AWB Chapter 306 Fist Bump
Chapter 306 Fist Bump
【Ding! 】
[Congratulations, host! You have established a level 7 bond with the original character "Kurama" (maximum)!]
Points earned: 800!
The system notification sounded in Naruto's mind, but his attention was completely focused on the giant fox in front of him.
Nine-Tailed Fox maintained its posture of lowering its head and half-covering its face with its claws, but the system's voice revealed its true thoughts.
"Alright, now you understand, right?" Naruto's tone was relaxed. "I forgive you for what you said earlier. So, don't act like that anymore."
So, has Naruto truly forgiven Kurama for what he did without any resentment?
The answer is yes.
In Naruto's value system, this is actually a very simple principle: if a murderer kills someone, the one who should be hated and punished is the murderer himself, not the weapon that was used by the murderer and had no independent will.
Naruto viewed the Nine-Tails' role back then in this way—it was more of a destructive "weapon" used by Obito.
Naruto is willing to understand and forgive those who suffer harm against their will or due to malicious exploitation, just as he does now with Kurama.
Of course, this "forgiveness" has its limits and does not include extremely selfish behaviors—such as dragging innocent people around the world down with you when someone you like dies, or faking your death for many years and then, upon seeing the teacher who once took care of you, plotting to kill the teacher's wife.
Then he deceived himself by telling himself that everyone he killed could be "resurrected" in the virtual world.
However, Naruto's ability to forgive Kurama so easily and completely might also have been partly due to his own selfish motives—he genuinely liked this somewhat arrogant, fluffy fox from the bottom of his heart.
Old man...
At the same time, deep within Kurama's heart, an old and kind figure emerged—the Sage of Six Paths, who created them, the tailed beasts.
It recalled the prophecy he left behind before he departed, about the "destined one" who would eventually appear and be able to understand all the tailed beasts...
At this moment, the Nine-Tails had no more hesitation or wavering in its heart; it had made up its mind completely!
Naruto is that person!
This belief was deeply rooted in its consciousness. Even if the Sage of Six Paths were to come back to life now, stand before Kurama, and tell Kurama in person that the person in the prophecy was actually someone else... Kurama thought almost obsessively in its heart that it would never admit it! It only recognized Naruto! He was the only one!
Nine-Tailed Fox lowered the huge front paw that had been covering its face. Its face, which had always been filled with ferocity or arrogance, finally showed a relieved expression.
In his open eyes was an incredibly gentle gaze, quietly fixed on Naruto, who stood before him, small yet incredibly important.
"Hmph..." Nine-Tails let out a habitual, slightly awkward nasal sound, "You brat... I've lived for over a thousand years and seen countless humans who are good at lecturing, but compared to you... those guys don't even have the right to be compared."
"Huh? Really?" Naruto scratched his head a little embarrassedly. "Was what I just saying... a lecture? I was just telling the truth."
"……never mind,"
Nine-Tails tilted its head slightly, its voice carrying an unprecedented sincerity, "That's what I like about you—you're straightforward and say what you think. So, we're even now. You've forgiven my past, and I... forgive you for lying to me before."
After saying this, Nine-Tails seemed to realize that the scene of "mutual forgiveness" was a bit too "sweet" and couldn't help but let out a low and deep laugh from deep in her throat.
Despite its deliberate attempt to lower its volume, its enormous size still caused the laughter to echo loudly throughout the vast sealed space.
Relief, ease, and the solace of being deeply understood... The hatred that had clung to it like a malignant tumor for so long was now completely purified and faded away by the warm sunlight, leaving behind a pure joy of regaining what was lost and having someone important back.
Nine-Tailed Fox felt that even when it was not sealed away and had absolute freedom, its heart had never been as full and happy as it was now.
Seeing Kurama's hearty laughter, Naruto was completely infected by this emotion, and he grinned, revealing a sunny smile. He finally let go of that small burden in his heart—the guilt he felt for having to fabricate the lie of a "dream" in order to communicate with Kurama.
The man and the fox smiled at each other on the grassland they had built with their shared will. In their laughter, there was no longer any barrier or testing, only heartfelt joy and relief at having each other as friends who could completely understand and accept each other's past.
Finally, the laughter subsided, but warm smiles remained on the faces of the two (foxes). Naruto seemed to remember something and took the initiative to ask.
"Speaking of which, I really came out ahead this time, Kurama. By the way, aren't you curious about where I got all that information about the Sage of Six Paths, Ashura, and Indra?"
"Whether it's a dream or not, to this old man, it's just a different form of knowing now; there's no difference in essence." Nine-Tails flicked its huge tail, seemingly not caring much.
But it then added, "However... I am indeed a little curious. The old man left so suddenly, and he didn't leave behind any books or stone tablets detailing these events. How did you learn of this?"
"Well..." Naruto gave a somewhat embarrassed wry smile, "It's probably a bit complicated to explain, and might even sound a little unbelievable..."
But the next moment, Kurama did something that made Naruto's pupils shrink—it slowly raised a huge fist covered in thick orange fur and held it steadily in front of Naruto. The fist was so huge that it could almost completely cover Naruto's entire body.
Fist bump? Isn't this something that was supposed to happen only during the Fourth Shinobi World War? Now... now...?
This sudden development shocked Naruto, but he did not hesitate at all. He believed in Kurama, just as Kurama believed in him at this moment.
"Alright then," Kurama's deep voice carried an unquestionable trust, "connect your chakra to mine. Let me see for myself."
Naruto looked at the enormous, symbolic fist before him, took a deep breath, and then, resolutely and without reservation, raised his own relatively tiny fist.
"Bang."
A soft sound rang out in the silent space of consciousness.
Two fists, one large and one small, two completely different fists, pressed tightly together at this moment.
The next moment, the two powerful chakras that originated from the same source but had flowed independently for a long time were no longer temporarily borrowed or limitedly coordinated, but began to truly and without reservation connect and merge!