Five Years

When Naruto first arrived at the Uchiha mansion, he appeared quite reserved. Especially after meeting Hades—a cold, majestic god who exuded authority without even trying—he sat bolt upright, eyes straight ahead, desperately trying to keep his small face composed. He looked so pitiful, as if he were suffering from a toothache, a stomachache, and a headache all at once, that even Sasuke began to feel a twinge of sympathy for him.

However, children have a great capacity for play and an equally great capacity for forgetting. Once Kurama coaxed him gently, telling him to put aside his formalities and go play in the courtyard with Sasuke, and once Sasuke—despite his usual stony, unwelcoming expression—did not refuse the suggestion, Naruto didn't hesitate. He ran out of the living room with Sasuke, and soon, the courtyard was filled with the vibrant, joyful sounds of children playing.

Sitting across from Hades, Kurama smiled slightly at the noise.

"It seems this was a rather good idea, isn't it? Finding a lively playmate of his own age for Sasuke."

As he spoke, he reached out to refill their half-empty teacups.

"That child is truly a bit too quiet. Even though we know his internal conflict has mostly been resolved and he is no longer as extreme or gloomy as he was at the start, still..."

Still, the Uchiha clan massacre had inevitably left its mark on Sasuke. While it was a good thing that the child’s temperament had become more composed, in Kurama’s eyes, Sasuke was clearly overly composed.

Naruto’s appearance at this moment was timely—not to mention that Kurama was quite interested in the Nine-Tails residing within the boy as a sort of pseudo-kindred spirit. Even without the Nine-Tails, Naruto’s thick-skinned nature, which remained sunny and cheerful despite all the hardships he had endured, was exactly the kind of personality Kurama hoped for and was happy to see Sasuke associate with.

However...

"After today, I suppose our surveillance and alert level with certain people will be raised once again?"

Kurama chuckled, unconcerned.

Hades glanced at him indifferently.

"You seem to be looking forward to it?"

The King of the Underworld's voice was as cold and pleasant as ever, yet... whether it was his imagination or not, Kurama felt that recently, Hades’ tone had carried a certain peculiar rhythmic quality. It was nothing special for a sentence or two, but when the two of them engaged in long, lingering conversations like this...

To be perfectly honest, Kurama was occasionally bewitched by the charming, low-pitched murmurs of the Underworld King. Often, when he regained his senses, he would realize he had been immersed in that magnificent, elegant voice for who knew how long. Similarly, he would also find himself wondering how long he had been silently watched by that profound gaze—a gaze filled with deep, complex meanings that the demon fox did not wish to decipher.

It felt as though things were moving in an increasingly unpredictable direction.

Breaking eye contact—having listened to Hades’ voice so intently that he had unknowingly held the King’s gaze for far too long—Kurama cleared his throat uncomfortably and suddenly stood up.

"I’ll go check on Sasuke and Naruto."

He said this in a low voice and turned to head toward the door. However, a hand reached across the table and caught his wrist with precision before he could take a step.

"Do not get too close to that Tailed Beast."

The tall figure of the Underworld King leaned toward Kurama across the wooden table. Although they were not close enough to hear each other's breathing, the damnable, enchanting, deep, and elegant voice exerted two hundred percent of its effect within that distance, causing the tips of the demon fox's ears to flush red for no reason.

"Why? Are you worried that he might pose a threat to me?"

Feigning composure, the demon fox turned his head back, his eyes flickering as he looked at the black-haired King of the Underworld, who remained expressionless even in such a situation.

"Hades, that is a lack of trust in your friends and partners."

The King of the Underworld watched him quietly.

Two pairs of green eyes, similar in color but completely different in feeling, stared at each other unyieldingly at such a close range. For a long time—so long that Kurama thought time might have frozen—the usually stoic god across from him suddenly curled the corners of his lips and smiled, very lightly and faintly.

"'Friends and partners'?"

He raised an eyebrow, repeating the words softly with a smile. It was as if he were asking, "Is that all?"

Kurama stared at him in silence for a few seconds.

"...Of course."

Ultimately, he responded with a facade of calm.

"Otherwise... what did you think it would be?"

The demon fox asked softly. Before the King of the Underworld could reply, he nimbly pulled his hand away, turned, and drifted away gracefully.

Behind him, the Underworld King’s expression remained indifferent, yet deep within those emerald eyes, countless thoughts seemed to be swirling and entangling...

***

Seeing that Hades did not follow him, Kurama let out a deep sigh of relief. Honestly, the atmosphere just now felt a bit... dangerous.

"Since when... exactly...?"

The demon fox pondered silently. He was, of course, not entirely unaware of Hades' feelings. Even if he hadn't realized it immediately due to certain ingrained cognitive biases, after several interactions and probings, it wasn't that he was overconfident; it was just that for someone as stoic and aloof as Hades, his attitude toward Kurama was truly... overly subtle.

"Why isn't Mokona here right now..."

Deeply regretting that he had sent the white fluff-ball to look after the two boys in order to help Naruto feel more at ease, the demon fox sighed secretly. Finding no conclusion after much deliberation, he decided to set the issue aside for the time being—after all, he could tell from Hades’ attitude that the man was truly, immensely indulgent toward him.

As long as he didn't take the initiative to express or clarify anything, even if the other party had reached such a near-confessional level, he probably... wouldn't be the one to poke through that final layer of window paper, would he?

Feeling both relieved and somewhat apologetic toward Hades, Kurama took a deep breath. He quickened his pace, passed through a courtyard gate, and upon seeing the figures of Naruto and Sasuke playing (fighting) together, with Mokona watching them with a smile, his mood gradually settled, slowly returning to his usual stable composure.

Sorry, Hades.

He thought... he still needed some time.

***

Ever since he was first invited to be a guest at the Uchiha mansion, Naruto had become a regular visitor.

From needing Kurama to extend an invitation every time at the beginning, to arriving on his own initiative and knowing the place like the back of his hand, within a few months, the blonde, blue-eyed Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails had practically become another member of the Uchiha household.

Although their daily interactions were still filled with bickering and rarely had a moment of peace, the other children at the Ninja Academy sensitively noticed that this interaction, while appearing no different from before, felt entirely changed from the beginning.

"Dammit! What is so good about that guy Naruto!"

The girls in the class who had wanted to get close to Sasuke for a long time but had no way in thought with indignation, yet ultimately... they dared not openly ostracize Naruto or speak ill of him as they had before.

This was because a girl had once found Naruto in private, unable to stand his friendship with Sasuke, and said some very harsh things to him—things that everyone often whispered behind Naruto's back but would never dare say to his face. Naruto had looked hurt after hearing them, clenching his fists and holding back his impulse, not retaliating in the slightest. However, Sasuke...

Even before the Uchiha clan massacre, Sasuke had been a cold, aloof young boy in the eyes of his classmates who rarely bothered with others. But for the first time, he erupted with intense emotion. Though he didn't do anything drastic...

Just seeing how that girl would subconsciously detour whenever she saw Naruto from then on, and how she would involuntarily avert her eyes whenever they swept over Sasuke, was enough to prove the proficiency and power of the young Uchiha master's sharp tongue.

Taking this incident as a turning point, Naruto—who had run up to Sasuke with his usual thick-headed, wide-mouthed grin, saying, "I didn't expect you to stand up for me, Sasuke. You're a real pal, worthy of being my good friend and the kid Kurama taught!"—truly accepted their relationship as "best friends" (though Sasuke actually wished he wouldn't). Their subsequent interactions became even more "harmonious."

Of course, this development was something some people were absolutely unwilling to see.

Consequently, over the recent period, the surveillance and monitoring forces around the Uchiha mansion, which had already been relaxed, were strengthened once again.

However, the strength of Kurama and Hades far exceeded the imagination of the person pulling the strings behind the scenes. After several consecutive failed attempts at covert investigation or assassination, and after being slapped in the face quite literally, these petty actions finally ceased, signaling the other party's silent retreat and compromise.

Kurama was not surprised by this in the slightest.

Since the other party was no longer actively attacking, the demon fox naturally had no interest in pursuing them. Thus, after several months, Kurama’s life in the Hidden Leaf Village finally became completely peaceful.

With the occasional harassment from those people gone, Kurama was finally able to focus all his attention on contacting and communicating with the Nine-Tails inside Naruto.

Through these interactions, the demon fox resolved many of his doubts regarding chakra and the principles of ninjutsu. With Kurama serving as a bridge, Naruto also managed to have a face-to-face encounter with the Nine-Tails much earlier than in the original story. While successfully leveraging the protagonist's halo to gain the promise of borrowing the Nine-Tails' chakra, he also learned the reason why he had been loathed and cursed by the villagers since childhood.

The boy was depressed for several days after learning the truth. However, after that, no one knew what Sasuke had said to him, but the child returned to his bright, sunny, carefree self, looking no different than before. This made Kurama quite curious about what Sasuke had actually said to Naruto.

Time passed quickly in such calm and peaceful days. By the time Kurama realized that in a few days it would be the graduation day for Sasuke and Naruto from the Ninja Academy, five full years had passed since he first came to this world...

The plot was about to begin.