Chapter 179 - Interlude 9: Kurama

*Note: Kurama will be the name of Kyubi no Yoko (The real Kurama) during this chapter*

Where am I?" - asked the redhead as he looked around - "The last thing I remember was shouting 'Cowabunga' and jumping into the middle of the sage spring..."

"Only you would do something this stupid," said a voice I recognized quite well.

"Kurama?" - asked the Uzumaki as he looked around, only to notice a small silhouette in front of him.

"Hello... I would have liked to show myself in a different light but that does not seem possible," sighed the little fox that measured two feet.

"What happened to you?" - asked the redheaded man with surprise.

"I will explain it to you later, for now, let's talk a little before we get down to business" - answered little Kyubi no Yoko - "How has your life been?"

"Haven't you been able to see my memories?" - The Uzumaki was confused by his friend's situation.

"No... since we last spoke I have been in a constant sleep" - answered the little nine-tailed fox - "Not to mention that now that you are practicing Senjutsu and your body is adapting to the Energy of Nature, my permissions are less and less that is the reason for my current appearance"

"I see..." - The redhead muttered, "If you're awake, that means one thing."

"Yes... the time has come" - nodded the Kyubi with a conflicted look - "I never thought this day would come but now that it is time, I don't know how to react... Maybe I should curse my life and all the events that led to this situation, or should I just look forward to the future now that we are truly one entity?

". . ." - the Uzumaki was silent as he watched the 9-tailed Fox think.

"Well, it doesn't matter now, after all, it's too late for such things," Kurama nodded as he closed his eyes. "'Tell me, Kit... have you managed to fulfill your dreams?"

"Come... sit down... we have a lot to talk about" - said the redheaded man as a small table appeared in front of them, together with two cups of tea. This was not unusual, after all, they were both in the ginger's subconscious - "I know we will discover many things when we are one, but I prefer to talk so we can spend our last moments as individuals"

"I appreciate the gesture," Kurama nodded calmly as he listened to the events that had transpired since he had slept. "I see... an interesting outcome, I also appreciate that this kit could have his life back..."

"I think so too" - nodded the redhead.

"Kit... be careful in the future..." - said Kurama seriously as he looked at the young redhead - "The Rinnegan has returned to this world, and Kokuo and Son Goku's chakra have disappeared... that means only one thing... Akatsuki is trying to break the Seal of the Moon.

". . ." - the ginger was silent as he frowned. If Akatsuki truly wished to break the Seal of Kaguya, then they were crazier than he thought, or simply did not know who they were playing with. Kaguya was an entity that should not be awakened because it would only cause chaos and destruction in the world.

"We'd better change the subject because this doesn't concern us right now," Kurama said seriously. "As much as I want to go and help my brothers, we can't do that right now because I don't feel their chakra anywhere, and two, because you're not ready yet"

Kurama understood that looking for the empty husk of the Jubi would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

"What's happening to you?!" - the Uzumaki exclaimed as he watched his nine-tailed friend begin to look illusory.

"This is a sign that your body has already passed the first test in your Senjutsu practice..." - Kurama sighed as he shook his head - "You may not know it but you have been unconscious for two months"

"Two months?!" - exclaimed the ginger in surprise as his pupils contracted.

"During this time, your body has been changing little by little, and as far as I can feel, your chakra is changing too... now it is much deeper and more compressed, I can even feel the Energy of Nature starting to flow naturally.

"Did you make a joke?" - asked the red-headed man in surprise.

"No... it was just a bad choice of words," answered Kurama as he looked away. "Ahem! Back to business, as your body can now circulate Nature's Energy, your body is now in a similar state to that of Ashura, one of Otousan's sons though on a much smaller scale, though it is possible that if you continue to train, you will be able to stabilize your Sage Body at the same level as Hashirama. Still, in total power, you will be far superior to him because of my chakra and your other elemental affinities.

"I see..." - Nodded the redhead seriously - "That's good to hear, at least then I can kick that Rinnegan bastard's a.s.s."

"That's the attitude a Kyubi has to have," Kurama nodded with a big smile. "Now let's continue talking because you still haven't finished telling me about your, no, our kits"

"Ok," nodded the young Uzumaki as he continued his story.

* * * * *

Neither of them knew how long it had been since they had started talking, but from the way Kurama was becoming more and more illusory, one could tell that at least a month or two had passed.

The two had moved on from their lives to hilarious situations, to things like better chakra control or different forms of attack in the Bijuu form.

Both Kurama and the redhead were becoming closer and closer, and there were even times when one finished the other's sentences, proving that their beings were increasingly intertwined, until one day...

* * * * *

"I guess you felt it..." - said Kurama as he looked at the silent redhead - "The time has come"

Both were confident that the training was about to be completed, all thanks to the Uzumaki's adaptable body.

"Kurama..." - the redheaded man muttered.

"I know, you don't have to finish that sentence because I understand what you are trying to say," smiled the nine-tailed fox, "Don't be afraid, I will not die, I will only be reborn into a new being, you...

The Uzumaki felt strange because part of him would miss the fox but another part of him was calm because he knew that he would not disappear, but would be part of him.

"It was good to be able to talk to you... my friend" - said Kurama as his figure began to become transparent - "You don't know how much I want to open my eyes and see everything by your side... to be able to meet our family, to be able to enjoy our life... to be able... to finally have peace..."

"See you Kurama... see you when I open my eyes..." - murmured the Uzumaki as he watched the little fox that had accompanied him all this time in his subconscious disappear again.

The young Uzumaki could feel a great deal of information appearing in his mind and how the place where he was was beginning to change. Great plains stretched out, as did mountains and forests.

It was said that a mind space could tell you about a person, and Kurama was showing that he was calm and relaxed, though if one investigated a little further, one would notice how far away there was a hellish area. That place was full of burning mountains where there was no life at all, only flames covering the entire area, making a profound contrast between the two zones.

The red-haired man slowly closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep as Kurama's memories settled with his own, although these did not conflict with his original memories, but were organized in an orderly fashion to make them easier to find and at the same time prevent his personality from being drastically changed by the constant flow of new information.

* * * * *

"I think in a week we'll find out if we did the right thing..." - Fukasaku said seriously as he looked at the Kurama statue.

"I am sure that nothing bad will happen" - answered Shima calmly - "Gamamaru-sama confirmed it"

Fukasaku was about to say something else, but his expression changed when he saw the statue begin to tremble - "I guess that's our answer... he even did it a few days earlier than I thought... not bad..."

*Crack Crack*

The statue slowly began to crumble in front of the two toads, and after a few seconds, it exploded into hundreds of pieces next to a small curtain of smoke.

"Cof Cof! These kids today with their dramatic entrances..." - Fukasaku murmured irritably as he watched the smoke blow away in the wind, revealing the silhouette of the redhead.

"Oh... I think he changed in more than one sense..." - said Shima as she noticed the redhead's new appearance. He now had crimson red hair, his eyes were still a different color, one red and one blue, though now his pupils were completely slit, like Kurama's. He grew up and now had the appearance of an eighteen-year-old man, proving that thanks to Senjutsu, he had reached the stage of maturity that he would maintain for a few years. His physique was still the same, well-defined muscles but not very big, giving him the appearance of a fast and lethal animal, but what surprised the toads most, was that he now had an almost neutral look on his face, although this disappeared when he saw the two toads - "Ma... Pa... it's been a while since we last saw each other..."

"It is good to see that you are still maintaining your humanity, Kurama," Fukasaku nodded with a small voice.