."
Inside, the Nine-Tails finally quieted.
Naruto was kind. Seeing from that angle, malice didn't come so easily.
The Nine-Tails scowled. 'This human is dangerous. He… gets it. Damn it.'
"Don't dump the blame on the beasts," Renji said. "That's like blaming a kunai for a war."
"You can do this, Naruto. You've always been the guy who can feel someone else's pain."
"I understand," Naruto said softly, relief bleeding into his voice. He looked up at Renji.
"Did you figure out how to beat the darkness in your heart?"
Renji nodded—then hesitated.
"What is it?" Naruto asked.
Like a kid owning up to trouble, he mumbled, "There's still… a little bit."
'Related to me?' Renji wondered.
Naruto drew a breath and pushed it out. "My dark side… it wants you to… stay friends with me. Forever."
He exhaled, but kept his head down.
Renji blinked—then huffed a laugh. "That's it? I was always going to stay friends with you."
He set a hand on Naruto's shoulder.
"Really?" Naruto looked up, eyes bright.
"Really," Renji said. "We're comrades. I've got your back—count on me."
Moonlight washed the room, their shadows falling side by side.
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